TRANSFORMING LOVE CHANGES US INWARDLY (Part 1)

We return to our study of 1 John this morning. In a brief recap, we have covered two of the chapters of this letter so far. It is a letter, 1 John, in that John wrote this epistle (letter) to the Church. It is believed that this letter, like many of the letters of the New Testament, would have circulated all throughout churches, just like ours.

In our study of this letter we have examined two primary aspects: fellowship with the Godhead and letters to little children. Both of these, and the remainder of 1 John, fall under the broader treatment of Back to the Basics. That is, John is writing to believers in churches in order that they understand the basics of following Jesus Christ. At times, this involves the communication of truths, such as . At other times, it involves the engaging of acts, such as . You see, following Jesus Christ involves our minds, our affections, and our wills. In , Jesus describes this tripartite command that involves the whole of our being (mind, emotions, and will). And John unpacks different aspects of this command to daily, Christian life.

This morning, and for the next few weeks, the Lord willing, we will look at Transforming Love and how it changes us. Imagine a young man in his twenties. He is reckless, unkept, and unorganized. He almost lacks purpose in life. He is viewed as a large child because he still loves to play video games, stay up late, and eat a bunch of junk food. Then a young lady enters the picture, and suddenly the young bachelor begins to change. He begins working out, keeping his apartment and car clean, and shaving regularly. He now has a purpose. Everything for this young man is changing. Eventually he marries and becomes a new person. Love transformed this young man.

And love transforms the Christian. In our familiarity with the Bible and its teachings, it is easy to skip over a passage like this and miss the enormity of its truth. We must sit back and allow the immensity of these verses to overwhelm us with the love of God and the transformation that takes place. We are in love with the Triune God, and we are being transformed.

As we will see this morning, our transformation began with our salvation, and it continues to spread all throughout our lives as we grow in holiness, and it is all based in the wonderful love of God.

I. THE UNIMAGINABLE, GRACIOUS LOVE OF GOD-

1 John 3:1a NASB95

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

We begin this morning with the cake, the icing, the side of ice cream, the filet minion steak dinner, the cabin get-away, anything else that could possibly be wonderful applied. Yet, even all of those good things pale in comparison. In fact, in Paul makes the comment that the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed. If that is the case, then how much less are the glories of this life to be compared with the coming life? And imagine how much less that is to be compared with being loved by the infinite, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-holy God, Creator of heaven and earth?

Brothers and sisters, we are loved by a God infinitely beyond our comprehension! And the first thing John commands us to do is to see, to pay attention, to consider this love of God and how great it is!There are three reasons we call this the unimaginable, gracious love of God.

A. WE CALL IT THE UNIMAGINABLE, GRACIOUS LOVE OF GOD BECAUSE OF WHO GOD IS

We will never tire of hearing of God’s love when we consider Who God is. Just in this letter alone we see that God is from the beginning, He is Light and is completely void of darkness (, ). Though not stated directly, in chapter one we see that God is judge. He will judge sin, which is why John encourages us to confess our sins () and reminds us of our Advocate when we do sin ().

When we expand our view of God beyond this letter, we learn that He is holy, that He is righteous, that He is zealous for His name, that He is, as one Statement of Faith summarizes,

The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of himself, infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for his own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.

When we consider the greatness, the immensity, the incomprehensibility of God, we wonder why this Great, Self-sufficient Being would deign to have any emotion to us whatsoever, let alone an endearing love? God, this incommunicable God, loves us. Consider the words of this hymn by Philip Bliss:

I am so glad that our Father in Heav’n Tells of His love in the Book He has giv’n; Wonderful things in the Bible I see, This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.

Refrain: I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me; I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves even me.

If I forget Him and wander away, Still He doth love me wherever I stray; Back to His dear loving arms would I flee, When I remember that Jesus loves me.

Oh, if there’s only one song I can sing, When in His beauty I see the great King, This shall my song through eternity be, “Oh, what a wonder that Jesus loves me!”

Jesus loves me, and I know I love Him; Love brought Him down my poor soul to redeem; Yes, it was love made Him die on the tree; Oh, I am certain that Jesus loves me!

If one should ask of me, how can I tell? Glory to Jesus, I know very well! God’s Holy Spirit with mine doth agree, Constantly witnessing Jesus loves me.

In this assurance I find sweetest rest, Trusting in Jesus, I know I am blest; Satan, dismayed, from my soul now doth flee, When I just tell him that Jesus loves me.

Brothers and sisters, God loves us!

B. WE CALL IT THE UNIMAGINABLE, GRACIOUS LOVE OF GOD BECAUSE OF WHO WE ARE

We note second concerning the unimaginable, gracious love of God because of who we are. The text says, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us,” on us. We learn from this letter that we are sinners, and yet the concept of sinners is often different in our minds than it is in God’s mind. Paul describes our plight in ,

Ephesians 2:1–3 NASB95

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

God is holy; we are sinful. The contrasts between God and ourselves is so significant, so infinite, that I lack the words to communicate it and we all lack the ability to comprehend it. While we could spend much time on who we are, we only need look at our world or consider our own wicked hearts. That God loves us is a glorious and unimaginable grace.

C. WE CALL IT THE UNIMAGINABLE, GRACIOUS LOVE OF GOD BECAUSE OF WHAT GOD DID

What did God do? How did God change us? He made us His children. We are called children of God. Our identities are no longer children of wrath but children of God. Now, there is a lot of which the Scriptures speak on being a child of God. So, let is spend a few moments looking at what it means to be a child of God in the first letter of John.

1. As God’s children, we enjoy fellowship with God the Father and God the Son- 1 John 1:3

We enjoy fellowship, true and intimate friendship, with God the Father and God the Son. In fact, God is our Father and Jesus is our Brother (). Fellowship implies and necessitates an intimacy, of which the author of writes:

Hebrews 4:14–16 NASB95

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Our fellowship involves the privilege of going to the God of heaven through Jesus our High Priest. He is able to sympathize with us, that is, He is able to have compassion on us through understanding. Think with me, for a moment, of Christ’s life on earth. Did He ever experience the horrific effects of disease? Do not the Gospels attest to Jesus’ many healing miracles? Consider this morning.

Matthew 9:35–36 NASB95

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Are you feeling distressed and dispirited this morning? Look to your Shepherd! Look to your Brother who is infinitely aware of the pain and suffering and uncertainty caused by disease. He ever lives to make intercession and provide access to the God who offers grace and mercy during times of need. And oh, brothers and sisters, we should be beating on the doors of heaven begging God to intervene and save people! We should be asking God for grace during these times of uncertainty. And all of this is possible through the unimaginable, gracious love of God.

2. As God’s children, we enjoy forgiveness of sins through our Advocate, God the Son-

In a time like ours today, we give much attention to our own mortality. We consider the fact, the undeniable and daily reminded truth, that we will die. But through our Lord Jesus Christ, our Advocate, we enjoy forgiveness of sins. Those inescapable mistakes and errors, those horrendous deeds of evil, are washed away by the blood of Jesus when we repent and confess our sins! Perhaps your sins weigh heavy on your heart. Would you not confess those sins and repent by the grace of Jesus? Would you not cast those aside and cling to the feet of our Savior? Children of God, we have our sins forgiven!

We are children of God, and John repeats this truth. It is as undeniable as the sky is blue or as grass is almost green. The heavens and earth would sooner disappear than a child of God be a child of anything else. Look at it, John says. Consider it, John commands.

II. THE UNMISTAKABLE IGNORANCE OF THE WORLD-

We notice secondly in our passage the unmistakable ignorance of the world. Because we are children of God, because of our connection to God, the world does not know us because it does not know Him.

Now, when the New Testament letters were penned, they did not have chapter divisions and verse numbers. They were simply letters. And sometimes when we approach the Bible in an organized fashion we miss the connections between chapters and even verses. John has contrasted the world and God through a variety of images and comparisons: light and darkness, righteous and unrighteous, living forever and passing away, Christ and antichrists. And this contrast is continued in chapter three when John describes the world as not knowing us because it does not know Him. John identifies this ignorance on the part of the world as a failure to know God. That is the root cause for those who do not know God, ignorance. It is not that they have simply refused to believe the truth in front of them, they have also believed a lie.

II. THE UNSTOPPABLE, SWEEPING TRANSFORMATION OF BELIEVERS-

1 John 3:2 NASB95

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

John’s second focus is on our change, and in this John gives a glimpse into the future. We will be changed, completely and thoroughly changed to be like Jesus Christ.

You see, Scripture states in that Christlikeness is our ultimate goal.

Romans 8:28–29 NASB95

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

For the Christian, God uses everything, all our joys and sorrows, all our victories and defeats, all of our excitements and mundane, daily lives. All of those, and so many others, are tools in the hands of our Master Craftsman. Yet, John also realizes that there is an absence of understanding how that all looks. We are given impressions in Scripture, but we are still left with much to our imaginations.

But consider that progression of events that John describes. First, Jesus will appear. That is, Jesus is coming back. He will appear, as it is described in , in bodily form. People could handle Him, and their eyes could see Him, and He is coming again.

With this promised coming comes a promised peace. The people of John’s day were facing troubles not unlike ours. Diseases, such as leprosy, existed. Famines could have detrimental effects on the lands. The economic stability of the land was as unstable as the shifting sands of a beach. Added to these situations was the constant fear of persecution. John wrote these letters circa AD 90s. During this time, Christians were facing persecution. You can see a trace of this throughout the book of Acts, but in the 90s the Roman emperor Domitian persecuted Christians and Jewish people alike. You can see this in the book of Revelation. And it is Domitian that actually banished John to the Island of Patmos, from whence he wrote the book of Revelation. In other words, believers at this point were facing uncertain times. But John comforted them with the reminder that Jesus is coming again. But in addition to Jesus’ return, we would experience a change.

John says, we will be like Him. We will be like Jesus. Our natures will be finally, unstoppably, and completely changed to be like Jesus Christ our Savior. What a treasured promise of God!

But there is one more lovely point that we must see before we see how this works out in our lives practical ways. We will see Jesus in His full glory. We will no longer rely in the eyes of faith. We will not walk by faith, we will live by sight. We will be unhindered in our fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus.

III. THE UNQUESTIONABLE, PROGRESSIVE GROWTH OF THE BELIEVER’S LIFE-

1 John 3:3 NASB95

And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

We have considered the unimaginable, gracious love of God that allows us to be the privileged sons and daughters of God, and we saw the unstoppable, sweeping transformation in which our goal of being like Jesus will fully be realized. But, though these lofty thoughts raise our hope and confidence, we are reminded that this transformation is future, it is something that will be. So, what do we do in the meantime?

We purify ourselves. We grow, through the process of sanctification. That is, we daily repent of sins and confess them to God, we renew our minds through God’s Word and by His Holy Spirit, and then we live righteously. We do not have the time this morning, but please look at . It lays out this process of sanctification. You can see the chart I provided in your sermon notes, but this is how we purify ourselves. Our example, as we have already noted, is Jesus Christ. He is pure.

CONCLUSION

So, what do we do now? Where do we go? Considering the times we are facing as individuals, as a church, and as a community, what do we do?

Immerse yourself in the unimaginable, gracious love of God—God loves you!

Rejoice in the unstoppable, sweeping transformation of believers—God will change you!

Engage in the unquestionable, progressive growth of the believer’s life—God is changing you through His Word!