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Sermons from 1 John |
LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER (Pt. 1) |
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Other sermons from 1 John
Sharing The Word Of Life (1:1-3) Other sermons in this study is being added as they are prepared & preached.
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Someone has asked “What is love” and then gave the following answer:
It is silence--when your words would hurt. It is patience--when your neighbor's curt. It is deafness--when a scandal flows. It is thoughtfulness--for other's woes. It is promptness--when stern duty calls. It is courage--when misfortune falls.
Another has said:
Love ever gives. Forgives, outlives, And ever stands With open hands. And while it lives, It gives, For this is love's perogative-- To give, and give, and give.
Henry Drummond once said: “To love abundantly is to live abundantly; and to love forever is to live forever. Hence, eternal life is inextricably bound up with love. We want to live forever for the same reason we want to live tomorrow. Why do you want to live tomorrow? It is because there is someone who loves you, and whom you want to see tomorrow and be with and love back. There is no other reason why we should live on than that we love and we are loved. It is when a man has no one to love him, or thinks that he has no one to love him, that he commits suicide. So long as he has friends, those who love him and whom he loves, he will live; because to live is to love.”
It has been well said that love is better demonstrated than defined. It is easier to express love than explain love. At our best when we attempt to define love, we only describe a particular expression or a form of love that is manifested by what we say or do.
F.B.Meyer said, "You can no more define the essence of love than you can define the essence of God, buy you can define its effects and fruits."
As we have made our way through the book of 1 John, we have found that the subject of love is a major theme in the book. In both chapter two and three, love has been discussed. Now, in chapter four once again John turns our attention to the subject of love. Previously, he has spoken briefly about love. Now he devotes 15 verses to the subject.
The emphasis in these verses is on “loving one another.” In verse 7 we read, “Beloved, let us love one another.” John defines our love for one another, as well as describing and demanding our love for one another.
Instead of rushing through these 15 verses and limiting myself in what I can say, I want us to walk slowly through these verses and devote our next three studies to what John teaches us about love and loving one another. In this study let’s turn our attention to verses 7-8.
First, notice with me that:
1. LOVE IS THE OUTCOME OF A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
John describes a personal relationship with God and what is the outcome of that relationship. First, we see:
A) The Life We Have From God
In verse 7 he speaks of those who are “born of God.” The phrase “born of God” is found six times in 1 John and only found in 1 John. The word “born” means “begotten,” and speaks of the life we have received from God. The little word “of” is a word that is used of time, place and origin. It means “out of” and indicates the origination and source of a matter. In speaking of being “born of God,” John is telling us that the source of our spiritual life is God.
In the Gospel of John, he used a similar phrase when he spoke of how we must be “born again.” The word “born” is the same. The word “again” means “from above” and by implication means “anew.” To be born again means to be born anew. It is to receive a new kind of life. There is a physical life which is derived from our parents, but there is a spiritual life that is derived from God.
We not only see the life that we have received from God, but also:
B) The Love We Have From God
In verse 7 John states that “love is of God.” Again, I draw your attention to the little word “of.” It is the same found in the phrase “born of God.” It means that God is not only the source of life, He is also the source of love. Just as we have received life from God, we also have received love from God.
When we think about loving one another, however that love is expressed; it is a love that originates with God. It is a love that is the outcome of our relationship with God. Our personal relationship with God gives us a new kind of life and a new kind of love. There is the divine life we have received and the divine love we have received.
When we are commanded to love one another we are given a responsibility that has a possibility. God never commands us to do something that he does not enable us to do. Someone might say, “Well, I can’t love so and so.” That is the same as saying that God has ask you to do something that is not within your ability to do. That is not the case.
Take for example how the Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves (cp. Gal. 5:14). The command is love our fellowman. C.W. Vanderbergh wrote: “To love the whole world for me is no chore. My only real problem is my neighbor next door.” In all honesty, there are some of our fellowmen that are hard to love. There are some people that we would rather mug than hug.
The Bible also tells us to love our enemies (cp. Luke 6:35). The word enemy that Jesus used speaks of those who have been hostile to us. When someone does us wrong, it is not in our human nature to love in return. Our human nature is to retaliate.
A lady was sick, so she went to the doctor. The doctor examined her, ran some tests and then said to her, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have rabies." The lady picked up a notepad and then began writing. The doctor asked, "Are you writing out your will?" She replied, "No, I'm making a list of all the people I'm going to bite."
Our tendency is to want to get even with those who do us wrong. That is our nature. Yet, the command to love one another does not rely on our human nature for fulfillment. It is relying on the divine nature we have received and the love that is given to us by God. The love that comes from God and is received from God enables us to love when we naturally could not and would not love. It is love that is the outcome of our personal relationship with God.
If we have been born of God we can love one another. It is an outcome of being born of God.
Secondly, think with me of how:
2. LOVE IS THE OUTGROWTH OF A PROGRESSIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
This love is not only something that is derived from God, but is also something developed in us by God. In verse 7 John not only speaks of those that are “born of God,” but also them that “knoweth God.”
In this knowing of God we see an:
A) Experiential Knowledge Of God
The word “knoweth” speaks of being acquainted with God. It describes a knowledge of God that comes by experience. This is more than a knowledge that is gained from a classroom or study course. This is a knowledge that comes from experiencing God in our life.
I have always been struck by the statement of Job in Job 42:5, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.” Job had heard of God that hearing brought certain knowledge about God. But through all Job encountered and experience he had seen God. Or to put it another way, all he had heard about God became a living reality in his life. Facts became a force in his life. He had a knowledge of God that was more than theoretical. It was experiential!
Secondly, this knowledge is an:
B) Expanding Knowledge Of God
The word “knoweth” is in the active voice and present tense meaning that this learning and understanding of God is going on at the present. There was a start of this learning about God and it has not come to a conclusion, but is a continuing learning of God.
It is impossible for us to learn everything there is about God, therefore, we are to continually be learning about God. Our knowledge of God is to ever be expanding and growing.
John describes loving one another as an outgrowth of this experiential and expanding knowledge of God. Let me put it this way. As we learn about God we also learn how to love as God has commanded us to learn. We learn to love as God loves!
If most were honest, we would have to admit that love is often motivated by external reasons. I think of the letter one girl wrote:
Dearest Jimmy, No words could ever express the great unhappiness I've felt since breaking our engagement. Please say you'll take me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I love you, I love you, I love you! Yours forever, Marie. P.S., And congratulations on willing the state lottery.
Whereas, our love often has an ulterior motive and external reasons, the love God describes has an internal, or may I say eternal reason and motive. It is a love without limits or conditions. We love regardless. It is a kind of love that does not need reciprocation or a response. It is a divine quality and even quantity of love.
To love one another as God has commanded is a growing process. There is a kind of love we have received from God and as we grow and mature in our knowledge of God, we learn how to love as we are to love.
Most of us interpret love as a feeling. I think of the young man that said to his father at breakfast one morning, "Dad, I'm going to get married." "How do you know you're ready to get married?" asked the father. "Are you in love?" "I sure am," said the son. "How do you know you're in love?" asked the father. The son answered, "Last night as I was kissing my girlfriend good-night, her dog bit me and I didn't feel the pain until I got home."
Or as another wrote, “I climbed up the door, and I shut the stairs. I said my shoes, and took off my prayers. I shut off my bed, and I climbed into the light and all because He kissed me good night."
Love – this divine kind of love – is more than a feeling. It is more of an action and is defined by deeds. I got back to the matter of loving your enemies. When Jesus spoke of loving your enemies He was speaking of more than feeling mushy about them. He was speaking of doing good to them that do you wrong. That requires more than feelings. Such love involves action.
To love in such a manner is an outgrowth of a progressive relationship with God.
Thirdly, we see that:
3. LOVE IS THE OUTFLOW OF A PROVEN RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
All through the book of 1 John, we have seen that John states that certain things are a test of a real relationship with God. Love is one of those tests.
In John’s words we see:
A) What The Presence Of Love Shows
In verse 7 he says “every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” The presence of love in a person’s life shows two things. First, it shows that one has experienced new life in Christ and that they are growing in that new life. It shows that one has got in and they are going on.
Secondly, he speaks of:
B) What The Absence Of Love States
As we have seen, John is very straightforward and minces no words. He declares in verse 8, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” In simple words, John says if you can’t love it states there is something missing in your life. Furthermore, if you aren’t love is equally revealing.
First, if a person can’t love it is evidence that they have never been saved. God is love and His children can love as He commands them to love. A heart empty of love is evidence of a heart empty of God.
Secondly, if a person isn’t manifesting the love that has been given to them by God, it reveals a lack of spiritual growth in their life. As we grow in the Lord, we grow in love and how to love. The absence of love in practice is the evidence that we are expanding in our knowledge of God.
John tells us to love one another. What does loving one another say about you? |