Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. He loved some of you when you were in the dancing saloon, when you were in the playhouse, ay, even when you were in the brothel. b. 3. While her conversion is clearly implied, the apostle's focus centers on Jesus' declaration foretold in the . Spiritually, we can have that same standing now, while we are in the world, because as He is, so are we in the world. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:4 ESV Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Though John has been writing much about love, he does not ignore the issue of truth. Afraid of being laughed at? They are of the world: Those who are of the world are evident because they speak as of the world; the influence of the world is evident in their speech. a. 3. But way back in Johns day, in this time closest to the actual life and ministry of Jesus on this earth, people didnt have a hard time believing Jesus was God. Some people think the greatest evidence of Gods presence or work is popularity. We are called to take the love and grace God gives, to know it by experience and to believe it. We are of God. iv. We should consider what would it take to make us stop believing God loves us. They also are giving false doctrine because they are not presenting a true Jesus. a. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES) Meyer's NT Commentary At the end of "Rabbit Hole" Episode 5, Ben explains to John that he kept the facts hidden from him because John did not trust him. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye . i. There is a difference between the love of man, and divine love. Minor Prophets Love is not only defined by the sacrifice of Jesus (as stated in 1 John 3:16); it is also defined by the giving of the Father. The Biblical Jesus is make-believe. We must test spiritual experiences and spiritual phenomenon to see if they are in fact from God. But it is not. ii. As Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 9:15, Jesus was the Fathers indescribable gift. This leads to easy deception. It is a true gift from God. Click on the different category headings to find out more. We come to love those better whom we love by knowing them better If you want to love Christ more, think more of him, think more of what you have received from him. (Spurgeon), e. He first loved us: This means that it is true that He loves us now. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. If we love one another, God abides in us: This is the greatest evidence of Gods presence and work among us love. This is a fact for every true follower of Jesus. 'Succession' Season 4, Episode 4: Recap & Ending, Explained: Will Kendall Be The Man His Dad Wanted? Cookie Notice: Not only is this position ignorant (ignoring the confirmed historical validity of the New Testament) it is also arrogant. As Paul puts it in Roman 8:16: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. This special term means Jesus has a Sonship that is unique (only) and begotten indicates that Jesus and the Father are of the same substance, the same essential Being. Jesus has a definite direction toward which he influences this dialogue between himself and the Samaritan woman. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point This is a great way to define the Christian life, to live through Him. One may be a spiritual dwarf because one lacks love. Love is the proof we are taught to look for. Wisdom Literature God is more pleased when you get it right with your brother, than if you bring Him a sacrifice of praise or resources. 1 John 4 In this chapter the apostle exhorts to try spirits ( ver 1 ), gives a note to try by ( ver 2, 3 ), shows who are of the world and who of God ( ver 4-6 ), urges Christian love by divers considerations ( ver 7-16 ), describes our love to God, and the effect of it, ver 17-21. To believe in Christ and to love the brethren are not conditions by which we may dwell in God but rather are evidences of the fact that God has already taken possession of our lives to make this possible. (Boice). In the Beginning Was the Word (John 1:1-18) I Have Called You Friends (John 1:35-51, John 15:15) Water Into Wine at the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11) Jesus Teaches Nicodemus (John 3:1-21) Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4) Jesus Heals on the Sabbath (John 5) Jesus the Bread of Life (John 6) Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind (John 9) i. Where God is present and working, there will be love. Jun 2, 1985. John adds that believers overcome the powers in this world because of God's Spirit within them (1 John 4:4). If we want to love one another more, we need to draw closer to God. Johannine Writings Changes will take effect once you reload the page. 1:1-4 That essential Good, that uncreated Excellence, which had been from the beginning, from eternity, as equal with the Father, and which at length appeared in human nature for the salvation of sinners, was the great subject concerning which the apostle wrote to his brethren. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God We know that the man who teaches that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, and that he is come in the flesh, is of God-is inspired by the Divine Spirit; for no man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost. ( John 4:1-4) Jesus travels from Judea to Galilee, passing though Samaria. This language of fellowship transcends language, culture, class, race, or any other barrier. Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. And we have known and believed the love God has for us: This is the Christians proper response to who God is, and how He loves us. d. Boldness in the day of judgment: How can anyone have such boldness? Poetical Books Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. We can think of someone paying a great price to save someone deserving, someone good, someone noble, someone who had done much for them. Our love for God doesnt really say anything great about us. Now remember, we never make ourselves love Christ more by flogging ourselves for not loving him more. 1 John 4:4, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 5:13, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." f. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God: It isnt enough to know the facts about who Jesus is; we must confess the truth. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Afraid of being laughed at? i. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. Pentateuch i. We have many spiritual enemies, but not one of them is greater than Jesus who lives in us. No one has seen God at any time: John relates a basic principle about God the Father that no one, no one, has seen God at any time. a. But He loved us before that, and even before the worlds were created, when our only existence was in the mind and heart of God, Jesus loved us. a. But He needed to go through Samaria. If there isnt real love for Gods people in your life, then your claim to know God and experience God isnt true. Concerning Antichrist. To acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God is not simply to make a statement about his metaphysical status but to express obedient trust in the One who possesses such a status. (Marshall), iii. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. But it does not eliminate His holiness, His righteousness, or His perfect justice. Tests of False Prophets. How can a decree of absolute, unconditional reprobation, of the greater part or any part of the human race, stand in the presence of such a text as this? (Clarke), iii. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. i. (1) The fact of false prophets and the need to test the spirits. Poetical Books ii. d. He who loves God must love his brother also: We can also learn how to love God by loving people. The Holy Spirit gives us this assurance. The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, ii. 1 John 4:20 Vincent's Word Studies He that loveth not his brother, etc. Our love for God is always in response to His love for us; He initiates, and we respond. Instead, we have to place complete trust in the work and grace of God, believing that He will certainly conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus. We can know by experience that we live in God, if His love has been perfected in us. 1. Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Yet, if we abide in Him, and He in us (1 John 4:13), then our identity is bound up in Jesus: as He is, so are we in the world. Just as true as it is that we should abide in Him, it is true that He does abide in us. ii. Paul knew that nothing could separate him from the love of God that was in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:35-39), and each Christian should have the same confidence. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: By this crucial measure, Jesus said the world could measure our status as disciples by the measure of our love for one another. The Gospels John seems to be speaking of a certain fear of judgment. God made love real and present by sending Jesus to live among us and to die for us. e. We have seen and testify: Speaking as one who has the Spirit of God (He has given us of His Spirit), John declares three essential truths about who God is and how He saves us. Verse 1 John 4:2. Jesus declared of God the Father, God is Spirit, (John 4:24) meaning that God the Father has no tangible body which may be seen. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: The child of God need not fear the spirit of Antichrist, even though they should be warned of it, because they have the indwelling Spirit of God (1 John 3:24). 1 John 4. Jesus loved you when you lived carelessly, when you neglected his Word, when the knee was unbent in prayer. iv. This statement would be directed against some form of Docetism, the view that Christ was a spirit who only seemed to be a true man. (Boice). JOHN 4:1-3 1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again for Galilee. Previous: 1 John 4:7 Next: 1-John 4:9 Choose a Verse from 1 John 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 She also mentioned that Jeong-Suk's skin was . c. He has given us of His Spirit: John brings up the work of the Holy Spirit in us at this point for two important connections. Prophets It is the fear that is the opposite of boldness in the day of judgment. (1-4) Jesus travels from Judea to Galilee, passing though Samaria. John Piper Jun 2, 1985. Simply and boldly put, we love Him. e. There is no fear in love: The completeness of love means we do not cower in fear before God, dreading His judgment, either now or in the day of judgment. ii. If there was to be reconciliation between God and man, man ought to have sent to God; the offender ought to be the first to apply for forgiveness; the weaker should apply to the greater for help; the poor man should ask of him who distributes alms; but Herein is love that God sent. He was first to send an embassy of peace. (Spurgeon). You can also change some of your preferences. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35). Phil curiously picks it up and carries it with him to his house. If love is of God, then those who claim to be born of God, and claim to know God, must be able to love one another in the body of Christ. c. He who knows God hears us: Those who are of God enjoy fellowship with other believers; they speak the common language of fellowship with God and with each other, because one flows from the other (1 John 1:3). He first loved us: This verse not only declares our love for Jesus, it also tells us when He loved us. I have sometimes noticed that, in addressing Sunday-school children, it is not uncommon to tell them that the way to be saved is to love Jesus, which is not true. i. a. a. Let us love one another, for love is of God: Johns emphasis on love among the people of God (shown in passages like 1 John 2:9-11 and 3:10-18) is powerful. Former NFL player Terrell Davis, center, poses with a bust of himself and form Denver Bronco teammates: from left, John Elway, Willie Brown, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, during an induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday . By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 1 John 4 - Abiding in God and His Love A. T he spirit of truth and protection against the spirit of error. And it is by faith that we overcome. Oh, but the party is so unworthy. So are you; but God loved you and sent his Son. Go write according to that copy. (Spurgeon). He presented the world not as the global earth or the mass of humanity, which God Himself loves (John 3:16). Share. 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us true prophecy is never of any private interpretation. I cannot imagine a true man saying, I love Christ, but I do not want others to know that I love him, lest they should laugh at me. That is a reason to be laughed at, or rather, to be wept over. Though love springs forth from our abiding relationship with God and comes from our being born of Him, there is also an essential aspect of our will involved. 1. i. General Epistles But John can only be talking about the apostles and their authoritative revelation in the Bible when he says us. As Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). One of the ways Jesus abides in us lives in us is through His word. a. Beloved, let us love: The ancient Greek sentence begins in a striking way agapetoi agapomen, "those who are loved, let us love." If we are born of Him and are abiding in Him then the resources for love are there. In the first three verses of chapter 4, we discover that Jesus is gaining more and more disciples, more disciples than John the Baptist (cf. 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