Love, love, love. “All you need is love.” The Beatles sang about it. God IS LOVE.
1 John 4:8:
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for GOD IS LOVE.
John’s first letter has A LOT TO SAY about love.
2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the LOVE of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
We know we are in fellowship with the Father when we keep His Word and have His love mature within our hearts. That’s a daily adventure in learning and love.
2:15 LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.
The adversary, Satan, offers so many allusions and “treasures” to distract us from our true purpose of loving the Father, our Lord Jesus, and each other. Let’s stay focused on what counts!
3:1 Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
God so loved us that He gave His Son to MAKE US HIS SONS! The worldly people [natural men and women–see 1 Corinthians 2:14] who don’t have God’s spirit will never understand us. But we love them with the Father’s spiritual love and show them how to live.
3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should LOVE one another.
This message is as old as time. Look at God’s love in Genesis 1, where he restored the heavens and earth, filled it with GOOD things that grow and live, and then gave people dominion over His creation. What a loving God and Father!
3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we LOVE the brethren. He that LOVETH not his brother abideth in death.
The PROOF that we are filled with spirit and will have eternal life is our love. We either fill our lives with love, or live in the death of Lucifer’s pride and destruction.
3:16 Hereby perceive we the LOVE of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Jesus showed us what love REALLY IS by giving his life for all mankind. He knew this from reading Isaiah 53 and other prophecies about himself. Despite the pain and suffering, HE CHOSE to give his all for us. Now WE CAN GIVE our lives in service to others.
3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?
God built “compassion” into people and even animals. Look at how a mother dog cares for her puppies. We MUSTN’T shut up God’s love whenever we see someone in need. We can do both the built-in natural response and the spiritually true thing when we live in God’s love and show it by our actions.
3:18 My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
It’s easy to talk about love. But doing what love requires is a different matter. Slow down, ask the Father, and walk out into His loving direction.
3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and LOVE one another, as he gave us commandment.
First, we get BORN AGAIN by believing on Jesus [Romans 10:9]. Then we are filled with God’s love [Romans 5:5] and can make spiritually right decisions as we walk in God’s love within us.
4:7 Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.
We show that we are the Father’s dear kids when we walk in His love in Christ in us.
4:8 He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.
Love is our Father’s very nature. Let’s be like Him in all we do.
4:9 In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Did God love us? Did He give Jesus to die and live again so that WE MIGHT LIVE through him? Yes, yes, and yes!!! Amen and Hallelujah.
4:10 Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
True love is what God has done for us. Making JESUS THE PAYMENT FOR OUR SINS gave us eternal life and joy today. Let’s give that love back wherever we can!
4:11 Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.
Logically, if someone blesses us, we can then bless another person. What about God’s great gifts to us spiritually and physically? Let’s SHARE OF OUR ABUNDANCE in every category of life!
4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we LOVE one another, God dwelleth in us, and his LOVE is perfected in us.
God is Spirit and invisible. But HIS LOVE IS VERY VISIBLE when we live it. That’s how your love matures–by loving each other with care, concern, and patience.
4:16 And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth in LOVE dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Do you want to LIVE IN GOD AND HAVE GOD DWELL IN YOU? Then let us “live” each day INSIDE OF ALL that love gives us.
4:17 Herein is our LOVE made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
Today, when the Devil tries to “judge” and condemn our every action, we can BOLDLY TELL HIM that we are God’s child and are filled with the Father’s love. We are just like our Father and serve our Lord Jesus even IN THIS WORLD.
4:18 There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.
Love gets rid of our fear. I’m tired of being “tormented” by fear. Instead, I LOVE to trust my Father and see His goodness shine through.
4:19 We LOVE him, because he first LOVED us.
Our parents taught us how to physically walk. Now our FATHER SHOWS US how to walk in love, by His spirit within.
4:20 If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God whom he hath not seen?
Good question. Let’s SHOW THE LOVE OF GOD in our actions and care for each other.
4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.
That’s a command to us. Since we love our Father, let’s love HIS KIDS ALSO. And it is a joy to see the blessings that follow.
5:2 By this we know that we LOVE the children of God, when we LOVE God, and keep his commandments.
How can I REALLY LOVE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST? By doing what the scriptures give us to do. The gospels and New Testament letters are FULL OF instructions on how to walk in love.
5:3 For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
God’s commands NEVER HARM OR BRING GRIEF. We can do what our Father says, because it is ALWAYS FOR OUR OWN GOOD. Jesus paid the price and gave his life so we might be saved in every way. Amen.
Amen. I love you.
One reply on “God’s Love in John’s First Epistle”
Love changes you. It helps you reshape your priorities, soften your edges, and opens your heart to new possibilities. On a spiritual level, it’s a transformative force that guides you to evolve, to shed old patterns, and to step into a higher plain of knowledge and understanding. Love is to live in the arms of God. And to have compassion for all those in captivity. To heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely we have received, freely we should give. Love is giving of one’s self to dispel the darkness and dismantle the works of the devil. That is true love. That is the meat of the Word.