Theme: Letters to the Churches: What is the Lord saying to us?
Topic: Love one another
Main Text: 1 John 4:7-21
Key verse: 1 John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (NKJV)
Introduction:
Love is often thought of as a feeling, whether from romantic attachment or passionate commitment to a group or a cause. The Bible teaches that love is a choice and an action (see 1 Cor 13:4-7, for example) and, in our main text, the Apostle John paints a beautiful portrait of love: “in this is love…, that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). This is the last word on love, the benchmark and reference point. He goes on to say that God is not only the source of love, He IS love, that is, His nature is love and He is the essence of love. Those who are born again receive God’s nature and are empowered to be like our Father and love with His kind of love. “Beloved, let us love” (1 John 4:7) is a command to those who are loved to love one another because we have received God’s love, and live in the light of it. To be loved by God and to know that fact — to be conscious of and grateful for God’s love — is expressed when we show love for one another. It is our duty to exercise and operate in God’s kind of love intentionally, habitually, and continually towards one another. This God kind of love towards one another defines us as children of God; it distinguishes us as His children (1 John 3:1) and must become part of our character as it is His. Those who do not love, do not know God, no matter what they say (1 John 4:8).
Q1. (1a) How has the love of God for us been demonstrated? (1 John 4:9, John 3:16; 1 John 3:16; Romans 5:8) (1b) Who are we to love? (1 Jn 4:11, Matthew 5:43-48) (1c) Is there righteousness without love? (1 John 3:10-12; 1 John 4:8).
Paragraph 2:
We are commanded to love one another. Just as we have been saved by grace, this quality of selfless love is only possible by God’s grace through the ministration of the Holy Spirit. It is beyond ordinary human capacity to love the otherwise unlovable and the unloving amongst us. Attitudes from our upbringing and culture, personal preference and comfort, socialization, and status all affect our ability to maintain and demonstrate selfless love for one another consistently. This type of love is spiritual. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirits work in us, as the human tendency and carnality in all of us decrease only with sanctification, giving way to the divine. Loving one another as Christ loves the church is evidence of transformed lives and spiritual maturity. It takes faith (John 16:27), surrender (Jude 1:21), and the anointing of the Holy Spirit to give us the abhorrence for sin and delight in Godliness and righteousness that produces what Paul calls “agape”, the habit of selfless love for the brethren, no matter what.
Q2. (2a) What enables us to operate in God’s love towards one another? (Galatians 5:16-18; Ephesians 5: 18-21;Romans 5:5) (2b) What does “love has been perfected among us” mean? (1 John 4:12; 17-18; 1 John 2:5) (2c) How has this been modeled for us? (Luke 23:33-34; John 13:1-5, 12-15).
Paragraph 3:
God our Father is love, and He is holy. He operates consistently in loving kindness and holiness; His righteousness, grace, and mercy towards us all flow from his loving and holy character. At the very core of His relationship with us is a consistent expression of His love for us. Loving kindness is God’s currency (Isaiah 54:10; Zephaniah 3:17) and His operating system. We, His children, are here on earth as our Father’s ambassadors in this world, and one of the ways of demonstrating our faith in God is by our intentional selfless loving kindness towards one another as duty and sacrifice. Our relationships with one another should demonstrate our faith (James 2:18; Hebrews 6:1). This is how we make the invisible God visible to the world and show that we are followers of Christ.
Q3. (3a) If “God is love”, why is there judgment? Discuss (3b) How can we be intentional like Christ, our role model, about our relationships with the brethren? (Luke 6: 35; Ephesians 5:1-2;1 Timothy 6: 17-19).
Prayer: Father God, thank you for loving us unconditionally, giving us Your Son, and making us Your children. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to love one another. May we always remember the power of Your love for us and draw on it as we relate in agape towards one another, in Jesus name, Amen.