I John 5:1-5
The Perfection of Love - Part 3
Would you open your Bibles to…
1Jo. 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
1Jo. 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
1Jo. 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
1Jo. 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
1Jo. 5:5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Pray
Intro
√ Perfected
You'll remember that the key word in this section (I John 4:17-5:5) is perfected.
It carries the idea of…
"to mature" or "be complete"
Ap. God has called us to grow into mature believers
When you and I were saved we began a new life as spiritual babies! However, God wants us to grow up to maturity in Christ so that we can be effective citizens of the Kingdom of God.
So, in this section John lays out for us 4 areas in which we can see that we're growing in our experience and practice of God's love.
Confidence before God
Honesty with God
Obedience to God
Victory over sin
Additionally, more than just a test by which we can look at our lives to discern whether we're growing or not…
…these are each of great benefit to us personally! Who wouldn't want to have…
Confidence before God
Honesty with God
Obedience to God
Victory over sin
So, there is great motivation for us to embrace the call of God and allow Him to complete His work of love in our lives.
Ex. Peter, James & John would have died as unknown fisherman had they rejected Jesus' call in their lives. They are known today these 2,000 years later because they became convinced of His love and followed Him.
Ap. What about you? Significance in this life and eternity is only found in a life given over to Jesus.
Those who give their life fully to the Lord are those who have matured in His love.
Will you grow to maturity in His love?
Obedience to God (vs. 1-3)
1Jo. 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
1Jo. 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
1Jo. 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
√ Obedience to God
Note vs. 3…
"And His commandments are not burdensome"
One of the signs of maturity in Christ is not just that a person obeys Gods…
…but that he/she joyfully obeys the Lord!
Ex. Kids and chores
Begrudging obedience vs. joyful obedience - a sign of maturity!
It is an interesting observation to find that everything in Creation obeys the will of God except…
…people (and the fallen angels)!
Ex. Jonah
The wind, waves, the great fish, a plant, the wind, and even a little worm obey the will of God. But we find Jonah stubbornly resisting God's will!
What a tragedy that people chose to resist, or to outright disobey the will of a loving God!
However, understand that God is not looking just for obedience…
…He is looking for joyful obedience in our lives!
That is, when people obey God out of fear, or with an attitude of reluctance, or resistance - that is not pleasing to God because it indicates an absence of love in the relationship!
So what does a person do when they find themselves resisting God's will - or doing His will with a begrudging attitude?
Grow in His love! Note our text…
1Jo. 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
1Jo. 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
As we grow in our knowledge and experience of God's love we also come to recognize that everything He asks of us is for our benefit.
That is, all of His commandments are given to Mankind from a heart of love!
When God tells us "don't" - its because He doesn't want us to get hurt.
When God tells us "do" - its because He wants us to experience joy and blessing in our life!
So, whereas there was a time in our life when we chose to disobey the Lord's will (even after we were saved!)…
…having experienced His love in our own life we find that it is easy to chose to do His will and to obey His commands because we trust His love for us!
√ A simple test - our attitude toward God's Word
God's will for our lives is found in God's Word - the Bible.
A simple test by which we can discern whether or not we are growing in His love is by looking at our attitude toward His Word!
Ex. 4 men
Before I became a Christian I found the Bible of no value. It didn't make sense to me, the commandments of God seemed to be contrary to my desires…
…so I left it on the shelf.
When I first became a Christian I found the Bible an unending joy, an exciting adventure where in I discovered that God's will for my life and His commandments brought freedom and peace to my life…
…so I took the Bible off the shelf.
Still later in my life I found my heart chilling toward the Lord because I had lost perspective and had focused on the cares and the riches of this world. When I read the Bible I found that His commands were now a burden to me because they revealed my sin.
I found myself always saying…
"Why do I have to do that, or why won't God let me do this?"
…so I let my Bible gather dust.
Ah, but when I began to grow again in His love, to regain the confidence of His love, I found that I could then be honest before God and that His Word was once more the very source of life to my soul - a joy to obey!
…so I opened my Bible again and haven't put it down since!
√ The maturing Christian
The truth is that a Christian who is growing in God's love, who is personally experiencing the perfecting, maturing, work of God's love in their life…
…finds himself enjoying the Bible and all that God commands of us.
Like the psalmist you will say…
"Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day." - Ps. 119:97
"How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!" - Ps. 119:103
Ap. Friends, is the Bible a burden to you, or a joy?
Your answer reveals your attitude and the condition of your heart!
Are there areas in your life today in which you are either disobeying the Lord's commands, or obeying but with a grudging attitude?
If so, ask Jesus to change your heart, to make His love real in your life, and to give you a joyful heart to study His Word that you might joyfully obey Him.
So, a person who is growing in their knowledge and experience of God's love will be known by their joyful obedience of His will!
Victory in God (vs. 4-5)
1Jo. 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
1Jo. 5:5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
√ Victory in God
John tells us that we who are born of God, born-again, have victory over the world by our faith in Jesus Christ!
"Victory!"
The Greek word "victory" in vs. 4 is a word that you are actually very familiar with! It is…
"Nike" - pronounced "Nee-Kay"
And all this time you thought it was some Japanese word!
Seriously, the Christian is victorious over the world system and its ungodly influence because of his/her faith in Jesus Christ! But one might ask…
What does victory over the world have to do with love?
Simply this, true Christian faith is born in response to the love of God demonstrated for us at the Cross.
The person who responds to God's love and accepts Jesus' sacrifice for their sins becomes a victor with Jesus over Satan and sin!
Following a person's conversion as they grow in the knowledge and experience of God's love they find victory in every area of life!
Ex. Victory over our emotions
As we've seen in our previous studies the presence of fear in one's life is the direct result of not being perfected in God's love (I John 4:18).
Fear of our past
Fear of the future
Fear of rejection
Fear of harm
Fear of loss
The Christian who's life is dominated by fear is not living a life of victory!
Satan has that person all tied up - paranoid about what God may or may not do in their life…
…overly concerned with what other people think about them, shackled in their faith and unable to do anything is service for the Lord.
Ah, but the believer who has gained confidence in God's love is freed from his/her fears and is then able to experience the victory which Jesus has promised to those who trust Him.
Ap. A venture in faith
You see, we gain victory in life by our faith in Jesus Christ. However, we'll never step out in a venture of faith unless we're first confident in God's love for us.
The reason is that every true venture of faith involves risk.
Risk means that there are no guarantees that it will work out the way we think if should!
Ex. The old pastor's advise to the young pastor
"Never attempt anything for God except that which is so impossible that for it to succeed it would have to be God."
Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, keep many of God's saints from the venture of faith to which Jesus has called them. Therefore, never experience the victory God has won them.
However, the person who is mature in God's love understands that Jesus has already gone ahead and won a great victory for us!
Our job then is simply to follow by faith and do what God has called us to do.
Regardless of the circumstance and obstacles we meet along the way - trusting that God's love is such that He will work everything to bring victory in our life.
√ Victorious faith
Victorious faith then is the result of maturing love.
The better we come to know and love Jesus, the easier it is to trust Him with everything in our life.
How do we grow in His love? By cultivating an intimate relationship with Jesus.
Ex. A growing love
Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Follow the pattern in scripture…
Get regular teaching in God's Word
Spend time in fellowship with God's people
Take time to remember Jesus by sharing communion
Devote yourself to spend time talking to Him in prayer
If you will do these things you will find your heart soften toward the Lord and your love for Him and His commands will grow in your life.
Close
√ Perfected
The Lord is calling us to become…
"mature" or "complete"
…in His love.
We know that we are growing in His love if we observe these things in our life:
Confidence before God
Honesty with God
Obedience to God
Victory over sin
May the Lord bless us with the power and desire by His Spirit to abandon fear and to grow in His love - both for His sake and ours!