The Origin of Love and Its Effects on Our Lives

1 John 4:1-5:5 - Riley Boggs

John returns to discuss the false teachers directly in our text today, and so I thought it would be fun to start by reading you some quotes false teaching quotes. Maybe so you can envision what was running through John’s mind as he wrote these words. I would say they continually get worse, but really, they start horrible and end horrible.

"Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind, even as many as will, shall be redeemed. The Savior began shedding His blood for all mankind, not on the cross but in the Garden of Gethsemane. There He took upon Himself the weight of the sins of all who would ever live. Under that heavy load, He bled at every pore," - Russell M. Nelson

“Having entered deeply into the history of salvation, Mary, in a way, unites in her person and re-echoes the most important doctrines of the Faith: and when she is the subject of preaching and worship she prompts the faithful to come to her son, to his sacrifice and to the love of the Father.” – Vatican Counsel 2

"There is not a man or woman, who violates the covenants made with their God, that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it . . . " - Brigham Young

“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens…I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form — like yourselves, in all the person, image, and very form as a man….it is necessary that we should understand the character and being of God, and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the veil, so that you may see….and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did.” – Joseph Smith

  Brutal, right? And none of these quotes come from someone who does not claim to be a part of the true church. None of them are professing atheist, they all claim to know God, and to be in right relationship with Him. And yet, they have said these terrible things. Right, that’s the danger of false teachers. They don’t wear a bright yellow vest or have “I’m a liar” written on their forehand. They deceitfully charm you with enough truth to hide their lies. They are evil. And so how can we tell who is and isn’t a false teacher? John speaks directly to these questions in verses 1-6.

1.) We must test the spirits (4:1-6)

We shouldn’t be naïve when it comes to those who claim to teach the things of God, because as you can see some teach what is true, and some do not. And within every false teacher is a false spirit. A spirit that thrives on attention, self-glorification, and deception. We don’t believe what people say to be true because of their charisma or their following, but because we have put their words, their spirit, to the test. That is what John is getting at here when he says not to believe every spirit, but to test them to see where they are from. 

Are they from God, or are they from the enemy? And, also note that John says they have gone out into the world. He is saying that these false teachers once resided within the church, but have since gone out. These false teachers, really all false teachers, spend their time lurking within the bounds of Christian community, or at least they try to. They want to pull people from the truth, doing the work of the enemy himself. John knows this, it’s the reason he wrote this book to begin with, and here in chapter 4 he tells us specifically how we can test these spirits. 

First, in verses 2-4 he says that we can test the spirits by seeing if they confess that Jesus Christ came from God in the flesh. If they do, they are trustworthy and have the Spirit of God. If they do not, they are not trustworthy and have the spirit of the antichrist. If you’ll remember back to the first sermon, I preached from 1 John I mentioned that the specific false teaching that was causing problems in the church was Docetism. A false teaching that said Jesus was not really human, but only gave the appearance to be. It’s clear that John uses this method of testing to safeguard the church from this specific false teaching, but it is not only good for ridding the church of Docetism. This kind of test is what we should use concerning all teachers.

Look, if someone proclaims anything short of who Christ truly is, they are a false teacher. You cannot almost get it right when it comes to Christ; you have to get it completely right. There are many doctrines within the Christian faith that we might split hairs on and not go to the extreme of calling someone a false teacher. For example, if someone takes the book of Revelation to be mostly literal and someone else takes it to be mostly symbolic, there’s room to disagree a bit. That isn’t the case with Christ. There is no room to disagree. Christ is the 2nd person of the Trinity, who came to Earth, fully God-fully man, lived a sinless life, fulfilled the law, died on the cross, bore the sins of His people, resurrected from the dead, ascended to reign at the right hand of the Father, and will one day return. We confess Christ as the Bible speaks of Him.

And so that’s test number 1. If you hear of a new and interesting thought on Jesus that says He was anything more or less than this, don’t listen. It isn’t true, and their spirit is not from God. And remember, we are talking about those who are actively teaching these things. I am not saying that when you’re talking to a new believer and they say, “so you’re saying Jesus is 50% God and 50% man”, you should flip the table and tell them they have the spirit of the antichrist. No, this is test is applied to those who proclaim these truths to others. Not those who have a posture of humility and a desire to learn the truth and just happen to be a bit off. These are people who are seeking to instruct others and to deceive others into believing the lies that they have deceived themselves with.

Okay, test number 2 in verses 5-6. In this test we ask ourselves two questions. First, what is the origin of their words? When you hear someone claiming to teach the things of God, see where they are getting their information. Are they using the Word of God to guide everything they say? Are they reading other theologians grounded their thoughts in God’s Word? Are they continually trying to refine their teaching to be more Biblical, not hesitating to admit they were once wrong? Are they asking for the Spirit give them the words to say? If the answer to these questions is yes, then we can trust them because they are simply seeking to be a vessel for God to speak through to His people.

On the other hand, what if the origin of their words is hard to trace? They don’t show you where in the Scriptures they are getting their teachings, or when they do it’s a hodge-podge of texts taken out of context. They are always claiming to have a new idea or a revolutionary thought about something that needs none of that. They refuse to admit where they were wrong, because they came up with the idea themselves? This kind of teacher, does not have the spirit of God, and they do not need to be trusted.

And the second question, who is listening to their words? I love the way John does this because it is so insightful and true. The world listens to the world, and God’s people listen to God’s people. It’s just true. If the majority following of a teacher are people who love Christ, seek be more like Him, and are distinct from the world, that is a good sign. If the majority following of a teacher are people who are self-serving and hardly look different than the world, that is not a good sign. This shouldn’t be our only test, but it should be one of them.

John says, “by this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error”. So don’t be afraid to employ these tests in your own life, in fact I think it’s a matter of obedience that we do employ these tests. This applies to the teaching we intake ourselves and to the teaching that parents allow their children to sit under. Be diligent and test the spirits. Make sure the people you are listening to confess Christ like the Scriptures do, that they root their words in the Scriptures, and that their following is made up of people who love Christ and His Word. And when you do, you will see the glorious truths revealed to us in the Word of God and you will never find them lacking.

2.) The Gospel has shown us true love (4:7-21)

If you haven’t noticed by now, the theme of this book is the love. Specifically the love of God in us and displayed by us, the church. This section is no different, John cycles back to remind us of the love of God and to urge the church to love one another. He gives us the origin of love itself, and then sort of applies what that means for our lives.

Okay, so first. What is the origin of love? Where did love come from? John tells us in verse 8, “God is love”. The origin of love can be found in the God Himself, as He is the definition of love. There is not this “thing” we call love, and then attribute to God. No, God is love. Now how does that play out? Doesn’t love, in some way, need more than one person? Can love exist if there is no other person or outside thing to love? Well, that is who our God is. Our God is Triune, 3 persons, 1 God.

R.C. Sproul said this commenting on these 6 verses. He said, “By giving us His Son, the Father introduced us to the perfect love and eternal life that the Father and the Son have always enjoyed.” In other words, there is a perfect eternal love that exists between the persons of our Triune God. It has always existed between The Father, The Son, and The Spirit. It is not a thing that they created, but it is who our God is. He is love. The reason that love exists in the world, in any capacity, is because God is love. 

But so often we do this backwards and create this image or definition of love and apply it back on God. Our culture loves to toss around the word love. And to a large number of people, to love is to accept anything and everything. To love is to tolerate. And then they take this definition, and they say “since God is love, He accepts all people, even if they don’t repent of their sin. He’s a loving God, He would never ask people to change who they are.” That’s all upside down, its wrong. No we look to the Scriptures, and we see who God is, and we define love from that. And what do the Scriptures say about who God is and His love.

John tells us in verses 9-16. God’s love is seen in the Gospel! In sending of His only begotten Son to reconcile His enemies to Himself, to save us. His love is seen in that the perfect righteous one who lacked nothing, loved a people who did not love Him. We did not deserve His love, and we did not earn His love, yet He loved us. And He loved us before we ever loved Him. That is love, and it is through this story of redemption, though the Gospel, that we have come to know love. The world doesn’t know this love, so they define it themselves and place it on God. But that’s not us. We know love because we have seen and heard the Gospel, and because God has given us a heart that is capable of love. A love that reflects that nature of God himself. Selfless, sacrificial, forgiving, gracious, merciful, and often unprompted. That is what love is because that is who God is, and He is love.

Why do we celebrate healthy 40-year marriage anniversaries more than we do healthy 4-year marriage anniversaries? I think it’s because we know what a healthy marriage after 40 years takes. That couple has sacrificed for one another, has served one another, has forgiven one another, has cried and rejoiced with one another. They have loved one another for a long time, and there is depth to it that a 4-year couple just doesn’t have yet. And it can’t be replicated by anything but time and experience. It’s something worth celebrating, being proud of, and being thankful to God for.

John is getting a similar idea here in verses 17-21. Look at what he says starting in verses to 19. The love of God in us is being perfected day by day. I mentioned this last week concerning our heart and how it is continually learning to love, and ordering itself rightly. The Spirit is at work in His people, and He is perfecting the love that was given to you when God loved you first, when He saved you. This love is being perfected as we are sanctified and grow to be more and more like Christ. Our love perfects, becomes more experienced, and goes deeper as we come to know Him more and more.

And as this love grows, so should our fear decrease. As our understanding of God’s love for us increases, and we learn to love more like Him, fears will begin to fall away. If you don’t believe, ask people who have walked with Christ for a long time. They don’t fear the return of Christ, they long for it. They don’t wonder if God is going to provide for them, they have seen Him provide their whole life. The love of God within them is being perfected and it is casting out fear. That doesn’t mean they don’t doubt or worry, but it does mean that they aren’t as easily swayed. And when they sway, they don’t sway as far. 

And so for you who are more mature in Christ, help those who are not as mature to see these truths. Remind them of the love of God. Tell them stories of how God has shown you His love. Show them how to love by loving them and those around them. Help their love be perfected so that we can all joyfully look forward to what is to come. Joyfully serve the one who loved us before we ever loved Him.

And part of what comes with our love being perfected is a shift of desires, like I’ve mentioned many times. A shift that increases our desire to obey all that He has commanded. That is where John goes in these final 6 verses, we are looking at this morning.

3.) By faith, we can overcome the world (5:1-5)

The way that salvation takes place and how we experience it are not the same. Not every story is the same. Some of you may have had a dramatic conversion experience where all of sudden the lights came on and you realized you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Some of you don’t have a conversion moment to point to, but know what you have trusted Christ for salvation. And between those two sides are many ways that the Lord reveals to us who He is. 

But listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 1:3-14. “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

This glorious truth speaks at a higher level that our experience. And it is what John is getting at here in verses 1-5. Regardless of how we might experience salvation, you were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. Or in John’s words, verse 1, “everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father has been born of him.” In other words, your belief and your love are the evidence that God has saved you. It isn’t that God saved you because you believed enough, or because you loved God enough. No, you believe and love God because He saved you. 

Our experience of this is reality is different because we actively repent of our sins and trust in Christ for salvation. Sometimes in a moment, sometimes in a period of time. But we have to hold both of these truths to be true, and the one that Paul and John are speaking of aims at a higher level than our experience. This is the reality for those who follow Christ, and it is a reality that manifests itself in our life in our obedience and how we feel about obedience. What do I mean by that? 3 things.

One, we obey because it’s what we were made to do. When God saved you, He saved you with the specific purpose of sanctifying you. To grow you in holiness, to make you more like His Son. And ultimately, when we die, this redeeming work will reach its culmination in our glorification. And this was always the plan. When you repented of your sins and placed your faith in Him, He didn’t have to rearrange the plans He had made. No from the beginning He chose you to be holy and blameless before him. His plan all along was for you to come to saving faith and walk in the good works that He prepared for you. His plan all along was to forgive you when you fall short, and lavish you wish the grace and mercy bought for you. You placed your faith in Christ, and were made, and are still being made, to obey the one who saved you.

Two, our hearts are able to want to obey and we don’t see them as a burden. Again, when you placed your faith in Christ you were given a heart that is able to desire obedience and not see His commands as a burden. That doesn’t mean they might not be difficult at times or that your flesh won’t war against it, but it does mean that we can see more clearly the goodness found in obedience. We can see and know that despite what circumstances might seem to say, obedience is what is right. And not only is it right, it is what is best for me. And not only is it what is best for me, but it is what will bring me the most joy. 

Before Christ, our hearts saw obedience as a burden. They saw His commands as things that restrict us, that keep us from having fun, or reaching our maximum potential. But now, with these new hearts, we begin to see that isn’t the case. The lie that tells us obedience is a burden begins to fall away, and the desire for obedience begins to rise.

Three and lastly, we have been given the faith to believe all these things, so we can overcome the world. Faith is a gift, and it is given to all those who believe. The faith that you place in God is not from you. We didn’t conjure up enough belief to have saving faith, it had to be gifted to us by God. And this is true of both saving faith and sanctifying faith. Every day you continue to walk with Christ, the Spirit is working in you to build your faith. To help you believe the promises of God, to help you see more clearly what the word says, to help you grow in grace and knowledge. And all of this, enables you to obey all the more, and in turn allows you to overcome the world. 

Overcome the world how? By testing the spirits, rejecting the lies, and clinging to the truth. By loving in the way that love has been shown to us. By obeying our God in faith, saying no to sin. Remembering that our flesh does not reign, nor does the enemy. I can say no, I will say no, and in that I will overcome the world and find joy in Christ.

Listen to these amazing words from our God through Paul in Romans 8. “31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Church, you are more than conquerors. And this is not because you are awesome, but because Christ died for you. And this morning, we are going to come to the table and eat and drink to remind ourselves of this glorious truth and what it means for our lives.