1st John 4:13-5:5 #ESV #EMFsermonSERIES

1. Everlasting Mercy Fellowship

2.  13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has
given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father
has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses
that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we
have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is
love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
17 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. 18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to
do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
19We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,”
and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother
whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this
commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love
his brother.
 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God,
and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of
him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love
God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we
keep his commandments.And his commandments are not
burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the
world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5
Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God?

5.  John simply and boldly writes, God is love.
Oftentimes, this gets misinterpreted as "love is God."
If love is God, then it is what we live for, what we
serve, the ultimate standard of all. Augustine wrote
that, prior to his conversion, "I loved not yet, yet I
loved to love...I sought what I might love, in love with
loving" (Confessions 3.1). Love itself was what was
sought, cherished, hoped for. Love is, as the Beatles
once said "all you need".

6.  But John does not write "love is God" nor that love is
the final and supreme good. He writes, God is love. If
we want to know what love is, then we must let God
define it. As Frederick Buechner comments, "To say
that love is God is romantic idealism.To say that God
is love is either the last straw or the ultimate truth".
For John, it is indeed the ultimate truth. God is not
hate, anger, bitterness or deceit, but love. Love does
not define the fullness of God, but God defines the
fullness of love.

7.  When we say that God is the "standard" for love, we
mean that God's actions reveal to us what love is and
how it manifests itself. Earlier in the epistle, John
taught that God’s love was displayed through the way
in which we as Christians love each other (see 1st John
4:7-12). Now he asserts that God's love for us is
manifested in His sending of Jesus as the Savior of the
world (see 1st John 4:14-16). If we have never seen
God, we have been able to see clearly that His Son has
been sent for our salvation (see 1st John 4:20.

8.  In these next two verses, we see that God makes our
love complete and confident. As we have seen,
Complete love reaches it’s goal when it’s shown to
your brother of sister in Christ.Theologically speaking,
Love isTrinitarian in nature.
 It comes as a gift from God
 It enables us to love each other
 And in doing so, it is returned to God who gave it to us as a gift.
 HC Dodd said this, “The energy of love discharges
itself along lines which form a triangle, whose points
are God, self, and neighbor.Where any one leg of the
triangle is missing, love remains incomplete and
immature. But where the triangle is whole, love is
complete”.

9.  As a result, we have confidence on the day of
judgment because our love signals to us that we
already enjoy fellowship with God. And those who
share fellowship with God don’t need to fear
judgment. God will not take away from them His
salvation or love because they have already been
given those through the death of His Son.

10.  In these next two verses, we see that God makes our
love complete and confident. As we have seen,
Complete love reaches it’s goal when it’s shown to
your brother of sister in Christ.Theologically speaking,
Love isTrinitarian in nature.
 It comes as a gift from God
 It enables us to love each other
 And in doing so, it is returned to God who gave it to us as a gift.
 HC Dodd said this, “The energy of love discharges
itself along lines which form a triangle, whose points
are God, self, and neighbor.Where any one leg of the
triangle is missing, love remains incomplete and
immature”. But where the triangle is whole, love is
complete.

11.  We love because he first loved us (see 1st John 4:19)
summarizes the relationship between human and
Godly love. Quite simply,God's love for us has
empowered us to love both other human beings and
God yet God does not give us some power or ability
apart from his own presence that motivates us to love.
God loves us and it is His love that empowers us to
love each other.The gift cannot be separated from the
Giver. Because God's love is the source of Christian
love, we can't claim to love God while hating other
believers (see 1st John 4:20). Loving God is usually
easier than loving each other but that is not Joh's
point. John's point is that loving God is impossible
without loving each other.

12.  We love because he first loved us (see 1st John 4:19)
summarizes the relationship between human and
Godly love. Quite simply,God's love for us has
empowered us to love both other human beings and
God yet God does not give us some power or ability
apart from his own presence that motivates us to love.
God loves us and it is His love that empowers us to
love each other.The gift cannot be separated from the
Giver. Because God's love is the source of Christian
love, we can't claim to love God while hating other
believers (see 1st John 4:20). Loving God is usually
easier than loving each other but that is not Joh's
point. John's point is that loving God is impossible
without loving each other.

13.  Finally, John tells us that God commands us to love.
Whether we are speaking of loving God or loving
others, love is God's will for us since God is love. All
those who are children of God, who confess Jesus as
savior and Lord are to love each other.
 John 5:1
▪ 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone
who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
 This verse shows us two things…
 The importance of placing our faith in Jesus
 The importance of loving each other
 These are not two separate commands. Rather, they
are two expressions of what Christians do. Faith and
love are the result of God’s work in a person's life. Each
is centered in the person of Jesus Christ.We place our
faith in Jesus who is the manifestation of God’s love
for us.

14.  January
 Testimony to the Son (1st John 5:6-12)
 Closing Exhortations (1st John 5:13-21)
 ConcludingAssurances andAdmonitions (1st John 5:18-21)
 Greetings to the Church (2nd John 1-3)
 Living in Love (2nd John 4-6)