Love in Word and Deed
Book of 1 John
Chapter 4 verse 7-21
Our lesson says the
most effective way to deal with evil is to know the truth and then
live as close to the truth as we possibly can.
The only way to deal
with in world in a positive way, is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
To love in word is,
not to just declare our love, but to let our actions prove our love!
To love in deed is
that our love is a fact that cannot be denied!
This is God's
philosophy of the "Born Again" child of God!
*****1Jn 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one
that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1Jn 4:8 He that
loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
We already know the
number one commandment in all the Bible so, what is the number two
commandment in all the Bible?
"Let us love
one another for love is of God"!
The greatest of all
test of the Christian is, "Do we love like God loves"? Do
we really love our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we really love
our neighbors? Do we love our fellow man, no matter who they are?
Loving one another
is proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ!
The nature of God
"is love"!
What is atonement?
Being "at one" in the Love we have for God and His
creation!
All things were made
because God made the things that He loved!
Gen 1:31 And God
saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And
the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
We might say that
perfection cannot be created because perfection comes from being a
part of God!
We can only be
perfect when we do the things that God does and therefore conformed
to His image.
This is the way Adam
and Eve were created in the likeness of God.
Gen 5:1 This is the
book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in
the likeness of God made he him;
Gen 5:2 Male and
female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam,
in the day when they were created.
They remained in the
likeness of God until sin entered into their lives and the Lord Jesus
Christ had to come to remove the darkness of sin, so we can be
restored to the likeness of God and then striving for perfection and
the image of God!
This is what being
born of God is all about! Reaching for true perfection and that
perfection rest upon the perfect love of God!
When people look
upon the Christian, they look to see if we have the nature of God. If
they do not see what they believe to be the qualities of God, they
see hypocrites, and everyone hates the hypocrite!
When they do see
what they believe to be the qualities of God, then they think of
Jesus Christ and again they hate us because they see what they are
not, someone striving to be like Jesus, and it reminds them of their
sin.
If they cannot see
the love of God, and the joy of salvation, and the peace that comes
from knowing our home is in Heaven, they will never know Holy Ghost
conviction!
1Pe 1:21 Who by him
do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him
glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye
have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto
unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a
pure heart fervently:
1Pe 1:23 Being born
again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of
God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
If we are not seen
as someone working fervently to show the love of God, then how can we
say we love God!
It is only because
of the "Love of God" that we can know the "Mercy"
of God from which comes the "Grace of God"!
*****1Jn 4:9 In
this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent
his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
1Jn 4:10 Herein is
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son
to be the propitiation for our sins.
The word
"manifested" means, "to be made clear", "to
be made apparent", "to be made obvious", "to be
made evident".
God has proven His
love toward us by sending His Son to His death just so we may live.
To live is to live
forever in the presence of God.
To die is to live
forever in the pits of the Burning Lake of fire along with the devil.
The life we live
now, is only the time we are given to make that choice to decide
which way we will go.
We might say, "well
if God has all this great love then why can I not live as I please
and still live forever in the presence of God in Heaven"?
The answer to this
question lies in the promises of God.
God made certain
promises to those who choose His only begotten Son, and the statement
that we might live through Him.
If God is not a God
of His Word then, "there is no God at all"!
Those who go to the
Burning Lake of Fire go there not because God has forgotten His love
but only because they did not choose the only path to Heaven, which
is by Jesus Christ.
If you do not
understand this, think take it up with God and see if you can talk
Him into going against His Word which He will not do, because God is
the same today as He was, back in the day of Adam!
Our world is full of
evil and because of Jesus the world hates God, they curse God, they
ignore God, reject God, they rebel against God, they deny God, and
they oppose God, with none of these things making God love them less,
but they must choose the right path and that path is by Jesus Christ!
The entire world has
been full of sin! It was sin, that Satan used to seduced Eve into sin
and Adam into disobedience.
Jesus the Messiah
was sent to be the propitiation for that sin and Jesus paid the price
so we do not have to pay that price and if we choose Jesus then this
payment is accounted as our payment and we will receive a full pardon
for our own life of sin.
It's really pretty
simple! You may not get a pardon from your Governor, you may not
receive a pardon from your President, but by Jesus Christ you can
receive a pardon from your Creator and your God!
Rom 5:8 But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more
then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him.
Rom 5:10 For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Rom 5:11 And not
only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom we have now received the atonement.
These things are a
sign of God's love!
This is the same
sign that all others should be able to see in us and in our lives!
Rom 8:29 For whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30 Moreover
whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called,
them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified.
Rom 8:31 What shall
we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall
lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth.
We will not be able
to see God with our eyes until we get to Heaven, but we can see God
in our heart if we show that same love, He has for us to all others!
*****1Jn 4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
1Jn 4:12 No man
hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in
us, and his love is perfected in us.
How do we begin to
show the signs of perfection while on this earth? We show the love of
God in our heart!
We read all these
things about the love of God and we know they are true. Many of us
have actually seen the love of God work in our lives.
We have seen how
love can change our world, because we have seen what hatred does and
hatred is in full view in our nation today and so many of those who
talk about hatred are the same ones who instill hatred and cause
hatred.
They operate fly by
night, because they have no real answers, but the one thing they have
in common, is that they oppose the truth of God!
No man has ever seen
God! God is not known by sight! No human will ever come face to face
with God!
God is Spirit and
the only way to know God is by having the Holy Spirit come to live
within your heart and regenerate a new soul!
Even the Holy Spirit
teaches us said the same thing while Jesus was upon this earth:
Listen to John the
Baptist:
Joh 1:15 John bare
witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He
that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Joh 1:16 And of his
fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Joh 1:17 For the
law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Joh 1:18 No man
hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
if you see God as
some man then you will never feel near to Him, but God is Spirit and
He can come right into your heart and live!
God came to this
earth and was born of the Virgin Mary, as a babe, 100% God and yet
100% human, these things by the Holy Spirit, just so we can know our
God and by the Scriptures God teaches us everything that we need to
know to go home one day to the glory world!
God can only be
known by love. God cannot be known by hatred because, hatred comes by
humans and love comes by God!
Jesus the Messiah is
the image of perfect love, yet those who would reject Him will
slander His name because of hatred!
BUT, when we honor
God's first begotten Son by believing on Him, then the ever-loving
God will come and dwell in us to begin our "sanctification
process" that will end one day in perfection, at bodily death or
when the Lord returns in the clouds.
Even at this time we
will never in our human flesh be able to stand before Christ Jesus
because the flesh can never be made perfect!
If you love Jesus
Christ, God will cause His "Divine Nature" to be a part of
our lives while we live upon this earth.
This must be our
testimony that we are "Born of God"!
The love of God
cannot be perfected in us until the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) abides
within us!
*****1Jn 4:13
Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath
given us of his Spirit.
1Jn 4:14 And we
have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the
Saviour of the world.
Notice the Holy
Spirit is a gift and He is a willing gift. This is something the Holy
Spirit wants to do. God loves His little children!
You see when the
Holy Spirit lives within our heart and our heart influences our mind
to be like Christ, to draw closer to Christ, then our own spirit will
resemble Christ Jesus.
Rom_8:9 But ye are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his.
Php_1:19 For I know
that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the
supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
Heb_9:14 How much
more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?
We know God by His
love. There is no other way to know God because God is perfect love!
Our own testimony
will show that God sent His love into this world by His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, to remove all hatred!
As we are filled
with the Holy Spirit, He will remove our own hatred if we listen to
Him, and this will leave only the love of Christ within us!
We already know when
Lucifer was tossed out of Heaven, and He now walks to and fro
throughout this earth, all he does is instill hatred and from this
hatred come death, and immorality, and corruption, and all evil
things.
The Holy Spirit will
instill in us the image of Christ Jesus, to put a wall of love up
that hatred is drawn to and hatred will never overcome love!
If we cannot know
the love of God within us, then we need to reevaluate our salvation!
Jesus Christ came to
be our Savior from hatred and instill in us the love of God!
The world was
desperate until the Lord came and now those of the world have a
choice to choose love or remain in hatred in this world that still
shows the signs of desperation.
Satan is desperate
because he is in his own last days and he will do anything to cause
harm to God's testimony of love that comes by Jesus Christ!
Mankind through
hatred will destroy itself and our Savior is more important than He
has ever been, but time is running out for this world.
The signs of this
world dying is showing every day. Some call it climate change, some
are desperate to try to find some other world that does not exist, to
try to escape what they know is in the future, but the fact remains,
God already has a home prepared for His own children and He welcomes
all who want to come, if they come according to the Word of God which
will not accommodate hatred in any form or fashion but only by the
love of Jesus Christ.
Thoughts and words
by great men, great philosophers, great scientist, the great promises
of politicians, are meaningless because this world needed a Savior!
Evil is destructive,
but God's love is the builder of perfect things!
Christianity is
God's power of love upon this earth and hatred's worse enemy! This is
why Christians are so hated!
What did Jesus say?
Joh 16:7
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go
away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but
if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8 And when
he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment:
Joh 16:9 Of sin,
because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10 Of
righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11 Of
judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
This world tries
it's best to hinder the Holy Spirit, but the world cannot stand
against God's Holy Spirit!
Just ask all those
from the past who have already tried!
God's answer is
always the same! God says, "come to Me by My Son, or don't come
at all"!
*****1Jn 4:15
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in
him, and he in God.
Those in the world
have no problem with talking about gods. Everyone has their own
personal gods.
BUT there is only
One true God! There is only One God who is also our Creator who loved
this world enough to save those who He created.
God made a promise:
Isa 7:14 Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Gen 22:8 And
Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt
offering: so they went both of them together.
God fulfilled this
promise just as He has and will fulfill every promise He has ever
made!
We just need to wrap
our hearts and our minds around the truth.
Php 2:5 Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name:
Php 2:10 That at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father.
We live in a world
where promises are made every day and promises do not mean much
anymore as they are so easily broken.
BUT our heavenly
Father will not ever break a promise and He will never go against His
Words.
It was and is the
Jesus of the Bible. The same Jesus that the Apostles witnessed His
death, His burial, and His resurrection that is the God of the Bible.
The same God who
left the throne room of Heaven and came to this earth and put upon
Himself the same sack of flesh that we wear and born as a babe grew
up to be a man, who was the chosen Lamb of God to take away the sin
of our world.
These are the most
true words that some will ever hear, but if they refuse to confess
that this Jesus is in fact the Son of God, then they will never know
the true God and they will never meet the Savior that this world had
to have!
It just takes a
little faith and then allow God to show you things that will increase
that faith just because of His great and marvelous love!
*****1Jn 4:16 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.
We live in a world
where men say they love other men in a lustful fashion:
Rom 1:27 And
likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned
in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error
which was meet.
Where women do the
same:
Rom 1:26 For this
cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did
change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Where they worship
each other as gods:
Rom 1:25 Who
changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the
creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Why?
Rom 1:21 Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Now if God would see
that these things were written down for us some 1800 years ago, and
we witness them with our own eyes, and these who do such things have
come out of the closet and broadcast their unrighteousness and
immorality around the world, then how can we not believe what God has
said.
Thinking they are
wise they have become fools!
Why have these
things become public?
Rom 1:28 And even
as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them
over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient;
This is not love,
this is the workings of lust!
God is love! All men
living in sin will draw back from the love of God, and that sin will
not allow the love of God to come upon them!
We live in a world
that makes up their own meaning of love, and God does not fit into
their picture of love!
God makes it very
simple. If we do not have God's picture of love, then we do not know
love for love is God!
If God had a middle
name that name would be "Love"!
Loving one another
in God's love, is the only way we can tell we are Christians opposed
to the world's description of love, which has become a foolish love,
which is not love at all, but is built upon hatred to those who
disagree with them.
If we have the love
of God and love one another as God loves us, then we can say we are
Christians.
1) God is love: God
sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
2) All believers
must love: We must live in the love for one another with the image of
God's love.
3) Loving one
another with the love of God is our means of knowing our salvation is
pure and is real.
So how is this love
mad perfect?
*****1Jn 4:17
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.
It must be our goal
to live as our Savior lived, and Jesus lived a perfect sin-free life.
Even Jesus could not have done so if not for the love of God.
Love is a caring
attitude for all people, especially those in our Christian family.
When we have this
love, we do not have to fear the day of judgment!
When we have the
love of God, because of the love of His Son, we have been delivered
from God's judgment!
Rom 5:1 Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Judgment has been
removed by faith, but we cannot see that in perfection until we
understand the love of God and show that love ourselves.
I am sure that even
at the "Judgment Seat of Christ" which is not about our
salvation, we will not be so bold to stand before God as we will be
judged for the things since our salvation for rewards or the loss of
rewards, but the subject of our salvation will never come up.
We are justified! We
are pardoned to never face that sin ever again!
Rom 14:10 But why
dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy
brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11 For it is
written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and
every tongue shall confess to God.
Rom 14:12 So then
every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
We have been
restored to the family of God, because God is love and we have
acknowledged that love!
When we have grown
in Christ, it is because we have grown in the love of Christ.
Gal 5:6 For in
Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
When our faith works
according to the love of God which becomes our message of love, it is
then that we can know, that we know, that we know, we are God's own
children just as His own Son!
There is no fear in
judgment for those who have the love of God and show this love to all
those we meet!
*****1Jn 4:18 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.
There is only one
thing that we must fear, and He is also the one true Judge!
Pro_19:23 The fear
of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide
satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
This fear is a
reverent fear of the Lord our God, but we must never forget His
Awesome power.
There is no fear in
the love of God, so there is no fear in love!
When we love someone
with the love of God, we have no reason to fear them!
Even when those who
come against us do so out of foolishness, we have no need to fear
them because the peace and assurance that comes from the love of God
erases all fear.
Perfect love cast
our all fear. We cannot love one and hate the other, because this
fear has torment, it will wear on your heart and the Holy Spirit will
wear on your soul.
To fear is to have
torment because this fear expects punishment and forever wonders when
it will come!
To fear means we are
not perfect in our love!
Even the fear of my
death is gone, for those who would take my life can only send me home
to the place where I belong!
Psa 23:4 Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
All these come not
because we knew love for no one understood love until we have known
the love of God!
*****1Jn 4:19 We
love him, because he first loved us.
1Jn 4:20 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?
1Jn 4:21 And this
commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother
also.
The truth is we
would have never known love, if not for our Creator!
Loving one another
proves that love originated from the Lord and it was this same love
that sent the Lord Jesus Christ to die for our sin!
We may say we love
God.
We may think we love
God.
We may say it and
think it and yet not show the love of God to all others.
Our love is shown in
our actions. If our actions say otherwise, we are just hypocrites!
If God is truly our
Father in Heaven, and He is, how can we say we love our Father and
then show hatred toward any of His children?
If God had not shown
His love for us, we would never have known love.
With love comes
responsibilities!
If we are truly the
Temple of God the Holy Spirit, and show no love to all others then we
are not filled with God's Holy Spirit. It's just that simple!
If we cling to that
personal sin that we refuse to give up, we are in open rebellion to
God, and we cannot know the love of God!
The proof that God
exist is that we keep His commandments and love as God does!
We think of
murderers as the lowlifes of this earth, but when we reject the love
of God and the "Grace" of God's Son, we have become
murderers!
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever
hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath
eternal life abiding in him.
Our love must be
real. Our love cannot just be in feelings!
Our feelings alone
are never a faithful guide to our Spiritual life!
It is easy to feel
that some things considered to be wrong, may in fact be right.
It is easy to feel
that some things considered to be right, may in fact be wrong.
God takes the guess
work out of our feelings, and just says "obey my commandments"
and put your feelings back in your pocket and forget about your
feelings!
The truth is not
determined by how we feel, the truth comes by what God has said is
true!
One of the greatest
commandments says: "he that loveth God love his brother also".
Amen
Let's Pray!
