GOD’S LOVE AND

OUR RESPONSE1 John 4:7-19

Outline 1 John 4:7-19 Setting the stage Love one another because God loves you

4:7-11 Love one another because God lives in

you 4:12-19 How can we love one another? Summary

1 John 4:7-197. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. 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. 11. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one

another. 12. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one

another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:7-19 (Cont)13. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16. 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. 17. 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.

1 John 4:7-19 (Cont)18. 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. 19. We love

because he first loved us.

Setting the Stage

What John Previously Said About God’s Love & Loving One Another1:5 God is light1:7 If we walk in the light,…we have

fellowship with one another2:5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s

love is truly made complete in him2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light

but hates his bother is still in darkness2:10-11 Whoever loves his brother lives in

the light and there is nothing in him to make him stumble…But whoever hates his brother walks in darkness

What John Previously Said About God’s Love & Loving One Another3:11 This is the message you heard from the

beginning: We should love one another3:14 We know that we have passed from

death to life because we love our brothers3:16 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

3:18 Love not with words or tongues but with actions and truth

What John Just Finished Talking About

1 John 4:1-6

Test the spirits to see whether they are from God

The Spirit of God, that is the Spirit of Truth, acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in the flesh and is from God

The spirit of the antichrist, that is false teachers, is the spirit of falsehood, and denies that Jesus is from God

Love one another because God loves you

1 John 4:7-11

The Command5:7a “Dear friends, let us love one

another…”

Dear friends What is Christian love?

Deep devotion and desire to glorify and trust God; results in making God preeminent in all facets of life

To put the interests of others before self Desire God’s best for others regardless of the

merit of the other person

Three Reasons Christians Should Love One Another

1. 4:7b “For love is from God”2. 4:7b…“Everyone who loves has been

born of God and knows God”3. 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not

know God, because God is love.”

How God Demonstrated His Love

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.”

God demonstrated love by sending his Son

Not just saved, but to actively live through him

Definition of God’s Love4:10 “This is love: not that we loved God,

but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Illustration of love as positive action regardless of the merit of the other person

Atone (propitiation); to make amends or satisfy

Application4:11 “Dear friends, since God so loved us,

we also ought to love one another.”

We should love the people God loved so much he sent his Son to die for their sins?

God’s love was given to us not to hoard but to overflow to others (love one another)

Love one another because God lives in you

1 John 4:12-19

What It Means to Love One Another

4:12 “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

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

Complete = deep full experience of God’s love As Christians love one another, they experience

the love of the invisible God The Spirit’s work in us is evidence of salvation

What It Means to LoveOne Another

4:12 “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

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

Complete = deep full experience of God’s love As Christians love one another, they experience

the love of the invisible God The Spirit’s work in us is evidence of salvation

The Basis for the Spirit’s Work and Loving One Another

4:14 “And we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

John saw, we see, God’s love revealed through believers as they love one another

4:15 “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.”

Saving faith requires belief that Jesus is God

The Basis for the Spirit’s Work and Loving One Another

4:16 “And 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.”

As the believer experiences mutual Christian love, he grows in knowledge of God love, and in turn, his reliance in God’s love grows

God’s Love Gives the Believer Confidence in Judgment

4:17 “In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in the world we are like him.”

Great White Throne and the Judgment Seat of Christ

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

God’s Love Gives the Believer Confidence in Judgment (Cont)

4:18 “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 Origin of a Christian’s Love

4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

How can we love one another?

How to Love One Another Accept each other, Romans 15:7 Admonish each other, Colossians 3:16 Be devoted to each other, Romans 12:10 Be kind to each other, Ephesians 4:32 Care for each other, 1 Corinthians 12:35 Carry each other’s burdens, Galatians 6:2 Comfort others, 2 Corinthians 1:4 Confess your sins to each other, James

5:16 Encourage each other, 1 Thessalonians

5:11

How to Love One Another (Cont)

Forgive one another, Ephesians 4:32 Greet each other, Romans 16:16 Honor each other, Romans 12:10 Live in peace with each other,

1 Thessalonians 5:13 Love each other, John 13:34-35 Offer hospitality to each other, 1 Peter 4:9 Pray for each other, James 5:16 Prefer each other, Romans 12:10

How to Love One Another (Cont)

Serve one another, Galatians 5:13 Spur one another to good deeds,

Hebrews 10:24 Wait for each other, 1 Corinthians 11:33

Lay down your lives for your brothers, 1 John 3:16

Love not with words or tongues but with actions and truth, 1 John 3:18

Summary

Summary God loves us God demonstrated his love by sending his Son

Jesus to pay the price for our sins When a person accepts Jesus as God’s Son and

his saving work at the cross, God lives in him and he in God

The Christian is assured he lives in God by the work of the Spirit

Since God loves us and lives in us, Christians must love one another in actions and truth

As the believer experiences mutual Christian love, he grows in knowledge of God love, and in turn, his reliance in God’s love grows eliminating fear

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God