![]() We love people who are kind to us and who offer some benefit to us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16).īy nature, human love is selfish and conditional. Only those born of God’s Spirit can love in the fullness of its expression, which is sacrifice: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. Love is not only who God is but what He does: “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him” (1 John 4:9, NLT). If we want to be like God, we will care deeply about the well-being of others because God is love. Bruce, The Epistles of John, Eerdmans Pub., 1983). One Bible commentator defines the word love in this passage as “a consuming passion for the well-being of others, and this love has its wellspring in God” (F. “No one has ever seen God,” states John, “but if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us” (1 John 4:12, NLT). Demonstrating Christian love confirms the reality of our spiritual life. God’s nature is love therefore, we will exhibit love. If we are indeed children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, we share in His nature (2 Peter 1:4). Love is the litmus test of an authentic relationship with God. John’s teaching reveals why love is essential in the believer’s life. Love has its origin in God because God is love by His very essence. John explains that the source of all love is the divine nature of God. The idea that “love is of God” (NKJV) can also be expressed as “love is from God” (ESV, NASB, CSB) and “love comes from God” (NIV, NLT). He starts by clarifying that the believer’s ability to love comes from knowing God: “Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God” (1 John 4:8, NLT). With these words, John launches an extended teaching on the importance of showing love (1 John 4:7–21). He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (NKJV). In 1 John 4:7–8, the apostle John returns to one of his favorite subjects-love: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
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