We love Him

“We love him, because he first loved us.”

We will never come to God in our natural, sinful state. Our hearts and minds are at enmity with God and we want nothing of His kind of love. Indeed, we do not understand it, for our minds are darkened in the sin we entertain and live by. Our desire for God has been compromised by our sin and so we do not chose Him. 

“… because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be.”

Romans 8:7

Something fundamental and systemic has to happen to change that mindset and make us think of God and our position before His holy throne. How do we move from hating God to loving God with every part of our being; being devoted to Him in worship and adoration; giving over our lives to Him in His service. It seems an impossible situation, but God is the God of the impossible…

“Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26

In His purposes in salvation God works a miracle of grace in our mind and heart. He can change the most recalcitrant and make us willing and able to desire Him. No matter how far we have lived away from His holy commandment, he can turn us and make us willing to come Him and seek what he wants rather than our own selfish ways. 

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.”

Isaiah 55:6-7

The Holy Spirit works in our hearts and softens our hearts towards God and causes us to feel the weight of our sin. We become convicted by our sin and seek relief from its guilt and shame. The only one who can deal with this is our Saviour Jesus. Only He is able to forgive our sin and take the burden away from us and give us relief. The Holy Spirit enlightens our mind to understand the gospel message and gives us the faith we need to believe in Jesus and trust in what He did for us on the cross. This is the way we walk to enter into the love of God.

God loves us first. What a glorious truth! Our redemption is not dependant on our love, but on the Lord of the Father in heaven. He has provided all things for His children and has set His heart on us from eternity past, that we might enter into the reality of His love and be able to love Him back. When His Spirit works in us, He gives us the deep desire to seek the Lord and be rid of our sin. God is ready and willing to accept us as we come to Him in repentance for what we have done. In His great love He forgives us and shows us His forgiving love. We see it demonstrated on the cross of Calvary and see there, the lengths our God was willing to go to save us. What amazing love for us! 

We love Him because He loves us… we must never lose sight of this glorious fact so that we will remain dependant on His love and not on our foolish pride. 

Perfect in love

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.”

For the Christian believer, all punishment has passed, for the price of their sin has been paid and they are free from the condemnation of it. They are set free to live by the Spirit of God and not in slavery to the flesh.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

Romans 8:1

There are times when we can be overcome with fear. Maybe we are not so close to the Lord or maybe we feel some guilt for sin that is getting the better of us. Maybe we have trauma from the past which comes back when we are feeling a bit down or maybe we feel frightened at the prospect of death or the Lord’s return. We can comfort ourselves in the scriptures which have many precious promises. God will never leave His people and He promises us forgiveness when we humble ourselves and come to Him.

If we really enter into the love of Christ and have a firm hold on Him as our Saviour and Lord, we will have the victory over our fears and our faith will grow. God uses the troubles of life to strengthen us and to release our grip on the comforts of this world to seek Him only. As we lay hold on His love and experience it through our difficulties, so our love becomes more firm and sure. The fear dissipates because we increasingly realise that the punishment is gone. Even the deepest of valleys are meant for our good.

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28

We can rest on these promises of God with all our mind and enter into the peace of His love for us. To walk with Christ in the path of His love is life and peace. Anything else is fearful for the Christian and folly for the unbeliever. To not have God’s love means a person is really on their own and they will never experience the rest that comes through faith in the loving God, who’s whole being is love.

This is not a sentimental human love, which is fickle and transitory, but a love that upholds righteousness and justice. The love of God will always prevail, for He remains on the throne over everything and is working out His purposes for His people. To know the safety of that love really is life, spiritual life, and peace, peace with God. As we are steadfast in love so our fear fades away and we enjoy the company of our Lord as we daily walk with Him.

Just like Him

“In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him.”

How about walking with Jesus so closely and communing with Him so nearly that we become just like Him? Surely this is the desire of the heart of the Christian who has been found of Christ and who now seeks Him. To be like Jesus is our greatest assurance and sense of hope on that last great day of judgment. We are safe in Christ and the Great White Throne has no fear for the believer. All judgment is past since Jesus has died and the price of our sin is paid.

“He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only born Son of God.”

John 3:18

Our love for our redeemer Saviour holds us fast and as we grow in that love so also we grow in assurance and hope. As we study the Scripture and know Christ deeper, so our sense of His abiding presence grows. As we realise increasingly what Christ has done for us personally, so our love for Him grows. Love is refined and perfected in our heart and this extends to other people as well. We become more settled in our character and more tolerant of the needs of other people rather than ourselves.

This should be our Christian walk with God and our daily testimony wherever we find ourselves. We are suitable for all situations, for the Lord is with us and we have full confidence in His love.

Our love will fail, but we can get stronger as we draw close. We practice our love among our sisters and brothers in Christ and so relationships grow and it pleases the Lord. This is a key message in this epistle – that we love each other and become increasingly Christlike.

Abides in love

“And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

This love of God is not a one-hit-wonder. God’s love towards His people is forever. He loves us with an everlasting love that will never fail; take offence; throw us off or let us down. His love forgives over and over again, for He has set His heart upon us and nothing or no one will deflect that unending affection. What a privilege it is to be so loved! What wickedness to take advantage of it…

“The Lord appeared of old to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you.”

Jeremiah 31:3

When we come into the realisation of that love, it overcomes us and we love Him back. Our love is dependant on His mighty love and our faith and hope is grounded in that same love. The love of God supersedes every other love, for all loves will fail, but God does not fail nor His love cease. He has expressed it in the sacrifice of His dear Son, and also gives us many tokens of that love in our daily life. Maybe we are not aware of them and find ourselves taking God’s mercies for granted, but what a personal blessing to see the provision and love of the Lord in all things. This is the path of peace and blessing as we look expectantly to our Lord each day and each moment. To live in the reality of that love is life and peace.

“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes look to the Lord, our God, until he has mercy on us.”

Psalm 123:2

As we abide in the steadfast love of God, so we mature as Christian people; become increasingly conformed to His image; become secure in that love and our own love increases and we are obedient. We live our daily life in the presence of that love and that love infiltrates our own heart and spreads out to others around us. We find ourselves loving what God loves and having a heart for the weak and weary, reaching out to them with the message of the love of Christ.

As the realisation of the love of God for us grows, so our love for Him also grows and matures and we manifest the character of God in our life. We become more patient, kind, loving, gentle and faithful. The life of the Spirit in us grows and we become like Jesus. His love in us gives us love for other people and produces genuine outpourings of generosity and provision for those around us in need. Not just money, but time, effort and the understanding heart of Christ. We abide in the love of God and therefore His love abides in us.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

Son of God

“If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”

We have had a similar verse like this in this book from John. Chapter four verse two is similar in that it requires us to identify the incarnation and that Christ has come in the flesh.

This verse is different in that it tells us that what we believe about Jesus is of vital importance. It is crucial that we are believing in the true Jesus and not in an idol of our own making! There are many who believe in a God, or a Saviour, who will save them and let them do whatever they like with no change in life or personal holiness. We must have a clear idea of Jesus and who He is and what He has done for us. Jesus is the second person of the trinity and is the eternal Son of God. This means He has always existed with the eternal Father and the eternal Holy Spirit. His presence is all over the text of the Old Testament, and He is promised as the Saviour of the world, right from the beginning of Genesis.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Genesis 3:15

The Messiah of God is identified from the beginning and all through the Scripture text as the One sent from God is save fallen humankind. We have pictures of Him and His work in the sacrifices of the Old Testament law, and in the lives of the patriarchs.

Jesus Christ our Lord is the Creator of the world and has been with the Father sharing in the power and glory from all eternity. Indeed, we have the record of the plan of salvation for fallen human beings right from before the world existed. God was not caught off guard by the fall of His humans, but had an escape plan ready before the world was made.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.”

John 1:1-3

“Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”

John 8:58

This title “I AM” is reserved for the eternal God. Jesus is telling us who He is, that He is the God man come in the flesh to be our Saviour. John is very clear about Jesus and loves Him and has put his trust in the Lord of all things. John is also an eye witness to the words and deeds of Jesus, the Son of God and has testified to what he has seen in the gospel, in these letters and also the Revelation of Jesus Christ. For us, we must believe in the Holy Scriptures and search them for ourselves to learn about our Lord and God and ensure we worship the true Lord Jesus. Those who see the truth of Scripture and worship Him are abiding in God and God abides in them, and the Spirit witnesses within us that we belong to the true God.

Seen and testify

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.”

The credentials of the Apostles of God are really important. To be counted as an Apostle, a man had to have seen the risen Lord and walked within him. John the Apostle writing this letter has this testimony. This is his justification as to why we should listen to him and pay close attention to His words because they are the very Word of God. The canon of Scripture has been kept for us down through time and it our only reliable source of knowledge about God and how we can actually know Him personally in the reality of our own life. It is the truth and the way to heaven for all who will search the scriptures to find eternal life.

The Scripture tell us how we might know God through our Saviour Jesus and we can easily read all the accounts about Jesus and lessons that He taught. It is open to everyone but in these days of history, there seem to be so few who will read the words and trust in the Saviour they speak about.

There are those in our day who make the claim to be Apostles and call themselves by that name. It is difficult to know if they think they still speak the word of God, but we do not give our mind and hearts to them, for they do not have the necessary credentials. There is much falsehood and gullibility about the things of God and reputations are to be built and empires serviced on the back of fake labels and disreputable practices. This is not the way of Christ, who is the humble Lord and has chosen the weak and feeble people of the world to testify to His grace and goodness. Those who seek to make big names for themselves are not to be trusted and we stick exclusively to the Holy Scriptures revealed and kept for us through the grace of God.

“But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:14-17

The Word of God is sufficient for us and for all our needs to be met and wants to be supplied. We must look in them to find the strength we need to live and work for God. The Scripture is God-breathed and will fully equip us for every good work. The trouble comes when we don’t value it and so don’t read it. We entertain doubts that we hear and listen to voices that add to the Scripture or detract from it. We are clearly warned not to do so.

“If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.”

Revelation 22:19

We guard the Scriptures and the doctrines and truths there very jealously. We refute all those who downgrade it and fail to accept its authority over their mind and life. It is the mark of the heretic to try to run from the truth of God and to undermine the faith that the Holy Spirit gives to people. We live in the last days and time is running down and the human collective psyche waxes worse and worse. We need the truth of God more than ever, so be encouraged sisters and brothers in a Christ, the Lord is coming soon for those who remain faithful to Him and His Word. Let us cling to the words of John the true Apostle and be encouraged as we obey.

His Spirit

“By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

How do we know we have the Spirit of God? We know because we love God and other people. We are not hostile and argumentative towards others, but seek the bond of peace.

“… being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:3

To have the Spirit of God dwelling in us brings us spiritual life and peace: spiritual life that knows God and can relate to Him and also peace with Him because our sins are atoned for and we are forgiven.

The work of the Holy Spirit within us is profound. He works in us to want what God wants and to confirm our wandering will to God’s will. He teaches us the things of God and confirms our desires after all good and holy things. All else is from our sinful self, which we fight against every day. The Spirit of God witnesses to us that we belong to God and are set apart for His purposes.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

1 Peter 2:9

We walk through our lives in the light of His glorious love. Love becomes our defining feature and the imprint of the Spirit on our life. Without this mark we have no assurance that we belong to the family of God.

There is also a power given by the Holy Spirit to all who believe. The power that dwells with us is able to give us the courage and strength to face our sin and turn away from it. It is power that ungodly do not possess and is a certain mark that we belong to God. The Christian does not have to sin, indeed is constrained to not sin, but keep the commands of God. God does not leave us on our own but gives us His Spirit that we might follow Him and live our life for His glory.

Perfected in us

“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.”

We cannot see God because He is Spirit. We read and hear His words and see the effect of His actions, and so we can know Him. We can commune through the reading of His Word and through speaking to Him in prayer. We are brought to know Him through faith in Jesus and through the shed blood that has atoned for our sin. The only revelation of God we have is the Holy Scriptures. All other so-called revelations are unreliable and are therefore false. Only Scripture hold the knowledges of God that we need and in studying the Scripture and searching the Scripture we come to realise who God is. We also realise who we are and that we cannot stand before Him in our natural state, but need a Saviour to cleanse us and make us new. We need forgiveness and a new life in Christ – eternal life through the indwelling Spirit within.

God changes us around and sets our wayward feet on the right path of faith, love and hope in Christ. We become new people who are able to love God and love others with that sacrificial love that our Father God displays. As we walk on in the Christian pathway with God, He teaches us and sanctifies us by the work of the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God. We become more obedient, more loving and more lIke our Lord.

This is our testimony to the world, that people can see and relate to. Unbelievers need to see the beauty of Christ in the life of Christian people, as they have no other way in practical terms, to see God or know what God is like, apart from that testimony. The Scriptures remain a mystery to so many, for they are spiritually discerned, but we can all read love and kindness in the lives of other people. Christians should be walking with their Lord so that they are closely like Him and a good witness to the world.

The question is, am I like that? Am I a good ambassador for Jesus my Saviour? Do I represent Him in a fallen and perverse world that is lost and blind?

Each one of us must answer this question in the quietness of our own mind and heart.

Some day we will see God in the person of the Lord Jesus and we will be perfectly like Him in our character and demeanour, for He will make us perfect as He is. Until then, we strive to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect and to please Him by living holy lives for His glory and not for ourselves. We seek to emulate His person that we might be more accurate witnesses to our gracious and loving God.

We also ought to love

“Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.”

If God has given everything He has to save us – giving us His nearest and dearest Son to save wretches like us, we also ought to have this kind of love in our mindset. We should not find ourselves looking down on anyone, because we all struggle with the same sins and temptations. Those who do not know Christ are to be pitied, for they live life alone and have no loving Heavenly Father to care for them. As Jesus said, they are sheep without a shepherd.

But our love for the sisters and brothers in Christ should be like the Father’s love for us because we emulate Him as our loving Father. Children take the resemblance to their parents, and therefore as children in the family of God we love as our Father loves. We do not quarrel and fight like those in the world who have never known the love of God, but put the needs of others before ourselves.

“…make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”

Philippians 2:2-4

Our natural inclination is self first, but now we are changed and can trust in our Father God to protect and supply all our needs, so we can obey the law of love. We can overcome our basic insecurities because we are secure in Christ and He will prepare the way before us as we interact with other people.

Sacrifice is a difficult concept for us. We do not naturally make sacrifices for others except they are close to us, like family. However, our sisters and brothers in Christ are also now family, so we are willing to make sacrifices for them too. If I see my brother or sister in need, I should be willing to do something about it, not just prayer, but practical help and support for them. This is hard for us as it costs us, but Christ command it, so we obey Him.

“But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him?”

1 John 3:17

This is where the teaching about love really impacts on our life. If we are to seek God and seek to be like Him, then this will be our mindset.

The atoning sacrifice

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

The cross of Christ is the epitome of the love of God, the only true and reliable love and will last and bring us safely to eternity. It is eternal love, everlasting love that God has for His people. We do not have that love.

Our human nature and behaviour is set against the Lord. Our whole psyche and being is dead set against the Lord and we do not seek Him or love Him.

“For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. Those who are in the flesh can’t please God.”

Romans 8:6-8

Our natural condition in terms of our eternal state could not be worse. In our non-repentant mindset we stand before the Lord already condemned. We live our life in this world, blind and lame and with souls dead to God. We are duped into thinking we are ok, and in this world we seem satisfied with all that we can get from it, for we have no appetite for God or the truths of God. This is spiritual death and the absence of love.

God is not like us. Even when we were His sworn enemies, He has provided a way of escape from the spiritual death which keeps us away from Him and will one day separate us from Him and all that is good, forever. We don’t need to live under condemnation, for God offers us His mercy if we will trust His love, repent and believe.

Christ has died. This is the greatest triumph. The atoning death of Jesus was able to pay for our sin, so that God’s righteous justice is satisfied and the guilty can go free. Jesus, the not guilty one has stood in our place and paid the price of our sin on our behalf. He is the only one who is worthy to do this, as He alone is the spotless lamb of God, slain on our behalf before the foundation of the world. Jesus the Son of God has been set apart to bear our guilt and buy us back from the certain condemnation of our sin. Those who put their hope in what He did on the cross, and in Him as the only Saviour, are set free from the sin and the condemnation that binds us.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

Romans 8:1

Those who are set free from the shackles of sin are free from the attendant punishment, and become people who live according to the Spirit and not the flesh. The atonement of Jesus Christ for our sin is the only way we can be forgiven and enter into the love of God. His sacrifice is the only way to spiritual life and to know God. The atonement was the crux of all human history. All events and truth circle around that point in time in space when God punished His Son on our behalf. It is the only way of salvation and is free to all who will humble themselves and accept the work of grace that they could not do for themselves.

“But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8