Message

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God Is Love

1 John 4:1-21

Key Verse: 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.”

Last week we studied what love is. 3:16 says, “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.” There are many definitions of love. Paul described what love is in 1 Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud...” But there is no perfect definition of love more than John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16. In chapter 4 we’ll study more about God’s love. People say that without the word ‘love’ we have nothing to talk about God. May God deepen our knowledge and understanding about the love of God! Amen.

First, warning against anti-Christ (1-6) John repeats warning against anti-Christ, mainly Gnosticism. Gnosticism denies the incarnation of Christ Jesus according to their dualism. Gnostics said that a spirit who is good cannot become a flesh which is evil. Even today Jehovah’s Witness and other anti-Christ groups deny that Jesus is the Son of God. How did John warn them of this false teaching? How could Christians recognize the Spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood? (6) Look at verses 1-3. “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the anti-Christ, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” According to these verses any spirit which denies that Jesus appeared as a man is anti-Christ and false teaching. We must know that spirit is above our mind and flesh. When the evil spirits govern our mind and thought, our body follows the evil spirits. But when we are governed by the Holy Spirit, we are led to Jesus and believe that Jesus came from God. This is the reason why we test every spirit whether they came from God or Satan. This is the reason why we test every teaching whether they teach Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, or not. We must see people with spiritual eyes first rather than with mental or psychological viewpoint. This is because our struggle is not against flesh or blood, but against evil spirits and the power of darkness. We need spiritual insight to see the things of world from God’s perspective. Then we know what is right and what is wrong in the sight of God. May God fill us with the Holy Spirit and give us spiritual insight to see all things from God’s perspective! Amen!

Look at verses 4-6. “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” Here John describes Christians as people from God and anti-Christ such as Gnostics as people from this world. We people of God know that Jesus came from God and appeared as a flesh. John said that Jesus who is in us is greater than Satan who is in this world. Indeed, Jesus who is in us is greater and stronger than evil spirits. Jesus is the source of power which helps us to overcomes the world. In this John confirms our final victory over the false teachers and anti-Christ. Amen!

Second, God is love (7-21) After warning against the false spirits, John continues to teach us what love is. Look at verses 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.” John said that if you don’t love one another, do not say that you are children of God or know God, because love comes from God who is love. This is the same as we say that if you didn’t visit the Gateway Arch, don’t say that you visited St. Louis, because the Arch is the symbol of St. Louis. There is no more powerful word of definition about God than this: God is love. John said in 1:5 that God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Now he said that God is love. In verses 9-10 he teaches us why God is love and how God showed his love for us. Look at verses 9-10. “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.” Love is not a theory. Love is not only for theme or subject for poem or novel, but action and practice. John said in 3:18. “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” In Valentines Day people exchange flowers or chocolate as the expression of their love. But if you express your love with only lips “I love you”, and not give anything to them, the truthfulness of your love will be tested. Jesus asked the same to his disciples, “Do you love me?”, and then he said, “Feed my sheep!” If his disciples loved Jesus, they must feed his sheep. Love is proven true by actions. God did not only teach us his love, but also he showed it among us. He sent his one and only Son Jesus to this world so that we might have eternal life through him. Paul said this in Romans 5:8 which says, “God demonstrated his love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” God demonstrated. God showed his love for us through Jesus. By loving one another we prove that we are born of God, and we love him. Here we learn that God’s love is demonstrative. His love accompanies demonstration.

God’s love is also initiative. Initiative love means that God first loved us before we love him. In verse 10 John said, “This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” In verse 19 he also said, “We love because he first loved us.” John personally experienced Jesus’ initiative love before. When Jesus suffered and was crucified, all his disciples ran away out of fear, except John. After the death of Jesus, all his disciples went down to Galilee to run for their lives. Even though they worked hard all night, they couldn’t catch any fish. They were hungry, tired, and felt miserable. They thought they were failure and loser in following Jesus because they were not with Jesus to the end. They also failed as fishermen. When they were in deep despair and sorrow, Jesus visited them. Jesus restored their failure by letting them catch lots of fish and prepared a breakfast for them. Jesus asked them to come and have breakfast. Jesus was like a loving mother who cooks a breakfast for her hungry and tired children. John must have been deeply touched by Jesus’ unconditional forgiving love. The disciple betrayed Jesus and left him. But Jesus visited them first and loved them to the end. John learned what God’s love is.

When I was a young leader in my college day, I had a common life with several junior students. I was a supervisor for the common life. One day three of them left the house for camping without a notice. I was so upset with them because they broke the rule of common life. A few days later, they came back secretly at night while I was sleeping. They had expected a severe rebuke from me. But at that time, I studied the story of Jesus who forgave his disciples and cooked a breakfast for them. I controlled my anger and cooked for these rebellious roommates. I prepared Bulkoki for them. Later they said that they were moved by my forgiving love and delicious food. One of them became a missionary in England and now in America. I did so, because Jesus first showed me what love is. I was a worse sinner than the roommates, but God came to me first and saved me. Then he asked me to feed his sheep. Jesus said in John 15:16 which says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last...”

God’s love is sacrificial. Look at verse 10 again, “...but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is not self-seeking. He meant that love accompanies sacrifice. This is the reason why people don’t mind spending money to buy gifts in Valentines Day. If we are selfish, we cannot love others. If it is so, it should be a fake love. God’s love is not self-seeking, but sacrificial. He sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice. An atoning sacrifice means a sacrifice offering for reconciliation to God. In the past high priests sacrificed animals for reconciliation to God. They killed animals, took their blood, and scattered it over the ark of covenant once a year for the sins of their people. But Jesus died on the cross and he took his own blood and entered the Most Holy Place once for all for our eternal redemption (He 9:12). There remains no record in human history of sacrifice his own son for others. But God did so.

1 John 3:16 says, “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.” It is not easy for us to forgive and love those who betrayed us. We often expect God’s punishment on those who betrayed us. However, this is not love, but selfish ambition. Jesus forgave those who betrayed him and prayed for those who nailed him on the cross saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)

There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear. Look at verse 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.” Last week I heard a sad but beautiful story about one Korean immigrant in Canada. While he was in Korea, he lived with his little daughter who had autism. His wife left him leaving her sick daughter. One day while he stopped by a convenience store to buy something for his daughter, his apartment had fire. His daughter was alone in that apartment. He was not hesitant. He ran into the flame to rescue his daughter. He narrowly rescued his daughter, but he was severely burned and was hospitalized. There is no fear in love as this man did for his daughter. To the eyes of God, we were sick with sin and much worse than the little girl. But God loved us and opened his arm to rescue us from the fiery lake of burning sulfur. In order to bring us from death to life, Jesus died on the cross. People who were around Jesus on the cross mocked him saying, “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross and save yourself.” But Jesus did not come down from the cross but remained on the cross because he loved us. He did not save himself to save us. He was not afraid of death. Amen!

Look at verse 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.” Let us read16b, too. “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” How do we know God and experience him? When we love God and love one another, we live in God and experience his love for us. Look at verse 20. “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” This verse means that those who love God who is invisible love their visible brothers and sisters.

God is love. God loved us until he sent his One and Only Son Jesus. God demonstrated his love through Jesus and completed it on the cross. Jesus who is in us is greater than Satan in the world. We often feel weary and burdened because of difficulty of this life. We are hurt, wounded, and crushed because of our sin and others’ sin. But Jesus who is in us is strong. The power of love which comes from the cross overcomes the world. Beneath the cross we are comforted. By his wounds we are healed. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution? No! Even death cannot separate us from the love of Christ! Amen!

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