But the greatest evidence of Gods presence and work is love. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point 1. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. If God had sent Jesus simply to be our example, that would have been good too and would have had some value But the wonderful thing is that God did not stop with these but rather sent His Son, not merely to teach or to be our example, but to die the death of a felon, that He might save us from sin. (Boice). We need to discover the true Jesus behind the myths of the Bible.. Do we live through Him? return to 'Top of Page' Verses 1-3 Some people think the greatest evidence of Gods presence or work is popularity. After any sort of effort to communicate with Evelyn fails, a drunk . There is a difference between the love of man, and divine love. And we have known and believed the love God has for us: This is the Christians proper response to who God is, and how He loves us. In the first three verses of chapter 4, we discover that Jesus is gaining more and more disciples, more disciples than John the Baptist (cf. The Chosen is an American Christian historical drama television series created, directed and co-written by filmmaker Dallas Jenkins.It is the first multiseason series about the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.Primarily set in Judaea and Galilee in the 1st century, the series centers on Jesus and the different people who met and followed him.The series stars Jonathan Roumie as Jesus . Commentary on 1 John 4:7-13. (1 John 4:19) The reason for our love to Jesus. It is the fear that is the opposite of boldness in the day of judgment. It is something that every Christian should be unafraid to proclaim: I love Him; I love Jesus. Can you say that? d. He who is not of God does not hear us: Understanding just who hears what God has taught us through the apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, helps us to know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. They knew the Father sent the Son as Savior of the world. Faith alone occupies that place. (Spurgeon). Some think they will go there and judge God (When I see God, theres a few questions I have for Him!), but that is nonsense. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. a. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: By this crucial measure, Jesus said the world could measure our status as disciples by the measure of our love for one another. Verse 1 Verse 2 Verse 3 Verse 4 Verse 5 Verse 6 Verse 7 Verse 8 Verse 9 Verse 10 Verse 11 Verse 12 Verse 13 Verse 14 Verse 15 Verse 16 Verse 17 Verse 18 Verse 19 Verse 20 Verse 21. (1 John 4:20-21) The commandment to love. This specific word for knows (ginosko) is the word for a knowledge by experience. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world: The believer has a resource for victory, the vital presence of the indwelling Jesus, which makes victory always possible if we will rely on He who is in you instead of relying on ourselves. ii. In Johns day, the issue was about if Jesus had truly come in a real body of flesh and blood. i. 'Rabbit Hole' Episode 5 Ending Explained: What Happened To John's Team? As Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Look through all the pages of history, and put to the noblest men and women, who seem to still live, this question, Who loves Christ? and, at once, up from dark dungeons and cruel racks there rises the confessors cry, We love him; and from the fiery stake, where they clapped their hands as they were being burned to death, the same answer comes, We love him. If you could walk through the miles of catacombs at Rome, and if the holy dead, whose dust lies there, could suddenly wake up, they would all shout, We love him. The best and the bravest of men, the noblest and purest of women, have all been in this glorious company; so, surely, you are not ashamed to come forward and say, Put my name down among them. (Spurgeon), v. Be out-and-out for him; unfurl your colours, never hide them, but nail them to the mast, and say to all who ridicule the saints, If you have any ill words for the followers of Christ, pour them out upon me but know this ye shall hear it whether you like it or not, I love Christ. (Spurgeon). 1 John 1:1-4 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touchedthis we proclaim concerning the Word of life. This false teaching said Jesus was truly God (which is correct), but really a make-believe man. These verses are the equivalent of saying that a person cannot practice agape-love unless he can first practice philia-love. (Boice). And in John 15:7, He said, If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you. Why did Jesus leave "Judea" (John 4:3)? c. We love Him because He first loved us: This verse tells us where our love for Jesus comes from. This is what fellowship with God is all about. That indwelling Spirit is greater than he who is in the world Satan and all of his allies. A number of scholars think of this as a sermon in written form. We use the term create to describe something that may come from someone, but isnt of the same essential nature or being. Verses 1-26: The story of the Samaritan woman reinforces John's main theme that Jesus is the Messiah and son of God. Johannine Writings The New Testament Oh sir, this is indeed a cowardly fear! (Spurgeon), iv. i. Historical Books Verse-. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. John states (1:1) that he is writing "concerning the Word of Life," and then adds (1:2), "and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us." In verse 1, the emphasis is on the humanity of Jesus Christ as He came in the flesh. We are called to take the love and grace God gives, to know it by experience and to believe it. Sometimes Jesus wasnt popular at all, but He was always full of love. Sometimes Jesus didnt inspire passionate feelings in people at all, but He was always full of love. Without God, there is no love because love . This is because love does not define everything in the character of God, and because when most people use the term love, they are not thinking of true love, the God-kind of love. And the world hears them: Those who are of the world are also evident because the world hears them. Johannine Writings One might say, I want to love God more; I want to grow in my love for Him. e. Everyone who loves is born of God He who does not love does not know God: This does not mean that every display of love in the world can only come from a Christian. John Piper Jun 2, 1985. d. We love Him because He first loved us: This verse tells us why we love Jesus, and how we can love Him more. He is glorified, justified, forever righteous and bold, sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Yet we must not try to make ourselves love our Lord, but look to Christs love first, for his love to us will beget in us love to him. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35). They also are giving false doctrine because they are not presenting a true Jesus. 12. We never have to draw God to us; instead, He draws us to Himself. 3. God gave His Son to die, and to die for sinners. The fear John writes of here is not the appropriate reverence we should all have of God, but the kind of fear which involves torment that agonizing kind of fear which robs our soul of all joy and confidence before God. We never have to draw God to us; instead, He draws us to Himself. The Samaritan woman. Faith alone occupies that place. (Spurgeon). We can think of someone paying a great price to save someone deserving, someone good, someone noble, someone who had done much for them. 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. 2. iii. Oh, if you do really believe that he has loved you so, sit down, and turn the subject over in your mind, and say to yourself, Jesus loves me; Jesus chose me; Jesus redeemed me; Jesus called me; Jesus has pardoned me; Jesus has taken me into union with himself. (Spurgeon). You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: The child of God need not fear the spirit of Antichrist, even though they should be warned of it, because they have the indwelling Spirit of God (1 John 3:24). range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed This statement would be directed against some form of Docetism, the view that Christ was a spirit who only seemed to be a true man. (Boice). c. And knows God: There are several different words in the ancient Greek language translated know into English. This means that there will be agreement and confirmation from the body of Christ, though perhaps (or probably) not everyone will agree or confirm. This is a great way to define the Christian life, to live through Him. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. The provision of the gospel, for the forgiveness . He loved you when you were at hells gate, and drank damnation at every draught. Some of us, for whatever reason, have come to think of God the Father as aloof and mean, perhaps the so-called angry God of the Old Testament. Click on the different category headings to find out more. Jesus loved you when you lived carelessly, when you neglected his Word, when the knee was unbent in prayer. Yet most people today have never heard of John Gill. He purposed that all who believed on Christ would be endowed with strength from above. Ah, it's a shame the closing song changes after a few episodes of a K-drama; the first one is so fun and pumping to match the atmosphere of the show's strong female characters. Prophets It is up to us to respond to His command with our will and whole being. He first loved us: This verse not only declares our love for Jesus, it also tells us when He loved us. This is a fact for every true follower of Jesus. These are those that acknowledge Jesus Christ's real incarnation. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. It is found everywhere a false Jesus is promoted in place of the true Jesus of the Bible. John has been speaking of boldness, and that naturally suggests its opposite--fear. 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us true prophecy is never of any private interpretation. Ben stitches the wound while Homm drinks from the single-malt whiskey bottle that Ben had been drinking from earlier. ( John 4:1-4) Jesus travels from Judea to Galilee, passing though Samaria. Concerning Antichrist. e. We have seen and testify: Speaking as one who has the Spirit of God (He has given us of His Spirit), John declares three essential truths about who God is and how He saves us. a. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. d. Is now already in the world: Though it will have its ultimate consummation in an end-times political and economic ruler, the essence of this antichrist spirit is present with us today. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? It brings life to all who trust in Jesus and His work on their behalf, because He is the propitiation for our sins. i. 1 John 3 1 John 1 John 5. And it is by faith that we overcome. Poetical Books b. She ultimately collapsed on the floor of the store, and when she woke up, she found out that she was in the emergency room of the hospital. Because of this, the excuse I just cant love that person (or other such excuses) is invalid. Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness. We have seen it with our eyes. The short book known as 1 John re-proclaims the message of John's gospel in a changed context. Never let it be thought that any sinner is beyond the reach of divine mercy so long as he is in the land of the living. He teaches us that the benefit of sacraments depends not on the hand that administers them. iii. Charles Spurgeon was a man who preached the whole counsel of Gods word, andwas careful to not excessively repeat himself in any one area. ii. Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores. (1 John 4:16) The Christians response to God and His love. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. We may request cookies to be set on your device. God the Father is not completely knowable by us; we cant completely figure out God, or know all His secrets. In my text he explains and enlarges that statement. Jesus loved you when you lived carelessly, when you neglected his Word, when the knee was unbent in prayer. d. Boldness in the day of judgment: How can anyone have such boldness? The day of judgment is as fixed in Gods eternal timetable as any other day in world history. (Boice). Other tests already stressed in this first paragraph of the chapter were: (1) the test of confessing that Jesus was the Christ who came in the flesh; (2) the test of whether or not they were indwelt by the Father ( 1 John 4:4 ); and (3) the test of their life-style. But He needed to go through Samaria. a. Beloved, let us love: The ancient Greek sentence begins in a striking way agapetoi agapomen, those who are loved, let us love. We are not commanded to love one another to earn or become worthy of Gods love. When we know God, and are of God, we hear what the Bible says. e. There is no fear in love: The completeness of love means we do not cower in fear before God, dreading His judgment, either now or in the day of judgment. Weir is still on his phone, dialing the numbers, while Ben and Hailey are with Homm, tending to his wound. a. The reason for discernment: Discernment is essential because Satan and his forces are at work in the world (4:1). d. We love Him because He first loved us: This verse tells us why we love Jesus, and how we can love Him more. Some respond with a sense of self-superiority (Im so great, even God loves me!). Jesus has a definite direction toward which he influences this dialogue between himself and the Samaritan woman. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. Prophets Preaching text: 1 John 1:1-4 God's Tangible Word of Life. We might be satisfied to merely survive the day of judgment, but God wants to so fill our lives with His love and His truth that we have boldness in the day of judgment. Cookie Notice: i. We love one another because we are loved by God, and have received that love, and live in light of it. Our text falls into three parts: John gives us the reason for discernment (4:1); the basis for discernment (4:2-3); and, the evidence of discernment (4:4-6). We touched it with our hands. Historical Books What about the many passages of Scripture, Old and New Testament (such as Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 1 Peter 2:17), which tell us we should fear God? His love for us initiates our relationship of love with Him, our love only responds to His love for us. i. These verses are the equivalent of saying that a person cannot practice agape-love unless he can first practice philia-love. (Boice). He loved us when we were still sinners: Every man that ever was saved had to come to God not as a lover of God, but as a sinner, and then believe in Gods love to him as a sinner. (Spurgeon), ii. They face none of the rejection the child of God will face from the world (1 John 3:1), because they are friends with the world. If someone says, I love God: It is often easier for someone to proclaim his love for God, because that regards a private relationship with an invisible God. One may know the Word, may never miss a service, may pray fervently, and may demonstrate gifts of the Spirit. i. That God has sent His only begotten Son into the world: John is careful to call Jesus the only begotten Son. His is the fountain love, ours but the stream: his love the inducement, the pattern, and the effective cause of ours. General Epistles It is up to us to respond to His command with our will and whole being. She also mentioned that Jeong-Suk's skin was . The two people in the relationship are at the base of the triangle, and God is at the top. Note the striking inversion of the clauses: He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, God whom he hath not seen cannot love. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. i. Love has been perfected: For perfected, John doesnt just use the Greek word teleioo (which has the idea of maturity and completeness); he writes teleioo teleioo speaking of love that is perfectly perfected or completely complete.. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. He has made no human being for perdition, nor ever rendered it impossible, by any necessitating decree, for a fallen soul to find mercy. This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews. a. Beloved, let us love: The ancient Greek sentence begins in a striking way agapetoi agapomen, "those who are loved, let us love." Gospel: John 1:14-16 The Word became flesh. Oh, if you do really believe that he has loved you so, sit down, and turn the subject over in your mind, and say to yourself, Jesus loves me; Jesus chose me; Jesus redeemed me; Jesus called me; Jesus has pardoned me; Jesus has taken me into union with himself. (Spurgeon). iii. However, we use the term beget to describe something that is exactly the same as us in essential nature and being. d. He who loves God must love his brother also: We can also learn how to love God by loving people. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. We cant love God the way we should unless we are receiving and living in His love. Plainly, Christians can say, We know. We dont have to merely hope we are saved, and hope we will make it to heaven, thus having no assurance of salvation before we pass from this world to the next. ii. Earlier in the letter, John brought up the idea of the world and its threat to the Christian life (1 John 2:15-17). b. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. d. God has sent His only begotten Son: This shows the love of God, because love gives its best. But it is no less important to say, Jesus is a man, because both the deity and humanity of Jesus are essential to our salvation. The Old Testament 1 John 4 In this chapter the apostle exhorts to try spirits ( ver 1 ), gives a note to try by ( ver 2, 3 ), shows who are of the world and who of God ( ver 4-6 ), urges Christian love by divers considerations ( ver 7-16 ), describes our love to God, and the effect of it, ver 17-21. Take effect once you reload the page the provision of the world are also because... Of love, theres a few questions I have for Him define the life... And being Do we live through Him loved you when you lived carelessly, when the knee was in. 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