God is Love

Let's pray before we get into the word.

Lord, we come before you and humble ourselves before you.

! We are ready to receive your word.

! We thank you for it, that you chose to make yourself known,

that the God which no one has ever seen has made himself known

through Jesus Christ and to us when we love one another.

Lord, we pray that your spirit would show us more of your beauty

to receive your love for us and for this to transform us

and for us to love you even more and praise you even more for it.

Lord, may everything I say be your words and not my own.

Speak through me, Lord. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

All right, good morning, church.

So in the last few months, we've been going through 1 John.

And we've seen in this letter that John encourages us to know God and to love him.

And to love him even more deeply.

And he says, we saw this last week, that there is only one way to God,

and that is through Jesus.

That was the focus last week, that we're not all blind men

touching different parts of the same elephant,

but there really is only one way to God.

At the same time, knowing God and loving God

is inseparable from following his commandments and loving others.

John says that God is light and God is love.

And there's no darkness in God.

So if we're walking in darkness and continuing in sin,

then we really need to question whether we know God

and abide in him who is light.

That's what we saw previous weeks in 1 John.

And now recently, we've been talking more about love,

that we must love one another.

That means, at the bare minimum, that we shouldn't hate one another.

We shouldn't be like Cain, who murdered his brother.

That's the bare minimum.

You shouldn't murder your brother.

But more than that, we should love.

We should love like Jesus loved,

who didn't murder, but who laid down his life,

the righteous for the unrighteous.

And that's the way we ought to love.

We should lay down our lives for one another.

Love has to cost something.

That's what we heard.

We can talk about love, but talk is cheap.

John says, let us not love in word or in talk,

but in deed and in truth.

So the question is, are we willing to love one another,

even if it costs us?

And now we're getting to part of the letter in 1 John,

where John gives us a more extended treatment of love.

What is love itself?

Where does love come from?

And how are we able to love?

And why should we love one another?

This is what John talks about in chapter 4 now.

So let's read the passage together.

We'll read John chapter 4, verses 7 to 12.

John 4:7–12

Can we all stand as we read the word of God together?

Yeah.

Thanks.

1 John chapter 4, verses 7 to 12.

1 John 4:7–12

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 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.

This is the word of God.

You can take a seat.

Beloved, let us love.

That's how verse 7 begins,

and that will be our focus for today.

Beloved, people who are loved,

let us love one another.

Let us love one another,

and first we do this because love is a matter of identity.

That's how John thinks of it.

We see this in verse 7.

It says,

Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Loved is wrapped up in our identity as being children of God.

Whoever loves,

in other words,

everybody who loves is born of God.

And the way we act and feel in love

is intertwined with who we are,

our identity as children of God.

There's an interesting implication of verse 7.

And we see this.

Take, for example,

people here have a Hong Kong ID card.

Right?

You could say that

if you have a permanent Hong Kong ID card,

then you're a permanent resident.

This is evidence of this.

Right?

But logically,

you could also flip around this statement

and say it the other way.

It's also true that

only those who have,

only those who are permanent residents

have an ID card,

a permanent ID card.

Right?

You can't get this ID card

if you're not,

if you don't have PR.

And the same thing is true here.

We can flip around the statement logically

and say that

if everybody who loves is born of God,

then it's also true that

those who are not born of God

do not love.

Said another way,

verse 7 means that

only those who are born of God

in fact love.

That's the logical implication of it.

And that's a pretty bold statement.

And that, I think,

should make us raise the bar

on what love even is.

Because John here is making

an exclusive claim on love.

Not just on truth,

but on love itself.

At least on a particular kind of love.

That there is a love

that only belongs to those

who know God.

And that's a bit puzzling to me

because when I look around,

people outside of the church

that do not know Christ

do love,

as far as I can tell,

and sometimes even appear to love

more than those in the church.

See, I can see parents

who truly love their children.

I see people who give very generously,

philanthropically,

effective altruism.

Or I hear of soldiers in wars

who sacrifice themselves

for their brothers.

That is love.

Or Tony Stark,

he takes one for the whole world

at the end of Avengers.

Right?

So we've been talking about love

the last weeks

and challenging each other

to show love to one another.

For example,

inviting people over for a meal

or being more loving

to our families.

And that's great.

That really is great.

And we should continue doing that.

We should continue loving one another.

But also,

if we square up those things alone

with verse 7

that says,

everyone who loves

has been born of God,

I don't think that's quite enough.

There must be something more

to love

that John's talking about.

Something deeper.

Something that is shown

in those things

that we're talking about.

But there's something more

to this love.

Because those who are not

born of God,

John says,

some of the things

we're talking about,

those who are not born of God,

can love in those ways.

So,

what is this love

that John is talking about?

Because love to John

is more than just

goodwill

or good vibes

and good feelings.

John is talking about

a love

that is perfected.

A perfect sort of love.

Verse 12 says,

if we love one another,

God abides in us

and his love

is perfected in us.

Or verse 18

later in the chapter says,

perfect love

cast out fear.

This perfect love

is the goal.

That perfect love

is what John's talking about.

It's true that the world loves,

but such love

is always tainted by sin

and is limited.

It's easy to say

that we love one another,

but who can say

that they really

love perfectly?

naturally.

Naturally,

it's easy to love

when love fulfills

sexual desires

or when people

recognize our generosity

and philanthropy

or when this love

is reciprocated

and makes us feel good.

It's harder to love,

though,

when our friends

show up for dinner

an hour late

or just cancel on us

last minute.

Or it's easy to love

your boyfriend,

girlfriend,

fiance,

unless they're slow

to respond to your messages

or too busy

for a date.

It's difficult enough

sometimes to love

those who are dear to us,

but God calls us

even higher,

not just to love

those who love us,

but to love even

our enemies.

Jesus says in his

Sermon on the Mount,

love your enemies

and pray for those

who persecute you

so that, again,

identity is what's in view,

so that you may be

sons of your Father

who is in heaven.

For if you love

those who love you,

what reward do you have?

Do not even the

tax collectors

or sinners

do the same.

And if you greet

only your brothers,

what more are you

doing than others?

Do not even the Gentiles,

in other words,

those outside the church,

do the same?

They can also love

in these ways.

But Jesus goes on,

you therefore

must be perfect

as your heavenly Father

is perfect.

See,

we are called to love

to be perfect

and to love perfectly.

This is unconditional love

that extends

even to our enemies.

And that's what John

means when he says here,

let us love.

That's the kind of love

that's found

in the children of God

and that marks

who are the children of God.

Now,

that's a pretty high standard.

So,

how can we do this?

How can we love

in this way?

Where does this love

come from?

Well,

notice how

verse 7 starts.

It says,

beloved,

let us love.

Beloved,

loved ones,

let us love

one another.

We can love

in this way

because love

is from God

and God is love.

We can love

because we are loved

by the one

who is love

itself.

Love is our identity

because likewise,

love is part of

God's essential nature.

God is love.

You can't take away,

if you look at the sun,

you can't take away

heat and light

from the sun.

And in the same way,

you can't remove

love from God.

He just radiates

white hot love.

He shines with love.

He is light.

God's love

existed from eternity

in the trinity,

the father loving

the son

and the son loving

the father

in perfect unity

along with the spirit.

Each person

of the trinity

delighting in one another

and glorifying one another,

loving each other

perfectly.

And out of this

passionate love,

God created the world

to share his goodness,

to share this love

with us.

He created us

so that we would

know him

and love him

and enjoy his love.

But all of us

turn from God

and we rejected

his love

and chose to worship

other things.

That is sin.

Sin fundamentally

is a rejection

of God.

When Adam and Eve

ate of the fruit

in the garden,

they believed

that sin

is better

than what God

promised them.

God promised them life

and said,

you will prosper,

but they believed

that God was hiding

a good thing

from them.

when our hearts

chase after money,

it's because

we don't believe

that God provides

for us.

When we sin,

it's fundamentally

because we don't believe

that God provides

for us

and he's the one,

he's the only one

who can satisfy

the cravings

of our hearts.

Sexual sin

or making our desires

our identity

shows that we crave

fulfillment

in following

our own way

rather than delighting

in God's

perfect love for us.

or pride

or desire for power

is because we want

to exalt ourselves,

we want to raise up

ourselves

more than

we want to worship God

and recognize

his love for us.

We sort of spit

in God's face

when we ignore

his passionate love,

all that he is,

his white hot love

for us,

and instead use

this life and breath

that he gave us

that was designed

for relationship

with him.

But instead of that,

we use that

merely to worship

and enjoy

the things that he made.

That's what sin is

fundamentally.

We rejected God,

we wanted nothing

to do with him.

Yet,

God showed

his love for us

in that while

we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Jesus dying for us

is the greatest

revelation

of God's love

and of love

generally.

That's what

verse 9 says.

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.

The consequence

and punishment

of our sin

is death,

but God sent

his son,

Jesus,

into the world

to save us.

We were God's enemies,

yet he still

loved us.

Verse 10 says,

God loved us

and sent his son

to be the propitiation

for our sins.

His son,

God's son,

Jesus,

came in the flesh.

That's what we

heard last week.

God came in the flesh

for us

and Jesus lived

a perfect life

and died on the cross

as a propitiation.

In other words,

an atoning sacrifice,

a sacrifice

for our sins.

We needed a propitiation,

we needed an atoning sacrifice

because our sin

deserved death

and Jesus took

the punishment

that we deserved

on the cross

for our sins

and died in our place

so that we might

live through him.

That's what verse 10

is saying.

And Jesus didn't just die

but he rose from the dead

on the third day

and just as Jesus

rose from the dead,

we also have new life

and access to God

if we believe in him.

Jesus died and rose

so that we might

live through him.

And that is

perfect love.

This is the love of God

that is manifested to us.

Jesus dying on the cross

for us.

That is the main way

where God reveals

that he is loved

and that he loves us.

Verse 10 says,

in this is love,

not that we love God,

not that we love God

because we didn't love God,

we didn't love him at all.

Very much the opposite.

We could have been

the ones

who were chanting,

protesting,

a mob,

crying out

for Jesus

to be crucified.

We could have been

those mocking Jesus

as he went to the cross.

But Jesus didn't

get angry at them,

he didn't snap back

at them.

He loved them.

And in fact,

their mocking,

their rejection

was exactly

the reason why

he was there

in the first place.

Because in this is love,

not that we love God,

but that he loved us

and sent his son

as the propitiation

to die on the cross

for our sins.

As Jesus was being mocked

and rejected,

Jesus,

what did he do?

He just continued

bleeding out on the cross

for those who were

rejecting him

and prayed even

that God would accept

his propitiation,

his atoning sacrifice.

He prayed for God,

forgive them

for they do not know

what they're doing.

While we were his enemies,

Jesus died for us.

That's God's perfect love

on display

and that's the love

that we're called to,

to love perfectly,

sacrificially,

without limit,

even loving those

who hate us,

who reject us,

who mock us,

who annoy us,

who bother us.

In this is love,

not that we loved God,

but that Jesus died

on the cross

for our sins.

And now,

what does that mean to us?

How do we respond?

Well, verse 11 says,

Beloved,

if God so loved us,

if he loved us

in this way,

we ought also

to love one another.

Okay, great.

So let's do that this week.

Let's go love.

Let's love one another.

We discussed this practically

before asking,

how can we love?

In what ways can we love?

We talked about this

in our midweek groups.

Right?

Inviting people over

for dinner,

loving your coworkers,

being less annoyed

with those who bother you.

Let's go and do those things.

Keep doing those things.

Let's love one another.

We also ought to one another.

But in addition to

what,

the what,

in what ways can we love?

I'd also like us to

see a bit

why and how

we ought to love.

Verse 11 says,

If God so loved us,

we also

ought to love one another.

And my question then is,

how does God's love

Jesus dying on the cross,

how does God's love

make us

also ought to love?

Why does God's love

mean that we

also ought to love?

Now there's two ways,

there's at least two ways

we can interpret this.

Right?

When John says

we ought to love,

you could interpret that

to mean

we ought to love

because we're under

an obligation,

because we owe it.

Right?

Because we were in

such a great debt to God

in our sin,

a huge debt

that we can never pay back.

There's nothing

we could do,

but God,

he was merciful to us,

he was gracious to us.

We talked about that previously.

God cancelled

our debt.

He forgave us in Christ.

And if God

so loved us

with such a great love,

mercy,

if he loved us

in this way,

then you could think

we owe it to God

to love others also.

Right?

If Jesus died

for us,

then don't we owe

our entire lives

to him.

He died for me

so the least I could do,

you could think,

is smile more to others

or stack the chairs

after service.

I ought to.

Is this what

this means?

I don't think so.

Right?

This is not

how we're meant to love

because if it is,

then we're in

huge trouble.

It would be bad news

if this is how

we ought to love.

Because if we

ought to love

because we owe God

something,

because we're in,

yeah,

if we ought to love

because we owe God

something,

then that means

that we're still

in debt.

If we owe God

something,

that means that

our debt hasn't

been paid

and our sins

aren't forgiven.

So this is not

how we ought to love,

not out of a debt,

not because we owe

something.

Right?

Because Jesus is

the propitiation

for our sins.

It is finished.

And we don't honor God

by trying to pay him

back,

by trying to pay back

this debt that we owed.

And we can't.

Right?

If you were

$50 million in debt

and God paid it all

for you,

Jesus paid it all

for you,

you can't pay him

back by giving him

a crumpled up $20 bill

out of your back pocket.

How silly would that be?

But I think we do

try to do this sometimes.

We do try to earn,

pay back God's love

for us.

You might think,

okay,

maybe not $20,

that's too little.

But I'll do better.

I'll love more this week.

I'll be nicer to that guy.

I ought to.

I'll give God back

maybe $50,

$100,

do we find ourselves

doing that sometimes?

But we can't earn

God's approval.

We can't.

That's fundamentally

the wrong attitude.

And we,

if we try to love

in this way,

at some point,

our tanks will run empty.

That's not how

we're meant to love.

If we're trying to love

in this way,

we will fall short.

That's not how

we ought to love.

John is using the word

ought in an encouraging way.

Remember that love

is tied with

our identity.

We love because

love is from God.

And we are his children.

God is love.

It's his nature.

Love is his nature.

Love freely,

freely radiates from him.

And that also

is true of his children.

Just like how

MJ didn't have hair.

That's because

James also didn't have hair.

So in the same way,

we are his children.

We are like him.

The apple doesn't fall

far from the tree.

Right?

So when John says

that we ought to love,

he means it in the same way

that fish ought to swim

or that birds ought to fly

or that flowers ought to bloom

or stars ought to shine

or how Bonnie ought to laugh.

And that's

because it's in our nature.

That's just what we do.

Right?

In the same way,

God's children

also ought to love.

It's part of our nature

and design.

And in doing so,

that's how we find

life and fulfillment

and purpose.

God's love

changes us.

Jesus didn't just die

to forgive our sins.

His love

changed us completely.

In 2 Corinthians,

Paul writes,

Therefore,

if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

The old has passed away.

Behold,

the new has come.

See,

God's love is so intense

that when he loves us,

he completely transforms us.

We are made new.

God is love.

And if he himself,

love himself,

his spirit is dwelling within us,

that means also

that love must dwell within us.

God cannot dwell within us

if love doesn't dwell in us,

if God is love.

Right?

It's like how a fire

can't abide

in a can of gasoline

without an explosion happening.

So also,

God can't abide in us

also without love

abiding in us

because God is love.

That's what verse 12 says.

No one has ever seen God.

No one has seen God.

But if we love one another,

God abides in us

and his love

is perfected in us.

His perfect love.

We have this through Jesus

when we love one another.

That is the way

in which we ought to love.

Not out of obligation,

but freely

because he changed us.

Because if God so loved us,

we are changed

and when we love,

his love is perfected in us.

That's why Jesus says that

his yoke is easy

and his burden is light.

We ought to love freely,

not out of obligation

as a weight on our shoulders.

But instead,

he broke our chains.

He freed us

so that loving

becomes easy and light

the more and more we do it.

The more and more

his spirit refines us

and perfects us.

God's command to love

is not an obligation,

a weight on our shoulders,

but just a command

to take hold

of what Jesus

has done for us.

Love and become

the children of God

that you are,

that Jesus' blood

made you.

And so this week

as we love,

let's try to remember

God loved me

and so I'm free to love.

It's not that I have to love

because Jesus loved me

and I also ought to do it.

But no,

Jesus loved me

and I am his child.

And God's children

freely,

generously,

radiate love

because God is love.

He changed me.

I can love

as he loves now,

perfectly,

his blood bought

that for me.

And maybe not perfectly now

because we are still

stained by sin.

But one day

when he returns,

I know

I'll love perfectly.

There'll be no more sin,

no more tears.

We'll be in the presence

of God.

We will see him,

know him as he fully is,

just as we're fully known.

And in the meantime,

let's press forward

day by day

to love ever more perfectly,

to be the child of God

that he called us to be

and made us to be.

So again,

beloved,

people who are loved by God,

let us love.

Love is from God

and he showed his love to us

by sending his son

to die for our sins.

God's love

gave us freedom to love

and out of that freedom,

we ought to love one another.

Not out of obligation,

but because his love

has transformed us.

Can we do that this week?

Let's pray for that.

Father, we are so humbled.

We are so in awe.

What is man

that you're mindful of him?

What is the son of man

that you care for him?

We are just little specks.

More than that,

little people who,

out of everything

that you've made,

the wind obeys you,

nature obeys you,

the sun rises and falls

at your command.

But we chose

to use the life and breath

that you gave us

to curse you,

dishonor your name,

to mock you,

reject you,

the one who gave us

life and breath.

But Lord,

you are love.

We praise you

that you loved us

and gave your son

to die for us.

Lord, may this love,

may this truth

sink deeper and deeper

in our hearts.

Spirit,

make your love

abide in us.

And with that change us,

help us, God,

to love

as you've called us to.

An example of Jesus.

To lay down our lives,

not just for those

who love us,

before our enemies even.

And God,

we know we can't do this

on our own.

I can't even love those

who I love,

who love me.

So Lord,

we need you.

We can't do this

on our own.

We can't pay back

the debt that we owe.

But Jesus paid it all

and you've transformed us

as your children

to love perfectly,

to be holy

as you are holy.

You call us to this

and you will finish

the good work

that you started in us.

We look forward

to seeing that day

when we see the end of it.

Thank you, Lord,

for all this.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.