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1John 4:7-12

Lets pray:

You know how many times the word “love” was used in these few verses we just read?

12! Do you know what the significance of the number 12 is in the Bible?

Think about it… ‘12’.

I don’t know what the significance of the number “12” is in the Bible.

You hear some preachers giving numbers and stuff and their significance so I just wanted to do it to.

You know how many times the word “love” was used in these few verses we just read?

12! Do you know what the significance of the number 12 is in the Bible?

Think about it… ‘12’.

I don’t know what the significance of the number “12” is in the Bible.

You hear some preachers giving numbers and stuff and their significance so I just wanted to do it to.

I do know that we just read 6 sentences and the word “LOVE” was mentioned 12 times though…and that makes it significant.

Im thinking this section of Scripture should be titled something like “God Is Love!”

15 times John calls the Christians in this church body “children”.

19 times he calls them “children” when we read 2nd and 3rd John.

the Gospel of John has “LOVE” in it 59 times.

You have to explain things to children sometimes don’t you?

I mean, it’s never enough just to say, “do this”, “do that”.

They always ask “why” don’t they?

“Go to bed!”.... “why?” “Clean your room” “Brush your teeth”… “why?”

Because you’ll never get a date if you don’t, no one will ever want to talk to you unless your 6 feet away, because it’s nasty…etc.

But they always ask “why” and you always have to explain things to them don’t you?

Please…just agree so I feel better about my parenting.

In 1,2, and 3rd John the word “LOVE” is used 56 times. 1 John alone has the word “LOVE” 49 times. 1 John Chapter 4 has the word “LOVE” 28 times and these 6 verses has the word “LOVE” 12 times.

In 1,2, and 3rd John the word “LOVE” is used 56 times. 1 John alone has the word “LOVE” 33 times and these 6 verses has the word “LOVE” 12 times.

In 1,2, and 3rd John the word “LOVE” is used 56 times. 1 John alone has the word “LOVE” 49 times. 1 John Chapter 4 has the word “LOVE” 28 times and these 6 verses has the word “LOVE” 12 times.

In 1, 2, and 3rd John the word “LOVE” is used 56 times.

This is what John knows.

He knows he has to explain some things to his little children who he addresses here as his “beloved”.

1 John alone has the word “LOVE” 49 times.

( In all of his epistles, John used “love” 87.5% in 1 John)

Beloved: A person dearly loved and cherished; sometimes preferred above all others and treated with partiality.

1 John Chapter 4 has the word “LOVE” 28 times (In 1 John he used the word “love” over 57% in chapter 4)

Sounds like your kid doesn’t it?

and these 6 verses have the word “LOVE” 12 times.

(of all the times he used the word “love” in chapter 4 he used it nearly 43% in these 6 verses)

If only he would need to tell us once and not explain.

If we only understood.

Look at verse 7...

If we could only understand this one thing he wouldn’t need to say anything past the 4th word of this verse.

“Beloved, let us love”.

If we understood the depths of who God is and what He has done for us perfectly he would have never written the next 5 sentences.

If we understood the depths of who God is and what He has done for us perfectly he would have never written the next 5 sentences.

Love, this agapé love, is not from man…it is from God.

This love is a strong, non-sexual affection and regard for a person and their good as understood by God’s moral character (this is why it is from God and not from man.

It is God’s character).

This kind of love is characterized by willingly giving up your own rights or privileges for another person’s behalf.

Again, man didn’t come up with this kind of love.

This love comes from God.

We are selfish people.

He is selfless

Before we came to know Christ we were so selfish.

We weren’t about to give up our rights, our privileges for someone else…especially not for someone who hated us.

Of course there are people who don’t know Christ that love people.

Hitler loved his dog but does that mean he was born of God? NO! (Expound)

and if we did come across as giving up our rights and privileges for someone else we did it so we would look good or feel good about ourselves.

We didn’t do it because of this type of selfless love.

So when you find yourself truly loving your brother, your Christian brother, like this…thank God that you have been born of God and that you know God.

Look at verse 8

Anyone who does not love…the context here is loving the brothers specifically and we will see that clearly in verse 12 but as we have been preaching through this we saw in chapters 2 and 3 it is talking about love for the brothers and sisters in Christ.

quick recap: John is writing this to remind them of his apostolic authority and not to listen to the false teachers that have been teaching them false doctrine and not living according to the apostolic teachings (you can go back and read 1:1-4…he is saying, “listen to me, listen to us, we saw him, we heard him, we walked with him…trust us…not them”.

So, to that point John is telling the brothers here concerning the false teachers that it doesnt matter what they “say”…if they don’t love the brothers they DO NOT KNOW GOD.

Why?

Because God IS LOVE!

If someone is truly born of God, they will have in them the seed of God (3:9).

You can say “I am a Christian” but if you DO NOT LOVE THE BROTHERS you DO NOT KNOW GOD! Why?

Because GOD IS LOVE!

If you are truly born of God and He is your Father, then guess what…you will walk like your Father.

Just like you walk like your earthly father and have some of his characteristics…you will walk like Christ if you are born of God (2:5-6)

If you want to know if you are TRULY a Christian or if you are deceived then READ AND STUDY THIS Epistle.

And I want to say a few more things about these THREE WORDS: God is love.

We have to tread lightly here okay?

We can’t get confused on what this is saying.

When it comes to the Attributes of God:

His Justice

His Mercy

His Grace

His Wrath

His Love, etc.

What we find ourselves doing if we don’t diligently study who He is as revealed in HIs Word…we start building an idol.

We start building an idol in our own image.

Literally, we build a god (little ‘g’) that looks like us but to the MAX.

Since the text is talking about love lets look at this:

If you had a horrible dad growing up your “love” line might be ‘here’ and what you think would be a ton of ‘love’ would be ‘here’.

If I had a great dad growing up who loved the mess out of me, my starting point of “love” is ‘here’…a lot higher from your starting point.

So then you and I start thinking about God’s “love” and we just push it up to the MAX from our own understanding that comes from our own individual backgrounds.

To you, God’s love is “here” but to me God’s love is “here”.

See what we have done?

We have two different god’s now.

You have yours and your’e good with that amount of love because that would be awesome to have a father that loved you that much.

I created my god because to me “that amount of love” would be awesome based on what I had growing up.

Im good with it.

We have misunderstood what the Bible is telling us about God.

Its not that God has a lot of love, He does, but that isn’t what it is saying.

It is saying that God IS LOVE!

Another point to make on these three words: God IS love.

Contrary to what many of us heard growing up…God did not make mankind because He wanted someone to love him.

God does not NEED people to love him!