Faith Bible Fellowship

Pastor Lee Copeland
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This being the second Sunday, we will observe the Lord’s Supper and look closely at 1 John 4:10. Here are verses 7-12: 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.
Verse 10 brings together God’s love and His justice which is seen in the word propitiation meaning Christ has paid the necessary price for the satisfaction and removal of the sins of His people. This word is found in Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2 and here in 1 John 4. The idea is also found in numerous other places, but by reading the context of these specific verses you will gain an appreciation for its importance to our peace and joy in Christ. It is a vital defense against the fiery darts of Satan who always seeks to destroy our assurance and bring doubt on the truth of Christ and our personal salvation.
Love and justice seem to be opposite ideas, but they are brought together in the victory of Christ on the Cross. When Satan accuses you of failing Christ remind him that Christ has satisfied the demands of God’s righteous anger. This truth is crucial to protect us from despair, and thus giving up on following Christ. The 1 John 4 passage reminds us that the assurance we are true believers is strengthened by our love for others. Do we see ourselves as growing in our 1 Cor. 13 love?: “4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” We love others because Christ has proved His love for us by dying on the Cross. In the same spirit we are to love others, especially those of the household of faith.
Only by a clear understanding and experience of God’s love through Christ will we be given the ability and have the desire to love others. Our witness as Christians is predicated on this love: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

May God give us joy in His Word,

Lee