5.12.51 11.13.2022 1 John 4.13-21 Solidly Certain (2)

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1 John 4:13–21 ESV

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Entice: I don't know of any Christian who does not want to be certain of their relationship with God. We all want to have

solid confidence.

John wants to give it. He does so the best way he knows how, by accurate doctrinal teaching combined with specific actions. The best Christian teaching throughout history has followed the same formula.

Engage:

Why love

when not loving or being indifferent is easier?

Why care

when caring might bring isolation or hostility?

Why follow Christ closely

when distance seems to provide cover?

Why love?

Because we are both enabled and commanded.

Why love?

Because Jesus loved every step, He took on the way to the cross. Why love?

Because love brings the certainty that we crave and is the heart of the Gospel we preach.

Expand: So John rephrases and restates the love command again. This time his goal is to reaffirm each of us in our faith, helping us to be solidly certain in our relationship with God. The Holy Spirit, accurate doctrine, and active love confirm that we have been redeemed and that we are in agreement with the Father.

Excite: Knowing Jesus means we love as He did. To love as He did means we need to know what He said and did, and that means being taught the scriptures and accepting what we are taught. When we follow in obedience our new birth fills us with the Holy Spirit. It doesn't get any more solid than that.

Explore:

We can know that our relationship with God through Christ Jesus is solidly certain.

Explain: John provides some basic characteristics of this certainty.

Body of Sermon: The first Characteristic of certainty is

1. Abiding in the Spirit

There has never been more discussion about the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church and individual than there is right now. Much of what we hear is not Biblical, accurate, or helpful. The Holy Spirit is not given to individual Christians as some sort of a magic trick or panacea. John's discussions of the Spirit may not be as detailed as Paul's, but they are important for our understanding of how God works individually and within the Church. The Holy Spirit does not free-lance. The Holy Spirit points to Jesus. The Holy Spirit enables us to live righteously and follow Jesus more closely.

So, to that end John tells us that the Holy Spirit...

1.1 Confirms our confession.

1 John 4:13 ESV

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

Next, he reminds us that the Holy Spirit...

1.2 Clarifies our Confession.

1 John 4:14 ESV

14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

We have seen... John's specific, historical witness.

And testify...our mutual ongoing profession of faith.

The Holy Spirit is in us to strengthen our relationship to Jesus. Throughout Christian History this has been called "confessing Christ." The abiding Spirit clarifies that confession and confirms it.

Next John expands that thought. The next characteristic of certainty is...

2. Confessing the Son.

John has been pretty clear about what the content of confessing the Son is. In verses 15-18 he describes the impact of rightly confessing the Son.

2.1 Defines our relationship with God.

1 John 4:15–16 ESV

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Next our confession of the Son

2.2 Gives us confidence.

1 John 4:17 ESV

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Finally, confessing the Son

2.3 Casts out fear.

1 John 4:18 ESV

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

The last characteristic of certainty returns to one of John's central themes of the epistle...

3. Loving Our Brother.

1 John 4:19–21 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Human nature likes to think that hard things are un-doable. We use the words "No one can do that!" when what we really mean is, "I don't want to."

Shortly we will sing I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. I know, we used it as our invitation song last week. We will again today. But first I want to highlight one phrase.

I have decided.

The decision is an admission that some hard things need done, even when we don't feel like it. It begins with

3.1 Choice.

1 John 4:19 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us.

Choosing to love others is a lot like choosing to carry crosses. Not easy. Necessary. Do-able. Not because of our own power but because of the presence of the Spirit of whom we have already spoken.

Once we make that choice we keep loving as a matter of

3.2 Consistency.

1 John 4:20 ESV

20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

A foolish consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds just as Emmerson said, but more often than not, consistency is a matter of character. Friends, our character has been changed by our encounter with Jesus. He is the rock upon which our consistency is built. John treats inconsistency in love as it deserves, it is transparently silly.

And we keep on doing it even when it is painful because it is a

3.3 Command.

1 John 4:21 ESV

21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Shut Down:

The 21st century Church seems to have adopted Naaman the Syrian general as our patron saint. We come to the prophet expecting magic and the spectacular and are insulted by simple expectations.

John is not saying that it will always be easy. Yet it is as simple as a desire to obey. We do want to obey, don't we?

The Love God commands and expects is the outcome of right belief. Without the doctrinal clarity of confessing the Son, without the indwelling, confirming presence of the Spirit, our love will be shallow and selfish. God’s message to us today, as penned by John, requires each of these characteristics. And He gives us our whole redeemed life to work on it!

In fact, the sacrifice of Jesus: life-death-burial-resurrection; really culminates with the new-born presence of the Spirit in our lives. This enables and requires us to love each other--and everyone that we meet.

If you want to have certainty you need to know and respond to Jesus, accept, and live by the Spirit, and extend and express the love which motivated Him to come in service of us.

The final demonstration of Christ-like behavior is

loving most

when we are loved the least,

loving best

when we are treated the worst,

being last

when we would prefer to be first.

We can only be solidly certain when all our certainty is found in Jesus.