I John 4:17-21
The Perfection of Love - Part 2
Would you open your Bibles to…
1Jo. 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
1Jo. 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
1Jo. 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
1Jo. 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1Jo. 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
Pray
Intro
√ Perfected
The key word in this section (I John 4:17-5:5) is perfected.
It carries the idea of…
"to mature" or "be complete"
That is, God wants to perfect, mature, or make us complete in His love.
He wants us to understand & experience the fullness of His love for us.
He wants us to love Him completely - perfectly.
As we've seen in our previous studies God has revealed His love for us by sending His Son to die in our place!
And, it is that same love that Jesus has told us would be the defining mark of a true relationship with God!
Therefore, John calls us to grow in that love.
In this section John lays out for us 4 benefits which you and I will experience as we grow in the knowledge and practice of His love.
Confidence - ever doubt you're salvation?
Honesty - wish you could be "real"?
Obedience - with joy!
Victory - over sin!
If you desire these things in your life then it would be to your advantage to allow the Spirit to grow you in His love.
Honesty with God (vs. 20-21)
1Jo. 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1Jo. 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
√ Honesty with God
Here in vs. 20 we find John for the 7th time saying…
"If someone says"
…reminding us that the true child of God is made known by the Christ-like behavior which we observe in their life, not just their spiritual sounding words.
That is, do they "walk the talk"?
Does their behavior match the life of Jesus?
It’s a warning really, a warning against pretending to be something we're not.
In John's day, just as in ours, there were many pretenders in the Church - those who claimed to be believers but were not.
Throughout John's letter he has come back time and again to this idea of testing the integrity of a person's life (both ours and others) by comparing…
The truth vs. the lie
The real vs. the pretend
Christ vs. the Antichrist.
For example…
1Jo 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
1Jo 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jo 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1Jo 2:4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jo 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
1Jo 2:9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
And finally, in our text this morning…
1Jo. 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
The point which John is driving home is that the true child of God is known by the good spiritual fruit in their lives.
Their behavior matches the testimony of their lips.
That isn't to say that the true child of God is perfect! Rather, that there is an integrity to their life, that they are open and honest with God and Man concerning who they are as a person.
We would say the true child of God is sincere, or that they are not a hypocrite.
Or, that they are a person who is "real".
To me this is a person who is on the outside what they are on the inside.
Ap. The spiritual application is that we must come to Christ in truth and in complete honesty…
…anything less is an indication that there is a problem in our relationship with the Lord.
Ex. Marriage relationships
The closest model we have in human relationships to what God desires in our relationship with Him is marriage.
A good marriage is one in which there is open and honest communication.
A bad marriage is one in which there is no open and honest communication.
Your spouse is supposed to (by God's design) your best friend.
The one with whom you can be totally transparent with.
The one with whom you don't have to hide anything.
The one who is your biggest fan.
All that is only possible in an environment of unconditional love! In a relationship where someone knows everything about you…
…and still loves you!
Unfortunately most marriages don't ever reach that level of intimacy. Why? Because people are afraid that to be open and honest would mean that they would no longer be loved by their spouse.
So they choose to live a lie - a pretend marriage in which they never experience the joy and freedom that come with being "real" with one another.
√ Our relationship with Jesus
Just as pretending, or lying, in a human relationship robs us of the joy and freedom that God designed marriage to provide…
…the same holds true regarding our relationship with God. That is why John continues bringing us back to the issue of honesty before God and Man.
"If a man says…"
Which brings up a good question…
…what would make a person not want to be honest with God, or about their relationship with Him?
I would suggest fear. Fear…
Of the consequences of telling the truth
That others won't see us as significant
That we'll be seen as stupid, irresponsible
That people won't love us if they know the truth
That we'll be seen as less than spiritual
On the other hand, in an environment of true unconditional love it's easy to tell the truth and be open with one another about both our strengths and weaknesses.
Ex. Peter in the garden
He lied because he was afraid of the consequences of being aligned with Jesus.
In my own life when I look at the times that I've lied, even a "little white lie", it's because of fear.
However, when our hearts our confident before God - the result of growing in the knowledge and practice of His love…
…its easy to tell the truth, to be honest with God concerning our lives because we aren't afraid that God will change His mind and stop loving us.
Thus, John writes…
"perfect love casts out fear" - vs. 18
That is, as we grow in our knowledge of God's love for us as an individual - becoming confident that His love for us is perfect and unchanging…
…then we find ourselves free to be open and honest with God and people!
√ Honesty with God's people
A Christian who lacks honesty with God will also not be honest with other believers! The result is that we then find ourselves being dishonest about our relationship with the Lord.
We begin to boast about our spirituality, our devotion, our love for God, etc., all the while knowing that it is a thin veil to cover what is true…
…that we're just pretending!
The bottom line is that we're afraid to tell the truth - to be honest with God and with one another about the areas of our lives that aren't yet perfect.
Note our text…
1Jo. 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1Jo. 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
The point is that a person cannot claim to truly love God when they do not love their "brother".
That person is being dishonest, not only about their relationship with people, but also about their relationship with Jesus.
The point is this, a person who is not able to really love other people is a person who has not really experienced the depth of God's love.
Ex. Loving your brother
Ro. 13:10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
You see, if a person claims to be a lover of God, yet…
Steals from their brother
Takes their sister's husband
Spreads rumors about another
Covets what their brother/sister has
Thinks evil about a child of God
…then they are not being honest before God or Man. Their actions reveal that they really don't love either God or their brother!
How can we get free of this mess?!
√ Love is the answer
If we will commit our hearts to growing in the knowledge and practice of God's love…
…then we will find that we will create an environment in which we can be honest before God and one another!
Because where there is true love, as we've seen in our scripture, there will be freedom from fear!
Where there is no fear there is no hiding - no covering up of the truth in our lives even if when it reveals that we are less than perfect.
Where there is no fear we can be honest with one another and confess our failures with the confidence that we'll not be rejected!
Ap. Can you imagine living like that?!
Where you feel the freedom to go to another person and say…
"I'm really struggling with temptation - will you please pray for me"
Not worried about what the other person is going to think about you, not worried about being rejected, etc.
What freedom that would bring!
What joy we could experience!
What power over sin and temptation would be ours!
All found by simply being honest with God and one another.
Ap. Disclaimer
Please understand that John is speaking to us about ourselves. That is, he's calling us to be honest about who we are.
This isn't granting us license to begin slamming one another in the name of "honesty"!
Ex. "I just wanted to tell you that I've never really like you".
Wrong! If that's how you honestly feel about someone the problem is with you!
You're the one not loving your brother.
So recognize the problem and deal with it before God. Pray that God would change your heart toward that person so that your testimony would be consistent.
Close
√ Fear and torment
Those two words are not meant to be a part of our Christian experience.
If they are part of yours it is an indication that you are not growing in God's love.
√ Confidence and honesty
If those two words describe your experience in life then it indicates that you are growing in God's love!
Ap. Grow your love for Jesus
"To know Him is to love Him" - devote yourself to growing in your knowledge of Jesus - the Word, prayer, fellowship, communion.
As you do you will find that you will also grow to love His people!