1 JohnEverlasting Mercy Fellowship

1st John 4:13-5:5

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for 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. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he 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: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The World’s Philosophy: Abide until it doesn’t work anymore then rebel.

Biblical Doctrine: Abide – Period!

Commentary on 1st John 4:13-5:5

John simply and boldly writes, God is love. Oftentimes, this gets misinterpreted as "love is God." If love is God, then it is what we live for, what we serve, the ultimate standard of all. Augustine wrote that, prior to his conversion, "I loved not yet, yet I loved to love...I sought what I might love, in love with loving" (Confessions 3.1). Love itself was what was sought, cherished, hoped for. Love is, as the Beatles once said "all you need".

Commentary on 1st John 4:13-5:5

But John does not write "love is God" nor that love is the final and supreme good. He writes, God is love. If we want to know what love is, then we must let God define it. As Frederick Buechner comments, "To say that love is God is romantic idealism. To say that God is love is either the last straw or the ultimate truth". For John, it is indeed the ultimate truth. God is not hate, anger, bitterness or deceit, but love. Love does not define the fullness of God, but God defines the fullness of love.

1st John 4:13-16: God IS the standard of Love

When we say that God is the "standard" for love, we mean that God's actions reveal to us what love is and how it manifests itself. Earlier in the epistle, John taught that God’s love was displayed through the way in which we as Christians love each other (see 1st John 4:7-12). Now he asserts that God's love for us is manifested in His sending of Jesus as the Savior of the world (see 1st John 4:14-16). If we have never seen God, we have been able to see clearly that His Son has been sent for our salvation (see 1st John 4:20.

1st John 4:17-18: God IS the one who encourages us to love

In these next two verses, we see that God makes our love complete and confident. As we have seen, Complete love reaches it’s goal when it’s shown to your brother of sister in Christ. Theologically speaking, Love is Trinitarian in nature. It comes as a gift from God It enables us to love each other And in doing so, it is returned to God who gave it to

us as a gift. HC Dodd said this, “The energy of love

discharges itself along lines which form a triangle, whose points are God, self, and neighbor. Where any one leg of the triangle is missing, love remains incomplete and immature. But where the triangle is whole, love is complete”.

1st John 4:17-18: God IS the one who encourages us to love

As a result, we have confidence on the day of judgment because our love signals to us that we already enjoy fellowship with God. And those who share fellowship with God don’t need to fear judgment. God will not take away from them His salvation or love because they have already been given those through the death of His Son.

1st John 4:17-18: God IS the one who encourages us to love

In these next two verses, we see that God makes our love complete and confident. As we have seen, Complete love reaches it’s goal when it’s shown to your brother of sister in Christ. Theologically speaking, Love is Trinitarian in nature. It comes as a gift from God It enables us to love each other And in doing so, it is returned to God who gave it to

us as a gift. HC Dodd said this, “The energy of love

discharges itself along lines which form a triangle, whose points are God, self, and neighbor. Where any one leg of the triangle is missing, love remains incomplete and immature”. But where the triangle is whole, love is complete.

1st John 4:19-20: God IS source of love

We love because he first loved us (see 1st John 4:19) summarizes the relationship between human and Godly love. Quite simply, God's love for us has empowered us to love both other human beings and God yet God does not give us some power or ability apart from his own presence that motivates us to love. God loves us and it is His love that empowers us to love each other. The gift cannot be separated from the Giver. Because God's love is the source of Christian love, we can't claim to love God while hating other believers (see 1st John 4:20). Loving God is usually easier than loving each other but that is not Joh's point. John's point is that loving God is impossible without loving each other.

1st John 4:19-20: God IS source of love

We love because he first loved us (see 1st John 4:19) summarizes the relationship between human and Godly love. Quite simply, God's love for us has empowered us to love both other human beings and God yet God does not give us some power or ability apart from his own presence that motivates us to love. God loves us and it is His love that empowers us to love each other. The gift cannot be separated from the Giver. Because God's love is the source of Christian love, we can't claim to love God while hating other believers (see 1st John 4:20). Loving God is usually easier than loving each other but that is not Joh's point. John's point is that loving God is impossible without loving each other.

1st John 4:21-5:5: God IS the one who commands us to love

Finally, John tells us that God commands us to love. Whether we are speaking of loving God or loving others, love is God's will for us since God is love. All those who are children of God, who confess Jesus as savior and Lord are to love each other. John 5:1

▪ 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

This verse shows us two things… The importance of placing our faith in Jesus The importance of loving each other

These are not two separate commands. Rather, they are two expressions of what Christians do. Faith and love are the result of God’s work in a person's life. Each is centered in the person of Jesus Christ. We place our faith in Jesus who is the manifestation of God’s love for us.

Next week

January Testimony to the Son (1st John 5:6-12) Closing Exhortations (1st John 5:13-21) Concluding Assurances and Admonitions (1st John

5:18-21) Greetings to the Church (2nd John 1-3) Living in Love (2nd John 4-6)