1. Yet we must not try to make ourselves love our Lord, but look to Christs love first, for his love to us will beget in us love to him. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? They are of the world. When we know God, and are of God, we hear what the Bible says. Some think they will go there and judge God (When I see God, theres a few questions I have for Him!), but that is nonsense. You may know you are a sinner now; you will really, You may know now you are not a better person than those who are going to hell; you will really, You may know the reality of hell now; you will really, You may know the greatness of Jesus salvation now; you will really, Boice, James Montgomery "The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary" (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1979), Clarke, Adam "Clarke's Commentary: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments with a Commentary and Critical Notes" Volume 6 (Romans-Revelation) (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1832), Marshall, I. Howard "The Epistles of John" (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1978), Poole, Matthew "A Commentary on the Holy Bible" Volume 3 (Matthew-Revelation) (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1969), Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990). Do you believe it? Love is the proof we are taught to look for. It transforms our life to know the love of God in this way. Confession of faith and love for one's brothers and sisters Continue reading "Commentary on 1 John 4:7-21" Those who are not Christians still can display acts of love. There was nothing better God the Father could give to lost humanity than the gift of the Son of God Himself. We come to love those better whom we love by knowing them better If you want to love Christ more, think more of him, think more of what you have received from him. (Spurgeon), e. He first loved us: This means that it is true that He loves us now. Links 1 John 4:20 Interlinear 1 John 4:20 Parallel Texts i. We have many spiritual enemies, but not one of them is greater than Jesus who lives in us. 1. (1 John 4:20-21) The commandment to love. 4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. If this were a mere individual talking, the claim would be presumptuous. Every human relationship is like a triangle. (1 John 4:19) The reason for our love to Jesus. ii. 1 John 4. We trust in the principle that God will never contradict Himself, and we know what He has already said in His Word. The day of judgment is as fixed in Gods eternal timetable as any other day in world history. (Boice). (1 John 4:9-11) The meaning of love and its application. c. That we might live through Him: The love of the Father was not only in the sending of the Son, but also in what that sending accomplishes for us. Ah, it's a shame the closing song changes after a few episodes of a K-drama; the first one is so fun and pumping to match the atmosphere of the show's strong female characters. i. a. Beloved, let us love: The ancient Greek sentence begins in a striking way agapetoi agapomen, "those who are loved, let us love." ( 1 John 4:7-8) The call to love. To believe in Christ and to love the brethren are not conditions by which we may dwell in God but rather are evidences of the fact that God has already taken possession of our lives to make this possible. (Boice). e. Everyone who loves is born of God He who does not love does not know God: This does not mean that every display of love in the world can only come from a Christian. 4. Oh, but I am the offended party. So was God, and he went straight away and sought reconciliation. Today, we are passionate about saying, Jesus is God, and we should be. John knew that we would never find in ourselves the faithfulness God requires. This job is to be done using the gifts of discernment God has given to Christians in general, especially the leadership of a congregation. Today a person might confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh yet deny that He is God as the Bible teaches He is God. Though love springs forth from our abiding relationship with God and comes from our being born of Him, there is also an essential aspect of our will involved. Would you prayerfully consider a gift of support today? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. i. Propitiation has the idea of a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God. But of God the Father, it can truly be said, no one has seen God at any time. He was touching upon matters of the most vital importance, and her depraved heart naturally shrunk from the lancet, From the truth which was becoming inconveniently personal she flew to that natural resort of the carnal mind, namely, to religions discourse upon points of outward observance. And just as certainly, God the Son, Jesus Christ, has been seen John himself testified to this in 1 John 1:1-3. b. iii. All prophecy is to be judged by Scriptural standards. If someone says, I love God: It is often easier for someone to proclaim his love for God, because that regards a private relationship with an invisible God. Now remember, we never make ourselves love Christ more by flogging ourselves for not loving him more. Now remember, we never make ourselves love Christ more by flogging ourselves for not loving him more. i. John comes back to the familiar idea: if we really walk in Gods love towards us, it will be evident in our love for one another. 1 John 4 He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. He purposed that all who believed on Christ would be endowed with strength from above. d. We love Him because He first loved us: This verse tells us why we love Jesus, and how we can love Him more. i. The Old Testament The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. a. As Paul puts it in Roman 8:16: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Everything God does, in one way or another, expresses His love. This special term means Jesus has a Sonship that is unique (only) and begotten indicates that Jesus and the Father are of the same substance, the same essential Being. (1 John 4:16) The Christians response to God and His love. Love has been perfected: For perfected, John doesnt just use the Greek word teleioo (which has the idea of maturity and completeness); he writes teleioo teleioo speaking of love that is perfectly perfected or completely complete.. Because of this, the excuse I just cant love that person (or other such excuses) is invalid. You may know something without being in agreement with it; God demands our true agreement. We use the term create to describe something that may come from someone, but isnt of the same essential nature or being. In the first three verses of chapter 4, we discover that Jesus is gaining more and more disciples, more disciples than John the Baptist (cf. Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year. Pauline Epistles Many Gnostic-influenced teachers said that Jesus, being God, could not have actually become a flesh and blood human being, because God could have no partnership with impure material stuff. God gave His Son to die, and to die for sinners. Pentateuch These are those that acknowledge Jesus Christ's real incarnation. b. John has been speaking of boldness, and that naturally suggests its opposite--fear. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. Some people think the greatest evidence of Gods presence or work is popularity. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. i. i. Weak relationships are made strong when both people draw close to the Lord! This pattern of receiving from God, then giving to others was familiar to John (John 13:14). Historical Books i. i. Jesus loved you when you lived carelessly, when you neglected his Word, when the knee was unbent in prayer. f. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love: If our relationship with God is marked by this tormenting fear, it shows that we have not been made perfect that is, complete, and mature in His love. Pauline Epistles I have sometimes noticed that, in addressing Sunday-school children, it is not uncommon to tell them that the way to be saved is to love Jesus, which is not true. (Read John 4:1-3) Jesus applied himself more to preaching, which was the more excellent, 1 Corinthians 1:17, than to baptism. I cannot imagine a true man saying, I love Christ, but I do not want others to know that I love him, lest they should laugh at me. That is a reason to be laughed at, or rather, to be wept over. Even though the early church had a strong life and a large measure of purity, John still knew the danger false prophets and their message was real in the early church. b. I stand here to preach illimitable love, unbounded grace, to the vilest of the vile, to those who have nothing in them that can deserve consideration from God, men who ought to be swept into the bottomless pit at once if justice meted out to them their deserts. (Spurgeon). At the end of "Rabbit Hole" Episode 5, Ben explains to John that he kept the facts hidden from him because John did not trust him. Commentary on 1 John 4:7-13. John states (1:1) that he is writing "concerning the Word of Life," and then adds (1:2), "and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us." In verse 1, the emphasis is on the humanity of Jesus Christ as He came in the flesh. If we are born of Him and are abiding in Him then the resources for love are there. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. If anyone is afraid of judgment they only need to ask themselves if they love God . i. i. 12. You cant truly grow in your experience of God without also growing love for one another. c. And this commandment we have from Him: We have a commandment to love. This is one of the apostles citing the collective testimony of all the apostles and making that testimony the measure of truth and sound doctrine. (Boice). Just so, God puts His love into our lives that it might flow out. John Piper Jun 2, 1985. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . Jesus declared of God the Father, God is Spirit, (John 4:24) meaning that God the Father has no tangible body which may be seen. He that is first in love, loves freely; the other therefore loves under obligation. (Poole), iii. a. It is a positive statement, not a wishful hope. The two people in the relationship are at the base of the triangle, and God is at the top. d. Is now already in the world: Though it will have its ultimate consummation in an end-times political and economic ruler, the essence of this antichrist spirit is present with us today. Today, some groups deny that Jesus is really God (such as the Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons, and Muslims). Christians are not just forgiven they are born anew by Gods Spirit. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. It is never to be received just because it is dramatic or given by a certain person. The New Testament But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. And the world hears them: Those who are of the world are also evident because the world hears them. Do we live through Him? Did Valence Betray John? It comes from Him. It is the spirit which both opposes the true Jesus and offers a substitute Jesus. 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