This is a sermon I preached o Mother's Day, Enjoy! It was a one in a three part series titled, "The Father's Love"
May 8th-- 1John 4:7-12 “What “The” are you talking about?” I thought about theme”ing” this sermon around Mother’s Day and weaving in some type of encouragement for just Mother’s but I didn’t do that. This is for everyone.
1John 4:7-12
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
What “THE” am I talking about this morning? As most of you know or will shortly the word the or the, is a definite article, It means a specific one. So which Father am I talking about this morning on Mother’s Day? Well most of us assume we know, and even those of us who are right in assuming what we think; don’t really know. Yes I’m talking about the GREAT I AM, Our Heavenly Father, God the Father, the ONE and Only true God. But if you have not been born of God you do not know who I’m talking about. If you are born of God then only because of His love are you able to know Him and love Him and others. And even those of us that know God don’t know Him fully and don’t glorify and enjoy Him near enough, because we start to crowd out what we know about God with things, idols, cheap desires, thrills, lies, we start to build a God that isn’t real, that isn’t biblical and that isn’t God…
Listen to what this passage has to say about God.
*Love is from God
*whoever loves is born of God
*God is love
* the love of God was made manifest before us-
*God sent his only Son into the world-that we might live through him
* love isn’t us loving God
*Love is God sending Jesus on our behalf to make propitiation for our sins
*If God has loved/s us like this what should our response be—LOVE OTHERS
*God is unseen
*God abides in us *His love is perfected in us.
Let’s Look at verse 7 a little closer!
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The word dear here can also be, beloved– an adjective that means, greatly loved; dear to the heart –
I can relate to John using the word dear or Beloved, I think it’s important to understand John loved the people he was sharing this with, they were dear to his heart, I imagine this made it even more difficult for him to share, but also so much more vital to communicate clearly the important message of the Gospel. Please here me this morning, I love all of you, but more important than you knowing that I want you to know that God loves you. It sounds simple, so simple we often brush it off and refuse to accept it. I hope today you will know THE GOD, the one and only GOD and that God would allow you to understand more and more exactly all that He is.
We could take verse 7 and preach a whole series on it, but we will try to look carefully and practically at this passage yet not stall out in it’s complexity.
The “The” I’m talking about this morning is, THE GOD,
1) There is only ONE GOD, THE GOD…
a)God the Father
b)God the Son
c)God the Holy Spirit
In our text, when you look at the Greek, each time you see God, you have the word tou or tov in front of it, this is the definite article THE, it means the one and only! Here in this passage it is truly correct! Because we know that there is only one true God, because the Word of God, Jesus, is telling us SO, and Jesus is God. So God is declaring I AM GOD. So we see the love of God the Father in just being himself, because God is Love. John mentions God 11 times in these 6 verses. He wants you to see GOD, THE GOD! You know we sing, God in Three Persons, the blessed trinity.
WE also see God the Son, v9 says, 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
In John 15:9 (esv)Jesus the son of God says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
We also know God the Holy Spirit, 1John 4:2 says, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”
So there is only one God, the true God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, THE GOD.
2) Without God’s Love, without the love of the God, you won’t love.
a) you won’t know love
b) you won’t feel love
c) you won’t give love
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Jesus has a conversation with a Samaritan woman, a scandalous encounter in an of itself, but Jesus didn’t care about that, He cared about the truth, he cared about sharing the Gospel. This woman didn’t know love, she couldn’t even feel love and she wasn’t able to give love, YET! John 4: 19-2619 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Without God’s Love we perceive all sorts of un truths about God. If you don’t know God’s love you won’t love Him, nor will you love others, also if you don’t know God you won’t feel love, and lastly you won’t be able to give love because you’ve never experienced what it is. When we have been loved by God amazing Grace becomes a reality, we are able to share the Glory of God by sharing Jesus.
2 Corinthians 4:6 says “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
So what happens to the Samaritan woman? She saw the face of Jesus Christ, her heart was changed by the knowledge of the glory of God, God had shone the light on her dark unbelieving heart and she believed, not only that she experienced love, she knew Jesus loved her, she felt it, she went and shared it to everyone she came into contact with.
How is this Possible? Because there is a new covenant, one filled with Glory! By accepting Jesus and his righteousness we have a freedom to enjoy it and share it. We aren’t bound to follow the law out of fear of failure but we are set free to live in Christ’s righteousness and obey Him out of love.
Listen to this description of what the ministry of the Spirit is doing…2 Corinthians 3:7-18The Glory of the New Covenant
7Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
As we look back at the text we know that there is only one true God, that without His Love, without His Son leaving us the Spirit of God to comfort us, we wouldn’t know love, feel love or give love,
7Beloved,(A) let us love one another, for love is from God, and(B) whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8(C) Anyone who does not love does not know God, because(D) God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that(E) God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love,(F) not that we have loved God(G) but that he loved us and sent his Son to be(H) the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12(I) No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and(J) his love is perfected in us.
but with the Spirit we are able
3)What “the” are you talking about? How are you loving? When you love, you are talking about the God!
a)Know God loves you
b)Let God’s love shine through you
c)Love One another with God’s love
It’s pretty obvious and simple I know, God loves you, but do you know it, accept it, believe it, are you abiding in God? Are you spending quality time with THE GOD and not a god that you like to worship, Well my God wouldn’t do this or that, well my God doesn’t care if I do this or that, or I have to do this or that or my God won’t love me??? Know this GOD LOVES YOU! THE GOD, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He loves you more than you will ever comprehend.
Let God’s love shine through you. How do I do that? This is the part that seems easy but is extremely hard! Love one another with God’s love that He has given you. You can’t hoard God’s love, you have to give it away. You have to glorify Him with your life and enjoy Him with your thoughts, words and deeds. By doing this others will see God’s love shining in this dark world, it is uncommon to love unconditionally, it is uncommon to care about others when they have persecuted you, it is uncommon to love people who have slandered your reputation and have beaten and spat upon you, it is uncommon to die for the sins of people who mock your very existence. It is uncommon to forgive people who are cold and dead to you, but not only forgive them but restore them into a right relationship with you, and not just any relationship but a relationship that is unending, one that gives them a kingdom, one that offers them no more pain and suffering, one that promises a hope of holiness. Yes this love is worth sharing!
Love one another with God’s Love.
Let’s end the sermon by reading 2 Corinthians 13:11 together:
Final Greetings
11Finally, brothers,[a] rejoice.(A) Aim for restoration, comfort one another,[b](B) agree with one another,(C) live in peace; and the God of love and(D) peace will be with you.
Let’s Pray!!!
Part 1: WHAT “THE” ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT,
The “The” I’m talking about this morning is, THE GOD,
1) There is only ONE GOD, THE GOD…
a)God the Father
b)God the Son
c)God the Holy Spirit
2) Without God’s Love, without the love of the God, you won’t love.
d) you won’t know love
e) you won’t feel love
f) you won’t give love
3) What “the” are you talking about? How are you loving? When you love, you are talking about the God!
a)Know God loves you
b)Let God’s love shine through you
c)Love One another with God’s love
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