1 John 4 Commentary
John’s first volume makes Paul’s extravagance on love like nothing! Chapter 13 of First Corinthians is all about love, but it is dwarfed by John’s first letter.
Paul: And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13
Peter: Love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4 verse 8.
John takes it to the top. God is love. Verses 8 and 16.
Is it possible for love to exist without God? Verse 8 would say no. We can have counterfeits but true love is of God and it’s not an emotion. It is the person of Jesus! Share the Jesus within you and you will have shared love!
We cannot see God but we can see the manifestation of His glory as we love – as we let the fruit of the Spirit flow.
We cannot see wind but we can see the impact of wind. Then we know it’s windy! John recorded this example from the Master’s mouth in his gospel and we have the same thought here. You know you are of God by the fruit of the Spirit within – expressed in your thoughts and consequent actions.
In this world, we are like Jesus. Verse 17. Can it get heavier than this? We are love…??? Heavy item indeed!
There is zero love in the world today. Yes, because you aren’t there!
Test every spirit. A more palatable version would be to weigh carefully ideas or ideologies. Not everything with Jesus in them is of God. We cannot take the definition of love from the world and put Jesus in front to make it great. Jesus is love. Take Jesus first. All the apostles emphasize that God loved us first; then we can love. There isn’t any other way.
So love is not created. Love cannot be generated like electricity. God is love. To have love in your heart is to have Jesus in your heart. Anything else is fake. It won’t take long for you to know you have been conned, or you have conned another human.
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LOVING SCRIPTURE 