The Love That Rebuilds Us - 1 John 4:7–21 | Lucas Leibforth

Well, good morning church. It's good to be with

all of you. If you don't know me, my name is

Lucas Liebforth. I serve on the staff here. I'm

over our family ministries. And it is my joy,

it is my privilege to be able to bring the word

of God this morning. I heard a story once about

a guy who, he had this old ceramic mug that he

used every single morning. He'd wake up. He'd

go downstairs, go up to the cupboard, grab the

mug, put it on his coffee maker, turn the coffee

maker on, he'd use this every day. It was an

ordinary mug, wasn't anything expensive, it wasn't

anything that was sentimental, he just used it.

It was his go -to cup. And one morning, in his

routine, he reaches for it, he grabs it and he

drops this cup. And it shatters on the floor,

completely. It wasn't. just shattering in two

pieces, it wasn't a clean break, it exploded

into all of the impossible fragments that you

can't even vacuum up. And it makes you think,

yeah, that cup is done. There's no rescuing that

cup. And so he did his best to gather all of

the pieces. He sat with them for just a second

and he realized something. Some things do not

break clean. Some things don't break clean some

things break in a way that you don't know how

to repair and That reminded me when I heard that

story of something called Kintsugi Kintsugi it's

a Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with

gold They don't hide the cracks, rather they

highlight the cracks. They honor the cracks.

And the pottery, it becomes more valuable after

the breaking because the gold, it doesn't erase

the history. It redeems the history. And that's

what brokenness feels like in real life. A relationship

cracks, a friendship splinters, a family shifts,

a church fractures. And at first you think it's

fine, we can patch this, no problem. But then

you start to realize as you get closer to the

pieces that the break is deeper than you wanted

to admit. That is the world that John is writing

into. That is the world that he's writing into.

It's a church that is cracked, a community that

has fractured. One where people have left, there

are questions that are up in the air. And John,

he's not showing up with hype, he's not showing

up with a 100 point vision and strategy plan

of how we can get all of those people back into

our seats. He shows up with gold, he shows up

with the love of God. A love that is strong enough

to fill the cracks, to fill what fractured. A

love that is steady enough to hold what broke

and a love that is powerful enough to rebuild

what division shattered. And so before we go

any further, before we unpack this, I want us

to hear these words the way the early church

heard them as a letter spoken into the middle

of a fracture. So if you are able to, would you

please stand with me for the reading of God's

word. We're in 1 John chapter four, seven through

11. It will be on the screens. And we stand because

this isn't just information, this is not just

ancient literature, this is the living word of

God, breathed out by the spirit and still speaking

into real communities today. So listen for the

heartbeat behind those words. Verse seven, 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 Amen, you

may be seated. Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you that in every season, in the lows,

in the highs, in the ones that are confusing,

the ones that are painful, that you speak with

clarity and you speak with love. Lord, would

you open our hearts today? Would you heal what

is cracked and would you steady what is feeling

shaky? God, would you form us into a people who

look like you, people who love like you, and

live out what we just read. We're listening,

in Jesus' mighty name, amen. The healing of a

divided church, it does not begin with strategy.

The healing of a divided church begins by letting

the love of God reshape how we see him, how we

see ourselves, and how we see each other. And

so here's where we're going this morning in this

passage. Our first point is God's love heals

what division breaks. Then we're gonna move into

God's love lives in God's people. And then our

third point is God's love pushes fear out of

the room. So it's three movements with a singular

thread throughout. One truth, the love of God

rebuilds what human strength cannot fix. You

can fake. a lot of things in church. You can

fake energy. You can fake passion. You can even

fake spirituality for a season. But you cannot

fake love. You can't fake love. And if we wanna

see God move, if we wanna see students discipled,

if we wanna see families restored and lives transformed,

it's not gonna happen because we're making Sunday

morning great. It's not gonna happen because

our events are executed perfectly. It's not gonna

happen because Wednesday night we're seeing record

numbers in our youth and more and more are showing

up. It's not gonna happen because of that. It

is going to happen because the love of God actually

lives inside of us. And that's why we need this

passage today. Not as a suggestion, not as information,

but it's foundational to the Christian walk.

And so we're gonna walk through this, let me

set up the text for us to give you context, okay?

I want you to have the full backdrop. So John,

he's writing to a network of small house churches

that are in and around Ephesus. These are gatherings

of 20, maybe 40 people that are meeting in homes,

that is, they're meeting in these homes under

the shadow of one of the most spiritually intense

cities in the ancient world. Ephesus, it wasn't

neutral. In some ways, it's kind of like a modern

day New York. In some ways, it was loud with

magical practices, competing philosophies, we

had spiritual elitism, and then you had within

all of that, you wanted to blend in, right? You

had the social pressure that was just coming

up from the surface. And so into that atmosphere,

there's a young Christian community. that had

been growing, they'd been worshiping, and they

had been faithfully learning to follow Jesus

together. They built a real spiritual family,

and like most families, there was a fracture.

A group from inside the church began drifting

into a dangerous set of beliefs, and this wasn't,

it was called Gnosticism. It wasn't full -grown

Gnosticism yet. That comes a few decades later.

but an early form of it called proto -gnosticism.

Proto -gnosticism, I'm just gonna briefly go

through it. This is important for our church

history. Proto -gnosticism had four core beliefs.

The first was that Jesus didn't really come in

the flesh. So they taught that he only seemed

human. Number two, salvation came through elite

spiritual knowledge and not the cross. Okay,

so they believed the deeper Christians had secret

revelation, and that if you didn't have that

secret revelation, you were essentially spiritually

second class. And then the third point they taught

was that the physical world didn't matter, and

so sin didn't matter. If bodies aren't important,

then obedience isn't important. And if obedience

isn't important, then holiness is optional. And

here's the fourth one that they believed. They

acted spiritually superior to the church. Okay,

so when this fracture happened, they left with

a posture of we have the real truth and you do

not. And so they walk away and in the wake of

them leaving, they leave confusion. They're leaving

heartache, they're leaving wounds, they're leaving

insecurity. And then suddenly the everyday believers

are wondering. Are we missing something? Is my

faith too simple? Are we even in the truth? And

so John, this is what he's doing. He's stepping

in like a seasoned spiritual father. He's bringing

them back to the anchor. He's saying the embodied

sacrificial love of God in Jesus Christ, not

secret knowledge, is what makes you the people

of God. And I also wanna say this before we get

into it. Bad theology, bad theology, it doesn't

just create confusion, it creates fractures.

And so John, he's coming in and he is repairing

both of these. And I also want you to know this

matters today. This isn't just ancient text,

this isn't just history, this is applicable now

because we're living in a cultural moment where

people, are building their spirituality out of

vibes and self -invention. We're living in a

cultural moment where theology is treated like

a personal preference. I like this, I don't like

that. We're living in a cultural moment where

my truth matters more than actual truth. A moment

where spirituality is detached from obedience.

A cultural moment where love gets redefined to

justify whatever someone wants. And then we also

have Christians that are thinking that emotions

or experiences are deeper than scripture. And

so these are the same currents that pulled the

early church apart. They are alive and well right

now. They just have cooler branding and better

fonts. That's all they have. And I want you to

know this passage, it is not. academic, this

passage is formative. It is God shaping his people.

It is God setting guard rails around our hearts.

It is God pulling us back to himself. And John

is reminding us that real love begins with God.

It flows from God and it stays anchored in God.

That is why we're here and that is why this passage

matters. So here's our first point, God's love

heals what division breaks. So John, he starts

where God starts, with identity. He starts with

identity before effort. We see this in this passage,

Ephesians one, in many other passages. Beloved,

let us love one another for love is from God.

He's not saying to try harder, he is saying remember

who you belong to. Because love it doesn't start

with you. You don't produce it you receive it

you receive love Whoever does not love does not

know God because God is love So if God is love

anyone connected to him will eventually reflect

him Love isn't an optional thing for the Christian

love is essential. It's evidential. It is fruit

not giftedness or passion or Bible knowledge

Love is what reveals whether the life of God

is in you. Peter says that we have become partakers

of the divine nature. What that means is when

you belong to Jesus, his character starts to

reshape yours. If God's nature is love, then

love will, not should, love will show up in your

heart. Real Christian love, too. Love that is

humble, that is sacrificial, that is others first,

that is forgiving. That is the evidence of spiritual

life. And love, it doesn't save you, but it does

show you that you've been saved. And if love

is consistently absent, then I'd go so far to

say that something deeper is going on underneath

the surface. And so John, he roots everything

in the gospel here. 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. Okay, so God's love, it did not

stay invisible. He revealed it in Jesus. We're

gonna talk about this more through the Advent

season. But God sent his son, he made the first

move. Jesus is. the only son, one of a kind,

who is fully God, fully man. He came into our

world, our mess, into our darkness, and he came,

why? So we could truly live, not just eternally,

but as John 10, 10 says, abundantly. And then

John proceeds to give the gospel in a singular

sentence. In this is love, not that we loved

God, but that he loved us and sent his son to

be the propitiation for our sins. We didn't love

God first, but he loved us first. We didn't chase

him, but he chased us. We didn't fix our sin,

but Jesus paid for it fully. Propitiation, it

means he didn't just feel for us. He paid the

price that our sin demanded. Okay, this is not

just a sentimental type of love. This is a cross

-shaped, costly love. That is the type of love

that Jesus paid. Beloved, since God so loved

us, we also ought to love one another. Okay,

the sense in this phrase, in this verse matters.

Since God loved us like this, since he moved

first, since Jesus died for us, since his love

is now in us, the natural response is to love

people the way he loved us. That is what spiritual

maturity looks like. That is family resemblance.

And then John says another thing, no one has

ever seen God, but if we love one another, God

lives in us and his love is made complete in

us. Okay, people can't physically see God, but

they can see him through the way his people love.

When believers love with patience, when believers

love with sacrifice, when believers love with

honesty and forgiveness, the invisible God becomes

visible. Real love makes God real to people.

That is why love is non -negotiable. Because

if you wanna look like God, you're gonna love

like God. If you wanna look like God, you will

love like God. And I also wanna say some of us

claim Jesus but aren't actually walking in his

love. We're quick to criticize, we're slow to

forgive. We're holding grudges, we're keeping

distance. And I just wanna say scripture, it

doesn't shrug at that. Scripture says, if love

is not in you, you do not know God. And that's

not because God is harsh, but rather the opposite,

because God is love, and encountering Him changes

you. If point one shows us that God's love heals

what division breaks, we're gonna move into our

next point, and it's gonna show us what happens

next. Because John, he doesn't stop with how

God loves us, but he's moving into what the love

does in us. And this is where the letter starts

to shift. John goes from saying here's how God

moved toward you, to saying here's what that

love now wants to do through you. So it's not

just vertical anymore, it's horizontal. Not just

God loving you, but God's love living in you.

Verse 12, no one has ever seen God. If we love

one another, God abides in us and his love is

perfected in us. Okay, so John, he's gonna start

continuing his thought from verse 12 into verse

13 that we've already seen that God becomes visible

through the way his people love. And so he's

gonna go deeper. He's telling us where that love

now comes from. By this we know that we abide

in him and he in us because he has given us of

his spirit. It is the spirit of God living inside

of you. It's the spirit of God living inside

of you. And John, he anchors everything to the

gospel. The father has sent his son to be the

savior of the world. Okay, this is fun. In John

4, 42, this is the woman at the well. This is

when the Samaritans, verse 42 is when the Samaritans

are telling the woman at the well, we have heard

for ourselves and we know that this is indeed

the savior of the world. That's the same language.

Not just the savior of the Jews, not just the

savior of the Samaritans, not just the savior

of the Gentiles, but savior for all who believe.

And John, he's not speaking secondhand. This

is a first -hand account. This is eyewitness

testimony because in 1 John 1, 1, he reminds

us that he and the other apostles saw Jesus,

heard Jesus, touched Jesus. Their message is

eyewitness testimony. In verse 15, here's our

response. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the

son of God, God abides in him and he in God.

Okay, this is bringing it back to the first part

of this chapter in verses two and three, when

he said the true spirit confesses Jesus. And

now John is applying it personally. The one who

confesses Jesus as the son of God is indwelt

by God himself. Okay, this confession requires

the full truth. That Jesus is both fully human

and fully divine. About ten minutes ago. I brought

up something that might have been new Proto Gnosticism

the first core belief was that Jesus only seemed

human This completely dismantles that entire

logic in this one verse First Timothy 3 16 calls

this the mystery of godliness God revealed in

the flesh without His humanity, He couldn't die

and rise again in our place. And without His

divinity, His sacrifice, it would not be perfect.

It wouldn't be sinless or powerful to save. This

is why John refuses to separate the two. The

only Jesus who saves is the Jesus who is truly

God and truly man. And when you confess that

Jesus, you're not just believing a doctrine,

you are entering into a union. One where God

abides in you and you in him His love isn't something

that you're watching from the sidelines But rather

it is it becomes the life that is flowing in

and through you And then verse 16 pulls all of

this together So we have come to know and to

believe the love that God has for us. Okay, so

John is saying we We to show that all Christians

share in this calling that we are meant to both

know and to believe. And modern churches tend

to divide the two. Some will emphasize believing

without knowing. So you're getting people who

accept Jesus, but never actually walk with him.

And then you have others that are chasing knowing

God through emotional highs or constant activity,

but never actually trust Christ for salvation.

Okay, their faith. is built on feelings instead

of the finished work of Jesus. Well, Scripture

never separates the two. James 2, 17 says, belief

without action is dead. And John 17, verse three

is, eternal life is both knowing and trusting

the one true God in Jesus Christ whom he sent.

And then John repeats the line from verse eight.

God is love. And whoever abides in love abides

in God, and God abides in him. Love is the evidence,

the self -giving love that we see in 1 Corinthians

13 that is patient, that is humble, that is sacrificial.

That is the kind of love that looks like Jesus.

And those who continue in that kind of love are

the ones that are abiding in God. So that is

the full sweep of 1 John. Chapter four, 14 through

16, God sent his son. We confess who Christ really

is. We know and we believe his love. And then

that love begins to reshape us from the inside

out as the clearest evidence that we belong to

him. So I wanna give you a picture. I have a

lamp here. This lamp, I'd like to say it's beautifully

designed. It's got a great. shade, right color,

a good bulb. It fits the aesthetic. It's got

a wonderful stand that Matthew got for me. Attached

to a black extension cord. It's in the right

spot in the room. But if it's unplugged, nothing

happens. It just sits there. It looks the part,

but it's never lighting the room. And that's

what the church looks like without love. That's

what the church looks like without love because

we can have the right doctrine, we can have the

right songs, the right programming, the right

branding, but if we are unplugged from the love

of God, the room stays dark. But when we love

each other with the love that comes from the

Spirit, when we forgive, when we move toward

each other, when we carry one another, when we

stay even when it's messy. That's when the light

comes on. That's when God becomes visible. And

that is when the church actually looks like Jesus.

Love is what plugs the lamp into the power source.

That is the heartbeat of point two. When God's

love lives in God's people, the world doesn't

just see Christians, it sees Christ. And John,

he's not done here. Because the same love that

changes how we treat others also settles what

is happening inside of us. Some of us we love

well on the outside, but we are living scared

on the inside. And John, he's speaking to that,

that God's love, it doesn't just flow out, but

it calms, it steadies, it quiets fear. So let's

look at our last point. God's love pushes fear

out of the room. 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. Okay, God does not want his kids

walking through life scared and afraid. He wants

us confident. He wants us confident, not arrogant.

He wants us secure. He wants us grounded. Augustine

said, God loves each of us as if there were only

one of us. The more God's love grows in you,

the more confidence that you have in standing

before him. Confidence that is rooted in love

is not pride. Confidence rooted in love is assurance.

John adds because as he is so also are we in

this world meaning our lives are are to reflect

Jesus Athanasius an early church father said

this the son of God became man so that we might

become like God not divine like God, but Christ

like The more we abide in love the more we resemble

Jesus Then verse 18, there is no fear in love,

but perfect love casts out fear. Fear and love

cannot live in the same place. Fear, it shrinks

you, it suffocates you. Fear whispers that God

is disappointed. God is disappointed in you.

But perfect love, love that is from God, it drives

fear out of the room. C .S. Lewis, he once reflected

on this verse. And he wrote, perfect love we

know, casts out fear. But so do several other

things, ignorance, alcohol, passion, presumption,

and stupidity. Then he goes on, it is very desirable

that we should all advance to that perfection

of love in which we shall fear no longer. But

it is very undesirable until we have reached

it that we should allow any inferior agent to

cast out our fear. Okay, Louis is reminding us

that only God's love removes fear in a way that

heals you and doesn't harm you. Only God's love

frees you without destroying you. Verse 19, we

love because he first loved us. We don't originate

love. God loved first, he pursued, he initiated.

So everything that we give, Everything that we

give flows from what we have received from him.

Verse 20, John gives the punch here. If anyone

says I love God and hates his brother, he is

a liar. Okay, so John's not softening this language.

He is protecting the church. He's protecting

those who are a part of the way, the early church,

those who claim to be Christians. from self deception

because you can't claim to love God while you

are withholding love from people. And Jesus tied

this together in the great commandment, love

God and love others, love God fully, love your

neighbors deeply. If you can't love the people

you can see, then you can't claim to love the

God you can't see. And then the summary in verse

21. Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Okay, this is not advanced Christianity. This

is Christianity 101. Love is the visible evidence

of an invisible God. God's love in God's people

is how the world is meant to see him. If you've

had the privilege of seeing or getting to know

my two -year -old Mac, he's high energy, little

redhead. He already went home for his nap. But

Mac, he nowadays flies up and down our stairs.

Pretty much like it's nothing, but I remember

Even a year ago when that was not the case Okay

He was when he was first learning it was as if

every step both for him and for me and for my

wife Felt like a cliff right he'd walk up the

stairs Much better than going down the stairs,

but he'd walk up as if I got this and then he'd

look down and then Suddenly those steps seemed

a lot steeper, way bigger than they were just

a second ago. His hand would grab the railing,

his legs would wobble. And it was like you could

physically see fear just rising up in his body.

And so I would go close to him. I'd go up to

him. I'm not grabbing him unless he needed me

to catch him. I'm not forcing him to go up or

down the stairs, but I'm near to him. I'm close

to him. And the moment that he realized that

I was there, it was as if everything changed.

He physically started to relax. His foot reached

for the next step. He'd look up, he'd smile,

he'd try again. These are the same stairs with

the same scenario and the same kid. the same

wobble, and yet the experience was totally different

because dad was near. That is what the love of

God does. Because fear, it freezes you. But love,

perfect love, does for your soul what my presence

in that moment did for my son. It steadies you,

it calms you. It fills the space where fear used

to sit. And so John, he doesn't just give a theory.

He's describing what it feels like when God's

love comes close. Perfect love, it doesn't take

away the stairs. It takes away the fear of falling.

And so when John says perfect love casts out

fear, he's not saying that life gets easier.

He's just saying that your heart becomes more

secure. And it's not because you're strong, but

rather because God is near. So Mac, he climbs

with confidence now. It's not because he's mastered

the stairs, but because he learned early that

presence creates peace. And your confidence in

God grows the same way. And that's not, it's

through habits, not hype, habits, the daily rhythms

of walking with Jesus. And so I'm gonna put up

on the screen a few of the rhythms that form

you. They're just a few, but opening scripture,

slowing down in prayer, staying rooted in Christian

community, worshiping faithfully, serving with

joy. These are not things that are busy work.

These are how you stay aware of the Father walking

beside you. Augustine said, God is closer to

us than we are ourselves. And we become most

aware of that closeness in the quiet, in the

daily, ordinary rhythms. Love, it speaks steadily

through his word, through his spirit, through

his people, through his presence. And a life

that honors God is not built in big moments,

but it is built in practiced rhythms of love

over fear. And you don't drift toward holiness.

You walk there intentionally, step by step, grace

by grace, because of grace. And some of you this

morning are exhausted because you think that

the Christian life is a battle to love harder.

But underneath that effort is fear, fear of not

being enough, fear of disappointing God, fear

of your past still defining you. Maybe fear of

depending that everything depends on you to hold

your life together. And I want you to know I

feel that too. I'm not just saying that, I feel

that too because I know what it is like to carry

fear into my walk with God. to love people on

the outside while embracing for impact on the

inside. And in that space, John speaks a better

word. You're not invited to walk with God in

fear. You are invited to walk with God in love.

And so before we respond this morning, I wanna

speak the gospel as clearly and as briefly as

I can. God, he made you for himself. Sin, it

broke that relationship. We are separated from

God spiritually, and there is nothing in us that

can bridge that gap. But Jesus came. Fully God,

fully man. He lived the life that we could not

live. He died the death that our sin demanded.

He rose from the grave with real victory. And

through his life, his death, his burial, his

resurrection, he offers forgiveness, he offers

freedom, and he offers a restored relationship

with God. The gospel, it is not self -improvement.

It is not a way of you earning yourself back

or your way back. The gospel is Jesus taking

your place and offering you his life. And the

response that scripture calls for is trust. to

turn from sin, to repent of your sin, and to

turn to Christ, to kneel both physically and

spiritually before the King of Kings and the

Lord of Lords, to say, Jesus, I believe. I trust

you as Lord and Savior. My life belongs to you

now. That is the invitation that God is holding

out right now. There's another invitation for

all of us in here. I'm gonna ask you, if any

of these apply, would you physically stand if

you were able to? If fear has been shaping your

rhythms, would you stand? If anxiety or pressure

has shaped your habits, would you stand? If you

need God's love to recenter your daily walk,

would you stand? If you need his love to push

fear out of your life, would you stand? Maybe

it's fear of rejection, or spiritual failure,

or of not being enough, or of disappointing God.

Would you stand? And if some of you, if you wanna

respond to Jesus for the first time, or you wanna

rededicate your life to Him, would you stand?

There's no embarrassment here. This is family.

This is God's family. We're brothers and sisters

in Christ. And as you respond, I want you to

hear this. We love because He first loved us.

You're not standing to earn God's love. You're

standing because His love has already come after

you, daily, faithfully, relentlessly, recklessly.

So let Him meet you. Let Him save you. Let him

steady you, let him anchor your identity. Let

him walk beside you like a father beside his

wobbly kid, strengthening you step by step. And

let his love do what only his love can do. Father,

thank you for meeting us today. Thank you for

a love that he doesn't wait for us to get it

right. a love that moves toward us, even when

we feel distant or afraid. Lord, for every heart

in this room that is carrying a hurt or heaviness,

would you bring healing? For every place that

feels cracked, would you bring your steadying

presence? For every person that is wrestling

with fear, let your perfect love drive it out.

Or would you settle us, would you strengthen

us, would you hold us close? Holy Spirit, fill

us again with the kind of love that we cannot

produce on our own. A love that reflects you,

that makes you visible, that brings unity where

division once lived. Make us a church that is

shaped by your love, not just in moments like

this, but in the way that we speak, in the way

that we forgive, in the way that we serve, and

how we walk with one another this week. Draw

us. into your heart, Father. Root us deeply in

your love and let everything we do flow from

the fact that you loved us first. In the mighty

name of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords,

in Jesus' name. Thank you for listening today

to 563 Church, a production of Cornerstone Church,

Eldridge, Iowa. For more information about our

church or just getting right with God, please

visit us at 563church .com. You can also find

us on Facebook and Instagram. Have a great week.