View Video Blog by right clicking the link: I John 2:5-6 (Part 2)
“but whoever keeps his
word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know
that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way
in which he walked.”
THE STUDY:
Today we are
looking at the phrase “in him truly the
love of God is perfected.” I was going to skip over this part but God revealed
to me this is one of the most important parts of this verse. What we find in
this passage of scripture is something out of character for John. Up to this point John
has been saying such things as Whoever
says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth
is not in him (Verse 4)! John is basically saying that if you “know” Jesus
then you will keep his commandments but if you don’t keep the commandments yet
say you know him, you are a liar. We can sense John’s passion in verse four but
something else shines through in verse five and six, God’s perfect love. One
commentator writes, the obedient child of God is characterized, not by any typical
trait or quality of his own personality, but merely as the subject of the work
of divine love: as the sphere in which that love accomplishes its perfect work.[1]
The Greek
expression “the love of God” (rendered “God’s love”) could mean either His love
for a Christian or a Christian’s love for God. But the NIV rendering is perhaps
the best, particularly in light of John 14:21-23. In that passage an obedient
disciple is promised a special experience of the love of the Father and Son.
Since a Christian is already the object of God’s saving love, this additional, firsthand
realization of the divine affection may be properly said to make God’s love
complete in him (cf. 1 John 4:12, 17). That is to say, an obedient believer has
a deep, full-orbed acquaintance with “God’s love.” Since God is love (4:16), to
know God intimately is to know His love intimately.[2]
WHAT WE CAN WALK
AWAY WITH ….
- There are different levels of love that we all experienced in our lives. They all are different in their own little ways. The love for your pet is different from a love for your spouse or your child. A love for a sport is different from a love for a neighbor or friend. We can see in scripture there are different levels of love. Jesus asked Peter, three time, “Do you Love me?” In that passage Jesus uses two different levels of love. Let us remember that no matter what the level, the common denominator should always be “LOVE.”
CONCLUSION:
While tucking my
children in bed one night I was asked this question, “Dad, what do the words, “Cherubim and seraphim” mean?” I took
time to tell them that cherubim was a Hebrew word meaning knowledge, and the
word seraphim stood for flame, explaining that it some scholars believe the
cherubim are angels that excel in knowledge and the seraphim are those who
excel in love for God. My youngest son says, “I hope that when I die I will be
a seraphim. I would rather love God than to know everything.”
I hope this
morning we realize, sense, and see the Love that God has for us. And, in our
response, God realizes, senses, and sees the Love we have for Him. One way of
showing God we love him, “Keep the word!”
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
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