1 John 4:15-21

15: Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16: We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
17: By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.
18: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
19: We love, because He first loved us.
20: If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
21: And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

*** 

John had just said that he and the others had personally seen the Lord and do testify as to the truth that God the Father sent His Son Jesus to be the Savior of the world. He said whoever confesses this truth--that Jesus is the Son of God--abides in God and God in him. Now, all of us in Christ come to know and believe the love God has for us.

To personally know the love God has for you, and to believe it's true, allows this love to be perfected in you--to mature and bring you to a point of confidence in the day of judgment. Since God is love, the one who abides in love abides in God and God in him. John emphasized this point throughout his letter to make it as clear as possible.

We will have confidence in the day of judgment because as He is, so are we in this world. He has made us righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21) and when we walk in this reality, especially in the love of God, we are like Him. Being like Him, we will not experience the condemning judgment coming on the world. While in the love of God--abiding in Him and He in us--there is no fear. There is no threat of punishment hanging over us. If there is, we have not matured in His love to the point where we look forward to His coming with confidence. Not arrogantly, but humbly, yet without fear of punishment.

We've received His love first, not because we've earned it, but because God is love and loved us first, even while we were in sin. This is why we love--this is how we can love--because He's loved us first. We have His free gift of love planted within us. Let us allow it to grow and mature so we may love others as He has loved us.

John explained that if you say you love God, but hate your brother, you're a liar, because if you can't love your brother whom you can see, you can't love God whom you can't see. Jesus said the pure in heart would see God (Matthew 5:8). When His love fills our heart, it's because we've received it along with His cleansing from sin and our new righteous heart. In this condition, we will see Him. John reminded them of the commandment that the one who loves God should love his brother also, which Jesus said was the greatest commandment of all, (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:36-39).



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Galatians 1:1-10

1: Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), 2: and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4: who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5: to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. 6: I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7: which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9: As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! 10: For am I now see...
Read more

2 Corinthians 7:8-16

8: For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— 9: I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10: For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11: For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. 12: So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you i...
Read more

2 Corinthians 10:1-11

1: Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! 2: I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4: for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5: We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6: and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. 7: You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we. 8: For even if I boast somewh...
Read more