Dwelling In God's Love

FEBRUARY 3, 2021 STUDY NOTES I JOHN 3:14-15 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES DWELLING IN GOD’S LOVE INTRODUCTION Theologians debate the verses that we are now going to study, the question is salvation Does John compare those who are saved with those who are lost? Or does he compare the faithful Christian with the Christian who is failing to live for Christ? Just like theologians you may or may not agree with my interpretation (study it on your own) ASSURANCE OF LOVE 1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Some people say that you don’t really know that you are saved until you die and go to heaven John says, “we know,” regardless of what the world may say, we have absolute assurance Assurance that “we have passed from death unto life,” Paul explains what John is saying, Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (we have a choice) Darkness throughout the Bible is a symbol of sin, moral evil, and the realm of death To walk in darkness is to give over to sinful desires, which a Christian can do “Light in the Lord” is more than being enlightened, it is the nature of the new life Because of Christ in us Christians can now walk in the light, but do we always do it? John says there is one way to know that we are walking in the light, “because we love the brethren” Love for one another proves that we have been delivered from death unto life We have an absolute assurance of a new life we know that our salvation is real We know that we are living in the experience of New Life and controlled by the Spirit of God Christian love for one another should be a daily practice of our life according to, 1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Love for one another is a powerful testimony unto the saved and lost Jesus said that others will know that we have experienced a new life when we love one another Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. It is not easy to always love all of the brethren, sometimes brethren are hard to love That is why we must be instructed and encouraged, listen to Paul, Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (He speaks to the Christian) Christian love must be more than language, talk, or gestures, it must be “without dissimulation” Which means it must be sincere, true, genuine, honest, the real thing and not a Sunday game Christian love cannot be hypocritical or deceiving, phony or counterfeit, an imitation or a disguise Genuine Christian love will sacrifice self in order to give to others, love will give as much as possible When God’s love is working through us it seeks to benefit others, the desire is to help one another Rom 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; “Kindly affectioned” means to be devoted to one another in love, especially to other Christians Scripture strongly encourages us to learn the value of a church family, God works through the church Some people only identify the importance of a church family when heartache has come their way But don’t wait until trouble comes to consider your church family, do it now before trouble comes Page 1 of 5 Discover now the value of your church family, be sure you know those you go to church with Discover the value of the Christian family and you will be devoted to one another in “Brotherly Love” We are not a family because of friendship, our love for one another is not based upon friendship We are a family because of relationship, our love for one another is based upon relationship We are “the brethren,” love your brothers and sisters in Christ, all of them, not just a select few Desire the best for all, do the best you can for all, which is to love them with God’s love If Christians do not love each other, the lost will not see the love of God at work It will not be easy to love them all, but it must be done, can we do it? Only through Christ, Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ (only way) which strengtheneth me. What if we don’t love the brethren? He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. “Loveth not” is described as hate in the next verse Is John telling us that it is impossible for the Christian to hate? Does John mean that anyone who has hate toward another is lost and going to hell? Is he saying that hate will send you to hell regardless of what you say you believe? To understand what John is telling us we must know the meaning of 2 key words, love and abiding We must understand the meaning of the love that John is referring to, it is God’s love He is saying, if you do not love your spiritual brother with God’s love you are dwelling in death The classic chapter on the subject of God’s love working through the Christian life is 1 Corinthians 13 Let’s make a quick overview of that chapter, first consider its context From chapter 12-15 Paul is teaching truths related to the Christian life which he identifies as spirituality He deals with spirituality and spiritual gifts in chapter 12 (Every believer is spiritually gifted) Paul revealed how important every “spiritually gifted” believer is to the church It is through the “spiritual gifts” of the believers that the church will minister to one another Look at the way Paul closes out chapter 12, 1Co 12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. In chapter 13 he is showing us that “more excellent way” God’s “Love” is the only way to exercise a spiritual gift, “Love” is the “more excellent way” There can be no ministry of the “church body” without the spiritual gifts being exercised And there will be no successful ministry unless the spiritual gifts are exercised in “love” (God’s love) Look at the way he begins chapter 14, 1Co 14:1 Follow after charity, (love) and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. He begins chapter 14 by saying follow chapter 13, “follow that way of love” As you exercise your spiritual gift, you must follow the way of love, you must minister through love In chapter 14 he shows the importance of spirituality in the body of Christ which is the church family In chapter 15 we find the glory of spirituality, which is the future resurrection of the glorified body Chapter 15 closes with the encouragement to live the spiritual life, 1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (The work of the Lord must be through God’s love) The KJV uses the word ‘charity” in 1 Corinthians 13 to translate the word “love” But the English word “charity” does not express to us what Paul is saying Our understanding of the word “Charity” does not define the truth that Paul is teaching When we think of “charity” we think of acts of kindness, goodness, and affection toward others “Charity” reminds us of help given to the poor and suffering, all of which is also true of the word “love” But Paul’s original Greek word translated by the KJV “charity” means much more than a kind deed It is the Biblical word for God’s love, it is the love of, Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave Page 2 of 5 his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It is the love shed abroad in the hearts of believers by the Holy Spirit, Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. The love that Paul describes in chapter 13 is an absolute necessity for obeying what John tells us to do It is through God’s love that we must love one another and minister to the needs of others Paul very strongly makes his point in the first three-verses of chapter 13, his emphasis is very strong He extends his statements to reach out as far as possible, he stretches our imagination to the limit Words spoken without God’s love are useless, nothing but a senseless noise, meaningless words (vs. 1) Paul’s point is that speaking without God’s love in the heart is nothing more than a lot of noise And the noise is coming from a hollow instrument, like a “tinkling cymbal” In verse 2, Paul says, regardless of how much you know concerning God’s will, your understanding of it Even if you have faith that will accomplish great and difficult things (removing mountains) Even if you have all of the above, without God’s love, we are nothing, all efforts are useless; worthless Our value of Christian service is zero, without God’s love we have failed in that which is most important Now verse 3, you could take all-of your earthly goods and give them away to those in need Even if you keep giving all you possess until it is all gone, for the good of others Even if you surrender your body to the flames, meaning martyrdom, giving up life itself Regardless of what we do, how well we do it, or how often it is done Unless it is ministered through God’s love there is no gain, no value, no advantage, no benefit That is the same love that John is referring to in 1 John 3:14, we must understand it and practice it If not, the results will be “abiding in death,” abiding is the other key word that we must understand John often uses the word “abide” to identify the meaning of what he is saying Jesus used the same word, Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. The Christian has a choice to make, to either abide in Christ or to abide in darkness Darkness and death represent the old life of the Christian, the old nature still exists in the believer In Romans 6, Paul explains dead to sin and alive to God, Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (It is possible for the Christian to continue in sin) Paul quickly answers his question, Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? “Dead to sin” does not mean sinless perfection, it does not mean that the Christian will never sin again Paul explains what he means, Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. The Greek word translated “destroyed” is found often in scripture with a variety of meanings Here the thought is that the power of sin over the believer has been broken, which is explained in, Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. (Sin has no legal right or authority over the Christian) To be “free from sin” means to be delivered from the power of darkness and the authority of death, Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: Which is a truth that we must recognize and accept, the responsibility is ours, go back to Romans 6 Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. As Christians we must realize who we are in-Christ and put it into practice, and not continue in sin Paul uses the same word and tells us what we must “continue” to do, Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (“Think on” is the same as “reckon ye” in Rom. 6:11) Page 3 of 5 The responsibility is ours, Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (We can stop sin from reigning over us, we do not have to obey Satan) Verse 13 further explains the meaning of verse 12, Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. We make the choice, reckon ye, let not, neither yield, but yield, the decision is ours By the grace of God, we can make the right decision, Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Grace not only saves the lost, grace teaches those who are saved how to live for God By the grace of God, we are trained and educated through the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit Paul tells us what the grace of God will teach us, to deny ungodliness and to live Godly First of all, grace will teach us to “deny ungodliness,” which means to say “NO” to sin To deny sin is to forsake it, we must renounce sin, reject sin, and turn from sin We can give sin up by the grace of God, the sin question should be a settled matter in our life Something that you have already determined to do, a definite action that you have already taken You have already settled the issue you have already made up your mind As God’s people you should say “No” to sin today and say “No” to sin tomorrow And it should be a once and for all decision, no more discussion should be necessary Ungodliness does not just refer to the things that are wicked and harmful To be ungodly, a person does not have to be an outward wicked sinner Ungodliness is the opposite of Godliness, grace teaches us to think Godly The Christian must not let the world set his standard for living The Christian must not let the world determine what his decisions for life will be Grace will teach God’s people how to “live soberly,” the mind that is set upon God’s will Which brings us back to the meaning of the word “abide” The place that one abides is the place that they have set their mind upon The mind-set of hate is not found in the realm known as life it is of the realm of death The reason that love cannot be found is because he is still living in the realm of death “He that loveth not” continues to live in the realm that God delivered him from He is not dwelling in the realm of life and experiencing the life that Christ gave us to live It is possible for the Christian to be under the influence of Satan’s power and authority So, it is possible for the Christian to hate, but it is impossible for the Christian to go to hell, Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. The Christian who hates will pay a price, but that price is not hell, it is within the present life The price of hate is a present loss, the loss of the joy of salvation, David experienced it, Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. You know the story of David, the sin he committed, he committed adultery with Bathsheba And then he had her husband Uriah, killed in battle, which was murder David’s prayer of repentance (Psalms 51) helps us to understand what John explains to us--NOT ABIDING IN LIFE 1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. John speaks of habitual hating, hating being the way of their life, abiding in hate Page 4 of 5 Hate is not of the character of Christ we were told that hate is like the character of Cain And we are not to be like Cain, 1Jn 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. So, what is hate? What causes hate? What is the ultimate limit of hate? The ultimate extreme of hate is murder, habitual hate is potential murder, a murderer at heart The attitude of hate and the attitude of murder are the same The only difference between the two is the desire to kill being fulfilled Hate comes from a selfish heart, whatever it takes to satisfy self, even to the point of murder Love comes from a giving heart, willing to give of self to others, even to the sacrifice of self So, hate is not living in the realm of life, hate is not abiding in Christ Hate is not natural for a Christian, hate is not of the spiritual nature and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Christian knowledge is a strong emphasis in this letter, John wants to be sure “we know” Read 1 John and pay attention to how many times you read “know” Again, the key word is “abiding,” Christ is not at home in the heart of one who murders A person hates because they are not dwelling daily in that spiritual life of Christ which is in them Understand that John is not saying that one who hates or has murdered cannot be saved He does not say that the one he is talking about is not saved or cannot be saved He does not say it is impossible for a murderer to be saved He does not say that it is impossible for a believer to commit murder, consider David But he does say that there is no evidence of a spiritual life in the one who murders The one he is talking about is certainly not living according to the way of salvation He is not at home, he is not where he belongs, he is not living in the realm of the New Life He is not living under the influence and control of God’s love Love for the brethren is the evidence of “abiding” (key word) in the realm of life (1 John 2:10) Because of “dwelling” in our new life in Christ, we can love one another If you “dwell” in the realm of love, you experience a powerful testimony and a life of assurance If you “dwell” in the realm of hate, your testimony is destroyed, and you live in a life of doubt John tells us what hate will do, hate is sin, and the ultimate extreme of hate is murder (1 John 2:11) If hate is the opposite of love and hate will take away the life of a brother, then what is Godly love? John wants us to know what God’s love will do, which he will describe in the following verses CONCLUSION John wants us to know and live (abide) in the experience of God’s love, we must make that choice Satan wants us to live (abide) in darkness and death, hate is in the realm of death Thank God, we can determine to live (abide) in God’s love through God’s Grace and Mercy Let’s take a moment and meditate upon the Love of God Watch the screen, listen to the song and sing along if you want to Page 5 of 5