1 John 4:7-16 - Knowing God through Love

*** Knowing God through love ***
4:7 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. This starts off a new paragraph. The word 'love' is used about 25 times in eleven verses.

love one another love is from God

The sequence goes like this: First an encouragement, or a command; then a rationale for our adherence to the command; then proof that the command important.
The command: love one another (vs. 7).
   Why: because God is love, and if you know God you will live like it (vs. 7).
   The proof: God sent His Son into the world as a demonstration of His love (vs. 9).
   Ergo: if you don't love, you don't know God (vs. 8).

Going back to ch. 2:7-11 - This is a new commandment to go along with the old commandment. I think the 'old' commandment is love God and obey (see Deut. 6:4, and Exo. 20). Jesus expanded this (see Matt. 22:36ff) - the greatest commandment and the second greatest. These are the 'old' commands. The 'new' commands - love one another.
Why should this be so hard? Why should this be a big stretch for a believer? Yet, here it is - love one another. What is our motivation for loving non-family members? (Assuming that we love our Moms, Dads, wives and children, brothers or sisters in our family). The answer is fairly straightforward - you love because you know God, and God is love. You don't just know about God, but you are intimately familiar with Him. He loves you even though you haven't done anything to deserve it.
This is not 'paying it forward', this must be an overflowing of what is filling you - there is no other reason - you love because you are loved. If I actually believe and know God, I will love those around me. I must emulate Him. What would be the reason for me to NOT love, if I am His? Disobedience. Stubbornness. When I understand (know) that the love of God provided the remedy, or payment, for sin in order that the righteous and just natures of God would not be violated, I am compelled to love. To know God is to love as He loves. Boy, is that convicting! Lord, please lead me, guide me, to love as you love. I am not there, yet.

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4:8 – The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The evidence of Jesus being in you is that you have love for others. He is our example. He is our model to follow - He does not expect me to do anything He hasn't already done.
This is not "Do as I say, not as I do", but "Follow me." He is not leading us into uncharted waters, where no one has gone before. He's been there, and marked the trail, knows the way, and is personally showing us how to do it. If we are not His, then we will not want to love. This is more than just fellow believers - it is possible (easy) to love our family - wife, husband, children, parents, etc. Loving believers only is the same as loving family. God wants us to love non-believers.

no love::no God

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4:9 – By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him.

He sent his Son
We live!
Nothing more need be said!

God's love revealed

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4:10 – In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
This is clear and simple: We did not love God.
He loved us
He sent His Son

God's love defined

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4:11 – Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another.
Therefore, we must love

God's example: love

4:12 – No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us.
if we love, God's love is perfected in us

God's love perfected

Time for a 'rabbit trail' - I just read in interesting article about discussing the existence of God with athieists or theists. The article indicated that many atheists want proof of God's existence. And since God is a Spirit, not a physical 'human being type' presence it is impossible to give physical evidence that God actually exists. Now Paul in his writings and John here tell us there is plenty of evidence of a God. Look at the universe, look at the amazing construction of the eyeball and optic nerve. This sometimes called irreducible complexity - if all the parts aren't there and functioning properly, there is no sight. This implies eyes could not have evolved, but had to be complete from the beginning. And then there is the Second Law of Thermodynamics - which evolution cannot overcome.

John is saying just because we have not seen God with our own eyes, the evidence He exists is in His love for us. He loved us when we were totally unlovable. When we manifest God's love to others because it exists within us, God is demonstrated. God's love is perfected. His love does not need us to be made perfect. His love grows and matures in us when we practice it - that is the sense of 'perfected' in this verse.
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4:13 – By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit.

There's that word again 'know'. The 'by this' is referring to the last phrase of this verse - i.e., we know because God has given us His Spirit. Jesus promised that he would send a helper. See John 14:16, 14:26. This helper would teach us the truth. We have assurance from His Spirit.

Know

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4:14 – And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

"We (John and the apostles) were witnesses. We were with Him when He was on earth, when He taught, when He healed, when He was crucified. We saw Him after His resurrection. It took us years to understand what He said, what He meant. We did not understand what God the Father was doing. But now we understand. He came to save the whole world."
Remember, this is a big step in understanding. God is not just the god of the Jews. That would seem to be obvious. I think the Israelites felt, believed that God was their God, no one else's. If you wanted to come to their God, then you must convert to their religion. There was a huge debate in Jerusalem, a council meeting that debated this very subject - would a people who are not "my people" be able to be God's people. Can Gentiles be saved by God without become Jews first? It was resolved. We Gentiles can be saved. In other words, the whole world can come to God for salvation.
This is not to say the whole world is saved. The whole world may be saved, if all the people accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is available to all, but is only manifest in believers. It was prophesied in the OT that the Messiah would be for the whole world (See Isa. 49:6).

Witnesses

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4:15 – Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

The Son is the Savior of the world. By this the world is redeemed, confess Jesus is the Son of God. This more than a merit badge, or a passing grade on a quiz, or even being promoted to the next grade. When you confess Jesus as Son of God, as Savior, you get Jesus. When you get Jesus the Son, you get God. Again, think bigger. This not just a new set of clothes, or new pair of shoes. You now have God, the creator and sustainer of the universe inside you, living there, making His home with you.

You in God God in You

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4:16 – We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

A repetition of the 'know' and 'believe', and 'abide' from above. Also reminiscent of Hebrews 11:6 "believe that God is, and is a rewarded of those who seek Him." We believe and know that God exists. We believe and know that He loves us. We believe and know we and God as a result abide in each other. Our life is safe in God. God is in us, living and empowering us.

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