1 John 4: The Power of God’s Love

In the past year have you found yourself saying, “Our world is full of evil and deception, surely the end is coming soon.” If so, you are not alone. As Christians we are recognizing the evil in our world. We are praying and hoping for Jesus to come and rescue His people. But until that day, as we live in hope and anticipation we need to be fully aware of what is around us.

In chapter 4, John is encouraging us to evaluate the teachings we are hearing. Are these teachings from unbelievers or are they from God? We have access to so much information, maybe even too much information. Is all the information we get accurate? Is what someone posted on social media 100% accurate? Is our media giving us the true story? Are our churches filling us with all Biblical truth or just the truths we want to hear? These are hard questions we need to face. What do we need to fully believe? The antichrist is already out in the world and doing his work. Satan is planning and plotting how he is going to try to deceive us. It is easy to be frightened by this fact. When we see what is going on in our world, all the evil behavior, the suffering, the deception, and the lies, fear can overwhelm us. How do we guard ourselves from falling into deception? How do we stand against the fear that can creep into our minds? It is very simple, teaching is either from the Spirit of God or it is from the spirit of deceit.

We need to test the world. Test what you are reading and being told. One way to test is to check to see if what you are reading or hearing is biblical. If you can’t find the teaching in God’s Word, then it is false teaching. You can also test to see if the person speaking or writing is fully committed to the body of Christ, are they living a life of a true follower of Christ, do they fully believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man? As Christians we want to hear the truth about God and how we are to live as God’s people. So, we should want to make sure what we are hearing and believing is the gospel truth. The world likes to hear only what makes them feel good. They don’t want to hear that their lifestyle choices are wrong. Does God only want us to hear what makes us happy? God wants us to read His Word and hear the Holy Spirit nudging us and be challenged by and delight in His truths, all of them. It is alright to test what is being put into your mind. Not only does it give you confidence in what you believe but it also strengthens your relationship with God. When we take the time to do the research ourselves, we are growing in our walk with Christ. We are learning more about God’s Word and about His attributes.

When you think about the antichrist or false teachers, what scares you the most?

What attribute of God brings you peace and comfort?

How can you guard yourself from false teaching?

We can be confident that we are children of God and we believe in the One that has already overcome the world. God will conquer all evil! We can rest assured that the One True God that has already overcome is the Spirit that is living in us. God will provide what we need and will help us to stay strong and not be deceived. The Spirit that lives in us is stronger than any worldly spirit. We may face false teachings and skewed information, but God has equipped us with the tools we need to fight them.

How do you see how God has equipped you?

If we claim to be children of God, we should show God’s characteristics in the way we live. We cannot pick and choose how we want to be a Christian. John takes us back to the fact we should show God’s characteristic of love. God is the epitome of love. Verse 8 tells us that if we do not love we do not know God, because God is love. Verse 9 tells us the greatness of God’s love and how much He loves us. The fact that He sent Jesus, His Son, into this world full of evil so that we might live through Him is true sacrificial love. God chose to love us first. We did not pick Him and then He decided He wants to love us. No, He loved us first and because of that we should love Him and one another. Verse 12 says that we don’t see God with our eyes, but we see Him when we love one another. His love is made complete in us.

Our world and culture have taken love and made it shallow and selfish. Love to humans is a feeling, something we do that makes us feel good. We can choose to love one person and not the other. When it comes to love, all morals and principles go out the window. Is this what God says about love? God gave us this gift of love because that is who He is and we are made in His image. We carry God’s characteristics. So, I say it again, if we do not love in an unconditional and sacrificial way, we do not know God. God’s love is not selfish, idolizing, lustful or self-seeking. God’s love is pure, good, righteous, voluntary, and sacrificial. As Christians we demonstrate our belief in Jesus by loving others, admitting sin, and letting God transform our lives. This is how we are identified as a true child of God.

Make a list of the people God has placed in your life. For some of you this list will be long and others it will be short depending on your social life. But, be honest with who God has given you to love. Who on that list do you have trouble loving? How can you turn your actions and speech into love for them?

Verse 18 says there is no fear in love. When we are fearful of the future, death, or God’s judgement, we can remember God’s love. I have had times in my life when I allowed fear to overtake me. When I’m driven by fear my whole demeanor changes. Everyone around me can sense there is something not right about me. I draw into myself, I’m impatient, and I’m selfish. I cannot take the time to love others when fear has overtaken because I am too focused on what I’m fearing. My thoughts are consumed with fear. Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” We are supposed to be focused on the things that are exactly like God’s love: things that are true, noble, right, pure, and admirable. If we are not focused on those things, then we are focused on things that can bring fear into our minds. Love drives out fear. God’s love is pure and right. We are to stay focused on God’s love so we can love like He does. God’s love for us does not bring fear into our hearts but confidence, protection, peace and comfort.

“If you want to have loving thoughts, do loving things.”

Ann LaMont

What are you afraid of right now?

Ask God to drive out this fear and replace it with love.