Experiencing God's Love

Introduction

Last week, we at verses 15-17. John tells us that we are not to adopt the philosophies of our culture as our own. In verse 15 we read,

1 John 2:15 NIV84

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

John goes on to give us the reason we are not to adopt the culture’s philosophies. Because the world and its desires, they are passing away. Look at verse 17.

1 John 2:17 NIV84

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

False Teachers—or Antichrist

In our passage today, John continues this thought. John tells us that the antichrist—the antithesis of Jesus.

1 John 2:18–19 NIV84

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

Keep in mind that this is the same John that will write the book of Revelation. He taught us that the antichrist will be the biggest of all false teachers!

John says that even now there are false teachers. He says that many of these false teachers were part of the church, but ended up leaving because they were not a part of the body of Jesus. But that is not how we are! Look at verse 20.

1 John 2:20–23 NIV84

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

QUESTION: Do you deny the Son of God? Do you deny Jesus?

You know, there are many ways of denying Jesus. Maybe a better question would be:

QUESTION: How do you deny Jesus?

1 John 2:24–25 NIV84

See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.

Don’t Be Led Astray

I love this verse! We need to make sure that what we have heard remains in us! The reason John tells us this is because there will always be people who will seek to lead us astray. Look at verse 26.

1 John 2:26–27 NIV84

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

Always remember, you have the anointing of the Holy Spirit in you! Because He lives in you, He teaches us about all things. The key for us is that we need to stay connected to the Spirit. John goes on to tell us that we need to continue in Jesus so that when Jesus appears we will be unashamed!

1 John 2:28–29 NIV84

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

Unashamed!

Doing what is right, demonstrates our connection to Jesus!

When we come to chapter 3 we have our memory verse for this week. This is one of those verses that helps us take a reality check!

How Great Is the Father’s Love

1 John 3:1–2 NIV84

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

God’s love for us is absolutely amazing. John reminds us that the Father has lavished His love on us. God’s love is so marvelous—He lavishes it on us, and He proves it by calling us His children! Here’s the real kicker! We are His children! Notice the second part of the verse, “And that is what we are!”

QUESTION: What does it mean to you to be a child of God?

Competing Cultures

If you know Jesus, then you are a child of the king! A child or the creator of the universe! And if we are part of the family of God, while those who don’t know Jesus are part of the family of the “world” and that means that the word does not know or understand us because the world does not know the creator!

Don’t pass over that too quickly! The world around us—the culture we live in—does not know the one true God. So why are we surprised when the culture of the day doesn’t like us, or doesn’t get along with us? We should not expect the culture around us to agree with us, understand us, or live like us.

We Will Be Like Jesus

Most of us know that we are not what God wants us to be, but isn’t the second part of verse 2 wonderful? “But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Evidence of Hope

John concludes this part by saying,

1 John 3:3 NIV84

Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

Because we have this hope in Jesus we should be motivated to live pure lives just like Jesus is pure!

A Change In Our Lives

1 John 3:4–6 NIV84

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Sin is lawlessness

Jesus paid the penalty for our sin!

To live in Christ means we need to stop sinning!

1 John 3:7–10 NIV84

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

This passage reminds us that there are two sides! There is God’s side, and Satan’s side. So we are either for God or against God—we cannot walk the fence. Notice the second part of verse 8, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” That means we cannot go on living—embracing sin.

John gives us the final litheness test in verse 10,

1 John 3:10 NIV84

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Love One Another!

John ends verse 10 focused on loving our brothers and sisters in the Lord. When we come to verse 11 (and following) he continues this thought.

1 John 3:11–15 NIV84

This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

This is one of the tough passages in God’s Word. John says, hate is equivalent to murder. At the same time he repeats the previous passage about us not being surprised when the world hates us.

Example of Love

1 John 3:16–20 NIV84

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Jesus example of love

We need to lay down our lives like He laid down His life for us. Jesus told his disciples that this is indeed the greatest example of love.

John 15:13–14 NIV84

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

Caring for the needs of others

Verse 17

1 John 3:17 NIV84

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

That’s way our love has to go deeper than just talking about it! That’s just what verse 18 says.

1 John 3:18 NIV84

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Talking about love must be followed up by action!

Finally we need to rest! Look at verse 19.

1 John 3:19–20 NIV84

This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Rest in His presence

With so many distractions in the world today, it is difficult for people to rest! John reminds us that we need to rest in the presence of the Lord! One reason we rest is so we can get in touch with our hearts.

Hearts condemn—but God!

There are times when our hearts quietly condemn us. Our hearts tell us when we are out of sync with God. When we are resting in God’s presence God can help us see areas in our lives in which we are out of sync. When this happens we need to remember verse 20.

God is greater

1 John 3:20–22 NIV84

whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

When sin is revealed in our hearts, “our hearts condemn us. . .” it is God that steps in and reveals to our hearts the sin we are either ignoring or of which we are unaware.

But God is bigger than our sin, and God can forgive us of our sin!

While God forgives sin, His real desire is for our obedience. John gives us two of Christ’s commands in verses 23 and 24.

1 John 3:23–24 NIV84

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

His command!

To believe in Jesus’ name.

To love one another.

Being “in Christ”

What does it mean to be “in Christ?” It means obeying His commands. While it is important that we live in Christ, but it is more important that He lives in us!

All of this is proved by the Spirit of God living in us!

So What?

There are a number of things that we learn from this passage—this long, long passage!

We learn that there are many “antichrists” out there that are teaching a false gospel!

God wants us to be guarded against being led astray!

God wants us to be confident and unashamed.

This morning God wants us to reflect on the great love that he has lavished—poured out on us!

God tells us that the world (culture) is against God!

Nevertheless, God desires our obedience.

The command: Love one another.

Care for the needs of one another.