1 John Part 18

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 1 John 5:1

I've always thought that this verse was commanding us to love Jesus, since he is God's Son, hence his child. But in this context I'm pretty sure that John is telling us to love fellow Christians, the adopted children of God. Verse two talks about loving the children of God by obeying his commands.

It's hard to love the children of God. We are programmed in our sinful nature to look out for our own interests and to not offer grace to one another. I guess that's why we have to be commanded to be different.

When we talk about loving each other, we need to look to love the Christians at our own church, those with whom we interact regularly. But I think we in the American church need to take it a step further. We will support missions and go to the ends of the earth to reach different people groups, but we rarely interact with fellow Christians in this country who are a different color, culture, or denomination. We come up with some reason to stay separate. There is deep distrust between the races that the white evangelical church is largely unaware of - because we've been separated for so long. Are we willing to change any of our preaching or music to be inclusive of other cultures? This can be done without compromising the message. Or do we come up with silly defenses like, "The style doesn't matter, only the subject of our song or sermon," and then stubbornly not change the style that supposedly doesn't matter. If it didn't matter, then changing it wouldn't matter either. Are we willing to give up our rights for the good of others, by supporting diversity efforts at white Christian colleges, or are we going to whine about how we're so harmed by anything that looks like affirmative action?

What's our motivation? Why are we to love the children of God? Because it's a way of showing love for God. If you're a parent, aren't you thrilled when someone shows positive attention to your child? Conversely, how do you react when someone talks bad about your kid or hurts them? Yeah, I thought so. You want to pound them. How about if you have more than one child and one hurts the other? Very hurtful and frustrating. But it makes your day when one sibling helps or looks out for another, or even forgives a wrong.

God gives us these relationships as examples of how he relates to us. Think about your kids the next time you want to talk bad about a brother or sister in Christ. Think about how God sees this.

Don't just think about it in terms of not doing mean things. Think about how your Father is pleased when we show love to our fellow Christian. If pleasing God is motivation for you, and my goodness it should be, then we ought to look for opportunities to love our fellow Christian. Start thinking of ways right now!

1 John Part 17

We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:19-21

The beginning of this passage is so important: We love because he first loved us. He set the example for loving the unlovable, and we are to follow. He also gave us the power of loving the unlovable.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8

John commanded us to love our brother. No one needs to command us to love those who are easily lovable - the pleasant, friendly, kind- the people who serve our purposes. So the command is to love those whom it is difficult or against our nature to love. Because Christ died for us while we were still sinners, we are to love our brothers whom we don't like for one reason or another. Or maybe we'd be inconvenienced somehow by showing love: going to a neighborhood we wouldn't normally frequent, giving money we'd rather keep, spending a weekend working instead of relaxing, you get the idea.

And "our brother" refers to fellow Christians, I believe. Not that we shouldn't love those outside the church, but God also has great concern about the relationships between his children, fellow believers. No good parent wants to see his kids fight with one another, but how much it must grieve God to see people who have been redeemed by His blood fighting with one another. It takes a perfect God like ours to put up with us.

Praise Him always!

1 John Part 16

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

Love Love Love

How do we love one another? The Bible says that we show love to God by obeying his commands. This is not appropriate in relationships between Christians unless someone has authority over us in a particular situation. So, how do we love one another?

First Corinthians 13 gives what I believe is the most complete description of what love is in the Bible. What does this passage tell us about love? It tells us what love is and also what it is not. What it does and what it does not do.

Let's make two lists. First, what love is and does:

1. Patient
2. Kind
3. Rejoices in the truth
4. Always protects
5. Always trusts
6. Always hopes
7. Always perseveres

Second, what love is not and what it does not do:

1. Envy
2. Boast
3. Proud
4. Rude
5. Self-seeking
6. Easily Angered
7. Keep a record of wrongs
8. Delight in evil
9. Fail
   

It is clear that love is shown in thought and action. It involves emotion like rejoicing and lack of envy, but is primarily action based. Even when you describe love as patient, it means that love shows patience through actions. Love shows kindness through actions. We must keep doing these things more and more, having our actions towards one another being motivated and influence by this godly love. Even just working on increasing one of these characteristics in our lives would make us much more effective at showing true love towards one another.

I am struck by the constancy of love. Three things that love does starts with the word 'always.' Love is not fickle. Love doesn't usually protect. Love always protects. Love doesn't usually come through. Love never fails. Never.

When one reads what love is and what it is not, it is almost self evident what John says about love in 1 John 4:7-8. First, love comes from God. It certainly could not come from any of us? Who does not envy? Who does not boast? Who is not self seeking? It seems like self seeking is almost all that we (I) do. Who is naturally patient? Who is not proud? Who isn't rude at their core, even though you may resist the rude words and actions just to be polite? Maybe I'm revealing more about myself than is wise, but since no one is good as the Bible says, I know I'm in 'good' company.

Also, anyone who loves must know God, for how could you love apart from his Spirit? It is impossible. And anyone who does not know God can not love, for God's Spirit has not taught him what love is and how to carry it out.

Look at the list of what love is not. It is no surprise that the first seven characteristics on that list have to do with our self-centeredness? We are self centered, so we envy what others have wanting it for ourselves; we boast about what little we do have; we are proud and self-protective; we are rude, disregarding the value of others; we are self seeking in all we do, and finally and easily angered if anything goes wrong or if anyone dares do anything we don't want him to do. Love demands that we seek the good of others above our own. That's what God did for us.

1 John Part 15

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. 1 John 4:4

John wrote this in the context of fighting false religion, specifically religion that presents a false view of Jesus and seeks to corrupt the Church. These things can be intimidating, but we have the Holy Spirit and can trust him to give us whatever we need to stand strong.

This is the verse to cling to when you see world events and start to worry about the future. We need to remember that our ultimate destiny has already been determined, and if we belong to Christ, it is glorious beyond all imagination! So if someone gets away with a crime or a horrible person gets elected, we know all things will be made right in the end and the shenanigans of evil are only temporary.

And we know that evil can do nothing to us if we call on the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us. Why do we choose to go unprotected into battle so often? Baffling.

Why do we overcome?

Only because of the greatness of who is in us. It has nothing to do with our position or abilities. It is only, only, only because of the Holy Spirit in us. This is an ever important lesson that seems nearly impossible for me to remember.


5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6We 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. 1 John 4:5-6

I need to remember this passage and not be angered and annoyed and frustrated when I see millions of people believing lies and garbage without even examining what they believe. It's also a shame that those that listen to worldly people also do not listen to God. They've heard the wisdom of God but refuse to listen or even entertain that it might be true.

May the Lord increase in my life.

1 John Part 14

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

John went on to address a common heresy of that time, that Jesus had not really come in the flesh but was some kind of spirit being. While this particular false teaching may not be common today, there is a whole host of false teachings to take its place.

There are many false teachings and teachers that most people can see coming a mile away. Cults and televangelists come to mind. Some of their antics and ideas are so goofy that few fall for their ideas, though there is always someone who does.

There are other teachings that might seem true if you do not know your Bible well. The health and wealth gospel appeals to our greedy nature. Twist a few verses, and you're there. Of course Jesus promised us trouble in this world so I guess I can't believe in the health and wealth gospel and the true gospel of Jesus Christ at the same time. Oh well...

I believe there are many other false spirits that we believe much more easily. They do not always come in the form of a television preacher or a door to door evangelist; they come in the form of thoughts planted by Satan and the slow drip of worldly culture into our minds. We entertain thoughts because of a messed up childhood. Maybe dad wasn't a good example of a loving father, and we believe our Father in heaven is angry and unpredictable even though the Bible says he is slow to anger and never changes. Maybe we think that we're worth less because we're not pretty or we're overweight, even though God looks at what's inside a person and sent his Son to die for us. These spirits are the ones that must be tested, and man should they fail the test! But we don't test these spirits and let them into our minds and hearts with little or no protest at all.

Remember... take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5b

1 John Part 13

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 1 John 3:23

John, being the disciple whom Jesus loved, was probably with him when one of the experts in the law asked Jesus what the most important commandment was. Jesus answered:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Matthew 22:37-40

I think this is very close to what John says in verse 23. Believing in Jesus is how we love God; there's no possible way to love God without believing in his Son. Perhaps this is the starting point in fulfilling the most important command to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.


'Those who obey his commands live in him.'

Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3:24

This statement makes sense to me. We are living in God's will if we do what he says. But does it mean more than that? Do these verses from Galatians help clarify the true meaning of this passage?

..for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:27

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2:20a

Part of the problem is we're limited by human thought and language while trying do describe a profound spiritual truth that is beyond description. In some way our old selves have died and Christ makes us spiritually alive, so we live in him. And while we our old selves are gone, we are still here on earth as individuals, and Christ lives in us. But we are not just in his will if we obey him; he also spiritually sustains us. After all, how could we obey him without his help? And 'help' seems like such an inadequate word, as if someone on a ventilator is only hooked up to a 'breathing helper' when the person would stop breathing and die without it. God sustains us and makes it possible for us to do his will; he's not just a 'helper.'


We know that God lives in us by the Spirit he gave us.

How else could we know? We are so dull in ourselves and completely unaware of God and his Spirit that the only way we could possibly know that God is in us is if the Spirit told us himself.

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. John 16:13-15

It is comforting to know that the Spirit will tell us only what the Father and Son say. The Spirit of God will never lead us astray. We can also trust the Spirit to make things known to us if we listen. He brings glory to Christ by making what is His known to us. What an amazing gift. One that I ignore regularly.

1 John Part 12

18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:18-20

I find the phrase "whenever our hearts condemn us" very interesting. I don't know a single Christian that hasn't felt condemnation within themselves at some point. If you have not doubted your salvation, you have for sure doubted the quality of your faith and your value to God. Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.

It seems to me that this verse is saying that if you love in actions and truth, then our hearts will be assured of salvation and of our right standing with God. We do not need to run or hide from God.


The Next Level

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 1 John 3:21-22

Now that we have assurance of salvation and we know the truth, we add to this foundation obedience. Because we are close to God and are obeying him, we then can receive from him anything we ask for. I believe it is largely because we will ask for the right things. We may ask for opportunities and favor in sharing the gospel rather than a shiny new bike like we did when we were children. But I also believe we receive special favor from God the more faithful we become.

This is true empowerment by the Holy Spirit. We quit with the old things of worrying about our standing with God and rest in his power and care. That is when we can start to truly live for him, free from the chains of doubt and false condemnation.