The Originator of Love

Love Originates with God and is Manifest in Us.

This morning we are going to look at . I remember when we started our look at said that there would be about 8 sermons from this book. This is sermon number 10 so I am right on schedule I would think. John is known as the Apostle of love. Much of the Gospel that bears his name is written to make known the love Jesus has for His people. That is revealed some in 1 John but much of 1 John is focused on our love for one another, the love the bride of Christ has for the bride of Christ. I will go so far as to say that John repeats himself quite a bit as it relates to our love for one another.

Much of what I see in Scripture, due to what is going on in my life right now, is focused on the fact that we will go through struggles but that God is our sustainer in those struggles. He doesn’t remove the struggles He simply sustains us through them to continue sanctifying us. I see this theme everywhere I turn. And if that is my experience then it makes me wonder what John was going through when he wrote do know that much of the back story concerning 1 John is that many people who had been a part of the church had left because others had come in and led them astray with false teachings and these people who had loved and been love by those who left must have felt like giving up on caring about anyone. I think perhaps that John wants to remind these hurting believers that the love they are to show to one another originated with God. Seven times in these 17 verses we are going to look at we see that John is making it clear that God is the originator of love; for love is of God or from God (vs 7), God is love (vs 8), love of God (vs 9), God so loved us (vs 11), the love that God has for us (vs 16), God is love (vs 16), We love Him because He first loved us (vs 19). Seven times John makes it clear that love is not an emotion that originates with us, it is not an action that we decide on, it is an attribute of God. If John says it seven times in that short of a passage then we have to believe that it is important. So what we are going to do this morning is look at this truth that love originates with God and how that is born out in humanity. Then we will look at three manifestations of that love in the life of the child of God. We will look at a command and a warning. Let’s pray and ask the Lord to bless the reading and preaching of His Word.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we 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.12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.[1] 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.[2]

Let’s look at this idea that love originates with God. First let me say very clearly that mankind does have the capacity to love whether they are believers or not. John says that anyone who does not love does not know God but this is not to say that those who do not know God cannot love. But I do believe we can see from what he says in verse 7 that the kind of love that we are to love one another with is a love that only comes from God and only those who are born of God and knows God can love that way. Of course that is true because of what John had said in chapter 3 verse 23, it is not just love that is the evidence of being a child of God it is also belief in the name of the Son of God Jesus Christ. Like I said the children of the devil, the children of wrath, those who are enemies of God can and do love. How can that be if they are not born of God and do not know God? Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.[3] Humankind is created in the image of God, we are image bearers of God and therefore we bear, though in fallen state, the creature attributes of God. We are able to love. But the children of the devil, those who do not know God, cannot love the way the children of God are commanded to love. And we can know this by way the God’s love is manifested in the life of the children of God. We only love because He first loved us (vs 19). (This doesn’t say that we love Him because He first loved us. We love because love originates with God.)

Let’s look at verses 9-11: 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we 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. Here in the midst of John proclaiming the love of God and the necessity of us loving one another we find an exquisite presentation of the Gospel. God loved us and it is made known to us by the fact that He gave His only begotten Son to be the sacrifice for our sin so that we could live through Him. His love for us was manifested by what He did for us and what Jesus did by humbling Himself and taking on the form of an obedient servant who willingly gave Himself for our atonement. Since that is what God did then we (the children of God) must love one another the same way. If God so loved us (if God loved us in that way) we also ought to love one another the same way. We cannot be one another’s atonement, we cannot be one another’s propitiation but we can, as we have noted in former sermons, give our lives in service to one another. Not grudgingly or out of compulsion but out of gratitude for the love that has been manifested in Christ on our behalf. Jesus humbled Himself to His Father and loved us with His life. The overflow that, the overflow of what God has done through Christ on our behalf should be the love we show for one another. We see that God is the originator of love and because of His love for us we ought to love one another the same way; laying down our lives for one another. That was manifestation of God’s love # 1.

Let’s look at verses 12-13 for the second manifestation of the love of God in the children of God. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. Jesus made the statement when talking with the Samaritan woman at the well that God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. God is spirit no one has seen the full glory of God. But John is making it clear that people can see God or at least the attributes of God by the way children of God love. For God to be seen by the world (and the church) we must have His love perfected or completed in us and that is borne out by the fruit of the Spirit. We read in Galatians that the fruit of the Spirit is first love then joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. I’m going to chase a meaty rabbit here but bear with me it has its purpose. In 1 Corinthians Paul is writing to a church that can best be described as a dysfunctional family. In chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians Paul describes how God through the Holy Spirit has gifted the church to perform its purpose as the body of Christ. Then in chapter 13 that we all know as the love chapter it seems that Paul has completely changed subjects. We use in weddings to describe how husbands and wives should love one another. We use it to describe the love God and Jesus has for us. But the purpose of this chapter is to describe and inform the church of the love they are supposed to have for one another. With that explanation let us just briefly look at some of what says. Though I speak with the tongues of angels and of men and have not love (for my brothers and sisters in Christ) I am nothing but noise. 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge (even if I stand up every Sunday and preach to you), and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. Paul goes on from there to describe what the love we have for one another looks like and he ends by describing the fact that as immature Christians we act one way (when I was a child I spoke as a child) but as a mature child of God we are to act another way (I put away foolish things). Then he ends this passage with this statement: 13And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. No one has seen God but the greatest manifestation of God in the life of the Church to the world is our love for one another. Jesus said that was how the world would recognize us, by our love one for another.

That was the second manifestation of the love that originates with God now let’s look at verses 14-18 for the final manifestation. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. What we see in verses 14-16 we have heard before from John. God sent Jesus to be the savior because of His love and we believe and confess that Jesus is our Savior and because we believe we know the love God has for us and we live in that love and God lives is us and we live in Him. That is nothing new and it really does not manifest God’s love to the world, but when you get to verses 17-18 we see something that does demonstrate God’s love. That love that originates in God is being perfected in us in such a way that we love our brothers and sister in Christ the way Jesus loves us, we are changed; (as he is so also are we in this world). And because we are changed, because we are being conformed into the image of Christ as Paul says in , we have confidence to stand before our perfectly righteous, perfectly holy judge without fear. One of these days those who are the children of the devil will bow before the Righteous Judge, Jesus Christ, and confess in fear and trembling that He is Lord. But not us who are the children of God. We will stand confidently and boldly before our King and proclaim Him Lord without fear of judgment because HE has already taken our judgment upon Himself. 33Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. The children of God, those who abide in God and God in them have no cringing fear of God because we have been changed to be like Christ because of God’s love. Instead we stand boldly and confidently in the day of judgment.

The love that originated with God is made manifest in us (the world and the church can see it) by the fact that we lay down our lives for one another. Though no one has seen God the world can see His invisible attributes by the way we love one another. The children of God have no cringing fear of God and instead stand boldly and confidently in the day of judgment.

Just like the seven times John noted that love originates with God there are four times in this passage that we receive a command and it is always the same command: let us love on another (vs. 7), we also ought to love one another (vs. 11), if we love one another God abides in us and His love is perfected (vs. 12), and in verse 21 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.[4] Remember last week we talked about 2 words and I told you that you didn’t need to remember those two words and I wouldn’t use them again? Ya well I will keep my word on that but what we talked about was the fact that there are realities that we can know and there are ways that we can know them. Well today we have seen the reality that love originated with God and we can know that reality by the way it is manifest or made known in the way we love one another and the affect that love has on us. We are to love one another by laying down our lives for one another, when we love one another that way the world will see that attribute of God in us and we can and will stand boldly and confidently on the day of judgment. We know this stuff. Academically it is in our approximately 3 pounds of human computer we call the brain. But how do we go from knowing it to doing it? You need to understand I am really asking you that question because I struggle with this just like everyone else. It is the same question that I would have to ask about forgiveness. We all know we are supposed to forgive but sometimes, most of the time, it is hard to go from knowing to doing. I can say I love ____. And I really do love ___. But God loved us and sent Jesus demonstrating that love. Jesus loves His sheep and laid down His life for them. That folks is taking it from knowledge or determination to doing. And I’m still standing up here waiting for someone to answer how do I do that? I know it requires sacrifice. I may have to get up out of the pew or sofa and actually act out that love I know I have. I may have to actually buy something that is not in my budget because someone I love needs it. I may have to make a phone call to check on someone. I may have to actually break my routine to do love for someone. The point in this is not to make you feel guilty for not doing enough. It is to make sure we understand that there is a disconnect between what we know and what we do and we have to find a way to make that connection because when we do the world will see that love that originates with God. Again I am not sure how to always do that but I do know that I am still responsible to do so. So I seek to live through Him as verse 9 said.

Finally we come to the warning found in verse 20: 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? Outside of the some of the have never read a more practical or logical statement. How can you love someone you have never seen if you do not love those that you can see that are created in Him image? If you say you do you are a liar. Let me turn this around just a little bit and look back at the fact that our love for one another reveals God’s love to the world. If how you love other believer, whether it is your spouse, you children, your deacons, your pastor or believers from other congregations, if how you do love with them demonstrates God’s love then what does the world really see about God? How you love the brothers and sister in Christ is an indicator of how you love God and we know we are love Him with all our heart, soul and mind.

A. W. Tozar said, “Nothing God ever does, or ever did, or ever will do is separate from the love of God.” Love originates with God and that is made manifest, it is revealed in us in that we lay down our lives for one another just as Christ laid down His life for us. Though no one has seen God His love is revealed to the world by the way we love one another. The children of God who abide in God and God in them have no cringing fear of God and instead we will stand boldly and confidently on the day of judgment because we have been changed by the love that originates with God. We are commanded to take that knowledge of love for one another and put it into action. We must not live a life disconnected from doing what we are commanded to do simply because we know the truth, the truth must be lived. Finally don’t be a liar. How you love your brothers and sisters in Christ is an indicator of how you love God. The world can only know the love of God by watching us do love for and with one another. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[2] The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[3] The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[4] The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.