HillThread ~ Supporting Missions

1 John 4:13-21

“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

What is love? is a question asked by theologians, philosophers and ethicists; by romantic poets and adolescents; by betrayed spouses and abandoned children; by the hope ful and the hopeless; by the dreamy-eyed and the cynical. Answers to the question are many. And, sadly enough, many of the answers betray a hard-edged cynicism. The familiar folk song “Lemon Tree” has a father giving his son this advice: “Don’t put your faith in love, my boy. . . . I fear you’ll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree . . . very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.” In short, dream about love, sing about it, write about it–but avoid it, for it does not bring hope and joy, only hopelessness and bitterness.

The author of 1 John has a different view of the matter. Simply and boldly he writes, God is love. Inadvertently this often gets turned around to read “love is God.” If love is God, then it is what we live for, what we serve, the ultimate standard of all. Augustine wrote that, prior to his conversion, “I loved not yet, yet I loved to love. . . . I sought what I might love, in love with loving” (Confessions 3.1). Love itself was what was sought, cherished, hoped for. Love is, as one pop song of the sixties had it, “all you need.”

But John does not write “love is God,” that love is the final and supreme good. He writes, God is love. If we want to know what love is, then we must let God define it. As Frederick Buechner comments, “To say that love is God is romantic idealism. To say that God is love is either the last straw or the ultimate truth” (1973:54). For John, it is indeed the ultimate truth. God is not hate, anger, bitterness or deceit, but love. Love does not de scribe the fullness of God, but God defines the fullness of love. In this section of the epistle (4:13–5:5), we are shown that God is the standard of love (4:13-16); the one who encourages us in love (4:17-18); the source of love (4:19-20); and the one who commands us to love (4:21–5:5).God Is the Standard of Love (4:13-16).

1 John 4:7-12

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

God’s life-giving love is the theme of this passage. As John develops this theme, he makes three important points: God is the source of all love (4:7-8); God models what genuine love is (4:9-10); and God commands us to love each other (4:11-12). We move from the assertion that God is love to the command that we are to love each other. Indeed, the whole point of the passage is to trace the relationship between God’s love and human love, and to show how human love flows from God’s own love, which is the source of love

In short, God not only gives us the command to love but has also modeled for us what true love is, just as Jesus modeled love for his disciples when he washed their feet before his death (Jn 13:1-17). Love that does not express itself concretely and in service to others is not love (1 Jn 3:16-18). But even more, God also empowers us to love. By confession of the Son whom God has sent, we are born of God and come to know God, who is love (v. 7); we are given life (v. 9); our sins are forgiven (v. 10). We come into the realm of life and love, in which we are given life and are empowered to extend the same kind of life-giving love to others. In Christ, we have come to know the source of love.

1 John 4:1-6

“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because greater is He that is in you than the one who is in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.”

What this passage gives us is a “field guide” to identifying or discerning “spirits”. (Don’t be overwhelmed by the word ‘spirit’. Basically, a person is either inspired by God through the Holy Spirit, which is someone we want to listen to, or they are not inspired by God, which we definitely want to avoid.) Specifically, it calls attention to two distinct “field marks” of various spirits: first, what they say or teach; second, who hears or accepts their teaching. That seems straightforward enough. With this knowledge in mind, we ought to be able to venture forth to spot and identify a variety of spirits, simply by checking each species against our guide. Why, then, does it seem that so many people cannot see the spirits for what they are and fall prey to all varieties of heresies, misin terpretations of Scripture, cults and fads? And even when we can discern truth from error and determine that a particular teaching, person or group is wrong, what are we to do? Such questions are not easily answered.

Our best defense is to remain in a close relationship with God through Jesus by means of committing to personal worship time, reading our Bible, prayer, corporate worship with other believers, Bible studies and times of praise.

Acts 21:39 – Acts 22:21″Paul answered, ‘I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.’ Having received the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: ‘Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.’Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’  When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking. ‘Quick!’ he said to me. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’  ’Lord,’ I replied, ‘these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ “

Just a WARNING – Verses 10-12 make up one SUPER long sentence. Take a breath and concentrate instead of just skimming over it. I have a problem when reading, and I sometimes skim long/wordy sections. But these words from Paul are powerful. Do what you have to do to “sike” yourself up for it and let’s study some intense text.

Colossians 1:9-14

“9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

In this part of scripture, Paul is telling the people at the church in Collose exactly how he is praying for them. It’s great insight into his heart for the people, but it’s also a great example of what we as Christians can be praying for fellow believers, as well as for ourselves.

Paul begins in verse 9 by telling them that he is praying for their knowledge of God’s will through wisdom and understanding. I think it’s safe to say this should be a mainstay in our daily prayer time. Then, in verses 10-12, Paul explains why he is praying for this knowledge. (These verses make up the long sentence that I warned you about before, so you might want to take this time to go re-read them) His reasoning is so that the people will live lives “worthy of the Lord” and so that they may please the Lord in “every way” Paul is encouraging them to bear fruit in what they do and to grow in the knowledge of God.

(Time to stop and think about our own lives . . . are we accomplishing these things? Living lives worthy of our Lord and pleasing Him? Are we bearing fruit in everything we do, and are we really growing in the knowledge of God?)

Verse 11 is one of my favorites. Have you ever thought about being strengthened with power from God’s glorious might? This isn’t your average “red bull” drink. When’s the last time you prayed for strength with the power from God’s glorious might? Today would be good.

Paul reminds them (and us) in verse 12 to be thankful for God’s saving grace. And he finishes through verse 14 reiterating that God saved us from darkness through His Son, and that in Him we have forgiveness from our sins.

This section from Colossians is a powerful message, and to truly understand all that Paul packs into these few verses, it would take more than a single day’s Bible study. Take some extra time over the next few days and dig into these verses, read them in the context of the entire chapter. Ask for God’s wisdom and understanding. He will supply all that you need.

Think about Jesus; He died for us. He gave up His life for us. Now think about the way we are all living . . . are our lives truly a reflection of our thankfulness to our Lord?

Philippians 4:4-9
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

So we get to the final chapter in Philippians, chapter 4. These concluding exhortations, very like what one finds elsewhere (e.g., 1 Cor 16:13; 2 Cor 13:11; 1 Thess 5:12-24), are tailored to the situation in Philippi. Among other things, they are to rejoice in the Lord, to let their “gentle forbearance” be evident to all (including those who oppose them) and to not be anxious about anything (given the present opposition and suffering), but let prayer and thanksgiving lead them to experience God’s peace.

What if we all took a 30-day challenge to live exactly like Paul is instructing us? The Bible tells us to read God’s Word, and do what it says. What if we started “Doing what It Says” by following Paul’s exhortations. How would our lives be different? What if we didn’t make excuses?

Psalm 103:1-12
“Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Over 10,000 people every day are told that there health condition is terminal. The testimony most common among them is that, “Thing I have taken for granted, like my health, my family, and my friends, have suddenly become all-important to me. Trivialities no longer matter.”

It shouldn’t take a death sentence to make us stop and recognize just how amazingly God has blessed us. Read this Psalm again, then fill our the Bible study guide, and praise God for all of His blessings in your life. (the link to the Bible study guide is below)

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Deuteronomy 6:4
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

Zechariah 14:9
“The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.”

1 Corinthians 8:5-6
“For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth—as there are many “gods” and many “lords”—
yet for us there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things, and we for Him;
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things, and we through Him.”

Ephesians 4:4-6
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.”

When Jesus was asked which of the Ten Commandments was most important, He said, “This is the most important . . . listen Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:29-30)

There is no question about the importance of loving God and ONLY loving God. This may be opposed to the way that some of your friends or family think about how they live their life. But the Bible is very clear about loving only God. The first commandment in Exodus 20 told us not to have any other gods besides the One True God, God that brought the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt, God the Father of Jesus. And the second commandment in Exodus 20 tells us not to make up any idols, but to only worship God, and God alone.

Check out Isaiah 44 verses 6 and 8. “I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but Me.” “You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I do not know any.”

God must be the only focus of our praise and worship.

Psalm 23:1-6
“1 The LORD is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths
for His name’s sake.
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff —they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
as long as I live.”

Here’s a unique exercise with Psalm 23. Read it again, verse by verse, and re-write it in your own words. We’re not re-writing the Bible, but the idea here is to personalize this God-praising hymn and make it specific to our lives. Personalize this psalm by using specific examples of how God is your shepherd. We’ve probaby all heard this Psalm before, but let’s meditate on it’s words and praise God for His blessings in our lives. Don’t just skim over it.

Here are some questions that you may think of to get the ball rolling as you re-write your own personal Psalm 23. What are your green pastures and quiet waters that God has supplied you with? How has He directed your path? What dark valleys has He carried you through?

Have fun!

Related Text:
John 10:11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

James 3:9-12
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

What good are ideals of God’s love and grace if we cannot control our tongues enough to speak respectfully to other human beings? Everyone, from time to time, has trouble with this. We sing praises on Sunday at church, but we’re rude to the person moving too slowly in front of us at the grocery store. (and some of us are rude in that really annoying way – where we say the rude things with a smile on our face so we can deny it later) It’s like we left our patience inside the church doors, and we’ll pick it back up the next time we’re there.

Our contradictory speech is a puzzle. At times, our speech is right and pleasing to God, and at other times it is a violent and destructive force ready to tear down anyone in it’s path. When the Holy Spirit purifies our heart, He gives us self-control. Let’s begin to put that self-control into action. May God convict us when we speak words that are destructive, and may we understand how to show patience, love, and grace with our words (even in line at the grocery store when the person definitely doesn’t have less than 15 items). What we say under our breath might be a better picture of who we really are.

Related Text:
James 1:26
“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”