|
|
|
- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
|
|
EXPERIENCING
THE LOVE OF GOD (1 John 4:14-21) Grace
Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor
Daryl Hilbert A. Evidences
of Familial Relationship (1Jn 3:1-10) B. Evidences of Love - Part 2 (3:11-18) C. Evidences of Truth (3:19-4:6) D. Evidences of Love - Part 3 (4:7-21) 1. God
is the Source of Love (7) 2. God is the Essence of Love (8) 3. God Manifested Love in Christ (9) 4. God Initiated Love (10) 5. God is the Example of Love (11-13) 6. Evidence
of Experiencing the Love of God a) Confessing
that Jesus is God and Savior (14-15) (1) In
speaking of evidences of salvation, John returns to the preliminary evidence
of faith in the doctrine of Christ. (a) John
has stated that he was an eyewitness of the Savior and all who accept his
testimony about Christ are true believers (1Jn 1:1-3). (b) Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ
is not a true believer (1Jn 2:22-23). (c) Salvation takes place when a person
believes on Christ as Savior (1Jn 3:23). (2) In
this passage John is quite clear that in order to be a true believer, an
individual must understand as well as trust in the Person and Work of Christ
(14). (3) As for the work of Christ, John states that
the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. (a) Christ
did not come simply to be a teacher or the martyr of a cause. Rather, He came
to be the substitutionary atonement for the sins of man (1Pe 3:18). (b) “Savior” (sotếr)
means the agent of salvation or deliverance. Christ is the agent of salvation
who delivers the believer from the penalty of sin (1Ti 3:4-6). (4) As
for the Person of Christ, John states that a true believer will confess that
Jesus is the Son of God (15). (a) The
phrase Son of God is equivalent to saying that Jesus is God. He is not a
child of God like a believer is a child of God; rather it is a reference to
the deity of Christ (Jn 10:30-36). The doctrine of the Person and Work of
Christ is the foundation of the church (Mt 16:16-18) and the message of the
apostles (Jn 20:31). (b) John continues to say that an individual
who trusts in the Person and Work of Christ is not only a true believer, but
God continually abides in him and he in God. (c) The false teacher Cerinthus rejected both
that Jesus was God and Savior. Instead, he promoted that the Jesus who died
on the cross was only a man and that humanity did not need atonement. b) Being
Perfected in God’s Love (16-18) (1) True
believers have experienced God’s love and grow in the love that God has for
them (16). (a) The
Greek uses two verbs in the perfect tense (“know” and “believed”) to indicate
that believers continue to grow in God’s love. In addition, the love that God
has for us is expressed in the present tense (échei - continually
having) to show that it is continuous. (b) John repeats his declaration that “God is
love” (cp. 1Jn 4:8). The believer comes to understand that an extremely
important attribute of God is His love. (c) Therefore, if a person is a true believer,
then they will abide in love because they abide in God and He in them. (2) God’s
love continues to be perfected in the believer so that the believer has
assurance of His security in Christ (17). (a) As
the believer meditates on the attribute of God’s love, he becomes more and
more mature in understanding God’s love, experiencing God’s love, and
confident that nothing will separate him from God’s love (Ro 8:35-39). (b) Even the Day of Judgment does not shake the
believer who “has been and continues to be perfected” (perf pass ind)
in God’s love. (c) The believer does not fear judgment because
he stands clothed in Christ’s righteousness (Phil 3:9) in this world and the
next. (3) In
fact, a believer who has a mature understanding of God’s love will not fear
God’s judgment. Only one who is not perfected in God’s love will fear (18). (a) It
is possible that an immature believer will fear God’s judgment. In which
case, the immature believer needs to grow in Christ, His Word, and God’s
love. (b) Fear is an anticipation of divine
punishment (kolasis - action of
retribution or punishment, cp Mt 25:46). The believer need not fear God’s punishment because it was
dealt with on the cross (Jn 3:18; 5:24; Ro 8:1). (c) The unbeliever has no satisfactory answer
for the impending judgment of God (Jn 3:36). c) Exercising
Love for the Brethren (19-21) (1) As
the believer matures in God’s love, he grows in understanding that God’s love
pursued him and his love did not pursue God (19). (a) The
believer continually grows in His love for the Lord as he focuses on God’s
love for him. (b) God demonstrated His infinite love when He
sacrificed His own Son on the cross (Ro 5:8). (2) A
true believer, who is perfected in God’s love, is going to love the brethren.
If a person does not love the brethren, then he simply cannot be telling the
truth about his love for God (20). (a) John
states that it is a contradiction to say that you love God but do not love
the brethren. In fact, John calls that person a “liar.” (b) John’s rationale is that if we do not love
the brethren that we are able to see (horáō
- observe or notice which is different from
theáomai which means to observe and interpret 1Jn 4:12), then we cannot love God Whom we have not
seen (same word). (3) John
closes this section with Christ’s command to love the brethren because: (a) We
love God when we keep His commandments (Jn 14:15) and He commands us to love
the brethren. (b) We understand God’s love is meeting the
needs of others without the motive of personal gain. (c) We understand that love is a choice and not
a feeling. (d) We understand that no one is worthy of God’s
grace. (e) We understand that none of us have arrived
spiritually (Phil 3:12-13). |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
