The Perfection of Love

Intro: A pastor-friend recently asked me what I was preaching through, and I told him 1 John. He followed up: how do you deal with the challenge of putting the series together with it being so very repetitive?

—First, I need the repetition since I’m a slow learner.

For 20 years my wife has been trying to help me by saying: if you just put your keys in the same place you will never loose them.

Last week I had misplaced my keys on Sunday morning.

One our elders said: “You know, if you put your keys back in the same place....”

I’m still learning spiritually and need constant reminders.

I need to be told from God over and over again—make sure love is a priority. Practice it. Strive to be perfected in love.

—Second, to my friends question: the most challenging aspect is not how to put together a sermon series…the challenge for us all is in the doing.

The question then, over and over is: How are we doing in love?

—Is my love where it needs to be?

—Is it the love God is pleased with?

—Is it perfected love?

—And am I resting in the love of Christ?

*Our text helps answer those questions as it examines—probes our hearts and minds:

Is your love from the Spirit that results in abiding in Christ? (13-16)

—Two words demand our attention: Sprit and abiding

The essential indwelling of the Spirit

—The indwelling Spirit is how we experience God’s love

Romans 5:5 ESV

and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

—The Spirit also confirms our status of children:

Romans 8:16 ESV

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

It’s the Spirit who opens our understanding to accept the witness of the apostles (v14)

(14) is gospel truth from eyewitness testimony.

First, it gives a reason for the faith. If someone asks me why I believe—here is a strong reason: I believe the Bible to be true, written by truthful witnesses (John);

*I’ve no reason to doubt them...

Second, we see the basic gospel truth that every Christian confesses: God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world

That phrase matches exactly the testimony of the Samaritans in Jn 4. The woman at the well met Jesus and it turned into a life-changing experience.

John 4:42 ESV

They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Apply: This shows us a couple of things. Just like the woman at the well in Jn 4—a woman who was considered a social outcast, and had a polluted past: believing in Jesus changes everything!

And is he the Savior of all kinds of people... like her!

If there is a model-story the deep love that Jesus has that coupled with the Spirit’s work, its this story from John 4.

It reinforces that truth that “God is love” (v16)

2. The necessity of abiding (15-16)

The word abide is used multiple times that stresses emphasis.

The question is: what is the word mean?

Other translations use

live (NIV); remain (CSB); reside (NET)

Depending on the word, a different picture/metaphor is used.

Jesus stresses the need to abide in him in order to bear fruit in our lives (Jn 15); there the picture is an agricultural one. If we don’t abide in Christ, our lives will be fruitless.

Yet in the overall context of this chapter, the stress in on our relationship with God—a relationship that is marked by mutual indwelling. Residing

Mothers Day--

Across the country today we honor the women who raised us. What makes mom mom is not only did she birth us—or in some beautiful cases adopt.

Mom is also mom because we resided with her.

Or to paraphrase: she put up with us.

A family is meant to stay together—though sadly it does not always turn that way.

Motherhood is also supposed to be a lasting relationship.

It’s an abiding relationship

Apply: It helps to remember once again the context this letter was written. People had said goodbye to the church—and to Jesus (1 Jn 2:19)—it appeared there was no lasting relationship

Same verb for “abide” —a very literal translating: they would have kept abiding with us (1 Jn 2:19)

Sum/Apply: You can’t separate remaining in Christ, his Spirit, and his people.

If you reside/abide in the church—it’s evidence and assurance you continue to abide in the Family—

Back to v13—the root: reminds us this is not our doing; it’s the Spirit

I agree with John Stott “Without the Holy Spirit our minds are dark, and our hearts cold”

Without the Spirit, love is merely a project of self. (marks the difference between the world’s love and the Spirit’s

Without the Spirit, love will not be God’s love

Oh how desperate we are on the Spirit!

We need to Spirit to open our eyes to see the beauty of Jesus and believe

We need the Spirit to warm our hearts to God’s love

Is your love from the Spirit that results in abiding?

Is your love growing you in Christlikeness and confidence? (17-18)

A theme of judgment is now brought into the mix (v17)

The point: What we do with our lives now counts for eternity.

“Right now counts forever” —RC Sproul

The Bible, and especially the NT wants to make sure we are well familiar with the fact that we will all one day stand before God and give an account.

What prepares us for a final day of Judgment? And what proof is there that we will be able to stand?

V17 b gives the answer

(NIV) —In this world we are like Jesus

Q: In what way?

Is it in standing?

Or in conduct?

Like Jesus in communion or conduct?

A few things:

Our relationship to God enables us to become more like Jesus (17)

If you remember back in 3:2—the text said that we will be like Jesus at his return.

So what about now/ What about the interim?

1 John 2:6 ESV

whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Here it’s expected that our conduct matches Jesus’s now—especially in acts of love

2. Our relationship to God is based on love, not fear of judgment (18-19)

First, fear of God is a good thing (Prov 1:7)—its the beginning of knowledge

(1 Pet 2:17; Rev 14:7)

Distinctions of fear have been made since the Reformers

1) Respect (filial fear)—this is the respect that is due authority, parents; even 1 Pt 3:2 (where the word is translated respectful)

2) Dread (servile fear)—fear of someone on death row, fear of a POW in a torture chamber; it’s the dreadful anxiety. It’s the type of fear that comes through extreme intimidation. It’s alarming and freighting

The world for punishment here is found only one other time in the NT

Matthew 25:46 ESV

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Apply: This is clearly the fear of being cast into eternal hell.

But those who have confidence in their relationship with God through Christ don’t need to live in that fear

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume 1 John 4:17–21

Love considers God as most eminently good, and most eminently loving us in Christ, and so puts off dread, and puts on joy in him; and, as love grows, joy grows too; so that perfect love casteth out fear or dread

When a person is truly loved and forgiven by Christ, punishment becomes a foreign word.

Apply: Another way to approach it. Jesus did not go around his eternity life fearing an eternity of judgment. His life was set knowing that he will enjoy God forever, living out Ps 16:11—knowing that eternity means joy and eternal pleasure in his Father’s presence.

Jesus lived in the joy of calling God Abba.

**That’s the joy and assurance we have.

Romans 8:15 ESV

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Apply: *That’s what it means to live in the world like Jesus; resting confidently in the secure love God

3. Our relationship with God is shown by how we love his children (19-21)

If there is one thing that John stresses enough (maybe the repetition my friend was talking about)—is that you cannot disconnect a love for God and love for other Christians.

A real relationship with God will be displayed in love to others.

Apply: When we truly grasp that God loves us in our unworthiness, it should created in us a humility. Who am I?

Only people who humble themselves can begin love.

If the love is not there---then it’s mere hypocrisy (v20)—a lesser to greater argument that exposes a hypocritical heart.

Sum: Is your love growing in Christlikeness? Does it carry the gospel confidence?

Conclusion--

With every sermon & bible teaching, we should ask: What does God want me to know, feel, and do.

One of these responses may speak to you more strongly

— God wants us to know and believe the love he has for us (v16)

—God wants us to feel the freedom from fearing future judgment (v18)

—God wants us to live it out. God wants us to prioritize, and be perfected in love. But above all, it must be practical.

As we close, David Jackman helps us get practical, and check our hearts

I heard the true story of a pastor who was convinced that his church needed to pray more. So he devoted an entire year to preaching on prayer.

After the year was over, he discovered that even with all those message on prayer, his church was not really praying any more.

Repetition and reminders are needed…many of us are slow learners.

But at the end of the day what counts is not just that love is preached on, or pondered…but put into practice:

James 1:22 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.