1 John 4:7-10 says,...

Today's verses are 1 John 4:7-10, which read,

v.7 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

We need to start with the fact that God is the essence of love.  When we try to define love or look it up in the dictionary it should say and we should say, "God."  We do not start with our own definition or the world's definition of love but we start with the Creator of love and the Giver of love and the Definer of love.  

If God's nature is love and we are created in the image of God and being transformed into the likeness of His Son, then we are to love one another because that is essence of God.  A Christian = loving as God loves.  This is the logical and created progression of someone who turns and follows Jesus.

v.8 - The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

I have that campfire song going through my head now.  "Beloved, let us love one another...1 John 4:7 & 8."  Again, we need to start with our definition of God rather than our definition of love.  All of who God is defines the right definition of love.  When we don't do this, we get a love that can be shallow at times.

v.9 - By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

This verse sounds a lot like John 3:16.  God gave us the definition of love by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus.  God did this because God is love and so God sent Himself to show love.  The love of God came with a purpose so that we might live our lives in and with the love of God.

v.10 - In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Here again, we do not define love on our terms, but God defines it for us.  God is love and therefore He sent His Son Jesus to be the substitute sacrifice for our sins so that we would have the ability to love Him back.  God does not need our love because God is love but because God is love He gave Himself for us so we could have and would have this ability as we repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Heavy stuff here and it will continue into tomorrow.  Let us end with a central thought to think of love defined and created by God.  Let us think of Jesus when we say the word "love."  Maybe many things that we say we "love," if we defined Jesus or God as love would make us look for another word for what we are describing.  "I love pizza" sounds sacrilegious when my definition of "love" is Jesus' mission of the cross.  All of this is given so that we would rightly define love so that we can rightly love one another.

"Lord, how I have cheapened words that should only be reserved for You or only used in the way that is in line with Your definition of the word.  May I love one another with a love that is defined by You.  I am sure that it will be a more full love than if I tried to do it on my own.  Amen."

Pastor Adam
A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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