In this section of 1 John, we are learning to let God's love have its perfect work in us (1 John 4:13-21). Two weeks ago we considered the importance of growing in an understanding of God's love (4:13-16). Last week, John explained how God's love is perfected in us (4:17-18). The final point of this section is that we must agree with God about how love works (4:19-21). Let's read:

1. God's Love Comes to Us

19 We love because He first loved us.

First, we must recognize all our love is a response to His. We love because He first loved us (19). So God's love comes first to us before it goes anywhere else. He is the great initiator.

Christina and I have been married since 2002, but back when we were in the dreaded "friend-zone," I was unsure of how she felt about me. I anxiously waited to get a clue as to her true feelings. But all my sleuthing never turned up anything. I had no idea how she felt. So, eventually, with the ball firmly in my court, I had to take the lead and put myself out there. I had to initiate.

And God initiated with us. But that's as far as the analogy goes because it turned out Christina actually liked me quite a bit. The same was not the case with God and us, however. We were rebels, running from Him, and dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1-4). We did not care for Him. We were spiritually deceased.

But in our deadness, God's love broke through. He shattered chains and broke through lies to shout His love for us.

And His love is so wonderfully radical and good. Remember a few weeks ago, when our Life Groups discussed the Prodigal Son parable from Luke 15? Timothy Keller has a wonderful paragraph about the lesson learned while observing the prodigal's return and the father's reception of his rebellious son:

God's love and forgiveness can pardon and restore any and every kind of sin or wrongdoing. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done. It doesn't matter if you've deliberately oppressed or even murdered people, or how much you've abused yourself. The younger brother knew that in his father's house there was abundant "food to spare," but he also discovered that there was grace to spare. There is no evil that the father's love cannot pardon and cover, there is no sin that is a match for his grace. -- Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith, loc. 314. Kindle Edition

Amazing. God's love is first.

But notice how God's love works. It comes to us first, but then it flows back from us to Him. We respond to His love by loving Him. John said it this way: We love because He first loved us (19). What is our response to His love? We love.

The love John has in mind is our love for God. We will see this in the next verse.

So this is how God's love works. First, it flows from Him to us. Then, we respond to His love by loving Him. But what happens next? Let's read on:

God's Love Flows Through Us

20 If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

To Others

John is a straight shooter. He says the person who hates his brother while saying "I love God" is actually a liar (20).

John wanted a pure Christianity. All through his letter, he refers to three terrible lies; one is moral (disobedience to God), one is doctrinal (saying Jesus didn't come in the flesh), and one is social (hatred for others).

When John spoke of hatred, he meant an absence of love. And this is how God's love works. It flows to us. We receive it and in return, love God. After experiencing God, who is love, we then turn and love others. It is the inevitable response to God's love.

In John's mind, one cannot love the invisible God without loving God's visible people. They are right there, ready to be loved. We must extend ourselves to them!

The Myth

But there is a myth we often believe. We think we can love God without loving His people. John is busting that myth with this passage. A person who refuses to love others clearly hasn't interacted with God.

A Christianity which would use the vertical preoccupation as a means to escape from its responsibility for and in the common life of man is a denial of the incarnation, of God's love for the world manifested in Christ. -- John Stott, Christian Mission in the Modern World, loc. 220. Kindle Edition

Yes. Love for God goes hand in hand with love for others, especially our spiritual siblings.

We must remember John's point here. Some forms of theology emphasize people and forget about God, while others highlight God and look down on others. But good theology should cause us to love God and people who are made in His image.

This is part of the reason sins such as abortion and racism are so terrible in God's sight. He hates it when we take advantage of others who are made in His likeness. Instead, when God's love fills your life, you should love all people. May it be so in us.

This is how love works. It flows from God to us, and back to God from us, and then to others through us.

Applications

So, in this 1 John 4:13-21 passage, we've seen how we must:

1. Know the Trinitarian love of God (4:13-16).
2. Let love have its perfect work in us (4:17-18).
3. Agree with God about how love works (4:19-21).

Let's close with some points of application.

1. Ask God to open your eyes so you can see His love more fully.

Paul prayed for the Ephesian to have their spiritual understanding opened to comprehend the love and kingdom of God (Ephesians 1, 3). Knowing God's love is a process of revelation, so ask Him to help you see.

2. Make growing in God's love a major goal for your life.

Since John tells us it is a process, something we should be perfected in. So when you think of your goals and ambitions, let the love of God be one of your main desires.

3. Every time you are nervous about God discover the reason.

Is it because you aren't conscious of God's love? Is it because you've behaved rather unlovingly? Is it because there is unconfessed sin in your life? Don't let the moment pass without some Holy Spirit introspection.

4. Remember Jesus is the Savior of the world.

We saw this in verse 14. Christians must remember Jesus as the Savior of the world. The enemy of our souls always wants to draw our attention to the world and worldly solutions, and we praise God for the privilege of living in a democracy, but the ultimate Healer of the catastrophe of this world is Jesus Christ. He is the Savior. He has a kingdom greater than any earthly citizenship. And we must fight to give His kingdom its proper place in our lives.

5. Recognize the enemy's hopes to drag you into racism.

He would be happy to drag you into stereotyping others, or into more insidious hate of others. Do not give in. Your fellow man is your brother, someone God created, and someone Jesus died for. There is no room for prejudice and hate amongst God's people.

6. Love your "brother" by serving in the church or joining a small group.

I know I've said this before, but all these exhortations to love should drive us to look for opportunities to do so. In our fellowship, serving and small groups provide a couple of opportunities for love.

7. Make a list of fellow Christians and pray for them.

When you pray for them by name, your heart for them will grow. Love will increase.