Last week we had a bible study on 1 John 4:7-21 as it brings into mind much of what the vision is centred on: what is the love of God and then, what happens when we abide in it. For those of you who missed it, below are some notes but they are in no way all that can be learned from this passage.
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.
Context:
Previously in the letter, John has spoken of the idea that we are God’s children (3:1-2, 2:1) and uses this as a point to jump from. He has spoken of leaving behind the ideas of the world in exchange for what God wants. Even before Chapter 4, he has already mentioned the concept of abiding in God, that this is a lasting act. (2:17, 2:24-28) So in this chapter, he will return to this concept.·
Observations:
It's not an address to "people" or strangers or servants, but conveys intimacy and an established relationship with the audience who are to be sons and daughters of God as well
Observations:
It's not an address to "people" or strangers or servants, but conveys intimacy and an established relationship with the audience who are to be sons and daughters of God as well
Interesting way to start off this section. Instead of a command to do, John says "let us", an idea of allowing ourselves to receive love. And even before that, he addresses us as "Beloved", a name that says that you are already loved. A couple words later, he mentions that love is from God, yet again receiving love (not from yourself). So already, we have this sense of receiving and abiding in love. He describes what love is. It is first shown in its fullest form through Jesus Christ, who God sent. God made the first move; we only know love because He loved us first.
Only then, after he makes that point, he uses love in an active tense, and this is now giving love ("whoever loves"). This reminds me of our theme, how we have to remember to receive love from God before anything - loving, serving, etc.
An important thing to see is that all three parts of the trinity are in this passage. God the father is the one who in love sent Jesus Christ to show us perfect love. And then we see that the Spirit is in those who abide in God. And what is the role of the Holy Spirit? Let's look at another writing from John:
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. - John 14:26
We see that the Spirit is given to teach and remind us of the truth that was shown in Christ Jesus. So in this idea of abiding in the love of God, not only is God the Father important, but we must see that the Holy Spirit's role cannot be neglected.
Questions:
1.
What does the writer mean by “love being
perfected in us?”
Perfected in this context means mature, God’s
love in us is mature. His love is mature or perfected in us inside of
us.
Once we grasp the magnitude of his perfect love
and abide in it, we will be able to act on it by loving others as the passage
states. We experience perfect love through Jesus Christ but we cannot express perfect love. We are being transformed by the Holy Spirit in a continual process until Christ comes again.
Relation to the Theme:
As was said before, this passage written by John has heavy ties to our theme this year. It begins with a depiction of what the love of God is. Firstly, it is in God's character to be loving. And He has given perfect love in the form of Jesus Christ who came and died on the cross for us, doing all this while we were still sinners. And when this love takes root in us, it begins to change us. Continuing to live in this love, abiding, requires the constant in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. This love is completed when it begins to bear fruit, like a vine. It is continually changing us so that we develop a greater love for God and by that extension, develop a deeper love for others.
As was said before, this passage written by John has heavy ties to our theme this year. It begins with a depiction of what the love of God is. Firstly, it is in God's character to be loving. And He has given perfect love in the form of Jesus Christ who came and died on the cross for us, doing all this while we were still sinners. And when this love takes root in us, it begins to change us. Continuing to live in this love, abiding, requires the constant in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. This love is completed when it begins to bear fruit, like a vine. It is continually changing us so that we develop a greater love for God and by that extension, develop a deeper love for others.
