1 John 4:1-21
Jesus Has Come From God
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
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. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
The ultimate goal of Jesus' teachings and the gospel and to have faith, so we may get to know and enjoy God...
The Gospel teaches us much about God and His LOVE and that He is LOVE...God so LOVES the world that He would give His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life...And God demonstrates His Own LOVE for us in this: While we were still sinners, His Son died for us...
We learn about love and being close and getting close to God from John in John 17:3 that "Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent."...Jesus here in His definition of eternal life tells about the love God has for us and wanting to be with us eternally...Jesus emphasizes that true life and eternal joy come from knowing and loving God intimately...
The Psalmist says in Psalm 73:25: "Whom have I in heaven but You?...And earth has nothing I desire besides You."....The Psalmist tells us about about our deep longing for God and a recognition that only He can truly satisfy the human heart...
Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5:6 that : "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."...Jesus speaks to the spiritual hunger and thirst of man that should drive us to seek God and His righteousness...
We read alot about love in the Bible, and how important the virtue of love is...John writes about not only the LOVE of God, but that God is LOVE...In 1 John 4:8: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is LOVE."...John's verses above highlight the connection between love and knowledge of God...Paul further writes about meeting God and His LOVE...In 1 Corinthians 2:9, Paul writes: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him."...Paul's writings teach us about we cannot even conceive about the unimaginable glories of heaven and the depths of God's LOVE...And Paul writes this about the three greatest virtues on earth...They are faith, hope, and love...And the greatest of these is love...
So we learn from the Bible and the Gospel that we are to have a goal in our faith, love one another, and to know and enjoy God...The New Testament highlights the transformative power of the Gospel, which is not merely a means to an end (heaven) but a way to experience the fullness of God as we read the Four Gospels, the epistles and the Book of Revelation...
So the ultimate goal of the Gospel is not simply to escape hell or attain heaven, but to experience the joy and satisfaction of knowing God...It's about a deep, personal relationship with the One Who is Divine...
We learn that we are sinners and we have this great obstacle of sin in our lives...Sin hinders our ability to see and savor God...It creates a barrier between us and God...So we need the help of a Savior to get around this sin barrier, so we can see and savor God...
The Gospel has a transforming power and addresses this problem of sin by offering forgiveness and reconciliation with God by His Son's death on the cross...With our faith, if we believe in His Son, then we can reach and see God...His Son tells us that He is the Way and the Truth and the Way to live our lives...No one comes to the Father except through Him...When we really know Him, then we will also know God...Jesus removes the obstacles of sin that prevent us from experiencing God's LOVE, His forgiveness, and His Grace...
In the Gospel, we read that there is a necessity of a God-Centered life...True satisfaction and fulfillment and an abundant life can only be found in following God and His Son...Any other pursuit in this world, no matter how desirable is only temporary, and will ultimately leave us wanting...The ultimate act of worship is to see and savor God...It is an act of adoration and gratitude, recognizing God's infinite worth and His Divine Beauty...
In essence, Jesus invites us to think about our life and our faith and make it God-Centered...Jesus' earthly life was completely about His Father...Jesus challenges us to ask ourselves: "What is the ultimate goal of my faith and life?" and He wants us to seek a deeper, more intimate relationship with God...
The Gospel life is a life of love...It is loving God and neighbor...The Gospel teaches us to believe in the idea that the ultimate goal of the Christian life is to know and enjoy God and neighbor...And to get to God, we need Jesus...This is the essence of the Gospel message, and it is what motivates believers to seek holiness and to live a life that honors God...