Reflecting God's Love: The Command to Love One Another
Summary
### Summary
In today's passage from 1 John 4:7-12, we delve into the profound and practical command to love one another. John writes to the churches around Ephesus to protect them from false teachings and to emphasize the importance of love among believers. This command to love is both immensely practical and extremely difficult, touching every aspect of our lives—from our families to our workplaces. John makes it clear that this command is not optional; it is a direct command from God. Moreover, loving one another is evidence of our faith and relationship with God. If we do not love, it questions our very identity as believers.
John provides a clear example of what this love looks like by pointing to God's love for us. God’s love is characterized by initiation, sacrifice, and forgiveness. He loved us first, even when we were unlovable, and He sent His only Son to be the propitiation for our sins. This sacrificial love is the model we are to follow. We are called to love one another in the same way—by making the first move, sacrificing for others, and forgiving them.
The practical implications of this command are vast. Imagine friendships, marriages, and church communities where everyone loves in this way. Such love would create a compelling and beautiful community that reflects the character of God to the world. When we love one another, we make the invisible God visible. This love is not just a command but a reflection of our new nature in Christ. It’s something every person desires and something that makes the church an attractive community.
### Key Takeaways
1. The Command to Love: Loving one another is a direct command from God, not an optional suggestion. This love is immensely practical, touching every aspect of our lives, and extremely difficult because people can be hard to love. Yet, it is a command that we must obey as evidence of our faith and relationship with God. [01:36]
2. God’s Example of Love: God’s love is characterized by initiation, sacrifice, and forgiveness. He loved us first, even when we were unlovable, and sent His only Son to be the propitiation for our sins. This sacrificial love is the model we are to follow in loving one another. [16:17]
3. Practical Implications: Imagine friendships, marriages, and church communities where everyone loves in this way. Such love would create a compelling and beautiful community that reflects the character of God to the world. This love makes the invisible God visible. [22:03]
4. Love and Truth: Loving someone does not mean agreeing with or affirming everything they do. True love often involves speaking the truth, even when it’s difficult. This kind of love moves toward people who are moving away and speaks the truth in love. [13:22]
5. Reflecting God’s Love: When we love one another, we show that we have been born of God and know God. This love is a reflection of our new nature in Christ. It’s something every person desires and something that makes the church an attractive community. [10:17]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[01:36] - The Command to Love
[03:13] - Importance of Loving One Another
[04:37] - God's Love Manifested
[06:02] - Understanding Love
[07:28] - Love for Undeserving People
[08:49] - Born of God
[10:17] - Knowing God
[11:43] - Eternal Questions
[13:22] - Love and Truth
[14:48] - God's Example
[16:17] - God Initiates
[17:37] - God Sacrifices
[18:12] - God Forgives
[19:30] - Contemplating God's Love
[22:03] - Our Response
[24:23] - Love in Friendships and Marriages
[26:05] - Church Community
[28:47] - Making God Visible
[29:58] - Application and Prayer
Study Guide
### Bible Reading
1 John 4:7-12 (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.
### Observation Questions
1. What does John say is the evidence that someone has been born of God and knows God? ([06:02])
2. How does John describe the love of God in verses 9 and 10? ([14:48])
3. According to the sermon, what are the three characteristics of God's love that we are to emulate? ([16:17])
4. What does John say happens when we love one another, according to verse 12? ([28:47])
### Interpretation Questions
1. Why is the command to love one another described as both immensely practical and extremely difficult? ([01:36])
2. How does the sacrificial love of God, as demonstrated by sending His Son, serve as a model for our love towards others? ([16:57])
3. What does it mean that "no one has ever seen God" but that His love is made visible through our love for one another? ([28:47])
4. How does loving one another reflect our new nature in Christ and make the church an attractive community? ([29:19])
### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you found it difficult to love someone. What steps can you take to love them as God loves you, even when it’s hard? ([01:36])
2. Think about a relationship in your life where you need to make the first move, sacrifice, or offer forgiveness. What specific action can you take this week to demonstrate God's love in that relationship? ([16:17])
3. How can you create a more loving and welcoming environment in your church community? What practical steps can you take to ensure everyone feels loved and included? ([26:31])
4. In what ways can you speak the truth in love to someone who is moving away from God, without affirming their actions but still showing them love? ([13:22])
5. Consider the friendships and marriages in your life. How can you apply the principles of making the first move, sacrificing, and forgiving to strengthen these relationships? ([22:44])
6. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? What is holding you back, and how can you take a step towards forgiveness this week? ([24:23])
7. How can you make the invisible God visible through your actions this week? Identify one specific way you can show God's love to someone in your community. ([28:47])
Devotional
Day 1: The Command to Love
Loving one another is a direct command from God, not an optional suggestion. This love is immensely practical, touching every aspect of our lives, and extremely difficult because people can be hard to love. Yet, it is a command that we must obey as evidence of our faith and relationship with God. [01:36]
1 John 4:7-8 (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."
Reflection: Think of a person in your life who is difficult to love. How can you show them love today in a practical way, even if it is challenging?
Day 2: God’s Example of Love
God’s love is characterized by initiation, sacrifice, and forgiveness. He loved us first, even when we were unlovable, and sent His only Son to be the propitiation for our sins. This sacrificial love is the model we are to follow in loving one another. [16:17]
Romans 5:8 (ESV): "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Reflection: Reflect on a time when someone showed you sacrificial love. How can you emulate that kind of love towards someone else this week?
Day 3: Practical Implications
Imagine friendships, marriages, and church communities where everyone loves in this way. Such love would create a compelling and beautiful community that reflects the character of God to the world. This love makes the invisible God visible. [22:03]
John 13:34-35 (ESV): "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Reflection: Consider your closest relationships. What is one specific action you can take to make God's love more visible in these relationships?
Day 4: Love and Truth
Loving someone does not mean agreeing with or affirming everything they do. True love often involves speaking the truth, even when it’s difficult. This kind of love moves toward people who are moving away and speaks the truth in love. [13:22]
Ephesians 4:15 (ESV): "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ."
Reflection: Is there someone in your life who needs to hear a difficult truth spoken in love? How can you approach this conversation with both grace and truth?
Day 5: Reflecting God’s Love
When we love one another, we show that we have been born of God and know God. This love is a reflection of our new nature in Christ. It’s something every person desires and something that makes the church an attractive community. [10:17]
1 Peter 1:22 (ESV): "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart."
Reflection: Think about your church community. What is one way you can contribute to making it a more loving and attractive place for others?
Quotes
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "Loving one another is immensely practical and also extremely difficult. It's immensely practical. There's no part of our lives that's not touched by this command to love one another. Our friends, our family, our co-workers, our neighbors, Walmart, like there's no part of our life where we don't need to remember this command to love one another." [01:36] (27 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "There's no one listening to this that doesn't want to be loved. Whether you're in middle school or midlife, like you want to be loved by somebody. You want to know that you're loved." [03:13] (13 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Think about the love that comes from God for a moment. It's a love for undeserving people. There's no one listening to this who's deserving of the love of God." [07:28] (12 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "So you ever wonder, man, does God love me? You just look to the cross. You just look to the cross where God loved you so much he put his son on there, reaching out his arms, dying as a sacrifice for you so that you might be forgiven." [19:30] (19 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "We need to think about, we need to contemplate the love of God because we are loved by God. There's an old hymn called The Love of God, and in that song, there's this great section that kind of uses really poetic language to help us understand just how vast God's love is." [20:11] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for Members
1. "So John's going to say, if we don't love one another, we're saying something about our eternal reality. third reason it's important is because every one of us wants to be loved. There's no one listening to this that doesn't want to be loved. Whether you're in middle school or midlife, like you want to be loved by somebody. You want to know that you're loved." [03:13] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "So if you are a follower of Jesus, John is going to say you're going to love because that love reflects that you have been born of God. And not only that we've been born of God, but that we know God in verse 7. Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. So if you love, you're showing that you have a relationship with God." [10:17] (20 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "To love someone does not mean we have to agree and affirm every, agree with and affirm everything they do in order to love them. God does not agree with and affirm everything we do, and he loves us. Love does not equal agreement. It does not equal affirmation. It might actually equal the opposite of those things." [13:22] (21 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "So God's example is that he loves us with a love that goes first. He loves us with a love that sacrifices. He loves us with a love that forgives." [18:12] (12 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Can you imagine a marriage where a husband loved his wife this way? Where a husband loved his wife the way Christ loved the church, which is what we're called to, men? Where a husband loved his wife and said, I'm going to make the first move. I'm going to initiate. I'm going to sacrifice so that she can flourish and thrive." [24:23] (22 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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