Advent 2020: Love - 1 John 4:7-12

Good morning.

If you will turn with me to 1 John chapter 4.

1 John 4 · chapter mention

!

I'll be reading from 1 John 4, 7 through 12.

!

I know this is not a typical Advent passage,

but I know this is not a typical Advent passage,

but I'm sure you'll see that it does apply.

I'm going to be focusing on verse 9 and 10,

but I'd like to read it in its context

because it really all goes together.

So 1 John 4, beginning with verse 7.

Beloved, let us love one another,

for love is from God.

And whoever loves has been born of God

and knows God.

Anyone who does not love

does not know God

because God is love.

In this, the love of God was made manifest among us,

that God sent his only son into the world

so that we might live through him.

In this is love.

Not that we have loved God,

but that he loved us

and sent his son

to be the propitiation

for our sins.

Beloved,

if God so loved us,

we ought also to love one another.

No one has ever seen God.

If we will love one another,

God abides in us

and his love

is perfected

in us.

Father, thank you

for your word

that it is meat

to our souls,

that it is life,

that it is light.

And we pray today

that you,

by your spirit,

would take this word,

write it on our hearts,

and make us people

that truly glorify you

in love for one another.

In Jesus' name.

While like hope

and peace

and joy,

love

is at the very heart

of the Advent season

and the gospel.

This passage in 1 John

makes an important connection

between our love

for one another

and God's Advent love

for us

as observed

in the gift

of life

and the sending

of his son,

Jesus,

into the world.

Now, I know

the words gift

and Advent

are not mentioned

in this text,

but as I hope

you will see,

the gift of Advent

is exactly

what is being described here.

The connection

between Advent love

and God's gift

has a special significance

for us

with regard

to our traditions

at Christmastime.

Although the idea

of giving gifts

during the winter holidays

predates

the Christian celebration

of the birth of Christ,

giving fits in well

with the narrative.

On the one hand,

some very appropriate gifts

were given

to the newborn Messiah

and his family.

We are told that

Magi from the East

came to worship

the newborn king

and they presented him

with gifts of gold

and myrrh

and frankincense.

But even more importantly,

we understand

that that newborn baby,

that innocent child,

was and is

the most important gift

that has ever been given

in the history

of the world.

Now,

gift giving

is at

its peak level

during the season.

How many of you

are expecting gifts

in a few days?

How many of you

are giving gifts

in a few days?

I didn't see

very many hats.

What?

Yeah.

I know.

I guess the excitement

comes from the younger ones.

It's been calculated

that Americans

will spend

over a trillion dollars

in seasonal purchases

this year.

only slightly less

than last year

because of COVID.

And the majority

of that giving,

an average of about

$500 per person,

will be for gifts.

Giving gifts

is big business.

Giving is big business.

Organizations

and companies

want to know

how to glean

more of your generosity.

And as a result,

hundreds of studies

in the last 20 years

on the psychology

of giving

have been conducted.

And those studies

have focused on things

like biological connections

to giving,

the results of giving,

interpersonal,

intrapersonal factors,

and social and cultural

drivers to giving.

I won't bore you

with all the details,

but here's some highlights.

There's evidence

that links giving

to better overall health,

to the delay

of severe health problems

and mortality

in older volunteers,

to a greater sense

of well-being,

to better relationships,

and even to better chances

of finding a mate.

I hope that isn't the only thing

some of you

will take away

from this sermon.

Some studies have found

that giving,

even more than receiving,

produces similar

neural impulses

that bring pleasure

in the same way

that food and drugs

and, well,

you can imagine.

Researchers have surmised

that in spite of

a human propensity

for self-interest,

giving appears

to be hardwired

into the human brain.

Now, much of our giving

simply shows

affection or gratitude,

but not all of it

is altruistic.

We often give

to gain

or keep someone's affection.

Sometimes our giving

is motivated

by a sense of guilt

or obligation.

Other types of giving

like bribery

and grooming

are simply evil.

But the kind of giving

that flows

from Advent love

transcends

all human giving.

Its source

is God Himself.

It's the heritage

of those

who belong to Him.

In 1 John 4,

7 through 12,

it's the apostle's intent

to encourage

increased love

among believers.

And when he writes,

Beloved,

love one another

in verse 7,

we might assume

that we know

what he's talking about

because we know

so much about love already.

Right?

But it's possible

that we really don't.

In fact,

it appears that the reason

God inspired

these verses

is to help clarify

for us

what Christian love

in the church

is supposed to look like.

Verses 9 and 10

reveal the heart

of Advent love.

It's from the Father's

act of giving

that we understand love.

simply,

these verses

teach us

that the gift

of Advent love

reveals the reason

why

and the measure

how

we should love

one another.

What I believe

we'll see this morning

is that there's

a vital connection

between love

and giving

and that the Christian

life

of sacrificial giving

for the benefit

of others

is the intent

of Advent love.

Now,

the first part

of John's description

of love

in verse 9

focuses on the reason

the Father sent the Son.

In short,

we should love one another

because Advent love

has given us

a new life

that is characterized

by love.

Look at verse 9 again.

In this,

the love of God

was made manifest

among us

that God

sent His

only Son

into the world

so that we might

live

through Him.

Verse 9

is a

first part

of a two-part

argument

that supports

the exhortation

to love

in the previous

two verses.

That exhortation

by John

is simply

that the Christians

should love each other

because

we are intimately

related to God

who is the source

of love

and love itself.

That amazing

statement

at the end

of verse 8,

God is love,

is one of those

one of the most

profound

statements

in Scripture.

A modern

theologian

might seek

to explain it

by defining

the word,

looking at

its etymology

and so on,

or by providing

some kind

of philosophical

defense

supporting the

statement.

That's not

what the apostle

does here.

He simply

assumes that

it's true

and proceeds

to show

how this

wonderful love

has been

manifested

among us.

God is love

and what follows

is how

God has

shown us

this love

and that

is Advent.

He begins

with Advent.

God

sending his

son

into the

world.

Now,

the way

the apostle

refers to

the manifestation

of this love

is significant.

Literally,

he writes

that his only

son,

that his only

son sent

God

into the

world.

That's how

it reads in

the Greek.

It begins

with his

only son.

Now,

by using this

word order

for emphasis,

he draws

our attention

to the

uniqueness

of Jesus.

Jesus.

The person

that God

sent into

the world

was none

other than

the unique

son of

God,

the only

begotten

son of

God.

According to

John's

gospel,

this person,

our Lord

Jesus,

has been the

object of

the Father's

love,

sharing his

glory from

eternity.

see that

in his

high priestly

prayer in

John 17.

This beloved

son,

John tells

us,

a Father

sent into

the world,

into our

world,

a world

for the

most part

has rejected

God's rule

and his

will,

a world

that is

hostile

and harsh,

a world

that out

of envy

would inflict

on him

the worst

kind of

death.

and even

his entrance

into the

world was

far from

worthy of

his status

and desert.

He was

born in

a cave

where

animals were

kept.

He had a

feeding trough

for his

bed.

He had to

flee from

a murderous

king and

he lived

in exile

and obscurity

for many

years.

others.

But John

tells us

that his

being sent

to us

was God's

manifestation

of love

for us.

The last

part of

verse 9

continues by

stating the

specific reason

why the

Father sent

the Son

into the

world.

He sent

his Son

entirely

for your

benefit.

He writes

God sent

his only

Son into

the world

so that

we might

live

through

him.

Notice

that word

there

might

that

verb

might

live.

God

sent

his

Son

to give

you

the

gift

of

life.

Now

perhaps you

notice how

similar this

verse is to

John 3

16

more

famous

verse

for God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

only Son

that whoever

believes in

him should

not perish

but have

eternal

life.

both of

these verses

are from

the same

writer

approximately

the same

time

and they

both

communicate

the same

truth.

The

Father's

love

is somehow

revealed in

the sending

of his

Son

so that

you

might

live.

life.

In the

gospel

John

adds

the

word

eternal

to

describe

life.

Now

when we

think of

eternal

we typically

think of

length of

time.

It's

normal

it's

natural

and it's

part of

it.

After

the

disobedience

of man

in the

garden

of Eden

the tree

of life

was guarded

specifically

so that

humanity

would not

eat of

it

and

live

forever.

Genesis

3.

And at

the other

end of

the scriptures

in the

new

Jerusalem

the tree

of life

reemerges

providing

healing

fruit

all year

round

enabling

God's

servants

to

reign

forever.

Revelation

22

1-5

The word

eternal is

helpful here

to describe

life but

it still

can be

misunderstood

if all

we mean

by it

is length

of time.

It's

also a

specific

kind

of life.

Jesus

himself

defines

eternal

life this

way in

his last

prayer.

He says

and this

is eternal

life

that they

may know

you the

only true

God

and Jesus

Christ

whom you

have sent.

God

I think

there's a

connection

here between

knowing God

and what

we've read

in 1 John

4.

John

further

refers to

this life

in chapter

3 of

his

epistle

where he

speaks of

it as

having

already

begun

and as

having

effect

on the

way we

live

right now.

he writes

in 1 John

3

14

we know

that we

have

passed

from

death

into

life

because

we

love

the

brothers

or

something

about the

gift of

life

that's

connected

to

love

life

for the

Christian

is much

more than

mere

existence

existence

John

refers

to

mere

existence

here

in

1 John

3

14

and he

calls

it

death

it

doesn't

matter

how

good

your

life

is

here

on

earth

if

it

isn't

the

gift

of

eternal

life

that

the

father

sent

the

son

to

give

it's

not

life

at

all

eternal

life

is a

different

kind

of

life

it's

a

life

born

from

the

divine

nature

of

God

and

it's

your

heritage

as a

child

of

God

it's

who

you

are

the

evidence

that

one

has

eternal

life

is

that

he

or

she

loves

the

children

of

God

life

then

is

the

gift

of

advent

love

love

and

advent

love

is

our

measure

of

why

we

should

love

one

another

so

to

summarize

the

first

point

verse

nine

we

should

love

one

another

because

advent

love

has

given

us

a

new

life

that

is

characterized

by

love

but

advent

love

is

not

only

seen

in

the

birth

of

Christ

the

incarnation

involves

his

whole

life

he

is

Emmanuel

he

wasn't

just

born

to

us

he

lived

for

us

and

he

died

for

us

the

next

verse

verse

10

teaches

us

that

we

should

love

one

another

because

advent

love

has

demonstrated

what

God's

love

really

is

and

how

we

benefited

from

it

this

is

the

measure

of

love

let's

look

at

verse

10

again

and

this

is

love

not

that

we

have

loved

God

but

that

he

loved

us

and

sent

his

son

to

be

the

propitiation

for

our

sins

so

verse

10

continues

John's

argument

by

elaborating

on the

demonstration

of

God's

love

toward

us

while

in

verse

9

he

highlights

the

purpose

of

God

sending

his

son

into

the

world

and

verse

10

he

reveals

the

method

his

plan

was

to

accomplish

in

this

is

love

that's

how

he

begins

the

sense

of

that

simple

phrase

is

that

John

is

now

going

to

show

us

love

in

its

highest

form

in

this

is

love

this

is

what

love

is

the

definition

begins

in

the

form

of

contrast

not

that

we

love

God

if

you

want

to

understand

what

love

is

don't

look

to

yourself

don't

do

that

don't

look

to

the

entertainment

world

around

you

don't

look

to

Whitney

Houston

don't

look

to

your

feelings

towards

one

another

but

most

of

all

don't

look

to

your

love

for

God

because

your

love

does

not

demonstrate

what

we're

talking

about

here

whether

it's

love

for

God

universally

all

of

mankind

or

individually

and even

the most

zealous

religious

sacrifice

and devotion

that has

been

seen

human

love

is not

the measure

of love

it's

always

inadequate

and

therefore

misleading

the verse

continues

but that

he

loved

us

so a

correct

definition

of love

begins

with the

source

of love

himself

that

contrast

is

instructive

and think

of it

this way

it's

to

defiant

arrogant

powerless

poor

and needy

people

who really

don't

love

God

that

he

demonstrated

his

love

to

love

by itself

is amazing

love

to someone

who's

worthy

of love

is

one of

the best

feelings

you can

imagine

but love

to the

unworthy

love

to the

unlovely

this

shows

love

in its

highest

splendor

the last

part of

the verse

describes

that

splendor

he

loved

us

and he

sent

his

son

to be

the

propitiation

for

our

sins

it's

what

God

has

done

in

order

to

make

it

possible

for

us

to

have

life

that

defines

what

love

really

is

he

sent

his

son

to be

the

propitiation

for

our

sins

I

know

in

this

church

you're

familiar

with

that

word

that's

a

good

thing

let's

look at

it

just a

little

bit

more

here

we

should

all

be

familiar

with

this

word

because

it's

really

the

heart

of

the

gospel

the

word

translated

propitiation

here

comes

from

the

Greek

word

!

some

lexicons

translated

generally

as

the

means

of

forgiveness

that's

true

but

it's

more

specific

than

that

in

the

Greek

world

at

the

time

of

the

New

Testament

the

word

was

used

to

signify

an

offering

a

gift

that

was

given

to

appease

the

gods

one

would

present

a

gift

to

gain

favor

to

pacify

anger

or

to

gain

some

kind

of

merit

a

better

definition

of

propitiation

than would

include

the

putting

away

of

wrath

the

wrath

of

God

as

the

means

of

forgiveness

but

in

amazing

contrast

to

the

pagan

practice

of

seeking

to

gain

the

favor

or

appease

the

wrath

of

a

capricious

arbitrary

bad

tempered

conceited

deity

our

good

holy

and

loving

God

sends

his

only

son

into

the

world

to

provide

the

necessary

propitiation

for the

benefit

of

sinful

rebellious

self-centered

men

and

women

if that

doesn't

blow

your

mind

wake

up

this

was

done

not

to

change

God's

mind

but

to

satisfy

his

justice

as

J.I.

Packer

so

succinctly

describes

I want

to give

you

his

quote

because

it's

right

on the

mark

he

says

in

paganism

man

propitiates

his

gods

and

religion

becomes

a form

of

commercialism

and

indeed

of

bribery

in

Christianity

however

God

propitiates

his

wrath

by

his

own

action

he

sent

forth

Jesus

Christ

says

Paul

to

be

a

propitiation

he

sent

his

son

says

John

to

be

the

propitiation

for

our

sins

it

was

not

man

to

whom

God

was

hostile

who

took

the

initiative

to

make

God

friendly

nor

was

it

Jesus

Christ

the

eternal

son

who

took

the

initiative

to

turn

his

father's

wrath

away

from

us

in

love

but

it

was

God

himself

who

took

the

initiative

in

quenching

his

own

wrath

against

those

who

despite

their

ill

desert

he

loved

and

had

chosen

to

save

beloved

love

this

love

this

is

advent

love

we

understand

that

God

had

to

do

it

this

way

it

was

the

only

way

because

God

is

good

he

is

righteous

and

just

as

well

as

loving

because

he

is

good

he

hates

sin

because

he

is

good

he

must

judge

sin

because

he

is

good

he

cannot

just

overlook

it

look

it

and

allow

us

to

live

in

it

forever

!

good

he

is

love

as

well

and

because

he

is

good

he

acted

mercifully

and

graciously

and

lovingly

to

make

a

way

to

satisfy

his

own

justice

and

forgive

us

I like

how

John

Piper

put it

the

wisdom

of

God

devised

a way

for

the

love

of

God

to

deliver

sinners

from

the

wrath

of

God

while

not

compromising

the

righteousness

of

God

now

I

know

that

some

people

have

suggested

there's

really

no

connection

between

Advent

and

the

death

of

Christ

and

every

year

they

get a

little

bit

louder

and

they

want

to

push

those

apart

so

called

progressive

Christians

say

that the

incarnation

is not

about

death

it's

about

life

it's

not

about

death

it's

about

liberation

and

justice

not

propitiation

I've

come to

expect

such

teaching

from

those

from

more

liberal

mainline

denominations

who have

forsaken

the

authority

of

scripture

but

what

has

surprised

me

a little

bit

is

the

similar

perspective

coming

from

self

proclaimed

devout

Bible

believing

Christians

not

far

from

here

a

neighborhood

homeowners

association

gave

notice

to

a

home

owner

to

remove

the

cross

from

their

Christmas

decorations

under

the threat

of

a

hundred

dollar

a

day

fine

when

the

home

owner

questioned

!

the

violation

the

board

members

many

claiming

to be

Christian

board

members

of the

HOE

asked

for

scripture

to

connect

the

cross

to

Christmas

they

wrote

this is

what the

board

wrote

the

board

believes

that

the

Bible

is

very

clear

on

the

distinction

between

these

two

major

events

in

Christ's

life

on

earth

the

cross

is

appropriate

for