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 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.  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Love is a communicable attribute of God.  Communicable means that He shares this attribute with us and expects us to demonstrate it to others.  Only God is omniscient or all-knowing so that is an uncommunicable attribute.  Love is God’s very identity and He is love perfectly personified.  Though we do love and are commanded to love, we do not love to the extent or in the perfect way that God does. 

LOVE IS DEMONSTRATED FROM GOD: We are to love one another because love comes from God to us and we are created in His image.  If we have been regenerated or born again out of a life where we were dominated by sin and selfishness, we will love.  Since God is our Father, love is an integral part of our identity.  If we claim to know God, we must love one another.  Since love is from God and He is love, all who claim to know God will demonstrate love to others.  Love originates with God and His presence in our lives is what makes us be loving as He is loving.

LOVE IS DEMONSTRATED BY CHRIST: The ultimate demonstration of love is the Lord Jesus Christ.  His willingness to take on flesh, live a perfect life, and then give Himself as a sacrifice for our sin is the gold standard of what love truly is.  The love of Christ is sacrificial and sanctifying.  He loves in an unconditional, self-sacrificing manner where He laid down His life for us.  We are called to love one another with this same level of commitment.  Christ came to make us holy both positionally and practically.  He paid the price for our sin so we are no longer under the wrath of God.  He also set us free from sin so we could have victory over temptation and walk in obedience to the Lord.    Love that pollutes instead of purifies is no love at all.  Jesus is the supreme example of love and we would do well to emulate Him. 

LOVE IS DEMONSTRATED TO OTHERS:  There is an expectation that love be reciprocated.  Certainly, because God loves us, we should love Him.  However, that is not what the passages says.  The commandment is that we should respond to God’s love for us by demonstrating love to others.  We cannot see God, but we can see other people who were created in the image of God.  Loving others is the only way we can truly demonstrate that we love God.  When we love others the way that God loves them, we prove that His is present in our lives.  The natural man loves himself and exploits others for his own benefit.  When the Spirit of God comes into our lives, He changes all that as He is working to perfect us and conform us to the image of Christ.

APPLICATION: Recognize that God is the source of love.  We cannot conjure up love from within ourselves, it comes from Him.  Don’t ever be fooled into thinking that we have “loved enough.”  Sacrificing is essential to genuine love, as is loving in a way that draws people closer to Christ.  Remember that the only way to love God is by loving others. 

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