1 John 4:7-11 Love one another (2)

Introduction

I have recently been reading a book about God’s attributes written by A W Tozer and the opening line of the book is striking It says “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

The point he is making is what we believe about God affects everything in our lives. A wrong view of God will result in wrong behaviour a correct view of God will cause us to live rightly.

This also seems to be truth John understands as he writes this letter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In Chapter 4 verses 7-11 he calles the church to love one another and then he provides reasons why they should do so and every reason is grounded in God’s nature and works.

The passage begins with a call to love which then follows a case for doing so built upon God’s Character and nature. Then John switches tact and builds a case upon God’s acts of love which concludes with another call to love one another.

Today I think there is a great need for this message to be heard by the church. We face the danger of division and disunity at this time probably more than any time in recent history.

With all of the different opinions about the current restrictions we are facing it is easy for churches to be battlegrounds, where the war is not fought over the Gospel but over face masks, singing, hand sanitiser and whether the church will gather in person or via zoom.

I have heard of churches that are divided over these issues and even one that has split because of them. The question that faces the church is how can these differences be overcome and unity be maintained in the midst of them?

The answer is by loving one another. This is the main thrust of the passage before us this morning. We are going to look at this passage in two parts. As I mentioned a moment again first we have the call to love on another based on God’s nature- God is love and Secondly, we have the call to love one another based on God’s saving work- God has loved us.

Our first point then- God is love.

I. God is love v.7-8

a) love one another v.7a

John begins this section with a term of endearment. He calls them beloved. Which shows he is earnest in what he says next but also gentle and compassionate. He addresses them as fellow believers and people whom he loves.

He says beloved let us love one another.

The language sounds like John is making a suggestion as opposed to a command but that is due to our English translation. John is not merely suggesting this. He is calling the church to do it.

They are to love one another.

They are to be merciful. Many believe that John is writing this letter to combat the error of the false teachers, not only did he combat their error but also their immoral behaviour.

Many believe these false teachers were envious, harsh and unloving. John tells believers this is not what they are called to be, but rather they are to love one another.

They are to be long suffering with each other, patient, gentle, kind. Not envious, not bitter.

It can also be said the Christians were not called to merely put up with one another, or simply to tolerate each other. Rather they were to love, the verb is active, it was something they were to do.

After John calls the Christians to love each other he then builds a case for why they must do so.

b)Love is of God v.7b

First John says “for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Here John makes a statement about God and then explains what this means for Christians.

He says For love is of God.

This means that God is the source of our love. God himself is the origin of love, all true love finds its source in him. With out God we cannot love. With out his grace we cannot love him and we cannot love each other as we ought. Love is of God.

The result of this follows “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Love is of God for this reason a characteristic of those who are Christians is that they are loving.

Those who are born of God are those who have been made alive spiritually by the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. They have be regenerated, made new creations in Christ. These same people have been brought into a relationship with God. They know him and are known by him.

What is the one point John makes about these people here? They love… they love.

c)God is love v.8

After John has stated the point positively he goes one to reinforce his point by restating it negatively and presenting the reader with an even more profound truth about God.

In v.8 he says “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

If the one who loves knows God. Then John says the one who does not love does not know God.

John has already made similar statements in his letter. He said earlier He who hates his brother walks in darkness.

John is clear here. If you do not love you are not a Christian.

If a person says he knows God but does not love people, you can be sure that person does not know God. This is the force of John’s words here.

Why is this so? John says “For God is love.”

God is love. John does not merely say God is loving, with a participle or a verb which would suggest this is just something God does. Rather John uses a noun and says God is love. The way John states this truth shows us that love is at the very essence of who God is.

John’s point is this, if you are born of God, you too would have this characteristic. You can often recognise someones child by certain characteristics which they share with their parents. John is saying it is the same with Christians and God.

Why should the Christians love one another? Firstly because love is of God, God is the source of all true love. Secondly, God is love. It is part of who he is. For these reasons Christians who know God and have been born again by his Spirit, should also love one another.

Application-

As I said at the start, With all of the current restrictions we face and all of the differing opinions and interpretations concerning them it is very easy for the church to become divided.

How can these difficulties be overcome and the unity of the church be maintained? John gives the answer. Beloved, let us love one another.

This is what we are called to do. If we do this then there will be unity, yes we may disagree but... love is kind, love is patient, love is slow to anger, gentle, peaceable. Love prevents division and church splits over issues which are secondary and minor when compared to the Gospel.

Maybe you have disagreed recently with fellow Christians, have you done so in a way that is loving? Is your love for your fellow Christians greater than your disagreement?

We must love each other because as John says Love finds its source in God and if we claim to be his children then we should have this characteristic, God himself is love. It is the very essence of who he is, his character, what he is like. Therefore we too should be displaying this attribute in our lives and in our interactions with one another.

John has made his first argument for why Christians should love one another. God is love.

The second argument for doing so is God has loved us.

II. God has loved us v.9-11

In verses 9-11 John reminds Christians of how God has demonstrated this love towards them. He does this in order to make his point that they should do likewise.

a) God sent his Son v.9

V.9 says “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.”

Here John states that God has shown us his love by sending Jesus so that we might live.

When you take a moment to look at the language John uses it becomes clear he is trying to stress the magnitude of God’s act of love.

God’s love is shown to us John says in that he sent his only begotten Son in to the world.

Two points are worth noting here. First John is careful to remind the readers that Jesus was not just one son among many, he wasn’t a created being like the angels. Rather he was God’s only begotten Son. The word which is translated as only begotten, could also be translated his only unique son. The point John is making is firstly that Jesus is the only Son of God and also he is of the same essence as the Father, meaning he himself is God. When this truth is grasped it should cause the reader to sit in awe that God would send someone of infinite value to redeem sinful people like us.

The second point that John highlights is that God’s only begotten Son was sent into the world. He left heaven and came to this fallen world we live in. We could liken it to a child of our own living in the UK, and us sending him to the war zones of the middle east. This would be unthinkable for us, would we do that for anyone? I’d say definitely not.

However God has done far more than this for us.

John finishes this sentence by telling believers why God did this.

So that we might live through him. God sent his only begotten Son to a place of death in order to eventually experience death so that we who deserve to die might have life. This is the full force of what John is saying here.

The words of the hymn come to mind

“What kind of love is this That gave itself for me I am the guilty one Yet I go free What kind of love is this A love I’ve never known I didn't even know His name What kind of love is this”

This leads us on to the second point that John makes about how God has shown his love. It is very similar to the first but adds greater emphasis on the greatness of what God has done.

b) Jesus is our propitiation v.10

In v.10 John says “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.”

Here John puts more emphasis on the fact that Christians are undeserving of God’s love for them.

He does this in two ways. Firstly, he says that God’s love is shown not because we loved him but because he loved us.

Here we have a parallel to what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:8

The point John is making is God decided to love us not because we were lovely, or even lovable but because of his loving nature. He loved us not because of who we are but because of who he is. God is love, he loved us even when we did not love him.

The second point John makes is how this undeserving love was manifested. God Sent his only Son to be a propitiation for our sins.

Jesus God’s unique Son, the second person of the Trinity was sent, not just to teach, not just to show the way and live an exemplary life. Not just to heal the sick and raise the dead. But to be a propitiation for our sins.

The word propitiation means a sacrifice that appeases God’s wrath. God is angry at our sin, he is offended by it, his justice demands it to be punished, yet his love provides his only Son to bear that punishment in our place.

It’s difficult to try and illustrate such love, it is hard to find something to compare it with. You can look through the history of the world with a fine tooth comb and never find an example of love such as this.

How marvellous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be, how marvellous how wonderful is my Saviours love for me.

After providing examples of God’s love being demonstrated to mankind, John finishes a point of application for the church.

c) we must love one another v.11

In v.11 he says “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Again John begins his call to love with a term of endearment. Showing he is earnest and also gentle in his message.

He makes a simple deduction from the two examples he has just presented. He says If God has loved us in this way, If God has shown such love to us then surely we also ought to love each other.

John is saying if God sent his only Son to shed his blood for our sin surely we can love those who have likewise been purchased by his blood.

Application-

The point has been driven home by John, there is no place to run. The only proper response of the Christian to God’s love is to love God and to love each other.

I wonder have we felt the full force of John’s arguments in this passage, has his call to love each other been shot like an arrow to our hearts. If it has then how can we not love each other. What excuse could we possibly have? And if we do love each other then how can we argue and divide over covid restrictions?

Yes we may disagree with one another but that does not mean we need to argue and be divisive, as that is not how love responds.

Love is self sacrificing. Love is ok with not having its own way. Love is gentle and kind. Love forgives. Love thinks the best of people.

Conclusion

John book ends this passage with two calls for Christians to love one another and with in those book ends he develops two arguments as to why they should do so.

First, because God is love, and all those who are born of him should love each other. Second, because God has loved us, he sent his Son to save us from our sin, how then can we not love each other.

If the Apostle John was here in the 21st century. If he was preaching to us via zoom, what do we think his message would be? I think we could be fairly confident it would begin and end with the words. Beloved, love one another.

It is recorded in history that when he was an old man this was what he would say when he was asked for a sermon. The need for the church to love each other was great then and the need is still great today.

How can we overcome division and disunity in our day?

John tells us in this passage. God is love, God has loved us, Therefore beloved, love one another.