I JOHN: TRUE SPIRITUAL FELLOWSHIP

XII. Exhibiting The True God Of Love In The Believer

(1 John 4:7-12)

I. Introduction

A. When the Apostle John wrote 1 John, he implied in 1 John 1:3 that a number of his readers did not enjoy spiritual fellowship with the Apostles, with God the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ!

B. This lack of true fellowship occurs with many believers today, a state that Christ predicted in Revelation 3:14-22 would exist in our era of Church History. We thus continue our study of 1 John in viewing 1 John 4:7-12 on exhibiting the true God of love in the believer, what makes the love of God perfected in him (as follows):

II. Exhibiting The True God Of Love In The Believer, 1 John 4:7-12.

A. Returning to the issue of love in 1 John 4:7a, John urged, "Beloved, let us love one another," with "love" (agapomen) formed as a hortatory subjunctive in the first person plural to act as an imperative. (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 821; The Analyt. Grk. Lex. (Zon.), 1972, p. 2; J G. Machan, N. T. Grk. for Beg., 1951, p. 131)

B. John explained the reason for this exhortation in 1 John 4:7b,c (as follows):

1. First, love is of God, so everyone who loves [his brother in Christ] is of God and has been permanently begotten (gegennetai, perfect passive of gennao, "beget," Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.; Ibid., The Analyt. Grk. Lex., p. 76; Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 154-155) of God. (a) The perfect tense implies unconditional salvation security and (b) the passive voice supports Bible teaching that salvation is wrought by God without any human meritorious works! (1 John 4:7b; Ephesians 2:8-9)

2. Second, the believer who loves his brother in Christ experientially knows (ginosko, Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.) God, that is, he spiritually fellowships with the Lord, 1 John 4:7c.

3. In other words, it is a believer's obligation to love his fellow brother in Christ, for love is of God, and loving fellow believers should be performed by those who have been graciously, permanently begotten of God in the new birth and who then also experientially know God and thus spiritually fellowship with Him.

C. Conversely, one who does not love his brother does not experientially know (ginosko again, Ibid.) God, that is, he does not spiritually fellowship with the Lord though he may be a believer, for God is love, 1 John 4:8.

D. John then explained how God amazingly expressed His love toward us who now trust in Christ, 1 Jn. 4:9-10:

1. God manifested His love toward us in that He sent His only, unique (monogene, Ibid.; Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 529) Son into the world that we might live through Him by His work on the cross, 1 John 4:9.

2. Also, God manifested His love toward us in that not because we loved Him, but rather (alla, strong adversative, Ibid.; U. B. S. Grk. N. T.) because He loved us and sent His Son to be a Propitiation (hilasmon, Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 376) for our sins, 1 Jn. 4:10. Hilasmon theologically means the "turning away of the divine wrath" (Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 1972, p. 140) as Christ turned God's wrath away from us by absorbing it in Himself as our Substitutionary Atonement!

3. In summary, God expressed His love for us believers by graciously expressing it toward us when we did not love Him, and He did so at the great cost of the life of His only Unique Son, involving His wrath against our sin being poured out on His Son Who bore our sin in Himself in our place on the cross!

E. Remarkably, John added that if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another with the same selfless, gracious love that seeks the welfare of other believers even if they do not love us in return! (1 John 4:11)

F. No mortal human has visibly seen God at any time, but if we love one another in such a selfless, gracious way, seeking the welfare of other believers even if they do not love us, God fellowships with us and His love is permanently perfected (teteleiomene, perfect passive participle of teleioo, "be fulfilled, realized," Ibid., The Analyt. Grk. Lex., p. 402, 401) in us, 1 John 4:12. Though God Himself has never been visibly seen by any mortal, when believers exhibit this kind of selfless, gracious love that seeks the welfare of other believers even if they do not return that love, the character of the invisible God is actually seen in the lives of such believers, and His love is permanently perfected in them!

Lesson: We believers are obliged to love one another in self-sacrificial, gracious ways even if that love is not returned, for such love is of God and was expressed toward us in Christ at the cross, and truly being born of God and fellowshipping with Him obligates us to love other believers like God loved us. When we then love in this way, the unseen God is made evident in our lives to onlookers, and His love is permanently perfected in us.

Application: May we love one another as God has loved us, doing so with selflessness and great grace.