Grounded in Love
1 John 4:7-21
INTRODUCTION... “Doc, When Do I Die?” from Robert Coleman, Written in Blood
In his book Written In Blood, Robert Coleman tells the story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. She had a rare blood type which she shared with her little brother. The fact that he had recovered from the same disease two years earlier made the chances of success even greater. The doctor carefully explained all this to the little boy, pointing out that without the transfusion his sister would die."Would you be brave and give your blood to your sister?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip began to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister." The two children were wheeled into the hospital room - Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. He smiled at his sister, the watched as the blood traveled out of his body, down the clear plastic tube. Johnny’s smile faded, and as he lay there feeling weak he looked up at the doctor and said, "Doctor, when do I die?’ Johnny thought that giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. Yet because of his great love for her he was prepared to pay the price.
The Bible contains this same kind of sacrificial love. The passage that we will look at today, 1 John 4:7-
21, defines love in this way. It is the same love expressed in Deuteronomy 7:8 when He brought the people of Israel from Egypt. It is the same love expressed by Jeremiah the Prophet in Jeremiah 31:3, “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, ’I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.’” It is the same love as in John 3:16. It is the same love described by the Apostle Paul in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We as Christians, need to be people that are grounded in love as it is expressed all throughout Scripture. We need to know the source of love and what it means in our lives.
READ 1 JOHN 4:7-21
I. THE SOURCE OF LOVE (VERSES 7-8)
Verses 7 and 8 tell us something so very simple, but also so very important. These verses tell us that the source of love is God. In fact, verse 8 equates God and love. They are one and the same. John is very logical here in what he says. It makes sense that since God is the source of love and all true love comes from Him, that those who love as He does are born of God and know Him.
There are three other statements like this in the New Testament:
1) He is spirit (John 4:24): God is above all limitations of the physical word, space, and time
2) He is light (1 John 1:5): God is pure as pure can be, sinless and holy
3) He is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29): God is all powerful, the Creator God, and worthy of our worship
This fourth statement in 1 John 4 tells us that one of God’s defining characteristics is love. When He judges, He judges in love. When He listens, He listens in love. When He disciplines, He disciplines in love. When He creates, He creates in love. God is love. What does it mean to know that God is the source of love? We know of course that love needs and object and a subject. Love speaks of a relationship between two creatures. The fact that God is love brings into focus the personal nature of God. He desires a relationship with people; the whole purpose of creation.
II. THE EXPRESSION OF LOVE FROM GOD (VERSES 9-10)
We find in verses 9 and 10 that the love of God, all of Who He is, has a definitive expression. The love of God was manifested in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Verse 9 tells us matter-of-factly, “This is how God showed His love among us:.” Can it get any clearer than that? What follows that statement then must be the explanation of the expression of God’s love.
1) “He sent His One and Only Son” = Philippians 2:6-11 describes this so poetically. Jesus Christ submitted Himself and took on human form and was just a shell of what He was in Heaven. Philippians 2 tells us that He made Himself nothing and became a human being.
2) “into the world” = Jesus lived on the earth. He walked and talked and worked and was hungry. We cannot forget that Jesus lived life just as we do and faced all the trials that we do. He lived in the world with sickness and death and hardship.
3) “that we might live through Him” = the purpose of Jesus was always clear. The cross was always the goal for Jesus. That was the way that we would live... through His death.
Jesus is the absolute expression of the love of God. It is the expression of all that God is. That is why Jesus says so often that He and God are One (John 10:29). He says that if anyone has seen Him that they have seen the Father as well (John 14:9). Jesus says that if you hate Him you are hating God as well (John 15:24). Jesus came right from God as a huge statement of His love for human beings. Jesus did in fact come so that all people would have a way provided for a relationship with Him. That is the simple truth of it. The God of the Universe came down here to fix what we broke and did it as a human being.
ILLUSTRATION... “What if God Was One of Us?” by Joan Osborne
The world sometimes wonders about God and wonders what He is like and what He is up to. Most people believe there is a God up there but they do not know what He is like. A pop song in 1995 by Joan Osbourne entitled, ’What if God was One of Us’ asks this question from the perspective of the world:
If God had a name, what would it be?
And would you call it to His face if you were faced with him
In all his glory? What would you ask
If you had just one question?
Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home... If God had a face, what would it look like?
And would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to
Believe in things like heaven and in Jesus
And the saints and all the prophets?
Yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody callin’ on the phone
’Cept for the Pope, maybe, in Rome
We of course know the answer to all the questions that she asks in this song. We know that John 1:14 answers by telling us that, ’The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.’
We do not need to question what kind of God runs the show... He is a God, John says, that is the source of love and showed that great eternal love by sending Jesus Christ to Earth with a purpose to redeem mankind. All of this, though, must be punctuated with the question of... so what? What does this mean in my life? The Apostle John reflects on this in the rest of chapter 4.
REREAD 1 JOHN 4:11-21
III. THE REALITY THAT THIS LOVE GIVES TO US (VERSES 11-21)
ILLUSTRATION... “Kindness of a Stranger” Source: Author unknown, source unknown.
There’s a story told about a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. An old man sat by a river, waiting for a ride across. His beard was glazed by winter’s frost and the wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind.
He heard the faint, steady rhythm of approaching hooves galloping along the frozen path. Anxiously, he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass by without an effort to get his attention. Then another passed by, and another. Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue. As this one drew near, the old man caught the rider’s eye and said, "Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t appear to be a passageway by foot."
Reining his horse, the rider replied, "Sure thing. Hop aboard." Seeing the old man was unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman dismounted and helped the old man onto the horse. The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination, which was just a few miles away.
As they neared the tiny but cosy cottage, the horseman’s curiosity caused him to inquire, "Sir, I notice that you let several other riders pass by without making an effort to secure a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I’m curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you there?"
The old man lowered himself slowly down from the horse, looked the rider straight in the eyes, and replied, "I’ve been around these here parts for some time. I reckon I know people pretty good." The old-timer continued, "I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were evident. I knew, then and there, that your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need."
Those heartwarming comments touched the horseman deeply. "I’m most grateful for what you have said," he told the old man. "May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion." With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.
John tells the Christians that he is writing to that love is the pivotal point in their Christian walks. They cannot be Christian without loving those around them. In fact verse 21 lays out a command from God, whoever loves me must love those around them.
When we love those around us, it does several things:
1) When we love, God’s love is made complete in us (verse 12): Verses in Hebrews (6:1) and James (1:4) describe for us more fully what this completeness means. It means maturity of faith and a completeness of understand of who God is and what He desires. That maturity of faith comes from loving others.
2) When we love, God’s love inspires spiritual confidence (verse 17): Christians who are filled with the love of God and are pouring this same love out to those around them do not question their salvation. There is no fear in their life of the Day of Judgment because they are doing what God has asked and commanded them to do. They know that when they stand before God He will say. ’Well done good and faithful servant.’ David had this kind of confidence in Psalm 27:3, “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear, though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.”
3) When we love, God’s love drives out fear (verse 18): Christians who are filled with the love of God and are pouring this same love out to those around them do not have fear in their lives. This love creates a confidence in God so that they can face whatever life throws at them.
4) When we love, God’s love shows the truthfulness of our faith (verse 20): I would like to say this next part tactfully, but I also want to get my point across. Verse 20 tells us that if a person states that they know God and yet they hate their brother, they are a liar. We know those people who are Christians by the fruit in their life. Make no mistake about what John is saying. If you are here today and you say to yourself and to us, I am a Christian, and yet there is no fruit in your life, you are lying to God, yourself, and us. It is an impossibility... John says this person cannot love God.
CONCLUSION
Christians are people that are grounded in love. We know and believe that love was God’s motivation for sending Jesus Christ to save us. Love also compels us to reach out to those around us.
* Have you accepted God’s love?
* Are you expressing that love to people around you?
