True Love and Sonship: Understanding God’s Love in 1 John 4

Devotional

Day 1: True Love Is Concrete and Incarnational

True love is not abstract or sentimental, but is grounded in the reality of Christ’s incarnation—God coming in the flesh to dwell among us. This means that love is expressed in tangible, material ways, just as Jesus entered our messy world and loved us with His whole being. We are called to discern between true and false love, recognizing that any love which denies the reality of Christ’s incarnation is not from God. As followers of Christ, our love must be lived out in real actions, not just words or feelings, and must reflect the same humility and presence that Jesus showed by becoming human. [12:13]

1 John 4:1-3 (ESV)
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already."

Reflection: In what specific, practical way can you show Christ-like, incarnational love to someone in your life today—especially in a way that costs you time, comfort, or convenience?

Day 2: God Alone Defines True Love

Only God, as Creator and Judge, can truly define what love is, and His definition is radically different from the world’s self-serving or sentimental ideas. God’s love is not just a feeling or a fleeting emotion, but the very essence of His character and the foundation for all true relationships. The world’s definitions of love are often polluted and self-centered, but God’s love is sacrificial, holy, and transformative. To know God is to know love, and to love as God loves is to reflect His nature in our lives and communities. [18:33]

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: Where have you accepted a worldly definition of love in your relationships, and how can you intentionally realign your understanding and practice of love with God’s definition this week?

Day 3: Love Is the Supreme Calling and Measure of Our Lives

Love is not just one virtue among many, but the crowning and supreme calling for every believer; it is the standard by which God will ultimately judge our lives. Everything we do—our work, our relationships, our service—must be defined, directed, and delivered by love. When we love one another, God’s invisible presence is made visible in our midst, and His love is made complete in us. The true test of our faith is not knowledge, success, or achievement, but how much we have loved, sacrificed, and given for others in the name of Christ. [24:45]

1 John 4:12 (ESV)
"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."

Reflection: If God were to ask you today, “How much did you love?” what would your honest answer be—and what is one relationship or situation where you sense God calling you to make love your greatest aim?

Day 4: Perfect Love Drives Out Fear

God’s perfect love gives us confidence before Him and frees us from fear, especially the fear of judgment or rejection. When we truly receive and live in God’s love, we are empowered to love others boldly, even those who are difficult or unlovable. Fear and love cannot coexist; whenever fear arises in our hearts, it is an invitation to experience more deeply the security and assurance of God’s love for us. As children of God, we are called to approach Him with confidence and to extend that same fearless love to others, knowing that we love because He first loved us. [27:32]

1 John 4:17-19 (ESV)
"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."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where fear is holding you back from loving others or trusting God fully, and how can you invite God’s perfect love to drive out that fear today?

Day 5: Loving the Unlovable—The Mark of Spiritual Maturity

True Christian love is not just loving those who are easy to love, but extending grace and kindness to those who are difficult, frustrating, or even unlovely. Spiritual love, unlike human love, is not based on personal desires or ideals, but is rooted in Christ’s love for us while we were still sinners. God often places challenging people in our lives and communities to stretch and grow our capacity to love as He loves. In loving the unlovable, we participate in the very heart of Christ and build authentic Christian community, becoming more like Jesus in the process. [33:30]

Romans 5:8 (ESV)
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Reflection: Who is one “unlovable” person in your life or community that God is calling you to love for Christ’s sake, and what is one concrete step you can take this week to serve or bless them?

Sermon Summary

Today, we reflected on the profound nature of true, biblical love as revealed in 1 John 4. Love is not just a sentimental feeling or a vague ideal, but a concrete, embodied reality—rooted in the incarnation of Christ, who came in the flesh to dwell among us. This truth stands in stark contrast to the false teachings of the world, which often reduce love to mere emotion or self-serving desire. The incarnation is not just a theological point; it is the foundation of how we are to love—tangibly, sacrificially, and in the messiness of real life. Our faith is not about escaping the world, but about living out God’s love in the here and now, with our bodies, our actions, and our relationships.

We also saw that love is the crowning virtue of the Christian life. God is not only the one who defines love, but love is His very essence. Every act of God—creation, judgment, redemption—is an act of love. The triune God demonstrates this: the Father sends the Son, the Son gives Himself as a sacrifice, and the Spirit dwells within us. This love is not abstract; it is the standard by which our lives will ultimately be measured. When we stand before God, the question will not be about our knowledge, achievements, or popularity, but about how much we have loved—especially those who are difficult to love.

Finally, we considered how perfect love casts out fear. The love of God gives us confidence, not just for the day of judgment, but for every day. Fear is a spiritual challenge, a sign that we have not yet fully grasped or trusted in God’s love for us. The mark of true spiritual maturity is not just loving those who are easy to love, but loving the unlovable, the difficult, and even those who have wronged us. This is not possible by human effort alone, but by the Spirit of Christ who first loved us while we were still sinners. In our communities, especially in our house churches and families, God is shaping us through the very people who challenge us the most. True Christian love is learned not in isolation, but in the daily, sometimes difficult, practice of loving real people for Christ’s sake.

Key Takeaways

1. True love is concrete and embodied Biblical love is not abstract or merely emotional; it is rooted in the incarnation of Christ, who entered our messy world in the flesh. This means our love must be tangible, expressed in real actions and sacrificial service, not just words or feelings. The Spirit empowers us to love in this way, making our faith visible and impactful in the present world. [12:13]
2. God defines and embodies love Only God, as Creator and Judge, has the authority to define what true love is. His love is not self-serving or manipulative, but self-giving and redemptive. All of God’s actions—creating, ruling, judging—are expressions of His love, and this is the standard by which we are called to live and by which we will be measured. [18:33]
3. Perfect love drives out fear Wherever fear is present in our lives, it signals a lack of trust in God’s perfect love. The love of God gives us confidence, even in the face of judgment or uncertainty. As we grow in understanding and receiving God’s love, fear loses its grip, and we are freed to love others boldly and sacrificially. [27:32]
4. Love is proven by loving the unlovable The true test of Christian love is not how we treat those who are easy to love, but how we respond to those who are difficult, frustrating, or even antagonistic. God loved us while we were still sinners, and He calls us to extend that same grace to others. In community, especially with challenging people, the Spirit forms Christlike love in us, making our faith genuine and transformative. [30:34]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:00] - The Call to Arrive on Time
[02:34] - The Two Key Words in 1 John
[05:48] - Testing the Spirits and True Love
[08:47] - Understanding “Antichrist” Biblically
[12:13] - Love as Concrete and Embodied
[15:41] - God Is Love: The Supreme Truth
[18:33] - God Defines and Embodies Love
[21:18] - The Triune God’s Love for Us
[24:45] - Revealing God Through Humble Love
[27:32] - Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
[30:34] - Loving the Unlovable in Community
[33:30] - Human Love vs. Spiritual Love
[35:00] - Jesus Forms Our Love
[36:30] - Closing and Ministry Time

Bible Study Guide

**Bible Study Discussion Guide: True Love Embodied (1 John 4)**

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### Bible Reading

**1 John 4:7-21 (ESV)**
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 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. 10 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. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 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.
17 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. 18 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. 19 We love because he first loved 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.

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### Observation Questions

According to 1 John 4, what is the evidence that someone truly knows God?
How does John describe the way God showed His love for us?
What does the passage say about fear and love—can they exist together?
In the sermon, what is the difference between the world’s definition of love and the biblical definition of love? [[18:33]]

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### Interpretation Questions

The sermon says that “true love is concrete and embodied,” not just a feeling. What does it mean for love to be “concrete” in the context of Jesus’ incarnation? [[12:13]]
Why is it significant that John says “God is love” rather than just “God loves”? How does this shape our understanding of God’s character? [[15:41]]
The pastor mentioned that “perfect love drives out fear.” What kinds of fears might Christians struggle with, and how does God’s love address those fears? [[27:32]]
The sermon points out that the real test of Christian love is how we treat those who are difficult to love. Why is this such an important marker of spiritual maturity? [[30:34]]

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### Application Questions

The sermon emphasized that love is not just a feeling but is shown in real, tangible actions. Think of a recent situation where you had the chance to show love in a practical way. Did you take it? If not, what held you back? [[12:13]]
The world often defines love as something that serves our own desires. Are there ways you have been tempted to love in a self-serving way? How can you shift your focus to a more Christlike, self-giving love this week? [[18:33]]
The passage says “perfect love casts out fear.” Is there an area of your life where fear is holding you back from loving others or trusting God? What would it look like to let God’s love replace that fear? [[27:32]]
The pastor said that the real test of love is how we treat the “unlovable”—those who frustrate or challenge us. Who is one person in your life right now that is hard for you to love? What is one specific thing you can do this week to show them Christlike love? [[30:34]]
In the sermon, it was said that “love cannot be learned in isolation.” How has being part of a community (like your house church or family) helped you grow in love? Are there ways you can lean into community more, especially when it’s difficult? [[30:34]]
The pastor mentioned that when we stand before God, the main question will be about how much we have loved, not our achievements or knowledge. If you evaluated your life by this standard, what would you want to change? [[21:18]]
The sermon talked about the Holy Spirit forming Christlike love in us, especially through difficult people. How can you invite the Holy Spirit to help you love others more deeply this week? [[33:30]]

Sermon Clips

Just as we shouldn't believe any spirit, we shouldn't just love anything or anyone we like. There is true love and there is false love, and the false love comes from the false spirit and the world, and the false spirits deceive us and drive us to love different from God. So how do we discern true spirit and false spirit? Verse 2 and 3 says this is how we recognize spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. [00:06:10] (39 seconds) #DiscernTrueSpirit

What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it. What you do in the present by such as painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospital, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, and caring for the needy and loving your neighbor as yourself will last into God's future. This activity is not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, little more bearable until the day when we leave it behind altogether. [00:13:10] (35 seconds) #SpiritEmpowersLove

Our world is a full of a wacky, irresponsible, and even perverse definition of love that are used to rationalize the selfishness, manipulate the others, and even give a evil free reign in the name of, of love. Because of a sinful fallen human nature, we have a lost ability to define, much less practice, love as we were created to do. Only God can define love as a both creator and judge. God gets to define love and tells us how it is to be practiced. [00:19:06] (38 seconds) #LoveIsPriority

If God creates, he creates in love. When God rules, he rules in love. When God judges, he judges in love. Great Bible expositor Alexander McClaren connected love to other Christian virtues in this way: love is a fruitful, wonderful mother of a bright children called joy, peace, long suffering. There will be in our hearts if a love, their mighty mother, be there. Alexander McClaren is absolutely right because that's how Galatians 5:22, the fruit of the spirit, begins. [00:20:37] (40 seconds) #LoveRevealsGod

If a God defines love and the God is defined by love, the final meaning of God is love is very obvious to us. That is, love must direct our life and our work and our relationship and everything we do. You know, Pastor Rick Warren of a Saddleback Community Church famously said in the Purpose Driven Life, love should be your top priority, primary objective, greatest ambition. Love is not a good part of your life; it is the most important part of your life. [00:22:17] (34 seconds) #LoveConquersFear

When we stand before God, we will be judged by not any god but God of love. When we see God face to face in the final judgment, it will be all about love. God won't ask us how much did you know or study or how much did you make, how popular or successful you were. God will ask us how much did you love, how much did you love, how much did you really sacrifice and give for love. Everything you and I do must be defined by love, directed by love, and deliver love at the end. [00:22:59] (42 seconds) #LoveBecauseHeLoved

If a man loves not God, neither is he born of God. Show me a fire without heat, then show me a regeneration that does not produce love to God. He was saying that anybody born of God is born with a love. Yes. Yes. Sometimes people wonder, you know, ask me, how do you know someone is saved? Look at their love. Look at their love. Look at their love. Is their love growing in their life? John here said we love because God first loved us. [00:28:43] (41 seconds)

Here the word first does not mean temporal sequence. No, it doesn't. It's more than temporal sequence. It is a terrible situation that we are in. You know, Romans 5:8 says that God loved us not when we are good or righteous but while we were sinners, right? So every man who has ever saved had to come to God as a sinner, not as a love of God. So thus, we love because he first loved us means we don't just love other people but we love other sinners as a God loved us when we are sinners. [00:29:23] (45 seconds)

Love cannot be learned in isolation. Love is learned when you're around with a irritating, imperfect, frustrating people. Worse is the better. I didn't call, so don't put that up yet, but Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said the a person who loves their dream of a community will destroy community, but person who loves those around them will create the community. You know, people who love ideal church, they will never, they're that, they're that danger to the church. People who love the actual church or actual people, they're the one who builds a church. [00:32:32] (39 seconds)

Jesus gave his life and truth to form our new love, his love in us. That's why we do house church. That's what Christianist life is about. That's what Thanksgiving should be about. So whether you know you spend your time with your friends or family or strangers, it doesn't matter. As a child of God, my calling and your calling is a love unlovable. Amen. [00:35:20] (32 seconds)

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