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Love Defined
Pastor Cole Parleir
Today we are going to talk about love in the life of a believer.
My prayer is that when we are finished today you will have a concrete standard for love as defined by God so that you can build a life of eternal significance and success in God's freedom and favor.
When you hear the word ‘love’ what comes to mind?
If you are like most people this word probably brings up many different pictures or feelings without one universal standard.
This is not the way it should be.
This is because we are surrounded by counterfeits and half truths regarding love. These counterfeits come from many different sources. Some of these sources are overtly sinister while others are simply confused or hurt, thereby perpetuating the cycle they've fallen prey to.
Genuine or counterfeit dollar bill?
It's important that we understand the true value of love, faith, and wisdom. In order for the value of these to have their effect in our lives we must discern if we have the genuine article in our possession and not counterfeits.
Look at this dollar bill.
How do you know if it's genuine legal tender and able to buy you something? You must know what real legal tender looks like.
We come to recognize counterfeits by devotedly studying the real thing, NOT by studying counterfeits.
So, let's spend a little time studying what God has said in His written Word, the Bible, about his gifts of genuine love, faith, and wisdom.
Scripture Background of 1 John 4:7-21
Who is John?
One of the 12 disciples specially denoted as "The beloved disciple". He walked with Jesus during his earthly ministry first hand witnessing love, faith, and wisdom in action. He's the disciple whom Jesus entrusted to take care of his mother Mary at his crucifixion. He along with Peter were the first 2 of the 12 apostles to see the empty tomb after Jesus's resurrection from the dead in power. He wrote the Gospel of John, the letters with his name sake, and the last book of the Bible: Revelation.
Who is he writing 1 John to?
He was writing to Christians who were falling prey to Gnosticism and other schisms that were perverting the true Gospel, which he was a first hand witness to.
Why is John writing this letter to them?
John is writing to remind people of the truth of God’s love in Jesus Christ, who Jesus is, and what He has done and is doing to not only redeem and save, but to preserve those whom he has snatched from the fires of hell. He wants the readers to stand firm in the truth that they may be confident on the day of judgement when Christ returns to save those who are waiting for him.
Summary of the letter
The ESV study Bible puts it this way “…the letter is not a list of dos and don’ts. It is rather a manifesto of “Done!"" echoing Jesus on the cross when he declared “It is finished!”
1 John 4:7-21 ESV
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. 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. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
1 John 4:7-21 ESV
What are the concrete things God is imparting to us in his Word today?
To give God's genuine pure love, you must first have received it.
"Beloved" is used 3 times in this chapter alone to address the believer that's being warned of counterfeit loves.
You must personally know in an experiential way God's holy and pure love for you. There is no replacement for experiencing God's love. No person can you give what only God has.
Any love you give not sourced from God is incomplete and tainted. It will always be laced with some selfish motive that will rear it's ugly head when an expectation on the object of love is not met.
To my single friends: if you are out their looking for love the best thing you can do is focus on God's love for you. This is studying the original so you can discern when the counterfeits show up with big smiles, smooth words, and deep pockets. This will help you live single without regrets. Also, this will prepare you to love properly the spouse God is preparing for you, not expecting them to provide for you what only God can.
God is love, but love is not God.
God is the definition of love. Anything presenting itself as “love” but is devoid of God, rejects God, or doesn't follow his ways, is a perversion at best that will disappoint you. It's demonic at worst and will kill, steal, and destroy you.
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ESV
The easiest thing to turn into an idol is another human being. This is because all humans are created in God's image with a heart that needs love, as well as a capacity to give love.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
But when that God given need for love is not sourced from God, this good thing becomes a God thing: a.k.a- an idol. Idols promise to give you life but only return hurt and death. This is why God wants you free from idols and counterfeits. He wants to give you pure life.
Where have you received your definition of love up until this point?
Usually it’s our parents, our family, our community, our classmates, our politics, and our culture or society through media.
Because humanity is created in God’s image all of these outlets have some correct aspects of God’s love on display. But because these persons and institutions are not God they fall short of displaying God’s glory to our sincerely love hungry hearts.
Jesus is God's love manifested among us.
True love is revealed in the Son of God Jesus Christ. himself.
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
God's love is sacrificial and not self servíng.
God's love gives life because it covers a multitude of sins that seperate us from Him.
God's love is undeserved.
How do we confirm our status as God's beloved?
Confessing and accepting Jesus Christ as the son of God and savior of the world is accepting God’s love because Jesus is God’s love made manifest.
What does love look like? Jesus
What does love sound like? Jesus
What does love accomplish? Salvation
Love can not be purchased.
It can only be given.
Love cannot be repaid. It is priceless. To attempt to repay it only diminishes its affect in your life.
“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.” - Song of Solomon 8:7 ESV
Love can not be forced or coerced.
It can only be freely given and accepted.
This is chain breaking good news for all of us that have been manipulated by counterfeit loves!
"First, it is impossible to pay God back for all the grace he has given us. We can’t even begin to pay him back. . . . Second, even if we succeeded in paying him back for all his grace to us, we would only succeed in turning grace into a business transaction. If we can pay him back, it was not grace. (Godward Life, 36)"
-http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-comes-after-thanksgiving
So, how can we be free from counterfeit loves?
Come into the truth of God’s love and light: Jesus Christ.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.””
John 3:16-21 ESV
Now how do we show our gratitude and love God since He has no needs? We allow His Holy Spirit to work in us to live according to his ways. Jesus said if you love me you will obey me. You'll be my disciple.
Disciples are simply people abiding in God’s love in Jesus Christ and sharing that love with others by telling them the news that:
Vs 19 we love because He first loved us.
A world full of love is a world full of Christians; little Christ’s who have accepted God’s love in Christ Jesus and are sacrificially sharing God’s love in word and deed through the Gospel.
Illustration
Eveliz and the flower resurrection
You know if a plant is truly dead by pouring some water on it. If if it revises it was just dormant due to neglect and not dead.
In the same way we share the love of God in the gospel of Christ to see spiritually “dead” lives revived.
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2021