Believe God's Love

                                     Sunday School lesson                                            

Lesson: I John 4:13-5:5                                                                                                  
Golden Text: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him” (I John 5:1).
I.  INTRODUCTION.  Do you believe God loves you?  Christians will quickly respond that God does love us and will often refer to such Scriptures as John 3:16 for support.  But the real question is do you love God?  Christians may answer this question a bit more slowly, but would probably answer that they do love God.  That leads us to another question: How often do you tell God that you love Him?  Unfortunately, many Christians if they answer honestly would admit not often.  If we told our spouse, or our children, or our grandchildren, that we love them as often as we tell God that we love Him, would they be satisfied?  In this week’s lesson John encourages us to believe God’s love and to love Him in return

II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON.   First John was written by John, one of Jesus’ original 12 disciples.  He is the author of the Gospel of John and widely believed to be “the disciple that Jesus loved” (see John 21:20).  This letter was not written to any specific church, but was sent as a pastoral letter to several Gentile congregations and all believers everywhere.  At the time of the letter, false teachers had entered the church denying the incarnation (becoming human) of Jesus Christ.  This week’s lesson follows last week’s text from I John 3:11-24.  John begins chapter 4 by commanding his readers not to “believe every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (see I John 4:1).  In verses 2-4, John tells us what traits mark false teachers: they don’t teach that Christ came from God in the flesh.  In verses 5-6, John said that false teachers tell people what they want to hear.   In verses 7-8, the apostle declared that we are to love one another because God is love and everyone who loves is born of God and knows Him.  Anyone who doesn’t love does not know God simply because God is love.  John then tells us how God showed His love for us.  In verse 9, he wrote that God demonstrated love toward us because He “sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”  Then in verse 10 John declared that this is love; “not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  He then concluded in verse 11 that if God loved us we ought to love one another.  In verse 12, John said that even though no one has ever seen God, if we love one another, His love is “perfected” or completed in the believer, thus confirming that God dwells in us.  This is where our lesson begins. 

III. LOVE AND DIVINE INDWELING (I John 4:13-16)
A. The nature of God’s presence (I John 4:13).  This verse says “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”  We know that we are in God and He is in us because He has given us His Spirit which dwells within every believer.  We have a spiritual union with God that is mutual: we are in Him and He is in us (see Galatians 2:20).  The presence of the Holy Spirit in us guarantees this.  The Holy Spirit within us helps us show behavior that reflects Christian character which includes love (see Galatians 5:22-25).  Note:  The prophet Joel envisioned a day when God would pour out His Spirit upon all people (see Joel 2:28-29).  This prophecy began to be fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost and continues to this day (see Acts 2:14-18; Romans 8:9-11).  Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He promised that after His departure He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit (see John 16:7).  The Spirit wouldn’t only be with God’s people, but He would also dwell within them (see John 14:16-17).
B. The basis for God’s presence (I John 4:14-16).
1. (vs. 14).  In this verse John goes on to say “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”  The word “we” refers to John and the other apostles who had witnessed Jesus’ life.  They lived with Jesus, heard Him teach, and saw Him alive after His death (see John 21:24; I John 1:1).  What the apostles had seen and heard concerning Jesus was enough to convince them so that they could “testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”  This is the heart of the gospel message (see John 3:16-17) and also the purpose for which the Father sent the Son into the world.  The “world” here refers to all unbelievers.  Note: Everyone born into this world is born into sin and destined to die both physically and spiritually (see Romans 3:23; 6:23; I Corinthians 15:21-22).  Sin puts man at enmity with God requiring the need to be delivered from sin in order to be reconciled with God (see Romans 8:5-8; Ephesians 2:11-16; James 4:4).  Faith in Jesus Christ provides deliverance from sin and its penalty---death.  Christ has delivered all believers from the penalty of sin (see Romans 6:8-11, the power of sin (it has no control over us: see Romans 6:12-14) and He will return to deliver us from the very presence of sin when we are translated to be with Him (see I Thessalonians 4:13-17).
2. (vs. 15).  Now John says “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”  Professing faith in Christ is an important part of receiving the Lord and eternal life (see Acts 8:37; Romans 10:9-10: I Timothy 6:12), but we must continue to acknowledge Him throughout our Christian lives (see Matthew 10:32-33; I Peter 3:15).  When we do this, it’s further proof that “God dwelleth in him (the believer), and he in God.”  We don’t stop acknowledging that “Jesus is the Son of God” once we are saved.  We must continue to acknowledge that as long as we live.  The word “is” is in the present tense and declares that Jesus is God’s Son even now and always will be.
3. (vs. 16).  In this verse the apostle continues to say “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”  The phrase “we have known and believed” indicates a continuing knowledge and belief that God loves us.  John and the other apostles came to know God’s love directly through their interaction with Christ.  But we learned of God’s love through the gospel message (see John 3:16-17).  So we know by experience and believe by faith God’s love for us.  John then stated that “God is love” meaning that He is the very source of love.  Our faith and experience are grounded in the reality that God is love in His nature.  Since God is love, John went on to say “and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”  Those of us who abide in love, or let love govern our lives, we also “dwelleth” or abide in God and He abides in us.
IV. LOVE AND REMOVAL OF FEAR (I John 4:17-18)
A.  Perfect love stated positively (I John 4:17).  Now John writes “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” The word “Herein” most likely refers back to verse 16 and the love we show as we dwell or abide in God’s love.  In other words, Christian love is “made perfect” or made complete, or has become mature in the life of the believer as we dwell in God.  Demonstrating this love leads to “boldness in the day of judgment.”  The word “boldness” can mean confidence.  The person who allows God’s love to be completed in him or her will stand with confidence before the judgment seat of Christ, here called “the day of judgment.”  Note:  The judgment John is referring to is the judgment seat of Christ (see I Corinthians 3:12-15; II Corinthians 5:10) not the great white throne judgment (see Revelation 20:11-15).  For the Christian, this judgment is not whether he or she is going to heaven or hell.  That issue was decided when they came to know Christ as Saviour and confirmed their perseverance in the faith (see II peter 1:4-11).  At the judgment seat of Christ, the believer’s works will be scrutinized by the Almighty (see I Corinthians 3:9-15) and will result in the receiving or losing rewards.  The believer can approach this judgment with confidence because his sins have been removed by Christ’s blood (see I Peter 1:18-20).  For the Christian, judgment is not future, it’s past, because his sins have been judged already at the cross, and they will never be brought against him again (see Psalms 103:12; Romans 3:25).  John then stated that the believer can have boldness or confidence at the judgment seat of Christ “because as he is, so are we in this world.”  The word “he” refers to Jesus Christ who showed God’s love as He sacrificed Himself.  John was saying that the believer can be confident in the Day of Judgment because he or she follows Christ’s example of love.  John was emphasizing that we are now like Christ and as He loves, so should we.  
B. Perfect love stated negatively (I John 4:18).  In this verse, John writes “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”  The word “fear” refers back to the Day of Judgment in verse 17.  When John wrote that “There is no fear in love” he was saying that for any believer who thinks about the judgment day with fear or trepidation, divine love has not yet reached its full maturity.  In addition, love and fear don’t go together.  The believer who lives in fear of God’s disapproval at what he or she has done shows that love is lacking in their lives.  John went on to say “but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.”  In other words, love that is maturing or coming to completion is “perfect love” and this kind of sacrificial love “casteth out” or removes fear.  Divine love is able to do this because “fear hath torment.”  In other words, fear brings no peace to the believer.  He is constantly worried that his behavior does not please God.  But if we follow Christ’s example of love which resulted in God being well pleased with Him, He will be pleased with us also.  The last part of this verse says “He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”  In other words, the person who is afraid of standing before God has an immature love that needs to grow and be made perfect or mature.
V. LOVE AND THE FAMILY RELATIONSHIP (I John 4:19-5:1)
A. God, the divine source of love (I John 4:19).  Now in this verse John writes “We love him, because he first loved us.”  John was stressing the idea that God is the source of Christian love.  If we love Him, and we should, it’s only because He loved us first. We can’t understand God’s love until we realize that “he first loved us.”  Long before we ever thought of loving God, He loved us.  Our capacity for love originates in God’s love for us.  Our love for God and others should be habitual just as God’s love for us continues even though His love for us is most clearly seen in one decisive act, sending Christ to die for us.
B. Man’s empty claim (I John 4:20).  In this verse John says “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?   Since love comes from God who has shed that love abroad in our hearts, it is only logical that we will love Him and our brothers and sisters in Christ.   But John says “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar.”  In other words, it’s inconceivable for a person to say “I love God” while hating his Christian brother.  John said that person was “a liar.”  In other words there is no truth in his statement.  John based his assertion on plain eyesight.  He asked “for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”  It’s hypocritical to claim to love the unseen God while not loving the brother we can see and help (see I John 3:17).   Note:  The emphasis in this lesson is on loving our fellow Christian brothers or sisters.  Of course it’s true that we must love everyone, but we must first be able to show love to those in our family, the body of Christ before we can show love to anyone else, including our enemies.  Christ’s standard is that we love all people, even our enemies (see Mathew 5:44-45).  But love for the brethren, or fellow believers, is the identifying mark of every Christian.  Jesus said to His disciples in John 13: 35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
C.  The divine command (I John 4:21).  John continues to say here “And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”  There really is no excuse for hating a Christian brother or anyone else for that matter.  John said this was because of the commandment God has given us “That he who loveth God love his brother also.”  This is a reference to the two commands that God gave in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.  Jesus later put the two together, loving God and one’s neighbor (see Matthew 22:37-40), and also added that people would recognize his followers by their love for one another (see John 13:35).
D. The logic of spiritual rebirth (I John 5:1).  In this verse John writes “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”  When John uses the word “believeth” he was talking about total commitment to the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  Anyone who believes or shows total commitment to Jesus as “the Christ” or the Anointed One is “born of God.”  This is the same thing as Jesus’ expression when He said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again” (see John 3:7). Many people claim to believe in Jesus because they acknowledge the facts of His life on earth, His death on the cross and His resurrection.  But for John, believing is a total trust in Christ expressed in obedience to His commands.  The heart of the new birth is believing that “Jesus is the Christ.”  The word “Christ” is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word “Messiah.”  Both words mean “anointed one.”  In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were inducted into their respective offices through a ceremony of anointing with oil.  As the Anointed One, Jesus is our Prophet, Priest, and King.  Trusting Jesus as God’s Anointed makes God our spiritual Father because as John says we are “born of God.”  The phrase “him that begat” refers to God the Father into whose family we are born.  The words “him also that is begotten of him” refers to all those who are born into God’s family by the new birth.  Therefore, when John said “every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him” he was saying that since it is natural for us to love our Father or “him that begat,” it should be just as natural for us to love every believer or “him also that is begotten of him.”  Anything else would be illogical! 
VI. LOVE AND OVERCOMING THE WORLD (I John 5:2-5)
A. The tie between love and obedience (I John 5:2-3). 
1. (vs. 2).  Now John writes “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.”   The words “By this” refer to the reason why we “know that we love the children of God.”  The apostle was about to give what assures the believer that his love is genuine. John said that “we know” or are assured that we love other believers “when we love God, and keep his commandments.”  When we truly love God, we will “keep his commandments” meaning we will obey Him from our hearts.  This does not come naturally for us, but when we set our hearts in the right direction, God, through His indwelling Spirit enables us to love as we should.  John was simply saying that obedience is the evidence or proof of genuine love for God, just as it is also evidence of saving faith (see I John 2:3; 3:24).  Jesus also said to His disciples “if ye love me, keep my commandments” (see John 14:15).
2. (vs. 3).  In this verse John continues his thought concerning God’s commandments and says “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”  John often repeats pertinent information in his writings and he does it here as well.  As he said in the previous verse, here again he says “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.  In other words, as he said previously, loving God means keeping or obeying His commandments.  John then added “and his commandments are not grievous.”  The word translated “grievous” can mean “burdensome” and refers to something so heavy that it weighs down or breaks a person down.  Those who truly know God through faith in Christ find that His commands are not burdensome.  They delight in obeying them knowing that it’s for their eternal benefit to obey God.  Obedience to God’s commandments is carried out in loving submission.  Note:  The fact that God’s commandments are not grievous doesn’t mean that they are not strict.  For sure, His commandments are demanding, but through His indwelling Spirit, He gives us the ability needed to keep them.  We are not prisoners who fear our Keeper; instead, we obey as loving children who desire to please our Father.  Many people see love and obedience as two separate issues, but in reality we cannot separate love from obeying God’s commandments (see I John 2:5).  To claim to love God and yet not obey Him is a lie (see I John 2:3-4).
B. The tie between the new birth and obedience (I John 5:4-5).
1. (vs. 4).  John went on to say here “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”  John uses the word “whatsoever” instead of whosoever because the power to overcome does not come from the individual believer; it comes from the divine life, the Holy Spirit, who is in the believer through the new birth (see Galatians 2:20).  In this case, John uses the phrase “born of God” to describe the new life that’s in the believer, not the believer himself.  Only the new life we have in Christ “overcometh the world” (see I John 4:4).  John uses the term “world” here as he did in I John 2:15.  It refers to worldly things not to unbelievers as in I John 4:15 above.  If we don’t overcome the world, the world will overcome us!  So how can we have victory over the world?  John declared that “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”   It appears that “our faith” refers not only to our initial faith in Christ that resulted in our new birth, but also everything we believe about Him.  That “faith” not only saved us, but it gives us the victory over the world and everything that comes with it (see I John 2:15-17).  A weak faith will give in to the world and its allurements.  However, a strong faith provides hope for victory over the world.  Jesus said “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (see John 16:33).  By faith we share in the victory of Christ.
2. (vs. 5).  In our final verse, John asked “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”  In this verse John goes back to the statement he made in verse 1, declaring the importance of putting our faith in Christ.  To avoid any misunderstanding, He posed the question “Who is he that overcometh the world?”  John then answered the question by declaring “he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.”  The word “believeth” has the idea of confidence, reliance, or trust.  By believing Christ’s central claim that He is the Son of God, the believer also commits to accepting all of His other teachings as true.  Again, believing in Jesus is far more than simply saying that there was such a historical figure as Jesus of Nazareth.  Instead, believing that He is God incarnate (in the flesh) is essential to our salvation (see I John 4:1-3).  
                                  
VII. Conclusion.  As Christians, we have to show others that we are people who respect and keep the laws of God if we want to claim that we love Him.  Walking with God is not just a Sunday event; it’s something we must do daily.  He has promised us victory if we obey His commands and His blessings follow our obedience to Him. Trusting in Jesus, the Son of God is the source of our power for our obedience to the laws He has set forth for us.  God loves us so much that He has given us love enough to obey Him daily.