“God is love.” We read that twice today in John’s first letter. We read it in Chapter 4, verse 8, and verse 16. “God is love.” This is a very much-loved sentence of the Bible. You can find this phrase on T-shirts, books, posters, coffee cups, and bracelets. You can also find this phrase coming from the lips of believers and non-believers alike. “God is love.”
When we hear the phrase “God is love,” we must ask whether John is making a statement of truth or giving us a definition. What do I mean by that? If we conclude John is giving us a definition, then “God is love” means “God = love.” If that is true, then we would be inclined, as many do, to see God as passive, permissive, or unquestioningly understanding. We would see God then as accepting sin or offering love as a sentimental feeling. That is the mindset we get if we believe John defined God by the single word, love.
However, if we see “God is love” as a statement of truth, we need to know how that truth works together with other statements about God.
- God is Light (1 John 1:5).
- God is Spirit (John 4:24).
- God is Faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9)
- God is Just (2 Thessalonians 1:6)
- God is Gracious and Compassionate (2 Chronicles 30:9)
- God is Mighty (Job 36:5)
- God is Sovereign (Daniel 5:21)
- God is Merciful (Daniel 9:9)
I think you get the picture. There are a lot of “God is” statements in the Bible. By one count, there are 99 such statements. Each of them is true. Each of them differs from the others. It seems unlikely that when John said, “God is love,” John meant those words as the single definition of God, but rather as another profound truth about God. The use of many statements about God tells us that the spoken and written word cannot adequately describe God. They are, at best, an effort to express what God is like, and the collection of “God is” statements still falls short of the mark. God knows that is true.
John would agree that the single statement, “God is love,” while true, is incomplete. John said that God showed us what is meant by “God is love” in this way: “God sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him,” and that God “sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9,10). God, who is Just, Mighty, Righteous, Spirit, Faithful, Merciful, Light, and Love, chose to show “God is Love” by sending his one and only Son to the world as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus, God’s only Son, was sent to earth to die for our sins so that we could have life. I have tried to let that thought sink into my head without shuddering, and I cannot do it. As much as I think I may love, I cannot conceive that I could express that love by willingly yielding my son over to death to show the depth, breadth, height, and width of that love. I would not do it, but God did it for me, and God did it for you. John said God did not send the Son in response to our love for God, far from it. God sent the Son because God loved us first. The Apostle Paul went so far as to say that God sent his Son when we were enemies of God. Romans 5:10, “For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” God acted first and showed Godly love by sending his Son to atone, to take the punishment, for our sins.
God’s love through the Son was universal, meaning God did not and does not withhold His love from anyone. However, the life-giving power of God’s love was conditional. The atonement by His Son for our sins, the essence of God’s love, only affects those who believe in His Son. While God’s love is available to all, it only takes root in those who believe in His Son. Scripture says, “16 For God so loved the world (universal giving) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him (conditional) shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (universal). 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned (conditional), but whoever does not believe (non-believers) stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16-18). God’s love extends to all his enemies, and those who receive God’s love by believing in the fullness of His Son, Jesus, are no longer God’s enemies but become God’s children. All others who remain God’s enemy. God meant this when He inspired John to write, “God is Love.” This is why so many people are sadly mistaken when they believe “God is Love” means God is passive, permissive, or unquestioningly understanding. They see God then as accepting sin or that his love is a sentimental feeling. That is just wrong. God, who is Just, Mighty, Righteous, Spirit, Faithful, Merciful, and Light, loves universally but will not accept us as His children if we do not first accept His love and live following His Son.
From this sacrificial understanding of “God is Love,” John wrote, “ 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we (believers) also ought to love one another (other believers)” (1 John 4:11). God’s love received and effected in us ought to cause us to love others who have also believe simply because they too are believers. I spoke about this briefly last week. John was not discussing a “love everyone in the world” mentality here. John was talking about loving other believers. It might be a relief that I do not have to love people who have decided to reject God’s love, who choose to remain enemies of God, and who persecute Christians. I could choose to love people in the world, but I do not have to love them. But the effect of God’s love within me ought to cause me to love other Christians just because they are Christians. Having to love everyone who is a fellow Christian is a sword with a sharp edge. We can choose to love someone in the world, but we have no choice in loving another Christian. God has accepted them, and as John said, God’s love is complete in them (1 John 4:12b). Therefore, we ought to love them. I can tell you from my own experience that there are some Christians who can at times be hard to love. You might feel the same way, but I ask that you not look around the sanctuary to see if they came today. Jesus said, and John reiterated, we must love them.
How do we love other Christians, including the difficult ones? John said, “He has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13). We can love with the power of the Holy Spirit and not through our own doing. John said to live this life, yes, to thrive as a Christian, you must continually acknowledge Jesus is the Son of God who paid for your sins and that God lives in you and you in God (1 John 4:15). This is our starting point. We begin our life in Christ and living it out with the power of the Spirit by interpreting everything through the cross. Once you accept Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for your sins, meaning Jesus is your Savior who bore your sins on the cross, you exit the world of darkness and enter the light of Christ. In that light, you have entered a new life. It is a life in which you now have God living within you, He has given you His Spirit, and you are forever in the embrace of God. And this transformation of your life occurs because God is love.
John said, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us” (1 John 4:16). When we love other Christians, we do so knowing that we share the same Spirit of God and are in God's embrace. So our love towards them is about showing our love for God.
I once spoke with a man who was the father of a few children. He told me he wanted to be a good father to his children and for them to know he loved them. He asked me what I thought about different things he wanted to do with his children to show his love. Some of those things involved fun activities, while others involved discipline. He was conflicted about how to be a good father and to show his children that he loved them. Part of this man’s conflict arose because his relationship with the children’s mother was often argumentative and troubled. I told this man that if he wanted his children to know he loved them, he should love their mother. To love their mother would be the most convincing sign to the children that he loved them. If you want God to know that you love him, love those He loves. Love one another. It may be a poor analogy, but the principle holds true.
“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus” (1 John 4:16b-17). That is a powerful and humbling statement. God is love. If we live in love, then we are like Jesus in this world. God’s love drew us to Christ. Accepting Christ as a sign of God’s love brings us into a new relationship with God that is free from condemnation. In that relationship, we are to live in love with God and others who have also accepted Christ. Living lovingly brings a proper image of Jesus to the world, which remains in darkness. You are a light. Your witness is intended, and life lived in love is intended to draw others to Christ. The fact that you have the Spirit of God within you is intended to draw others to Christ. But do we? Do we serve as a light to others? Do we appear as Jesus to others?
What might we then do to check ourselves to see if we appear like Jesus? Of course, we can ask ourselves some of the most obvious questions.
- Do I forgive my brothers and sisters in Christ like Jesus forgave me? Or do I only forgive those offenses by a brother or sister that I could see myself doing? “13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).
- Do I serve other brothers and sisters in Christ like Christ served? Am I generous and sharing my time, treasure, talents, and tears with other Christians as Jesus did? Invite those who cannot repay you for your kindness. “Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14).
- Do I pray for other brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the week? When I say grace at my daily meals, do I also bring to mind and pray for those who have asked for prayer in the worship service? “Pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).
I think you get the picture and probably have heard such things before. But do we fully love our brothers and sisters to do the hard work Jesus did as well? What do I mean by that?
- Do I love like Jesus and help my brothers and sisters correct their understanding of theology? Am I willing to say, “Brother, you have it wrong about God,” or, “Sister, we are called to be merciful, not punitive.” Jesus loved enough to correct his disciples often so that they would bear good witness to others.
- Lastly, and perhaps one of the most challenging forms of love, do I love like Jesus and help my brothers and sisters stop sinning? Am I willing to follow the commands of Christ and speak privately to a brother or sister engaged in sin that they might be restored? This is hard work. Jesus repeatedly told people who sought to follow him, “Stop sinning.” Jesus said, 15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over” (Matthew 18:15). I can tell you that helping someone through sin is an extraordinary act of love. You risk much, but it is sweet when we care enough to help someone stop sinning.
John ended this letter section with these words, “Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:21). God is love. God showed His love through the cross. God loves those who accept the work of the cross and place their faith in Jesus. That means God loves you and me. We then must love one another and be like Jesus in this world. Amen and Amen.