I John 4:7-21

“Beloved, let us love one another . . .” (v. 7). These are words written by the apostle John. Scholars believe that this epistle was written from Ephesus, the city to which John and fellow church leaders relocated following the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70. While John does not identify the individuals or groups of individuals to whom he writes, he states the purpose of his epistle in verse 4 of chapter one. John writes such that believers might be filled with joy. Being filled with joy is dependent upon loving one another.

John could have linked loving one another to being filled with joy. He does not, however, immediately connect love and joy. Instead, he was moved by the Holy Spirit to define love in a manner which only believers can understand. John links love with God. Love is of God. This is not a definition which one would find listed in a dictionary created by men. God defines love and love connects men to God. Men cannot love one another unless one is born of God. If one does not know God, one does not and cannot understand love. Men can read about God and read about love, but one cannot understand God’s love unless one has been changed by it.

In verses 8 and 9, John speaks of the manner in which God manifested His love to us. God sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. The purpose for which God sent the Son was for us (believers) to have life. God the Father sent God the Son on a life-saving mission. The mission is described in verse 10. The Son was sent to be the propitiation for our sins. The Son was sent to be the sacrifice which satisfies our sins — satisfies our transgressions against God.

God’s act of sending His Son to satisfy our wrongs was an act of love. His love is cause for us to love one another. Because of His manifested love, we should love one another (v. 11). The love which we are to manifest one to another is the love which He has bestowed upon us.

“No man hath seen God at any time” (v. 12). While we do not see God, we see God’s love. God’s love is made visible to us through the Son. Invisible love was made visible by the Son. When we love one another, we manifest the love which was made visible to us through the Son. Loving one another is an expression of the invisible love which we have received.
In verse 13, John speaks of the Spirit which God has given. Earlier, John stated that the Spirit which is of God testifies that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh from God (v. 2). John, now, declares that we have certainty that we dwell in Him and He in us because we have received the Spirit which is of God and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Receiving the Spirit is the cause which moves believers to testify of the Son who willingly gave Himself to be the propitiation for our sins.

In verses 14 and 15, John continues to link effect to cause and cause to the resulting effect. What we have seen (what we have experienced) is the cause for that which we do (testify of that which God has done). We have known and believed. Knowing and believing produces a confession: Jesus is the Son of God! Our knowing and believing is the result of what God has done. He sent His Son. Confessing that which we know and believe testifies of that which is ongoing — God dwells in us and we in God.

“God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (v. 16). The Spirit within us does more than compel us to confess Christ crucified, risen from the dead, and coming again. The Spirit reveals why God sent His Son to save men. God is love. The Spirit which God has placed in all who are born of Him triggers both testimony (works) and love (feelings of deep affection). Dwelling in Him and He dwelling in us is made evident when we express love that is of Him.

The day of judgment of which John speaks in verse 17 is not the great white throne judgment of Revelation 20. The day of judgment for believers is the day in which we shall stand before Christ (Rom. 14:10, II Cor. 5:10). It is the day on which our works shall be tried by fire (I Cor. 3:13). It is not, however, a day of fear for them who have works made perfect in Him (v. 18). Works of love endure because they are of Him. There is no fear of loss in that which is built (perfected) by His love which is in us. Fear is the avenue of them whose works are separate from Him.

We love God because He first loved us. He gave His only begotten Son for us when we knew Him not. The Father gave His Son for all who believe. His love dwells in all who believe. One cannot love God without loving fellow believers. John underscores this truth in verse 20. Anyone who professes to love God and hates a fellow believer is a liar.

Only he who loves his brother can stand boldly in the day of judgment. Jesus has given us the commandment to love one another as He loves us. Only they who keep His commandments can boldly stand before Him.

Let us love one another and tell others of His love as He has commanded. May we stand boldly before Him in that day.