View Video Blog, Right Click Link: I John 4:16
So we have come to
know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever
abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
THE STUDY:
John gives us
a sense of conclusion to his point concerning the Love of God. He affirms the
present experience of churches. They have knowledge (we know) and faith (rely
on, lit. we have faith in, pepisteukamen).
John describes past experiences that continue to impact the present. The force
of these perfect tense verbs can be conveyed as we came to know and continue to know and we believed and continue to believe.
God and love are synonymous—“God is love” (repeating 4:8). God
defines true love. This strong and clear equation is expanded by the idea of
living (menōn, remaining—a present participle) in
love, which is to live in God.
The imagery is of settling down in God’s love, taking up secure residence in
the heart of God. Christian faith is not occasional but constant. Faith is not
just for big events but lived out in all the moments of life’s routine.[1]
WHAT WE CAN WALK
AWAY WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that our knowledge and faith in Christ will permanently change us. We cannot go back to the same thinking and belief as we had before Christ. We have been exposed to the Love of God and that Love changes us. We can walk away from God and go back to the worldly ways but that knowledge and belief, even though it is not being used, is still there.
CONCLUSION:
One of the greatest joys on earth is the joy of
bringing others to a saving knowledge of Christ. I have heard people tell that
when they were converted the whole world seemed different; that the sun seemed
to shine with a new light; there was new music in the song of the birds; all
nature seemed clothed with new beauty and glory.
Once you taste the
sweetness of Christ you can never satisfy that tasteful desire with anything else
but Jesus. As we walk out the door, look out the window, or as we drive
to our destination this morning let us see the difference Christ has made in
our lives and rejoice in it.
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3
John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary
(148). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.
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