1 John 4:16-17 ESV
“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. 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.”
What is the love that God has for us? Well, first off, he is
love, and love comes from him, and so this love will share all the moral
characters of God. He is holy, righteous, pure, upright, truthful, trustworthy,
true to his word, merciful, compassionate, full of grace, and kind, but he is
also just and fair, and again he keeps to his word. And so his love he has for
us shares those same attributes.
Because he is merciful and compassionate and just, he sent
his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (God the Son), to a cross to die for our
sins. And he who knew no sin became sin for us on that cross that we might
become the righteousness of God. So when Jesus died our sins died with him. And
when he was resurrected from the dead, he rose in victory over sin, death, Satan,
and hell. He conquered sin for us in his death on that cross and in his
resurrection so that we might live in victory over the power of sin.
Now Jesus did not die that horrible death on that cross just
to forgive us our sins so that when we die we get to go to heaven. He died that
we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died
that we might now live for him and no longer for ourselves. And he shed his
blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now be God’s
possession, and so we would now honor him with our lives (1 Peter 2:24; 2
Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
And when we believe in him and in the love he has for us and
what he did for us on that cross, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin,
and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness. Our old self is crucified with him
in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no
longer be enslaved to sin. So we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies,
to make us obey its passions. For if sin is what we obey and put into practice,
but not obedience to our Lord, it will end in death, not life everlasting
(Romans 6:1-23).
So, the love that God has for us is not in just forgiving
our sins, but it is in delivering us from our slavery to sin so that we can
walk in holiness and in righteousness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his
commandments (New Covenant). The love that he has for us transforms us and
makes us into new people in Christ Jesus who love God and who want to obey him.
He changes us into people who will willingly die with him to sin, not just once
but daily, and who want to live to him and to his righteousness.
So, when we abide in this love that God has for us, and that
we are to have for all humankind, what does that look like? Well, to abide
means to obey, comply with, follow, keep to, hold to, conform to, adhere to,
stand by, act in accordance with, uphold, agree to, accept, continue in, remain,
stay, and endure. And again his love is all about his divine character, such as
righteousness, holiness, truthfulness, integrity, and moral purity, etc. So we
are then obeying righteousness and holiness and godliness.
And when we abide in this love, we are also abiding in God,
and God abides in us. We are not abiding in Christ, however, if we are still
living for the sinful pleasures of this flesh, and if sin is what we obey and
we make our practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not
what we practice. In fact, we read in 1 John 2:3-6 that if we claim to know God
but we are not obeying his commandments (New Covenant), in practice, then we
are liars who do not live by the truth.
So, if we are abiding in God’s love, and God thus abides in
us, by this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the
day of judgment. Why? Because if we do not abide in Christ and in his love, but
sin is what we obey, instead, we will die in our sins and we will not inherit
eternal life with God. So it is critical that we conform to and keep to and
obey God’s love which is righteous, holy, morally pure, truthful, and trustworthy.
And we must continue in this abiding until the very end.
Oh,
to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music
by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s
treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of
compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the
fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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