The Sacrifice of An Only Child

We are in 1st John. We've been going through this book for some time.

And the passage we are on today fits perfectly with the theme of Good Friday.

So please turn with me to 1st John chapter 4, verses 7 to 21.

John 4:7–21

1st John chapter 4, verses 7 to 21. Let me read it out loud for us.

John 4:7–21

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 also ought to love one another.

No one has ever seen God.

If we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us,

because He has given us of His Spirit.

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,

God abides in Him and He in God.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God,

and God abides in Him.

By this is love perfected with us,

so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment,

because as He is so, also are we in this world.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.

For fear has to do with punishment,

and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

We love because He first loved us.

If anyone says, I love God,

and hates his brother,

he is a liar.

For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen,

cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

And this commandment we have from Him,

whoever loves God must also love his brother.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Imagine with me that you are at your own child's funeral,

and someone exclaims,

Oh, what a good day it is.

A good day.

A sunny day, maybe.

A beautiful day, maybe.

But a good day.

I'm grieving the loss of my precious child,

and you call this a good day.

The Friday 2,000 years ago,

when God's only Son was crucified,

it's what we call Good Friday.

The word good used to mean holy,

or set apart,

special.

So how can we call this day special?

How can we call this day Good Friday?

And this passage we just read tells us

that it's Good Friday,

because it reveals to us

God's love for us in Jesus Christ.

That God the Father loved us to the point

that He sacrificed His only Son to save us.

And that's the main point of this passage,

that we are to display in our love

for our Christian brothers and sisters,

the love that our Heavenly Father showed us

in sacrificing His only Son for us.

And so first,

we're going to talk about God's love for us

in verses 7 to 10,

and then we'll talk about

our love for one another

in verses 11 to 21.

Verse 7 begins,

Beloved,

in all of John's letters,

he uses many affectionate,

you know, familial terms.

We've seen him call his readers

little children many times

in this book so far already.

And he says,

he addresses them as beloved

many times in this book as well.

And in saying that,

addressing us in that way,

addressing God's people in that way,

he's reminding us that we are

beloved children of God.

You may have grown up with unloving,

perhaps even abusive parents.

You may have grown up without parents at all.

But if you are part of the family of God,

then you are not abandoned,

you are not orphaned,

you are not unwanted,

you are not defective,

you are beloved.

And so he addresses us,

beloved people.

And as those who are loved by God,

John commands,

let us love one another.

He's speaking of the love

within the family of God.

We are to love our brothers and sisters

in Christ.

But why should the fact

that we are loved by God

make us love one another?

John explains in verse 7,

For love is from God,

and whoever loves

has been born of God

and knows God.

True love for the people of God

only has one origin.

I don't have the credentials

to be a coffee snob or anything

or to talk about such things

that I'm about to talk about.

Some of you do.

Please don't laugh at me.

But I enjoy a good cup

of decaf coffee.

You know that someone

really likes coffee

when they're drinking

even when it doesn't have caffeine, right?

Now, there has been

a sudden increase

in specialty coffee shops

and many of them

sell what they call

single origin coffee.

Which in its strictest sense

means that the coffee

was literally grown

on a single farm.

It's not grown on many farms.

It's not grown in many countries.

So if you have money enough

and a palate sensitive enough

to enjoy such single origin coffee,

neither of which I have,

you know exactly

where that coffee came from.

Because it's a single origin coffee.

And genuine love,

John is saying,

is the same way.

Genuine love for God's people

is the same way

because love for God's people

is a single origin virtue.

wherever there is genuine love

for God and His people,

there will be

the undeniable presence of God.

For love is from God.

It's the only source it comes from.

And whoever loves

has been born of God

and knows God.

That means you're not going to find it

anywhere else.

people search for love

in all the wrong places.

You're not going to find

true love

in an internet chat room.

You're not going to find

true love

in a one night stand.

You're not going to find

true love

by succeeding

and gaining the esteem

of your peers

and coworkers.

If you want to experience

the raw,

unfiltered,

authentic

love of God

and not the cheap

imitations of it,

the only place to find it

is among the people of God

who love one another

and love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Love for our fellow brothers

and sisters

is one of the distinguishing

marks of the Christians

that I talked about last week.

And whenever that love is there,

we know that we have truly

been born of God.

John's here using

the metaphor of birth

to describe

the Christian's conversion.

He spoke of this earlier

in chapter 3,

verse 9.

No one born of God

makes a practice of sinning

for God's seed

abides in him

and he cannot keep on sinning

because he has been born of God.

We were all once

children of Adam,

the original sinner,

the first sinner.

And when we renounced

our sinful heritage

and pledged allegiance

to Jesus

through our faith in him,

we are born again

by God's seed,

which is a reference

to the Holy Spirit's work

in implanting

the word of Christ,

the gospel of Jesus Christ

into our hearts.

And when that happens,

when we become a Christian,

God becomes the ultimate

and primary object

of our affection

and devotion.

When we become a Christian,

our ultimate

and primary family

becomes the church of God.

And when we become

a Christian,

our ultimate

and primary standard,

the code by which we live,

becomes the word of God.

And for this reason,

when we are born of God,

born into his family,

we start to be characterized

by the love of God.

This is why it says

in verse 8,

anyone who does not love

does not know God

because God is love.

Please don't misunderstand

this famous phrase,

God is love,

as a validation

of all the vague slogans

that people toss around nowadays.

Love is all you need.

Love is love.

One love.

Because love is frequently

misconstrued and misapplied.

Note that it does not say

love is God.

No, it says God is love.

Many people in our culture

think that love is God.

And of course,

it is they who ultimately

define what love is

in their own subjective

sense of what it is.

So they justify

illicit relationships

and marriages

by saying that

they've found true love.

And that nothing must stand

in the way of that love.

They say that

if you really love someone,

you should let that person

be and do

whatever he or she

wishes to be and do.

But that's

not true love.

The truth is

that it's people

we care nothing about

that we leave alone

to live however they wish.

It's the illegitimate children

who are left alone

to roam the streets

and do whatever they want.

The legitimate children

are disciplined,

educated,

corrected,

guided.

It's phony friends

that are content

to watch us ruin our lives

with bad decisions

and vices.

True friends

confront us.

They chide us.

Even get angry with us

when we make bad decisions

that jeopardize

our well-being.

We are in grave danger

of distorting love

as this passage

is speaking of

when we contradict

the teaching of Scripture

by saying things like

a God of love

would not demand

such things.

Well,

that biblical command

is unloving.

Who says

who says so?

According to

whose definition

of love

is that unloving

when the Bible teaches

your definition of love?

Society's definition

of love?

No,

the only person

who can rightly

define love

is God

because God

is love.

And too many people

in our world

are buying

the inferior

counterfeit

and are living

without the eternal

satisfaction

that God's love

offers

as a result.

Our own

flawed,

sinful,

and human

understanding

of what love

is must never

become

the mold

by which we

shape God's

love into

our own liking.

Rather,

God's perfect love

must become

the mold

by which we

shape our own

loves.

In verses

9-10,

John tells us

exactly how God

revealed His love

to us.

It says,

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.

Notice the

repetition of the

phrase

in this

in verse 9

and verse 10.

That's like a

giant flashing

neon arrow

telling you

to look here.

Do you want

to know

what love

is?

Do you want

to experience

the love of God?

Then you don't

need to look

elsewhere

because it's

right here.

He's saying

in this

the love of God

is revealed.

It says in

verse 9

first

that God

sent His

only Son

into the

world

so that we

might live

through Him.

God sent

His Son

into the world

so that we

might live

through Him.

Jesus said

in John 10-10

I came

that you

may have

life

and have

it abundantly.

Fullness of

life is found

in Jesus

alone.

And what

does that

life look

like?

Jesus said

in John

John 17:3

chapter 17

verse 3

and this

is eternal

life

that they

know you

the only

true God

and Jesus

Christ

whom you

have sent.

It's in

knowing Jesus

and believing

Jesus

that we

receive the

spiritual

vitality

the life

that flows

into eternity.

God did

not leave

us on

our own

but He

sent His

only Son

on a

perilous

journey

into the

world.

The word

world

occurs more

often in

1 John

than in

any other

book of

the Bible

and in

most of

those

occurrences

it denotes

a hostile

environment.

He said

earlier in

chapter 2

verse 16

to 17

all that is

in the

world

the desires

of the flesh

and the desires

of the eyes

and pride

of life

is not

from the

Father

but is

from the

world

and the

world

is passing

away

along with

its desires.

He said

in 1 John

1 John 3:13

chapter 3

verse 13

do not be

surprised

that the

world

hates you.

He will

say later

in chapter 5

verse 19

the whole

world lies

in the

power

of the

evil

one.

Now does

that sound

like the

school that

you would

send your

kids to.

Join us

this fall

at world

school.

Here your

kid will

surely be

hated and

bullied

and he

will be

ruined

with all

kinds of

sensual

pleasures

and pride

so that

he will

surely

graduate

firmly

under the

power of

the evil

one.

And that

diploma will

not matter

because this

school is

passing away.

Okay.

God the

father sent

his only

son into

this world

so that we

might live

through him.

He sent him

into this

hostile territory

where he will

be persecuted,

where he will

be executed

so that we

might live

through him.

The description

that Jesus

is God's

only son

as extra

pathos to

this reality,

the word that

is translated

here is only

occurs nine

times in the

New Testament

and every

time it

serves to

highlight the

uniqueness and

preciousness of

the person that

is being

described.

For one

example,

in Luke

Luke 7:12

chapter 7

verse 12,

the word

only is used

to describe

a man who

had died

and was

being carried

out for a

funeral procession.

And he

is called

the only

son of

his mother

who was

a widow.

This

point in

description

makes the

death

particularly

tragic

because not

only is it

sad that

a mother

has to

bury her

own child,

it should

have been

the other

way around.

But this

man was

also the

only heir

of this

mother.

And since

this woman

had already

lost her

husband,

she was a

widow,

this man

was her

only hope

of future

provision

and progeny.

He was

her only

son.

To capture

that emotional

power of

that word,

the New

International

Version,

which is

another

translation,

renders it

one and

only son.

God sent

his one

and only

son into

the world

so that

we might

live through

him.

God the

father didn't

have spare

sons lying

around.

He only

had one

and this

son is

his eternal

son,

the second

person of

the Trinity,

the one

whom he

had

eternal

fellowship

with.

And how

exactly did

God give

us eternal

life through

his son?

It says in

verse 10,

that 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.

That Jesus

is the

propitiation

for our

sins means

that Jesus

was the

atoning

sacrifice

for our

sins.

By dying

on the

cross in

the place

of sinners,

Jesus pays

on the one

hand the

penalty of

our sins

and then he

pacifies the

wrath of

God.

Now some

people might

criticize the

idea of

propitiation

as primitive

or crude.

They despise

a God of

wrath and

they say

that this

is no

different from

the paganism

of the

Greco-Roman

world or

the animism

and shamanism

of various

Asian and

African

civilizations

or the

superstitious

use of

talisman

and charms

in western

civilization.

But that's

not true.

All these

other religions

and superstitions

have something

in common

and it's

that humans

are afraid

of the

wrath of

various so

called

deities

and spirits

and therefore

they offer

sacrifices to

them in

order to

pacify them

and earn

their favor.

In the

Old Testament

for example

in Leviticus

Leviticus 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20

God explicitly

forbids

God's

people

his people

from sacrificing

their children

to pagan

god

Molech

who offers

them

favor

and well-being

supposedly

but compare

that to

Christianity

where the

picture is

fundamentally

different.

It's not

humans out

of their

fear

seeking to

pacify on

their own

initiative

these deities

it's

God

who

loves

first

not that

we have

loved God

but that

he loved

us

and sent

his son

to be the

propitiation

for our

sins

God is

the one

who has

the initiative

and God's

the one

who offers

the solution

to propitiate

his own

wrath

God

because God

loves

us

he finds

a way

to satisfy

the demands

of his

justice

for sinners

like us

so that

he could

save us

he pays

the dearest

costly price

himself

the second

person of

the triune

God

his one

and only

son

bears our

sin

and dies

the death

that we

deserved

that's why

it's

fundamentally

different

Romans

Romans 3:21–26

chapter 3

verses 21

to 26

tell us

that the

cross of

Jesus

showed

God's

righteousness

because

in his

divine

forbearance

he had

passed

over

former

sins

this is

what Paul

means by

that

we cry

foul

don't we

when judges

unjustly

let perpetrators

of heinous

crimes

go free

or to

let them

off the

hook

too easily

without

punishing

them

with

appropriate

severity

people

cry foul

when they

see that

they say

that is

unjust

that's a

corrupt

judge

and

likewise

it would

have been

unjust

and corrupt

for God

to show

mercy

to sinners

like us

we

deserved

eternal

punishment

for our

sins

against

God

because

we

sinned

against

an

infinite

infinitely

worthy

God

God

God's

justice

God's

holiness

have to

be satisfied

somehow

and that

somehow

is the

cross of

Jesus

Christ

it is

what

vindicates

or proves

the

righteousness

of God

in having

passed over

our former

sins

his forbearance

over our

sins

Jesus

is the

substitutionary

sacrifice

that God

himself

provided

my

wife

has

suffered

multiple

miscarriages

in our

marriage

and

as

heart

wrenching

and tragic

as that

is

it's

not as

difficult

as

losing

a

child

that

we

have

already

had

a

chance

to

build

a

relationship

with

a

child

that

we

have

had

a

chance

to

hold

to

kiss

to

tuck

under

the

bed

I

can't

imagine

the

pain

of

losing

one

of

my

daughters

even

though

I

have

two

of

them

and

even

though

I've

only

had

six

years

to

spend

with

the

older

one

but

imagine

the

loss

the

pain

of

God

our

father

who

had

only

one

son

and

a

son

who

had

loved

him

perfectly

the

son

that

he

loved

with

his

perfect

unrelenting

love

for

eternity

and

yet

even

sinful

human

parents

will

gladly

lay

down

their

own

lives

to

save

their

children

yet

God

the

father

who

loved

his

son

so

loved

us

loved

us

the

disobedient

rebellious

children

the

illegitimate

bastard

children

offspring

of

sin

he

loved

us

and

sent

his

son

to

be

the

propitiation

for

our

sins

that's

how

we

know

what

love

is

that's

the

father's

love

for

us

and

then

in

verse

11

John

pivots

from

God's

love

for

us

to

once

again

our

love

for

one

another

he

addresses

us

again

as

beloved

if

God

so

loved

us

we

also

ought

to

love

one

another

God's

love

for

us

motivates

us

to

love

one

another

this

was

John's

argument

in

chapter

3

that

if

the

love

of

the

father

truly

resides

in

us

then

we

will

inevitably

love

our

brothers

and

sisters

in

the

family

of

God

since

the

family

of

God

the

people

of

God

are

the

objects

of

God

special

affection

and

because

God

paid

the

dearest

price

of

his

own

son

in

order

to

redeem

when

we

take

our

annual

family

trip

to

Seattle

to

visit

my

parents

my

parents

friends

always

shower

us

with

love

they

take

us

out

to

eat

they

get

gifts

for

our

children

they

visit

us

and

spend

time

with

us

and

why

do

they

do

that

we

hardly

see

them

anymore

and

rarely

talk

and

it's

not

because

we

are

so

great

that

they

love

us

so

much

it's

because

they

love

my

parents

it's

because

they

love

my

parents

who

have

loved

them

and

because

they

know

that

my

parents

love

us

so

to

them

loving

us

is

a

tangible

expression

of

their

love

for

my

parents

similarly

our

love

for

our

Christian

brothers

and

sisters

serve

as

the

proof

that

we

indeed

belong

to

God

and

have

God's

love

in

us

John

elaborates

on this

truth

in verse

12

no one

has

ever

seen

God

if

we

love

one

another

God

abides

in

us

and

his

love

is

perfected

in

us

the

invisibility

of

God

is

a

major

theme

in

the

gospel

of

John

he

writes

in

John

1

18

no

one

has

ever

seen

God

the

only

God

who

is

at

the

father's

side

he

has

made

him

known

so

no

one

has

seen

God

the

only

person

who

can

reveal

God

to

us

definitively

is

his

son

the

second

person

of

the

trinity

Jesus

Christ

who

is

now

at

the

father's

side

after

having

ascended

to

the

heavens

now

that's

wonderful

right

for

people

who

lived

during

Jesus

time

like

John

but

what

about

all the

subsequent

generations

who

no

longer

have

Jesus

with

them

in

the

flesh

John

is

actually

writing

this

letter

to

such

people

he

says

in

verse

14

we

have

seen

and

testified

that

the

father

has

sent

his

son

to

be

the

savior

of

the

world

John

has

seen

the

he

was

a

beneficiary

of

Jesus'

personal

ministry

to him

during

his

life

but

his

readers

are

not

and

John's

writing

so that

he

might

transmit

transfer

what

he

has

received

from

Jesus

to

future

generations

but

how

are

they

how

are

we

who

have

never

seen

Jesus

who

have

never

seen

this

invisible

God

to

be

assured

that

we

indeed

belong

to

God

and

that

God's

love

abides

in

us

verse

12

is

John's

answer

no

one

has

ever

seen

God

if

we

love

one

another

God

abides

in

us

and

his

love

is

perfected

in

us

here

is

how

the

invisible

God

is

evidenced

among

us

in

our

love

for

one

another

when

the

Son

of

God

became

incarnate

took

a

human

flesh

and

walked

the

earth

he

revealed

God

the

Father's love

love to us

and in a similar way now we as the church as the body of Christ indwelled by the Spirit of God we reveal God in the way we love one another

it is in our love for one another that God's presence is made manifest and his love is perfected

meaning that God's love has its full effect in creating that same kind of love in us

John expands on this truth later in verses 20 and 21

if anyone says

if anyone says I love God

and hates his brother

he is a liar

for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen

cannot love God whom he has not seen

and this commandment we have from him

whoever loves God must also love his brother

no one has seen God because God is spirit he is invisible and therefore the claim to love God is difficult to verify isn't it

but our love for one another whom we do see

that can be verified

this is why the local church the community of God's people is so important

a Christian that isolates him or herself cannot rightly claim to love God

because his love for God is not demonstrated in his love for his Christian brothers and sisters

anyone can claim to love God in the abstract

in theory

but we prove that love concretely

in practice

in the way we love each other

so then if your pursuit of God does not increase your love for the church

then you are probably not pursuing God rightly

because the heart of God brims over with love for his people

there is a second related way by which we know that God dwells in us

it says in verse 13

by this we know that we abide in him and he in us

because he has given us of his spirit

but that begs the question

how do we know that we have received the Holy Spirit?

John doesn't go into that much detail here about that

and that's because he has already answered that question at length

at the beginning of this chapter in chapter 4 verses 1 to 6

he told us

that the test by which we know that we have received the true spirit of God

is that those who have the spirit of God

verse 2 verse 3

confess Jesus

they believe in his name

they pledge allegiance to him

they believe that he is the word made flesh

the son of God and son of man

the savior of the world

and so John summarizes what he said earlier here in verses 14 and 15

and we have seen and testified

that the father has sent his son to be the savior of the world

whoever confesses

that Jesus is the son of God

God abides in him

and he in God

this is how we know

that we have received the spirit of God

it's not some subjective

tingly feeling

or a cathartic emotional

experience

but faith

in Jesus Christ

as the son of God

and savior of the world

and this faith in Christ

inescapably

produces

love for one another

so John says in verse 16

so we have come to know

and to believe

the love that God has for us

and God is love

and whoever abides in love

abides in God

and God abides in him

the phrase

the love that God has for us

is literally

the love that God has in us

in the original language

we are assured

that God's love is in us

when we believe in Jesus Christ

on the one hand

and we love one another

these are the twin proofs

of genuine conversion

that John reiterates again and again

throughout this letter

because our brotherhood

with fellow Christians

flows

it's the natural outflow

of being born again

into the family of God

because

receiving God's love

through

the sacrificial death

of Jesus Christ

is what naturally

flows out

into

our sacrificial love

for one another

it's impossible

to have

one of these

distinguishing marks

without the other

they always

come

together

this is why

John repeatedly

uses this expression

that God's love

is perfected

in us

look at verse 12

God's love is perfected

in us

he uses that expression

four times

in this letter

and three of those times

are in this passage

that we just read

he says again

in verses 17

to 19

by this

is love

perfected

with us

so that we

may have confidence

for the day

of judgment

because as

he is so

also are we

in this world

there is no

fear in love

but perfect love

casts out fear

for fear

has to do

with punishment

and whoever fears

has not been

perfected in love

we love

because he

first loved

us

the word

perfected

has a sense

of completing

its course

God's love

is not a static

thing

it's a dynamic

thing

it has movement

and God's love

completes its course

in our faith

in Jesus

and in our love

for one another

all of our faith

all of our love

is but an outworking

the outflow

the overflow

of God's

prior love

for us

because it says

we love