God's Love and Ours

 What's the difference between our love & God's love? We see our love in Joe's story. Joe fell in "love" with diva at the opera, Sophie. He'd only seen her through binoculars. But he was convinced he could live "happily ever after" with that voice. He didn't notice that she was much older than he was. Nor did notice her limp. He thought, "That soprano voice will carry us through whatever comes." After a whirlwind romance & a hurried ceremony, they went on their honeymoon. On their wedding night, she began preparing. She plucked out her glass eye & plopped it into a container on the nightstand. She pulled off her wig, ripped off false eyelashes, took out false teeth, unstrapped her false leg, & smiled as she took off her glasses & hearing aid. Joe was stunned. Finally, he gasped, "Sing, Sophie, SING!" All too often, human love is about what others do for us. God's love is different. What is God's love? The apostle John is the love doctor. Our verses in his letter help us see how God's love differs from ours. The starting point? What kind of love is God's love? Every verb & noun in our verses is a form of agape. Let's look at 1 John 4:7-21. 7aBeloved, let's love one another, for love comes from God. Love starts with God. Unless we're loved, we don't know how. 7bEveryone who loves has been born of God & knows God. It's fruit of His Spirit. (Love, joy, peace...) Love comes with Christ when we receive Him. 8aWhoever doesn't love doesn't know God, because God is love. Love comes with the Spirit. We aren't Christian without love. What does God's love look like? 9...He sent his one & only Son into the world that we might live through him. He sacrificed His only beloved Son so we could live with Him forever. He washed the feet of all His disciples. Even the one who betrayed Him. God loved us while we were still His enemies. God's love is costly. Without limit. Unconditional. And sacrificial. That's what God's love looks like. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us & sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He loved us so much He sent His Son knowing what it'd cost Him. He watched His Son take off glory, take on our flesh, endure poverty, torture, become sin on the cross, suffer, & endure abandonment by His beloved Father. For us. That's love. What does He command us? Love God the way He loves us. Without limit. With whole hearts. And, like Him, 11beloved, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. If He's in us, so is His love. And His love will always spill over onto others. It can't be contained. What does God's love look like? 12aNo one has ever seen God. But we can see His love. 12bIf we love one another, God lives in us & his love is made complete in us. Others will see His love. Through us, they'll experience His love. As we love others, they'll see God. In us. Sounds hard. Is it? 13aWe know that we live in him & he in us. How? 13bHe's given us of his Spirit. God includes us in the eternal social Trinity! No other created being is a fit vessel for His Spirit. Not plants. Not animals. Not even angels. Only humanity. 14And we've seen & testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. John saw it all. 1st hand. He told the story in His gospel. How can we be saved & gain His Spirit? 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him & he in God. Even a 4yo can be saved & gain the Spirit. All due to God's love. 16aAnd so we know & rely on God's unchanging love for us. It's real. Experiencing God's love, we see God. 16bGod is love. Love isn't God. When love becomes god, it's demonic. But God's nature is love. To know what love looks like, just look at God. 16cWhoever lives in love lives in God, & God in him. It's 1st in the fruit of His Spirit. As we live in Him & He in us, more & more 17a...love is made complete among us. He does it in us as we abide in Him. Why? 17bSo we'll have confidence on judgment day, because in this world we're like him. The more loving we are, the surer we are that He's in us. And the less we have to fear on judgment day. The result? 18aThere's no fear in love. His 18bPerfect love drives out fear. Now & future. How so? 18cFear has to do with punishment. For Christians, the judge is our Savior! We never need to fear! If He's for us, who can be against us? And if we still fear? 18dThe one who fears isn't made perfect in love. Fear means we have more growing to do. Even so, we won't finish growing till we meet Him face to face. It's a process. Till then, we can run to Jesus whenever fear tempts us. In Him, we're surrounded & sheltered by love. We need not fear. 19We love because he 1st loved us. Because He loves & pursued us, we have His Spirit. If His Spirit is in us, He WILL produce the Spirit's fruit: love above all. Therefore, 20aIf anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he's a liar. Really? Yep. Only His Spirit enables agape love. 20bAnyone who doesn't love his brother, whom he's seen, can't love God, whom he hasn't seen. Without God's Spirit, our love can't be agape. If we claim agape love for God but don't have His Spirit, it can't be. Nor can we love others. 21And he's given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. If His Spirit is in us, He'll do it. That's why His yoke is easy & His burden is light. He'll love in us, where we can't on our own. What is God's love really like? Extravagant. He gave His only Son for each of us. His love is unconditional. A mom overheard son Billy warning bro Jimmy, "If you're bad, mom won't love you." Jimmy saw Mom. "You really won't love us if we're bad?" Mom said, "I will love you when you're bad. It'll be different. When you're good, my love makes me glad. When you're bad, my love hurts. God's Love & Ours - 1 John 4:7-21 Page 1 of 1