Love God, Love Your Brother

Intro: We come to the second part of our New Year special series on . We noticed how John expressed this from the negative viewpoint this morning, now we look at the positive.

1 John 4:20–21 ESV

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

I) Context of the love of God

This is perhaps the most exhaustive examination of the love of God for man that we can find in the Bible –

He spends about equal space demonstrating how God loves us, and declaring that we love our brothers – vs.7-18

We noticed this morning the logical argument that if one cannot love the brother he can see, then the unseen God is impossible to love

Now John uses the final and strongest argument to win his case, the command of God

II) Love is commanded

World finds this to be incongruous, since they do not understand love (agape)

Yet, it is one of the most common commands (10+ passages) in the NT – ; , ; , , – many more are indirect

This command we have from Him, emphasizes the unseen God of v.20 giving a command to those who claim to love Him (although love for God is not the primary subject of vs. 20-21); these concepts are unbreakably linked

Nature of love is self-directed, placing the highest value on people and things

III) Love for our brother

Although it is not discussed in the immediate context, John does describe this love – – not like Cain who acted in jealousy

1 John 3:11–12 ESV

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.

Helping the needy – – not closing our hearts against them

1 John 3:16–18 ESV

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

As the manner of God’s love in sacrificing His Son for us –

1 John 4:9–11 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. 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.

Concl: What a fitting conclusion to this deep discussion of love. We are called to reflect that love that God has shown to us in our relationships with our brothers. It is the least we can do, and the most that God requires of us.