The Truth About God’s Love

1 John 4:7–10 (NKJV) Easter Sunday Message

Opening Prayer

Father, we come before You this morning with grateful hearts, thankful for the truth of this day.

You are a God of holy love— a love we did not earn and do not deserve. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and to rise again in victory.

As we open Your Word, quiet our hearts, focus our minds, and give us understanding. Help us not just to hear about Your love, but to see it clearly in the cross and the empty tomb.

By Your Spirit, convict where needed, encourage where needed, and draw us all closer to Christ.

We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

This morning, all across the world, people are gathering for one reason—Easter.

Some are here out of tradition. Some are here because family invited them. Others come because, deep down, they sense that this day matters. And it does. But for many, the message they expect to hear is simple: “God loves you.”

And that is true. It is gloriously true.

But the problem is not whether it is true—the problem is that most people have no idea what it actually means.

In our culture, “love” has been reduced to a feeling, softened into a slogan, and reshaped into something that demands nothing and changes nothing. So when people hear “God loves you,” they assume it means acceptance without repentance, comfort without conviction, and assurance without transformation.

So when people hear the words, God loves you they assume that God loves them just the way they are. And that is simply not the case.

Because Easter tells a very different story.

Because if God’s love were shallow, there would be no cross. And if sin were not serious, there would be no empty tomb.

So this morning, we move beyond the cliché and into the truth about God’s love as revealed in Scripture—especially in 1 John 4:7–10—and we see that this love is revealed most clearly through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John writes:

1 John 4:7–10 ESV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

And as we walk through this passage, we see first:

The Source of God’s Love — Its Divine Origin.

John tells us plainly, “love is of God” (1 John 4:7, NKJV). That means love does not begin with us—it begins with Him. Love is not defined by culture, emotion, or human experience. It is defined by God Himself.

That is why John can say, “God is love” (1 John 4:8, NKJV).

Now that does not mean love is God, but it does mean that all true love flows from His nature. God does not learn to love. He does not grow in love. He does not respond in love because something in us moved Him.

God is love.

And that truth immediately confronts our assumptions, because it means God did not look down at humanity and decide we were lovable. Scripture says, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10, NKJV), and even more, “There is none who seeks after God” (Romans 3:11, NKJV).

So God’s love is not reactive—it is initiating.

Moses reminded Israel of this in Deuteronomy 7:7–8 (NKJV) when he said the Lord did not set His love on them because they were more in number, but because He loved them. The reason God loves is found in God, not in us.

And that leads us to ask: if God’s love originates in His nature, how has that love been revealed?

The Display of God’s Love — Its Dramatic Outpouring.

John answers, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us…” (1 John 4:9, NKJV).

That word “manifested” means made visible, put on display. God did not merely declare His love—He demonstrated it.

And how did He demonstrate it?

“…that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9, NKJV).

This is the heart of Easter.

God sent His Son—not an angel, not a prophet, not a message, but His Son. And He sent Him so that we might live, because apart from Christ, we are spiritually dead. Paul writes, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1, NKJV).

Sin has separated us from God—“your iniquities have separated you from your God” (Isaiah 59:2, NKJV)—and apart from Christ, we remain under judgment, for “he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36, NKJV).

So when God sends His Son, this is not sentimental—it is salvation.

And this is where Easter comes into full focus.

The cross is where love is demonstrated: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NKJV).

But the resurrection is where that love is declared victorious: “…who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:25, NKJV).

Paul summarizes it clearly: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… and… He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4, NKJV).

And the angel declared it on that first Easter morning: “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:6, NKJV).

If you want to understand the love of God, you must look to the cross—and you must look to the empty tomb.

Because Jesus Himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13, NKJV).

And that brings us deeper still.

The Nature of God’s Love — Its Holy Character.

John writes, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us…” (1 John 4:10, NKJV).

God’s love is not based on our love for Him. It is not earned. It is not deserved. It is not initiated by us.

Again, Scripture is clear: “There is none who seeks after God” (Romans 3:11, NKJV). Yet, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NKJV).

And how did He love us?

“…and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10, NKJV).

That word “propitiation” is critical. It means the satisfaction of God’s wrath.

God’s love does not ignore sin—it deals with it.

“The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4, NKJV). God is holy—“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3, NKJV)—and His justice must be upheld.

But at the cross, God remains just while also justifying sinners. “That He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26, NKJV).

How? Because “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV).

And Isaiah tells us, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him” (Isaiah 53:10, NKJV).

The wrath meant for us was placed on Christ.

That is love.

Not sentimental. Not soft. Not shallow.

Holy. Just. Substitutionary.

And now we must ask the most important question: “Have you personally received the love of God through Jesus Christ?”

The Experience of God’s Love — Its Personal Application.

Jesus says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36, NKJV).

God’s love is real, and it is offered, but it is not automatically experienced in its saving fullness by everyone.

Yes, “God so loved the world” (John 3:16, NKJV).

But Scripture also says, “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12, NKJV).

The love of God must be received.

And Easter demands a response.

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30, NKJV).

You do not enter into God’s saving love by religion, morality, or effort. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5, NKJV).

The call is clear: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31, NKJV).

And when that happens—everything changes.

The Response to God’s Love — Its Transforming Effect.

God’s love transforms us.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV).

We are not left the same. We are made new.

Paul asks, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” and answers, “Certainly not!” (Romans 6:1–2, NKJV). This verse speaks of change, old habits fade, new godly habits are formed.

And it is, because Christ is risen, “we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4, NKJV).

So let’s bring it all together this Easter morning.

God’s love is not a cliché. It is not a slogan. It is not a shallow feeling.

It is a divine love that originates in Him, a demonstrated love revealed at the cross, a holy love that satisfies justice, a saving love that must be received, and a transforming love that changes everything.

And it is all declared through the empty tomb.

So the question is not simply, “Do you believe God loves you?”

The question is:

Have you experienced that love through Jesus Christ?

Because Scripture says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15, NKJV).

And it promises, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13, NKJV).

So don’t settle for a shallow idea of love.

Come to the cross. Come to the empty tomb. Come to Christ.

Because this is the message of Easter:

God’s love was demonstrated at the cross… and declared victorious through the resurrection.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for the truth we have heard today.

Thank You that Your love was not just spoken, but demonstrated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Lord, I pray for every heart in this room— for those who know You, strengthen their faith and deepen their love for You. For those who do not yet know You, draw them to repentance and faith in Christ today.

Do not let us walk away unchanged. Help us to respond rightly to Your Word, to trust fully in Your Son, and to walk in the new life He has secured.

We give You all the glory, in Jesus’ name, Amen.