The Love of God Has Direct Effects on Your Life

The previous two passages in chapter 4 have been exhortations: a warning not to believe in false prophets and an appeal to love one another. The two exhortations are now taken in this passage and turned from an encouragement to act in this way to an affirmation of the manifestation of these things.

You’ll notice that the verses, as is the case with the gospel as a whole, hinge on Jesus Christ in verse 15. It is Jesus Christ who is our cornerstone. Our lives are built around Him and it is He who deserves our praise because of what He’s done for us. And He is the reason we abide in God. So, first let us look together at the

Consequences of Abiding in God (13-15)

John begins with a phrase that has become familiar at this point, “by this we know”. Essentially, the aim is to provide proof of something. In this case, the proof that a person abides in God and God in them is the existence of the Holy Spirit in their life.

As we think of the Holy Spirit, we can remember that He was promised to God’s people by Jesus in John 14:26.

We are living proof today of that promise! The Holy Spirit abides in the one who has been saved. Our confession that Jesus is Lord continues to be on our tongue because of the wondrous work that was done on the cross for our behalf!

The second consequence of abiding in God is that we have both seen as well as now testify that Jesus is the son of God and the Savior of the world. It is vital that we understand the necessity to both witness and testify. This is a core aspect of both the individual believer as well as the universal church to both see, believe, and testify.

As you read through the book of Acts specifically, we find me and women testifying, or bearing witness to who Jesus is. You and I have the same responsibility upon learning of Jesus. The people around us deserve to hear the testimony of what we have seen Jesus do in our lives.

Finally, abiding in God causes a mutual abiding. This certainly takes place because of the indwelling Holy Spirit. When God abides in us, we are made each day into the likeness of Christ. We are slowly molded into the people that He would have for us to be rather than who we might want to be. And when we abid in God, He is glorified. His Kingdom is built.

Though we don’t deserve it, it is the perfect relationship!

Consequences of Dwelling in Love (16-17)

Proof of God dwelling in us

A part of the God dwelling in us, as noted earlier, is that we continue to grow in Him. It is vital that we keep this truth in our minds when we are in need of reassurance of our salvation. If we linger of longer amounts of time in love, it will be proof that we have the Holy Spirit and He is continuing to shape and mold us into the people that He would have us to be.

Demonstration of love being perfected

We actually gain a little bit more information about this idea of love being perfected that is first mentioned in verse 12. Verse 17 speaks of a confidence that we will be able to have both here on earth but more importantly, on the day of judgment. Verse 18, which we will get to in a moment, explains that because of this perfect love, there will be no fear of judgment.

The best way that I can explain it is that God’s love is absolutely perfect but it is only when we wrap our minds around the love that God has for us that we will be able to demonstrate just the magnitude of His love.

Boldness before God

Isn’t it a wonderful thing that we can stand with our head held high on the day of judgment, knowing that God has forgiven our sins and Jesus has taken on the weight of our sin. Imagine the scene if you stand before Him without His salvation.

An important consequence here is that because of His indwelling and perfect love, we can stand before the judge and it will be said, “Not guilty.”

The Application of Love of God (18-21)

As we have stated quite clearly in the last several weeks regarding love, the true display of love is the results of it. If we abide in God and God in us, there will be no fear of judgment, which is the first consequence. I’ve said it recently but the command in the bible that is repeated most often is “do not fear”. The

God is the source of our love both for Him as well as for our brother. This is the point of the last three verses of this passage. It is impossible for a person to be saved and not love their brother.

But I want to come back to the main point of this passage. We would be wise to remember that this passage is less about encouraging us to love our brother and more about assuring us of our salvation. However, it is vital that we assess our lives.