September 30, 2014
THREE WORDS THAT CHANGE EVERYTHING: GOD IS LOVE
1 John 4:7–21
Amy Lyday
Central Truth
God loves you. You can know He loves you because He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay your sin debt by dying for you. Jesus paid your debt in full, and by believing this, you can have eternal life with Him!
Key Verse | 1 John 4:8–10
. . . God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:8b-10)
1 John 4:7–21
God Is Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 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. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot 1 4:20 Some manuscripts how can he love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Dive Deeper | 1 John 4:7–21
As a child, I was taught the song (as many of us were), "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." I picked out that song on our little upright piano at the age of 5 and played it for every guest who entered our home. I can't believe it's been 35 years since those days at the piano (and yes, I turned 40 this year!). Those memories of Jesus loving me as a child still choke me up.
I trusted Christ to save me at the age of 8. The truth that set me free was, "I am a sinner. Jesus Christ came to save sinners." I confessed my sinfulness to God and asked Jesus to save me. Peace flooded my heart, and it wasn't long before I was telling my childhood friends the good news that Jesus saves. I don't think Satan liked that. Slowly, over many years, Satan distorted the truth I originally believed to be saved.
He lied and said, "If you love God and claim to be a Christian, Amy, you need to be as perfect as possible. Then God will love you."
This, my friends, is not the gospel message. Sadly, I did not recognize Satan's lie for a very long time.
Eventually, this lie of performance caught up with me, and I found myself willfully entangled in a sinful relationship. I was seeking unconditional love and looking for love in the wrong place. On the outside, I was the perfect Christian doing Bible study and mission work, but on the inside I was miserable. I was dishonoring God in my heart.
In a moment that I will never forget, God met me in my misery and led me back to the truth that saved me. His love immediately met me where I was, and He forgave me fully. I confessed to my community of faith, and they walked with me through a biblical journey of healing and restoration.
Three words changed everything for me three years ago: God is love. His love is the greatest gift of all!
Discussion Questions
1. When you read "God is love," are you able to believe that God loves you?
2. Can you earn God's love? Why or why not? Reread 1 John 4:7-11 if you are not sure.
3. Take a moment to think through the ways you fall short of perfection. Do you think those things disqualify you from His love? Yes or no? Read Romans 5:8 if you are not sure.
4. Since God loves you, He only wants what is best for you. Is there any perpetual sin in your life that God has been pricking your heart about?
5. If you are wrestling with a choice you have made that you know does not please God, confess it to Him and receive His forgiveness. Once you have confessed to God, share your struggle with a godly friend who can encourage you in the truth of God's Word.