Love is From God

“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.” (1 John 4:7-12 ESV)

The love that this is speaking of here is not human love. It is not based in human emotions and feelings nor in our circumstances. It is not dependent on the one being loved being lovable. And it is not based in our culture and traditions and in human interpretation and application. This love is “agape” love which originates with God, and which prefers what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest and faithful.

So, the one who is loving with this agape love will prefer to live through Christ, to embrace God’s will, to choose his choices, and to actively obey them in his power and strength and wisdom. And he is going to do to and for others what is for their good, as God defines good. And he (or she) will not deliberately and/or habitually and/or premeditatedly sin against others. So he will not lie to, cheat, or cheat on, slander, and gossip about them, etc.

So, when this says that “whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” this is speaking of those who are actively loving God and other humans with this agape love. And if we are loving God with this love which comes from him, we are going to obey him and his commandments under the New Covenant, and we are going to live holy lives, pleasing to him, separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are becoming like Jesus.

So, this is not saying that if you just go around being nice to people that it means that you know God and that you have been born of God. For to know God means that we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, to live no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, in his power.

For if we profess to be in fellowship with God/Christ, but we continue to walk in sin, we are liars. And if we profess to know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars. For no one born of God, who abides in Christ, makes a practice of sinning. But whoever practices righteousness is righteous in the sight of God. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

[Romans 6:1-23; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Now our prime example that we have in human form of what this kind of love looks like is Jesus Christ who is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When Jesus Christ lived on this earth he healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, delivered people from demons, fed the hungry, comforted the sorrowful, and he preached repentance and obedience to him for forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God.

But he also spoke the truth in love to the people, even strongly to some who were self-righteous and full of pride and who were hypocrites who did not live what they professed. They were big on looking good on the outside, but Jesus said that inside they were full of wicked deeds, greed, hypocrisy, and self-indulgence. They were those who did not practice what they preached who were leading others to hell on the promise of heaven (false teachers).

Jesus didn’t lie to people to make them feel good about themselves. He did not dilute and alter his gospel message in order to attract the world to “Christian” gatherings. He was not concerned about offending people with the truth. He was concerned about their lives here on the earth and where they would spend eternity. And he didn’t die on that cross just to forgive us our sins so that heaven would be secured us for eternity. 

He died that we might die with him to sin and walk with him in holiness and in obedience to his commands so that we would have eternal life in him. And he died that we might live for him and no longer for self. And he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery (addiction) to sin so that we will now honor him with our bodies. And he died and rose from the dead to give us new life in him to be lived for his glory.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Luke 9:23-26]

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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