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1 JOHN 4:7-21

GOD IS LOVE

1 John 4:7-21 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

1 JOHN 4

 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 

1 JOHN 4

 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 JOHN 4

What is the main theme of the passage (1 John 4:7-21)?

It is LOVE:

27 times in 15 verses

33 times in the book 1

Who was the author?

The apostle John, the son of Zebedee and the brother of James. Both brothers belonged to the Twelve and, with Peter, were also part of the inner circle of three closest disciples. But John was Jesus’ closest friend and known as “the disciple Jesus loved” (John 21:20-24).

1 Life - 15 times, light - 6 times, fellowship - 4 times

EVIDENCED BY ACTION

Jesus nicknamed James and John the “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:16-17).

Greg Laurie writes:

You don’t get a nickname like Sons of Thunder for no reason… But that is how Jesus’ disciples, James and John, were known. They were rough-hewn guys—amazing, colourful characters. They would not back away from a confrontation. In fact, they might even have looked forward to one. They could be very aggressive. And they also could be very insensitive. 1

1 jesus.org/ life-of-jesus/ disciples/ transforming-the-sons-of-thunder.html

THE SONS OF THUNDER

It was James and John who suggested that Jesus destroy a Samaritan village that wouldn’t grant him passage through it (Luke 9 NASB).

You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.

Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?

THE APOSTLE OF LOVE

The brothers sought preferential treatment over the rest of the Twelve, prompting the other ten to indignation (Matt 20:20-26).

… to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.

Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.

THE APOSTLE OF LOVE

John initially also felt (like many today) that only his exclusive group had access to God’s truth (Luke 9:49-50).

Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.

Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.

THE APOSTLE OF LOVE

Yet John later became known as “the apostle of love”. What changes a “Son of Thunder” into an “apostle of love”? Jesus does!

Jerome tells a famous story of John in his extreme old age at Ephesus. He eventually had to be carried into the congregation by his disciples and would say nothing except, “Little children, love one another.”

At last, wearied that he always spoke the same words, they asked: “Master, why do you always say this?”

He replied, “Because it is the Lord’s command, and if this only is done, it is enough.” 1

1 Commentary on Galatians 6:10

THE APOSTLE OF LOVE

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”(John 13:34-35)

It was John, “the apostle of love”, who recorded these words of Jesus.

BY THIS THEY WILL KNOW

Let us note that our Lord does not name gifts or miracles or intellectual attainments as the evidence of discipleship, but love, the simple grace of love, a grace within reach of the poorest, lowliest believer, as the evidence of discipleship. If we have no love, we have no grace, no regeneration, no true Christianity! 1

We have unfortunately come to believe that a watching world will know that we are Christians by the worldly things we avoid or the churchy things we do. Christ has a different perspective. Our identity with Him is marked by the oneness that comes from our mutual love for each other. 2

1 J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels. 2 Reference: This We Believe, John Armstrong and John Woodbridge, ed. Zondervan, 2000, p. 207. Author: Joseph Stowell

BY THIS THEY WILL KNOW

In the 2nd century AD, Tertullian, noted how Christian love attracted pagan attention:

It is our care for the helpless, our practice of lovingkindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. “Only look,” they say, “look how they love one another” (they themselves being given over to mutual hatred). “Look how they are prepared to die for one another” (they themselves being readier to kill each other). Thus had this saying become a fact, “Hereby shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” 1

1 Apology 39

BY THIS THEY WILL KNOW

In the 4th century Julian ‘the Apostate’ tried to undo what Constantine had done, by again elevating paganism at the expense of Christianity. But he grudgingly admitted a challenge because of the way Christians (whom he called Galileans) treated the poor: “These impious Galileans not only feed their own poor, but ours also; welcoming them into their agapae, 1 they attract them, as children are attracted, with cakes. Whilst the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated Galileans devote themselves to works of charity, and by a display of false compassion have established and given effect to their pernicious errors. See their love-feasts, and their tables spread for the impoverished. Such practice is common among them, and causes a contempt for our gods.”

1 Agapae - Love feasts; not only the love for God, but the love of Christians for each other. The agapae were meetings for prayer, song, reading and exhortation.

BY THIS THEY WILL KNOW

God doesn’t just love; God is love (1 John 4:16). The word ‘love’ is used over 500 times in the Bible (NIV).

It was Jesus who told us that God loves the world.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The Psalmist wrote:

Ps 145:8-9 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

GOD’S LOVE FOR US

Love is initiated by God

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

Our automatic response to God’s love should be to love each other.

1 John 4:11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Eph 5:1-2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

GOD’S LOVE FOR US

John knew this first-hand. Jesus’ love transformed him from a “Son of Thunder” into an “Apostle of Love”.

Love is born naturally out of a relationship with God – because love is the very essence of God.

1 John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

EVIDENCED BY ACTION

Love makes God a reality in our lives. If we love, we embody the nature of the invisible God:

1 John 4:12-16 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

1 JOHN 4

If we love, we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment

1 John 4:17-18 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

What is the fear being talked about?

It is fear of judgement.

Why is fear of judgement removed?

Because God will not judge us if we love, because “in this world we are like him”.

NO FEAR

WHAT WE DO

WHAT WE SAY

“Hypocrite” comes from the Greek word “hypokrites”, which means “an actor”.

The definition of hypocrite is: 1

a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion.

a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.

Jesus consistently accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy.

1 merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/ hypocrite"

HYPOCRITE

The Pharisees were more concerned about external appearances than about what God saw. On the outside they appear to be one thing; on the inside they were another.

Matt 23:25-28 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

HYPOCRITE

Jesus denounces the Pharisees as hypocrites because “they do not practice what they preach.” (Matt 23:3)

Hearing without putting into practice is the mark of a fool. Their folly is highlighted when times of trouble comes.

Matt 7:26-27 “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

LISTENING VS OBEDIENCE

Lam 33:30-32 “As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.’ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. 

LISTENING VS OBEDIENCE

 With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.”

LISTENING VS OBEDIENCE

Mark 6:20 (NASB) for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.

Yet Herod Antipas continued living in the marital sin that John denounced him for. And he ultimately had John executed at the whim of his wife and because of peer pressure.

LISTENING VS OBEDIENCE

A person who hears God’s word without putting it into practice is self-deceived.

James 1:22-24 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves . Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like .

LISTENING VS OBEDIENCE

In contrast those who put Jesus’ words into practice are wise and will withstand the storms that life throws at them.

Matt 7:24-25 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

LISTENING VS OBEDIENCE

They will experience God’s blessing.

James 1:25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

They will remain in Jesus’ love and their joy will be complete.

John 15:10-11 Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

LISTENING VS OBEDIENCE

John writes that many people have a mismatch between what they say – and what they do.

A “liar” is someone who attempts to deceive by conveying misinformation.

The word “liar” occurs 4 times in 1 John and “lie” twice.

The phrase “the truth” occurs 7 times (and 10 times in 2 John and 3 John).

There are 7 cases of “If we claim” of “If we say” followed by a “yet” or “but”.

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

John says that “no lie comes from the truth” (1 John 2:21).

1 John 2:20 … 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.

Those who claim to fellowship with God but walk in darkness are liars.

1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

Those who believe they are “good people” are self-deceived and cannot avail themselves of forgiveness (as they are in denial regarding their sinful nature).

1 John 1:8-9 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

In addition they are effectively calling God a liar.

1 John 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

If you claim to know God, but deny the Son – you are a liar.

1 John 2:22-23 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist--denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

You do not know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also. (John 8:19)

Those who claim to know God but who do not keep his commands are liars.

1 John 2:3-6 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

1 John 5:2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

To call Jesus “Lord” and then to blatantly disregard his instructions – is a contradiction in terms (as having a “lord” implies subservience and obedience).

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

And what is the primary command that Jesus gave us?

1 John 4:21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

Our love for God is shown by how we treat his children:

John 21:15-16 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

GAUGE OF LOVE

If you claim to be in the light but hate your brother – you’re still in darkness.

1 John 2:9-11 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

Hatred is evidence that you’re living in darkness. The darkness blinds you and:

You have no direction in your life.

You stumble continually - over even small things.

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

If you claim to love God but hate your brother, you’re a liar.

1 John 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

Love for the unseen God will always be accompanied by love for others. As it is easier to love an observable human than an invisible God, if we cannot deliver on the easier task, we cannot claim to be doing the harder task.

Love for God and others go hand in hand and must always accompany each other. The two greatest commands are to love God and to love your neighbour.

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

In an engine-room it is impossible to look into the great boiler and see how much water it contains. But running up beside it is a tiny glass tube, which serves as a gauge… When the tube is half full, the boiler is half full; when the tube is empty, the boiler is empty. Do you ask, “How do I know I love God?...” Look at the gauge. Your love for your brother is the measure of your love for God.—S. S. Chronicle.

GAUGE OF LOVE

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

WHAT WE SAY-WHAT WE DO

Hatred embodies the spirit of Cain, who hated his brother because he was more righteous than himself.

1 John 3:11-15 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… 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.

SPIRIT OF CAIN

Just who is this “brother” that John says we must love?

Some say this applies only to loving Christians.

But Jesus tells us to love our enemies too (Matt 5:44).

We are told to “love our neighbour”. I believe “brother” is the equivalent of “neighbour”.

WHO IS MY BROTHER?

And who is my neighbour? (Luke 10:29)

We must not be like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who redefined neighbour to mean their friends.

Matt 5:43-47 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?

When Jesus was asked, “And who is my neighbour?”, he replied with the parable of the Good Samaritan. He summarised as follows:

Luke 10:36-37 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?

On the surface, love for enemies sounds like self-punishment or foolishness. It goes in the face of popular counsel that tells you to jettison people who damage your self-esteem. But if God says it, it must be good. There is always a blessing in obedience. The blessing might not be reconciliation or repentance by the enemy. Instead, it may be the privilege of not being controlled by that enemy. Or it might simply be the joy of becoming more like Jesus. Whatever it may be, there is always a blessing in obedience. 1

1 When People are Big and God is Small, 1997, p. 190. Author: Edward Welch

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?

LOVE YOUR BROTHER

THINGS WE KNOW

John uses the word “know” 38 times in 1 John. He is not unsure of the truth of what is teaching – he has complete assurance.

Obedience to God is a sign of relationship with God.

1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

1 John 2:5-6 This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

1 John 2:29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

THINGS WE KNOW

We know we are saved – because of the Spirit’s witness.

1 John 3:24 And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

1 John 4:13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

2 Cor 1:22 (He) set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Rom 8:15 … the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Gal 4:6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

THINGS WE KNOW

Love in action gives us assurance of salvation:

1 John 3:18-20 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…

THINGS WE KNOW

We know that God hears us and answers us:

1 John 5:15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

We know that we can live lives of holiness because God will protect us from the advances of Satan.

1 John 5:18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

We know what love is by looking at Jesus’ example.

1 John 3:16-17 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.

THINGS WE KNOW

THINGS WE KNOW

We know that words are not enough - love results in sacrificial action

1 John 3:16-18 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 and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

James 2:15-16 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

MORE THINGS WE KNOW

God demonstrated his love by action.

1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

And how did Jesus show his love for us?

John 15:9-13 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you... My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

The desire of love is to give. The desire of lust is to get.

EVIDENCED BY ACTION

Don’t make loving promises that don’t translate into reality. If you say you’ll come and help – then come. While a verbal promise is encouraging and seems to demonstrate love within, all that encouragement dies - when you don’t show up.

Matt 5:37 (WEB) But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.

EVIDENCED BY ACTION

THE GOOD OF OTHERS

Love is unselfish:

1 Cor 13:5 (Love) is not self-seeking…

Selfishness seeks its own private happiness at the expense of others. Love seeks its happiness in the happiness of the beloved. It will even suffer and die for the beloved in order that its joy might be full in the life and purity of the beloved. 1

In some ways, this is the fullest expression of what Christian love is all about. It does not seek its own; it does not believe that “finding oneself” is the highest good; it is not enamoured with self-gain, self-justification, self-worth. To the contrary, it seeks the good of one’s neighbour – or enemy. 2

1 John Piper - Desiring God, 1996 2 Gordon Fee - 1 Corinthians, Eerdmans, 1987

MORE THINGS WE KNOW

We know who belongs to God or Satan.

1 John 3:10 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.

We do not belong in the world.

1 John 5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

We know that the purpose for Jesus’ incarnation was to atone for our sins – as the sinless sacrifice.

1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

We also know that Jesus also came to give us spiritual knowledge to enable us to have a relationship with God.

1 John 5:20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.

We know that we have eternal life if we believe in Jesus.

1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

We know that Jesus is coming again and we will be resurrected to immortality.

1 John 3:2 But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

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Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the NIV:

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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB:

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