The Gift of Love

• There are more pine needles on your carpet than on your tree

We are one day away from Christmas! YOU KNOW CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE WHEN:

• The credit card is smoked along with the turkey and ham.

• There are more pine needles on your carpet than on your tree

• A trip to the mall and back is more challenging then the Indy 500

• The credit card is smoked along with the turkey and ham.

• A trip to the mall and back is more challenging then the Indy 500

• You are pulling an all-nighter because of the words "Some Assembly Required"

• Your Christmas list is written in black while your check book balance is written in red.

• The NFL referees are not the only ones giving away games

• The infamous fruitcake returns from it’s 12 months of hiding.

Over the past few weeks we have been in a series entitled, “unwrapping the gift of Christmas.’

Christmas is about the Advent of Christ coming to us… The incarnation is God’s decent into humanity, John tells us that the word that existed with God from the beginning… “who was with God and was God” became flesh and becoming one of us - God became a human being.

Over the past few weeks we have been in a series entitled, “unwrapping the gift of Christmas.’

Christmas is about the Advent of Christ coming to us… It is about the incarnation and God’s decent into humanity.

Paul tells us in the book of that Jesus who being God in every sense of the word God … that is in his essence, nature and deity… emptied himself (laid aside for a moment) the privileges of heaven and took on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…being found in human form.

John tells us that the word that existed with God from the beginning… “who was with God and was God” became flesh and becoming one of us - God became a human being.

• God came down to us…

One of the early Church fathers Augustine in the 3rd Century said,

Paul tells us in the book of that Jesus who being God in every sense of the word God … that is in his essence, nature and deity… emptied himself (laid aside for a moment) the privileges of heaven and took on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…being found in human form.

• God came down to us…in the incarnation we see the love of God.

“Nothing was so necessary for raising our hope as to show us how deeply God loved us. And what could afford us a stronger proof of this than that the Son of God should become a partner with us of human nature?”

One of the early Church fathers Augustine in the 3rd Century said,

• God demonstrates to us the extent of his love for humanity……by taking on the human experience… He felt anger, He felt pain, He felt the joy of friendships… Part of his coming was to identify with our weaknesses…but he came on a mission and that was to

“Nothing was so necessary for raising our hope as to show us how deeply God loved us. And what could afford us a stronger proof of this than that the Son of God should become a partner with us of human nature?”

• lay down his own life… in order to bring redemption and salvation to his creation.

The gift of Christmas is found in the person of Jesus Over the past few weeks we have seen that Jesus is our Hope, Jesus is our peace……Jesus is our Joy…

• God demonstrates to us the extent of his love for humanity……by taking on the human experience… He felt anger, He felt pain, He felt the joy of friendships… Part of his coming was to identify with our weaknesses…but he came on a mission and that was to

• This morning we see that Jesus is the gift of love.. Christmas is love coming down to us.

• lay down his own life… in order to bring redemption and salvation to his creation.

What is love? ]

The gift of Christmas is found in the person of Jesus Over the past few weeks we have seen that Jesus is our Hope, Jesus is our peace……Jesus is our Joy…

• This morning we see that Jesus is the gift of love.. Christmas is love coming down to us.

Francis Crick, Nobel-winning scientist, some years ago wrote a book called The Astonishing Hypothesis. In it, he said something that was controversial, but from the standpoint of a secular view of things, irrefutable.

What is love?

said that “ ‘our joys and sorrows, our memories and our ambitions, our sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules.

Francis Crick, Nobel-winning scientist, some years ago wrote a book called The Astonishing Hypothesis. In it, he said something that was controversial, but from the standpoint of a secular view of things, irrefutable.

What he is saying is love is a chemical thing that is happening in our brains. Here is the problem with this thinking is that most us know intuitively that love is much more than that chemical responses..

said that “ ‘our joys and sorrows, our memories and our ambitions, our sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules.

Tim Keller says,

What he is saying is love is a chemical thing that is happening in our brains. Here is the problem with this thinking is that most us know intuitively that love is much more than that chemical responses..

Tim Keller says,

We talk about love and when we talk about love, we talk about forever. We say, “I’ll love you forever,” ....We feel like our love is going to last. Why do we feel that way? Because love is not a thing originally from time and space. It has come into the world; it has come from somewhere else. love comes to us through the incarnation…

Tim Keller says,

No one writes more about love than John the beloved disciple of Jesus. It was core to his teaching and ministry.. Tradition tells us that after John’s imprisionment on the Isle of Patmos he became the pastor of the Church of Ephesus. In his old age he would often talk about the love of God and loving others…

We talk about love and when we talk about love, we talk about forever. We say, “I’ll love you forever,” ....We feel like our love is going to last. Why do we feel that way? Because love is not a thing originally from time and space. It has come into the world; it has come from somewhere else. love comes to us through the incarnation…

We are going to be looking at Where John deals with the purpose of Christs coming.... - The Genre of 1 John is wisdom literature meaning - it is instructional -similar to the book of proverbs - where it is intended to be practical letter for wisdom for Christian living…

John challenges us to receive God’s gift of love and then to live out that love the context of life.

No one writes more about love than John the beloved disciple of Jesus. It was core to his teaching and ministry..

1 John 4:7–12 ESV

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

ESV

Tradition tells us that after John’s imprisionment on the Isle of Patmos he became the pastor of the Church of Ephesus. In his old age he would often talk about the love of God and loving others…

ESV

We are going to be looking at .. Where John deals with the purpose of Christs coming....

John calls the believers, BELOVED or dear friends.. Those who are the cherished the object of ones affections. Believers were not only the objects of Johns affections but more importantly were the beneficiaries of the love of God…

- The Genre of 1 John is wisdom literature meaning - it is instructional -similar to the book of proverbs - where it is intended to be practical letter for wisdom for Christian living… John challenges us to receive God’s gift of love and then to live out that love the context of life.

John calls the believers, BELOVED or dear friends.. Those who are the cherished the object of ones affections. Believers were not only the objects of Johns affections but more importantly were the beneficiaries of the love of God…

1 John 4:7–12 ESV

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

… He tells us that that as those who have received the love of God we should live out the love of God. As you have been loved… "let us love one another."

ESV Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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 that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

This is very practical advice — it is the call to love those who come into our lives… with the same love that we have recieved… because “love is from God.”

12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us

Here is the logic behind John’s instruction..… Why should you and I love others?

John calls the believers, BELOVED..John often often uses this term when he wanted to draw attention to something of importance… He is writing to them as their pastor .. he is giving instruction out of a relationship of love and affection…..

We are to love others Because God by nature is Love. God is by nature Love...… and anyone who does not love DOES NOT KNOW GOD.

• This love is Agapeo which comes up quite a bit in the scriptures… it’s love that depends on the source of love… Just like a navigator depends on a compass to find which out which way is North… love depends on God’s nature...

John says as those who have received love … "let us love one another for love is from God.

• The compass is just responding to the magnetic field and points you in that direction of magnetic north. God is love and everything about him proceeds from love…

This is practical advice — it is the call to love … because “love comes from God.” Before he goes into the nature of love… he wants to establish that everyone who lives has been born of God and knows God. And the converse is also true.

...… and anyone who does not love DOES NOT KNOW GOD. The point here is that the absence of love for one another is evidence that a person does not know God, because God is love, and there can be no real knowledge of God which is not expressed in love for fellow believers..

• John says that a person who knows God and has been born of God will respond to God’s nature of love.... LOVING others comes out of the nature of God… One of the reasons why we struggle to love others is when we try and do it in our own nature… our own nature is fallen....

• Love from God is not a forced response; it is a natural response. We don’t have to pump up the emotion of love… we will naturally practice love because love is the nature of God.

It’s amazing that when I speak to non Christians there is the stereo typical image of an evangelical Christian being the person on a high moral ground sort of looking down.., someone who is ridged and closed minded.

John was not putting an obligation of us that we cannot do… Rather the way that we can love others is to live in the Love of God… That becomes the focus...

The strange thing is that I have been in the church most of my life and these folks are always on the minority…

• John is simply saying that when we are connected to Christ.. love becomes a natural response

the problem is that Christianity can become all about head knowledge instead of heart knowledge… if you know God.. experience knowledge.. you will have the love of God.. people will be drawn to God in us. if we met people and just started living them we would see huge impact… Warren Wiersbe illustrates it like the imagie..

If a large quantity of radioactive material was stolen from a hospital. When the hospital administrator notified the police, he said: “Please warn the thief that he is carrying death with him, and that the radioactive material cannot be successfully hidden. As long as he has it in his possession, it is affecting him disastrously!”

T/s In the coming of Christ we see God’s Gift of love and it comes to us with purpose.

A person who claims he knows God and is in union with Him has been personally affected by this relationship. By virtue of the relationship has become contagiou,

• This what knowing God’s Love does it depends on the source of love… Just like a navigator depends on a compass to find which out which way is North… love depends on God’s nature...

There is a “Peanuts” comic strip, there was a conversation between Lucy and Charlie Brown. Lucy said that life is like a deck chair. Some place it so they can see where they are going; some place it so they can see where they have been; and some place it so they can see where they are at present.

• The compass is just responding to the magnetic field and points you in that direction of magnetic north. God is love and everything about him proceeds from love…

Charlie Brown’s reply: “I can’t even get mine unfolded.”

• John says that a person who knows God and has been born of God will respond to God’s nature of love....

Sometimes finding our purpose can be challenging… The kind of Purpose that we find in Christ is much bigger than what you do to earn a living -…

LOVING others comes out of the nature of God…

• Our purposes is not always attached to our our profession or occupation.. that why you can have someone who has achieved success by the worlds standards but are living lives of quiet desperation. It always a shock to hear that someone who appears to have everything takes their lives… the reason is that God has put some thing bigger…to live for —something, greater than oneself. Ecl 3:10 tells us that God has put eternity into the heart of man…

God’s Love calls us to a life of purpose…In fact the very reason that Christ came to us was to reveal his purpose to us.

• Love from God is not a forced response; it is a natural response. We don’t have to pump up the emotion of love… we will naturally practice love because love is the nature of God.

· John was not putting an obligation of us that we can perform.. Rather the way that we can love others is to live in the Love of God… love becomes a natural response..

ESV

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.

T/s We Learn in 1john that God love comes to us with purpose…the first is…

The love of God was made manifest - The word gr word phaneroo manifest - means to make something known or to shed light upon something.. something that was obscure is made known… How was God's love made known?

There is a “Peanuts” comic strip, there was a conversation between Lucy and Charlie Brown. Lucy said that life is like a deck chair. Some place it so they can see where they are going; some place it so they can see where they have been; and some place it so they can see where they are at present.

Through the sending of His only Son Jesus Christ.... the only way that we can understand God’s love is if God reveals it to us… If we didn’t have an example we wouldn’t have a grid to understand the nature of God’s love… but we have the example in Christ..

Charlie Brown’s reply: “I can’t even get mine unfolded.”

The word sent is the word “apostello” it is the same root word where we get the word apostle which means the “sent ones”... it means to dispatch or to send on a particular mission...

Most us are searching for purpose but it is sometimes difficult to unfold

It is not just the fact that God sent his son.. but in God sending his son Jesus we see the Love of God.. The ,mission of love came with a purpose of his mission was that. " We might live through him" - -

• That we might find meaning and Purpose in life… Christ is the Path or the intermediary for true life… As famed psychiatrist Victor Frankl observed, humans often long for meaning, and yet sometimes find this urge can be difficult to satisfy

The famed psychiatrist Victor Frankl observed, humans often long for meaning, and yet sometimes find this urge can be difficult to satisfy. I believe the reason for this is that try and find meaning in what we do our occupation and rather than our mission… God had put something bigger in each of our hearts that the present.

• Purpose and meaning are important thing...

• Ecl 3:10 tells us that God has put eternity into the heart of man…

• Have you ever gone through facebook to see what your class mates are doing.... I have a few couple of friends that are doing some pretty incredible things… There is the temptation to make comparisons with others..

John tells us that God’s Love calls us to a life of purpose…In fact the very reason that Christ came to us was to reveal his purpose to us.

1 John 4:9 ESV

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.

ESV

• If we try and find meaning outside of Christ - its going to leave us feeling empty..

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.

• It is through Christ we find life.. which means through his life, death and resurrection we are going to find life.... God’s love brings us life in the form of Regeneration.

1. Love Brings us into life through regeneration

The love of God was made manifest - The word gr word phaneroo manifest - means to make something known or to shed light upon something.. something that was obscure is made known…

How was God's love made known?

• God’s love didn’t stop after he was done with creation..He didn’t create the world, the oceans the animals and humans and say okay you get on with it… God continued to love… we are told that God transcended his creation God sent his only son into the Kosmos… into the world… so that we might live through him.

Through the sending of His only Son Jesus Christ....

His love came to us to change and transform us into a new creation.

C. S. Lewis put it this way: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the sons of God.”

The word sent is the word “apostello” it is the same root word where we get the word apostle which means the “sent ones”... it means to dispatch or to send on a particular mission.

We are presented with two images - 1. What our our lives were like Before Christ and what our lives are after Christ . BC- We once walked in darkness according principles of the world.. we were once dead in sin..

It is not just the fact that God sent his son.. but in God sending his son on a mission… there is purpose and intention in Sending of God… and the purpose is that that we might have life…

The verb used ”to live”is the word Zoa which specifically referring to life that is found in Christ. Life that involves ‘knowing’ or ‘having’ Jesus Christ himself,

Before Christ we were following the course of the world..our lives were influence by sin.. After coming to Christ we have have a different experience..... We have experience Mercy, Grace and the Love of God… then Paul says this in

A life That is all tied up in him

ESV

That We might live through him" -

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

• That we might find meaning and Purpose in life… Christ is the Path or the intermediary for true life…

You got to love this phrase in scripture .. When Pauls friend Epaphroditus got extreemly ill.. Paul says, “indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

• If we try and find meaning outside of Christ - its going to leave us feeling empty..

Here the word BUT— conjunction.. that brings a logical contrast of the life before Christ and the life that we now have in Christ..

Before Christ…we were on the path of destruction we were on the road that was destined to receive the wrath of God - which sin deserves but God who is rich in Mercy showed us love and Grace.

• It is through Christ we find life.. which means through his life, death and resurrection we are going to find life.... what does this mean?

1. Love Brings us into life through regeneration

Because of God’s great love towards us - brought us over from death into live...

A few months ago I was in San Diego with Mark Alvetaz… at a leadership conference… and you drive down the 101 the costal route and there are Homes that are worth millions of Dollars… there is such wealth and opulence…

• God’s love didn’t stop after he was done with creation..He didn’t create the world, the oceans the animals and humans and say okay you get on with it… God continued to love… we are told that God transcended his creation… he stepped into his creation.

God sent his only son into the Kosmos… into the world… so that we might live through him.

God’s wealth is not measured in Monitory terms… simply because he owns it all… God operates in the currency of Mercy and Grace and not only is God Rich in Mercy but he is generous in mercy…

C. S. Lewis put it this way: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the sons of God.”

He has demonstrated His Mercy through HIS GREAT LOVE.. Great speaks of His profound love - the depth of love....extent of love… with is remarkable… it’s according to this degree, measurement or extent that he has loved us....

It because of his love, he has made us alive in him, He raised us in Christ, made us New Creatures in Christ.

In the book of We are presented with two images that help us understand regeneration –

In order to really embrace fully God’s love we have to come to terms what God’s love has done for us personally… because of grace and the love of God we were made alive.

What our our lives were like Before Christ and what our lives are after Christ .paul tells us that before Christ - We once walked in darkness according principles of the world.. we were once dead in sin.. we were following the course of the world..our lives were influence by sin.. After coming to Christ we have have a different experience..... We have experience Mercy, Grace and the Love of God… After Christ We have been made alive,

then Paul says this in

2. Love Speaks of Abundant life.

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

ESV

You got to love this phrase BUT GOD .. When Pauls friend Epaphroditus got extreemly ill.. Paul says, “indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Jesus claims that he came that men and women might have life and might have it more abundantly. The Greek phrase used for having it more abundantly means to have a superabundance of a thing.

You got to love this phrase BUT GOD .. When Pauls friend Epaphroditus got extreemly ill.. Paul says, “indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

Here the word BUT— conjunction.. that brings a logical contrast of the life before Christ and the life that we now have in Christ..

Life … to the full is the eternal life of the kingdom, with all its rich biblical imagery. It is glimpsed briefly in Eden, and seen in vision in Revelation as a city coming down from God, the holy dwelling of God with his people. It is the life for which we were created.

T/s We see the Gift of love comes to us with purpose.

Before Christ…we were on the path of destruction we were on the road that was destined to receive the wrath of God - which sin deserves but God who is rich in Mercy showed us love and Grace.

1. The Love of God came so that we might experience life in Christ.

Because of God’s great love towards us - brought us over from death into live...

HIS GREAT LOVE.. Speaks of His profound love - the depth of love....extent of love… with is remarkable… it’s according to this degree, measurement or extent that he has loved us....

It because of his love, he has made us alive in him, He raised us in Christ, made us New Creatures in Christ.

It has been a while since I have got a traffic ticket .... but in this last month… I managed to get get two tickets… the first time is I was in a rushing to a meet Ryan for lunch and it slipped my mind…. You can say I deserved what I got because, because it was an honest mistake but, I was in the wrong...

In order to really embrace fully God’s love we have to come to terms what God’s love has done for us personally… because of grace and the love of God we were made alive.

Then it happened again this past week… Here is the thing… after than first ticket, I was more conscientious… We had the correct change and put in ample amount of time on the meter… We had over and hour so no worries..

When we came back to the car there was a parking ticket sitting on the windshield… There had to be a mistake...

2. Love Speaks of Abundant life.

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Obviously, the meter maid got it wrong… I was begining to feel cheated… and feeling defensive… then on closer inspection I discovered that yes we had put money into the meter but we put money into the wrong one… two meters were literally side by side. There was still half an hour on the meter next to ours...

ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Now when it comes to the law there is not much mercy — It would be very hard to convince the meter maid that I made a mistake… their was a trespass and the debt has to be paid by someone… Now, under the Old Covenant --- You would take an offering to the priest and that would make atonement for your sin… you could that daily… and then once a year the hight priest would go in for the whole nation… The offering would satisfy the demands of righteousness.

John tells us the not only did God love satisfy the wrong doing but Jesus was sent to be a propitiation.

Jesus came that we might have life and might have it more abundantly. The Greek phrase used for having it more abundantly means to have a superabundance of a thing.

ESV

Life … to the full is the eternal life of the kingdom, with all its rich biblical imagery. It is glimpsed briefly in Eden, and seen in vision in Revelation as a city coming down from God, the holy dwelling of God with his people. It is the life for which we were created.

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.

T/s We see the Gift of love comes to us with purpose.

God’s love is revealed again in the Apostello the mission of God… the sending of God…

1. The Love of God came so that we might experience life in Christ.

Love is initiated by God… “Not that we have loved” but God loved first.. by sending his Son Jesus on a mission to become a sacrifice for us.

It was because of our sins that Jesus died, for he had none of his own. In that death he dealt with them, because he paid the penalty of separation from the heavenly Father, which we deserve. Our sins are therefore forgiven and removed because of the cross, the consequence being that we might live through him

It had been a while since I have got a parking ticket .... but this month… I have managed to get two tickets… the first time is I was in a rushing to a meet Ryan for lunch and it slipped my mind…. You can say I deserved one got because, it was an honest mistake but, I was in the wrong...

Then it happened again this past week… This time I was with Emma we had the correct change and put in ample amount of time on the meter… We had over and hour so no worries.. When we came back to the car there was a parking ticket sitting on the windshield… I couldn’t believe it .. There had to be a mistake...

The word Propitiation is used — it means to satisfy (or remove) the wrath of someone by offering of a gift…

The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive By the Blood of Jesus Christ

Obviously, the meter maid got it wrong… I was begining to feel cheated… and feeling defensive… then on closer inspection we discovered that we had put money into the meter it just happened to be the wrong one… two meters were literally side by side. There was still half an hour on the meter next to ours...

Now when it comes to the law there is not much mercy — It would be very hard to convince the meter maid that I made a mistake… their was a trespass and the debt has to be paid by someone… Now, under the Old Covenant --- You would take an offering to the priest and that would make atonement for your sin… you could that daily… and then once a year the hight priest would go in for the whole nation… The offering would satisfy the demands of righteousness.

The word propitiation means the Lord pays the debt to justice himself.

tells us that no one can be justified through keeping the laws… but righteousness is now found apart from the law by faith in Christ Jesus… because Jesus himself became the propitiation by his death on the cross..

John tells us the not only did God love satisfy the wrong doing through his death but Jesus was sent to be a propitiation…

1 John 4:10 ESV

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.

ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

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.

So the ultimate purpose of this sending and commissioning was that we might receive eternal life in the place of certain death. It is only through Jesus that such life can come to us. ”

The word Propitiation means to satisfy (or remove) the wrath of someone by offering of a gift… it is being making the relationship right… so that there is no longer hard feelings… not only was the ticket paid for but all the effects…guilt and condemnation were felt with.

In theological terms expiation is removal of sin and propitiation are the effects of sin...

T/s We see the Gift of love comes to us with purpose.

1. The Love of God came so that we might experience life in Christ.

I remember years ago in Bible School hearing that when God forgives you he throws it in the lake and says no fishing…

tells us that no one can be justified through keeping the laws… but righteousness is now found apart from the law by faith in Christ Jesus… because Jesus himself became the propitiation by his death on the cross..

2. Love came to us that we might Receive Wholeness

If we are going to embrace the love of God fully we need to know that we have been forgiven fully.

Loving people is complicated. It can hurt. It is messy. Because of this, we tend to insulate ourselves from the very people who need our love. What we learn from the sending of God - God sent his son as an atoning sacrifice why were still far away from him… We did not love God when he gave himself. Loving meant initiating action without an immediate return.

T/s We see the Gift of love comes to us with purpose.

Relationships in society are usually governed by reciprocity. I am nice to those who are nice to me. Jim invites me to lunch; I invite him in return… I borrow tools from Stan and he borrow tools from me… but Johns instruction is to love out and reach out to others even when they don’t respond.

1. The Love of God came so that we might experience life in Christ.

John calls us to push past the fear of making mistakes or getting hurt. It calls us—Jesus’ followers to love others not “with word or tongue, but in our actions

2. Love came to us that we might Receive Wholeness

ESV

We talk about loving others… and to be honest it is easy to say we are a loving church than to be a loving church.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Loving others is complicated. It can hurt. It is messy.

This verse is completion of the thought introduced in verse 7 .. John once again calls then Beloved.... reminding us that we have been loved by God… we have recieved God’s love… therefore we ought to love others… loving others is equal to loving God… This is the great command that Jesus gave his disciples in

ESV

Because of this, we tend to insulate ourselves from the very people who need our love.

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

What we learn from the John and sending of God -That Jesus gave himself as atoning sacrifice while we still far away from him… vs 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.

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Not that we loved God but he loved us.. God’s Love meant initiating action without an immediate return.

James calls this principle the Royal law.

Normal Relationships in society are usually governed by reciprocity. I am nice to those who are nice to me. Jim invites me to lunch; I invite him in return… I borrow tools from Stan and he borrow tools from me… but Johns instruction is to love out to others even when they don’t respond.

John calls us to push past the fear of making mistakes or getting hurt. It calls us—Jesus’ followers to love others not “with word or tongue, but in our actions

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1 John 4:11–12 ESV

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

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The law is royal because it is decreed by the King of kings, is fit for a king, and is considered the king of laws

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

This verse is completion of the thought introduced in verse 7 .. John once again calls then Beloved.... reminding us that we have been loved by God… we have recieved God’s love… therefore we ought to love others… loving others is equal to loving God… This is the great command that Jesus gave his disciples in

Love is the litmus Proof of Faith

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a. Love is the Proof of New Birth .

James calls this principle the Royal law. because it is decreed by the King of kings, is fit for a king, and is considered the king of laws

Clement of Alexandria said, in a startling phrase, that the real Christian ‘practises being God’. Those who dwell in love dwell in God (verse 16). We are made in the image and the likeness of God (). God is love; and, therefore, to be like God and be what we were meant to be, we must also love.

Love is the litmus Proof of Faith

a. Love is the Proof of New Birth .

Practicing love is evidence of past regeneration and present personal knowledge of God. New love is the effect of new birth

John shows us that if our habits and instincts lead us to be hostile toward others and look out only for ourselves, we really don’t know God at all. The more we know God, the easier we will find it to show grace and compassion for others, and to give selflessly for the needs of others

Practicing love is evidence of our regeneration of our new Birth and our present personal knowledge of God.

John is not interested in the obligation to love one another for its own sake, but because it is the sign that God lives in us

Clement of Alexandria theologian from the first century said, in a startling phrase, that the real Christian ‘practice being God’… what he is taking about imitating God.

We cannot see God, because he is spirit; what we can see is his effect. We cannot see the wind, but we can see what it can do. We cannot see electricity, but we can see the effect it produces.

Love is one of the greatest proofs for the existence of God.. NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN GOD… This is the argument of science… This is what the atheist and the agnostics would bring up.. well now there is a proof text to this argument.. nobody has seen God..

Love it is a marker of sincere faith…

So here is the logic… If nobody has seen God --- How do we see God?

John shows us that if our habits and instincts lead us to be hostile toward others and look out only for ourselves, we really don’t know God at all. Our relation with God and others can be visualized as a triangle… God is at the top… as we move closer to God so our relationships with one another be more loving.

The more we know God, the easier we will find it to show grace and compassion for others, and to give selflessly for the needs of others

God can be known only through His demonstration of His love, most profoundly seen in sending His Son in the flesh as a sacrifice for humanity. This is the ultimate expression of God’s love.

God is also seen through Human love.

1 John 4:12 ESV

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

As A. E. Brooke puts it, ‘Human love is a reflection of something in the divine nature itself.’

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us

If we love one another - - It becomes proof that God’s love is something real

David Platt speaks of about having radical love for others..

We cannot see God, because he is spirit; what we can see is his effect.

We cannot see the wind, but we can see what it can do. We cannot see electricity, but we can see the effect it produces..

When the world sees sons and daughters enjoying life together, and building one another up, and loving, and serving one another radically, then this is a reflection on the Father who has brought that family together

If you can convince a man that you love him you have won his heart. If we really make people believe that God loves them, how we should find them crowding into the kingdom of heaven! The trouble is that men think God hates them; and so they are all the time running away from Him.

Dwight L. Moody

Love is one of the greatest proofs for the existence of God.. NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN GOD… This is the argument of science… This is what the atheist will often argue that there is no proof for the existence of God.. because nobody can see God

Now this is not an easy concept to understand and the disciples themselves struggled with concept

John says that God can be known through demonstration of His love.

As A. E. Brooke puts it, ‘Human love is a reflection of something in the divine nature itself.’

CONCLUSION

Love frees us from fear (). John has an exciting prospect for the fearful and doubting. As we see God’s love taking visible shape in the community of faith, we become more confident and more like God. “In this world,” John said of the believing community, “we are like Him” (v. 17). Love transforms us. We realize that God is not angry or eager to punish; love has driven out fear.

If we love one another - - It becomes proof that God’s love is something real

What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it—the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of his hands [].

Dwight L. Moody

If you can convince a man that you love him you have won his heart. If we really make people believe that God loves them, how we should find them crowding into the kingdom of heaven! The trouble is that men think God hates them; and so they are all the time running away from Him.

I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care

CONCLUSION

falters.

One of the greatest hinderances in life is fear.. the reason we don’t love is the fear of failure… What John does is promoted this vision of God who loves… when we have this view of God it will change our interactions… with others and sets us free from the fear of failure..

1 John 4:17–18 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. 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.

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.

J.I Packer wrote the book called knowing God and it became a best seller… one of the things he said.. is that What is amazing about God is not only the fact that he has made himself known…. But that we are know by God.. it is astounding to this..

I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.

The Gift of Love

1. Love came so that we might have Real life .

1. Love came so that we might have Real life .

2. Love came to us that we might Receive Wholeness.

2. Love came to us that we might Receive Wholeness.

3. Love came to us so we might reach out to others

3. Love came to us so we might reach out to others

b. love is the Proof of Sincere Faith.

c. Love is the proof to an Unbelieving world

b. love is the Proof of Sincere Faith.

c. Love is the proof to an Unbelieving world