“True Love” (Part 1)
(1 John 4:7 – 5:4)
Series: A Word for the Church [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
October 17, 2021
The Passage
1 John 4:7 – 5:4
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 In this, love is made complete 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; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.
5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of him. 2 This is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands. 3 For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden, 4 because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.
Introductory Comments:
Here we are; we are discussing love again. I told you that we would come back to this! There are few things greater to talk about than love!
John returns to this theme of love again and it is very similar to the same discussion he had in the second half of chapter 3.
We have to ask ourselves, why does John decide to repeat the theme of love? Well, it must be pretty important, right?
If John took the time to repeat this, it’s because he really wants us to know and understand it. So, let’s pay attention!
Before we dive in, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us.
(prayer)
In this passage today we learn about true love. Not the kind of love that we read about in literature, see in the movies, experience in high school romances, or sing about in country music songs. We’re talking about real love!
So, from today’s passage, we will see four aspects of true love. By the way, we’re not going to finish the sermon today. As I was preparing this sermon, it became abundantly evident that I was going to need to divide this into two sermons, so that’s what I did. So, today’s sermon is True Love (Part 1). [on screen]
First, . . .
I. True love from God (4:7-11) [on screen]
These verses are the heart and foundation of everything else we will learn in today’s sermon. So, pay attention, okay?
Let’s look at verses 7-11:
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.
Ok, in just these five verses, we’re going to see two powerful statements and then two powerful explanations.
First, catch this powerful statement from verse 7: “let us love one another, because love is from God.”
John gives us a direct command and a wonderful reason to obey that command: we should love because love is from God!
If something is from God, is given to us, and is commanded for us, we should want it, we should do it, we should live it, and it should be part of our lives!
Plain and simple, love is godly and is from God so we should want it for ourselves: we should love!
Second, catch this powerful statement from verse 8: “The one who does not love does not know God.”
John makes it clear that it’s not just that loving others is a good idea. John says that if we do not love, then we do not know God.
This is not one of those situations where this is just something we should do because it’s good for us. This is not like eating your vegetables. You’re not necessarily a bad person if you don’t eat your vegetables. This is not like being someone who is wise when it comes to saving money. You’re not necessarily a bad person if you’re not a wise saver. This is much more serious! John basically says that if you don’t love, you are not a Christian.
Love is so intricately connected to God that if we reject love, then we are rejecting God.
John wants to make sure that we understand the serious nature of this truth.
Then, catch this powerful explanation in verse 9: “God’s love was revealed among us in this way.”
John points out that God showed us this ultimate love in something that happened. John says, “ . . . in this way.”
It was this way; he says in verse 10, “God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.”
God sent Jesus to the world to change the world through the changing of lives!
God loved so we would have life!
Remember, John said in John 3:16, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” [on screen]
Jesus said elsewhere in John 10:10, “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” [on screen]
Listen, church: God demonstrated life-giving love through the sacrifice of Jesus, that life-giving love is shown to us and made available to us, so we can now show life-giving love to others! John says that we may now live through Jesus by loving others.
So, how are you living? How are you loving?
Finally, catch this powerful explanation in verse 10: “Love consists in this . . .”
John says that this is true love: “Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
God showed us the ultimate love! How could we not also be people of love?
John concludes this section with this beautiful summary in verse 11: “Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.”
So, let us love others because we are so greatly loved by God.
Let us be people of true love because we belong to a God of true love.
We’ve experienced true love from God.
Next, we see . . .
II. True love throughus (4:12-19)[on screen]
God’s true love is demonstrated to us and then it is distributed through us. Listen to what John says in verses 12-19:
12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 In this, love is made complete 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; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
Church, God’s supernatural love is supernaturally channeled through us and shown to others! It’s an absolute miracle! God in us and through us!
Listen to all that John says in these verses concerning this:
“God remains in us . . .” [on screen in list form]
“ . . . his love is made complete in us . . .” [on screen in list form]
“ . . . we remain in him and he in us . . .” [on screen in list form]
“ . . . we testify . . .” [on screen in list form]
“ . . . God remains in him and he in God . . .” [on screen in list form]
“ . . . God remains in him . . .” [on screen in list form]
“We love because he first loved us.” [on screen in list form]
John is making sure that we understand that when we have experienced God’s powerful love, His love will then be in us.
Getting back to what John said in verse 12. John says, “No one has ever seen God.” Why would John say that? Well, he says later in verse 12, “If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.”
You see, church: we can’t literally see God, but we surely can see God in the lives of each other. God is in us and God can be seen in us when we do this: when we love!
If God lives (and He does) and if He loves (and He does), may He live in you powerfully and may you love others powerfully, and when you do, may they see God in you.
John also mentions again what he said in chapter 3 regarding confirmation and assurance that we are truly in God. John says not only can we know that we are God’s because we love with the love of God, but we also know we are God’s because He has given us His Holy Spirit to remind us and assure us that we are His.
So, again, church, as we learned earlier in 1 John: when we obey God’s ways, it confirms that we belong to God, AND God gives us the assurance of His Holy Spirit to remind us that we belong to Him.
John then reminds us in verse 14 that the apostles of Jesus saw Jesus and they saw His work on the cross. They testify or proclaim the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others.
John says, “And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior.”
This story of Jesus is real and it should affect our lives. John wants to make sure that we know that. The message of Jesus matters.
Well, what is the message of the Gospel of Jesus? Look at verses 15-16, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.”
This message is the message that the apostles received; this is the message that the apostles delivered to us; this is the message that changes us; and this is the message through which God shows love to the world, through us!
John continues in verse 17, “In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment.”
John says, “In this . . .” Well, in what? In the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! In that message, love is made complete.
Love is made so complete that we need not fear judgment of our sins because we have experienced full forgiveness of our sins because of the work of Jesus on the cross!
Listen, church: there will one day be a day of judgment for every person who has ever lived. We will all be judged for our sins. John is saying that those in Jesus need not fear because, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God.”
John continues in verse 18, “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love.”
We don’t need to fear at all because the love of God drives out fear! The freedom found in God’s love is more powerful than the fear of judgment. Jesus paid the judgment so we have no need to fear! We only have need to love!
John then offers this summary statement once again (I love how John does this). Look at verse 19, “We love because he first loved us.”
John wants to make sure that we understand this, so he says it again. If John were here, he might say, “repeat this back to me.”
John says we love because He first loved us. Church, let us love because He first loved us. Let us be people of love.
True love is seen through us.
We’ll continue more next week. For now, let’s bring part 1 of this message to a close.
Concluding Thoughts:
In 1965, Jackie De Shannon recorded the song “What the World Needs Now is Love.” The first few lines say this:
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No not just for some, but for everyone. [on screen]
Indeed, the world does need more love. However, it doesn’t need the love of the world, it needs the love of God.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: True Christians truly love. [on screen]
(repeat)
If you’ve been changed by God, if you believe in Christ and you have been born of God, you will follow God’s commands and you will truly be a person of love.
Are you a true Christian? Do you truly love?
Challenge yourself this week in these ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Memorize 1 John 4:7-8. [on screen]
These are two practical verses that are full of truth and that are helpful to us to live our daily lives as followers of Jesus.
Take some time this week and memorize these two verses. If you do, I’d love to hear you repeat back the Word of God.
2. Demonstrate true love. [on screen]
Take an opportunity to demonstrate true love this week. Perhaps you can commit to compliment every clerk or employee whom you encounter this week. Perhaps you can commit to pick-up dinner for your neighbor who is always shut-in alone. Perhaps you can commit to offer to pray for someone who is normally cranky with you. Perhaps you can commit to show generosity to someone.
Demonstrate true love this week.
Closing:
John said in 1 John 5:1, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” [on screen]
Well, have you been born of God? Do you know Him? Do you walk in His ways?
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
