Live in the Light. The Epistles of John

Chapter 4 .

John is going to show us the main aim of Christianity. In Chapter 4 of 1 John… John is going to show us the main aim of Christianity.

God has a goal in mind for our growth.

God has a target that he is aiming for in our sanctification.

We learn about this goal in Verses 7 & 12 of Chapter 4…

(4:7) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

(4:12) No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

John says that the main goal that God has for the believer is that they live a life of love.

According to John there should be no question as to what the main goal is for the believer… it is to live a life fill with love.

Furthermore, John says that a life filled with love is one of the main evidences that someone is indeed a true believer.

(4:8) Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

John says that the person who does not show love is not in fellowship with God at best… and may not be a true believer at worst.

over and over again with the attribute of love... John’s argument is that because God himself is love and characterizes himself over and over again with the attribute of love...

It should be clear who the children of God are, because they have been united with a God of love.

This should come as no surprise to us…

That a life filled with love is God’s main goal for the believer…

Or that a life filled with love is the main proof of true salvation or the process of sanctification.

This concept has been repeated over and over again in the New Testament.

'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27) "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, (John 13:35) “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  

(1 Cor 13:2) If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  

(Phil 2:1-4) So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  

(Phil 2:1-4) Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  

The Christian life is not meant to be some haphazard venture, but rather that we fix our eyes on the target…

…and with our lives and the way that we live; we aim to hit the mark.

In Philippians, Paul doesn’t just give the goal, but he also briefly lays out how we might go about measuring up to it:

#1 Do nothing out of selfish ambition, or solely to gain for yourself.

Take Action! Limit the times that you put yourself in situations where only you will benefit. Seek to position yourself in instances where someone else will also benefit.

#2 View other people as more important than yourself.

Take Action! Everyone you know has many gifts, abilities or knowledge that you do not possess. Honor and respect them not just because of their humanity but also their superiority in those areas from which you can learn.

#3 Don’t just take care of your own needs, but also the needs of others.

Take Action! Everyone you know has just as many relational, physical, emotional & financial needs, longings & desires as you do. As you strive to fulfill your own needs… look for ways to help meet the needs of others in those same areas.

but he also shows us the model or the example that we are to follow. In Chapter 4, John not only shows us the goal of the Christian life (love)... but he also shows us the model or the example that we are to follow.

(4:9)  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.

(4:10-11)  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.

In this world we are like Jesus. (4:16-17)  God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

for us to follow as we live out John has a model, and an example, in mind for us to follow as we live out a life full of love.

The Christian life is not meant to be something that we invent for ourselves…We do not determine what is best and who we should model ourselves after…

God shows us and says… “be like my Son”.

If you want to know the best way to love, or the way that God is intending for us to love…

…look no further than His Son.

This should come as no surprise to us…

That Christ should be the model for the believer of how to love.

This concept has been repeated over and over again in the New Testament.

(Phil 2:5-8) Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped… 

by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Phil 2:5-8) …but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

In Philippians, Paul doesn’t just show the example, but he also briefly explains how we might go about following it.

#1 Christ did not claim or cling to His divine rightful position or superiority.

#2 He was willing to lower himself to the position of slave or servant.

#3 He was willing to serve others up until the point of even dying for them.

#4 He was willing to die even the worst kind of death for them; on a cross.

This should come as no surprise to us…

This concept has been repeated over and over again in the New Testament.

(John 15:12-13) This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

(1 John 3:16) This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Do not allow your lineage, Take Action! Do not allow your lineage, your ethnicity, your culture or your status in life to become a hindrance to loving others properly.

Take Action! Do not set limits on your willingness to love. That is; you will ‘only walk 1 mile’, ‘only clean 2 spills’, ‘only give $3’ or ‘only forgive 4 times’. True love goes the distance.

Take Action! It is only by succeeding in the small acts of love that we will be prepared to perform the greater acts of love. Therefore, rush into the situations that require a little love…they will be good exercise for the situations right around the corner which require a lot of love.

Closing Argument

(4:13-15) This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: 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. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

John says that the believer can know that they are in Christ because of three reasons…

They believe that Jesus is God’s Son sent into the world.

(2) They acknowledge (trust) that He is the Savoir.

(3) They are indwelt by His Spirit.

The only problem is that all of those things are invisible and anyone can insist that they have experience those things…

And John has been saying over and over that you can identify who the true believers are by…

Their willingness to love others & walk in the commands of Christ.

(1 John 3:4) We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

(1 John 2:29, 3) If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.

The Implication

we will have confidence on the day of judgment: (1 John 4:17) This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

John says, if you want to be confident that you are a true believer, and that you have truly acknowledged the Son in a real and saving way…

If you want to be confident that when you stand before the judgement seat of God you will not be condemned…

Look at how you lived and how you loved.

then you can be confident. If you walk in the commands of Christ and you willingly love others as God loves… then you can be confident.

Likewise, if you are not walking in the commands of Christ and you are regularly unwilling to love others as God loves…then you have good reason to be unsure about standing before the judgement of God.