Seeking for the help of the Lord, I direct your prayer for attention to 1 John chapter 3 and verse 16. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 John 3 And it is specifically the words, the love of God that upon my spirit. And it is the love of God as seen in John's first epistle. The apostle John, when he wrote the gospel according to John, five times refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. It begins in the upper room with him leaning upon the bosom of the Lord, and then from that time on there are those five references. Now of course he is writing about himself, He could phrase it in such words as if I or in that first person, but he doesn't. He describes himself in those terms. And I wonder, how would we describe ourselves if we couldn't use I or me but had to do it in some other way. In John 21, on the shores of the lake, we read there in verse 7, when the Lord was on the land, they were in the ship. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved, saith unto Peter, it is the Lord. Now, he could have written it, therefore, I said unto Peter, it is the Lord. But he doesn't, and he writes it in a way that he's not drawing attention to himself, he's not using his own name, he's not saying that that is himself, and yet we know that that is who it is. He had that assurance. that the Lord loved him. He doesn't say the disciple who loved the Lord Jesus. He says whom Jesus loved. And that's a blessed thing to have that assurance that God does love us. And that is known in several ways. That assurance is known in several ways. And that is why I want to look at it in John's epistle here, because he speaks of that love, not just, or not as a feeling that we might feel for someone and say, well, we love that person, or heart is smitten with love. Yes, love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost. But the love of God is very much a practical love. It is that which is described in Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians and chapter 13, charity, that is set forth as a practical love, that charity never faileth. Faith, hope, those will pass away, but love never will. And in the work of our Lord, and in the result or the effect in God's people, it is always not just a feeling, but a very practical demonstration of love. So on to look with the Lord's help at four, separate texts in this epistle, and our text being of the fourth point. But the first point, what is love? We are told very clearly in 1 John 5 and verses 2 and 3, what love of God is. And then secondly, the love of God manifested in 1 John 4 verse 9. And then thirdly, our text, the love of God perceived. And then lastly, the love of God perfected or completed. But the first one is what is the love of God. And for that, we see in the fifth chapter and read these words, by this, We know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments, for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous. So we have a very clear statement. This is the love of God. And there's three things that are joined together. And we would remember throughout this epistle, and you might have thought as we read, it's almost speaking of perfection of God's people, that those that are in Christ, that they cannot sin. And yet we know that we are sinners, the very first chapter, that if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So, What we have read in chapter 3 is certainly not saying that God's children have no sin and that they have not sinned. But what we do know is the new birth from above is not just a turning over a new leaf of the old nature, it is a perfect and pure nature from above. And so God's children then are able to discern Within them, those two natures. In him, we're told in the first chapter, there is no darkness, but just light. That which comes from above is perfect, is pure, there is no sin, there's no darkness whatsoever. If there's any darkness, any sin, anything of our old nature, that is the old nature, that doesn't come from above. And so there's a very clear distinction of the two. The grace of God, the gift of eternal life, is not just a reforming of an old nature, not turning over a new leaf. It is a new nature, perfect, pure from above. And the author of that is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit then gives eternal life, then there are things that go together. It's not just one thing on its own. And so the definition of love is not just one thing on its own. There are three things that John draws our attention to in the definition of love. And that is love to the children of God, By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous. So the second thing is the love to God. And the third is keeping of His commandments. All of those three things will be intermeshed like they are in these two verses, that when the Lord gives the new birth, will love the children of God, the people of God, will love God, and will keep the commandments of God. All three are joined together. They all come from the same spirit. May we always remember that the definition is that God is love. He is the foundational, fountain of that. In verse eight of chapter four, He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. That is the source of it, that is where it comes from. And so the definition is not a feeling, not a warmth of the heart, or affections in that way, but as said, in other parts of the word here, how can we say that we love God, whom we have not seen, and yet we hate or don't like our brother, whom we have seen? And so the evidence, the bound up with the love of God, is that we love those in whom God's spirit is, whose image is, who worship Him according to the Word. The most solemn example of the opposite way was in the passage we read, where we have Cain and Abel right early on, two brothers, and one has such a hatred to the other. And the hatred is not anything other than concerned with worship, One had the favour of God, one was obeying God, one was walking according to his way, the other one was not. And rather than change, then he slew his brother. Enmity and pride and hatred leading to murder, sin lying at the door. And so, when John would tell what love is, He brings these three things together that are the fruits and effects of the Spirit of God. The second thing I bring before you is the love of God manifested. Now, on this I base on 1 John 4 and verse 9. And this was manifested, the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. Now manifested, it means to render apparent or to appear so that we can actually see it. It's not something that is just said. it's actually seen. A parent might say that they love their children, but in how they deal with them, in feeding them, protecting them, preserving them, that love is actually manifested, is a tangible thing that can actually be seen, and it links between that parent and the one that is receiving the benefits. And so we have the love of God manifested. How is it that God shows that love? How does he make it known? How does he make it appear? And what is set before us here is God sending his only begotten Son. because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. And right through this passage, right through to the end of chapter four, really the whole emphasis is that God loved first. In verse 19, we love him because he first loved us and he is tracing tracing that love up to God and making it manifest, showing it forth. The Lord used a beautiful illustration, as it were, with Abraham when he asked Abraham to offer up his only son Isaac on the altar. And he took him and he went up to the mount that he was told to go to and was to offer him up. My son, God will provide a lamb for a burnt offering. But God stayed his hand at the last moment and told him not to kill Isaac and provided the ram that was caught in the thicket. But Abraham had shown the love that he had to God The Apostle Paul, he speaks that he was justified, not just by faith, but by works, in that he actually went and did as God had said. And we're told in Hebrews that he believed that even if he had of slain him, that God would have raised him from the dead, which in type he did receive him. But then we have in verse 16 of Genesis 22, the angel calling unto Abraham out of heaven and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, And as the sandwich is upon the seashore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, that in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. And Paul, he says that this means not as to seeds as many, but seed which is Christ, that blessing in thy seed in Christ shall all nations be blessed. Now, Lord said that Abraham saw my day and rejoiced at it. And that way that God's love is shown, God commandeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It is the sending forth of the promised seed sending forth of his son. For God so loved the world, and this is John again in his gospel, and we read it straight from the gospel in chapter three of Gospel According to John. It's very interesting, our text, the reference of the The text is 1 John 3.16, and if we then go to John 3.16, then we have, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. that have everlasting life. We have bound up there the gift of God's beloved son as a manifested evidence of the love of God. Now, of course, God does not love every individual in the world, but he loves those of his people He gave himself a ransom for his people, and the sense of why it is set forth is the world, because the gospel is reclaimed in all of the world. We know not who are the people of God. And none is to say, well, this is not then for us. None is to say it was not my nation, or it was not my family, or not my people. None are to rule themselves out of it. Now even Cain that was set before us here, most solemn example, the Lord said to him that if thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted? But if not, sin lieth at the door. The Lord never said to him, Cain, you're of the wicked one. You are lost. You will never be saved. He did not. He set before him the right way, the way of truth, but he walked not in it. And we should always remember that. We should always seek, as the evidence of love here, to walk in the way of God's commandments, and not to listen to the adversary and say, well, you're not one of God's people, therefore it doesn't matter if you go against what God has commanded. You wait until you're called by grace, and then you can obey. But if the Lord has shown us what is right, we are to seek to obey the law, not be a servant of Satan. So God's love manifested how it is actually shown, shown in a very clear, positive way. God made flesh dwelling among us, taking of the seed of Abraham, of body and soul, leaving his father, coming to this world, enduring the contradiction of sinners against himself, having the sins of all his people laid on him, and suffering in their place, enduring the wrath of God, rising again for their justification, redeeming them, putting their sins away, This is the real manifested love of God toward us. Because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. And then throughout this passage emphasizing the love of God comes first. Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us. and sent his son to be the propitiation or wrath-ending sacrifice for our sins. But it's one thing to have the love of God manifested or shown, it's another thing to actually perceive it, and especially personally. And so in the third place is the word actually of our text, in the third chapter, hereby, or in this way, perceive, perceive we the love of God. Now perceiving is coming to realize or understand, becoming aware of the love of God. Many times perhaps in studies, certainly when studying for engineering, when first things were set before me, I couldn't really perceive what they meant or couldn't understand. But after a while, then it slowly dawned as to what actually was meant and what was being taught. It's a very different thing to have something that is set before you as truth, and you might acknowledge it so, but you don't actually understand it, or don't really perceive it. We think of Samuel. It was said, Samuel did not yet know the Lord. And the Lord came and spoke to him. Samuel, Samuel, he went up, and he went to Eli, and he asked Eli, he said, thou callest No, I didn't call. Go down and lie down again. And when the Lord called again, he went to Eli. And then we read that Eli perceived that the Lord had called the lad. He became aware. He realized that this was what was happening. And so he then gave instruction to Samuel to lie down again. And when he called the third time, that then to say, speak Lord for thy servant heareth. And it was in that way that Samuel was to know the Lord. You might say Samuel did not even perceive for himself. He never come to realize for himself. He needed another to guide him. How many of the Lord's people that the Lord has spoken through to, through the ministry, through his ministers or through the word of God, And they may have related what they've heard and have been directed then and said, look, this is the Lord speaking to you through the word. This is not the minister. This is the Lord. That is why it has been so applicable, so timely, so suitable. Why it's been attended with power, not in word only, but in power. That's why it's had the effect, like on the Tudor way to Emmaus, their heart burned within them. That is why when the disciples heard the parables and they didn't understand them, they asked the Lord afterwards what it meant. Because they had life and they had that inquiring and asking, the same as a eunuch did, of whom speaketh the prophet this, of himself or some other man. And a perception, a realization, is so vital. And the way it's set before us here. Hereby perceive we the love of God. How do we perceive it? How do we realize that love of God? And the answer is here, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him. Our Lord spoke of the glory that he had with the Father before the world was. And we have the picture of him laying down that glory. laying down his life in heaven, putting that completely on hold, taking in union with himself, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, sin accepted, and in his case, never to be divested of that, always to have that from that time on, never again to return to exactly as he was, always to be. like unto his brethren. And he's laid down his life there and then laid it down, that life, for us. I had this really shown to me years ago when visiting the late Ron Jealous, that is Paul Jealous' late father, and he was in the William Harvey Hospital And in that time, he'd had hip operation. He had a stroke after that operation. But I felt I really wanted to go and visit him. And I went on a Saturday to drive the 25 miles or so to Ashburn to see him. But I had a lot of things to do here, either services, to prepare and a lot of other things to do. And as I drove on that road, I felt really torn. It was as if I was being pulled back in my mind to all the things that I should do. And then on the other hand, I did want to go and to see him. And I always remember this spot in the road heading out from Pluckley and through to Ashford, where the Lord spoke these words so clearly to me, that even so, we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. And I had such a point. You know, the Lord in that word, he told me that dear Ron was one of the brethren. He had never made profession, but When I went there from then on, how different it was. I could lay down my life, and that is the practical part of it. I was laying down all what I needed to do, or wanted to do, and putting that on complete hold, and going and visiting Him. And it was a real illustration to me of what our Lord did. You know, by nature, we are so selfish. We like to always do something for us. And yes, we might do something for other people, if we've got time, and if there's a hole in our schedule, and we can do it without inconveniencing us. But when we have got a lot to do, and instead of finding a space, we say, no, we're going to lay that down. The case of brethren is more urgent, more pressing. and is needed now, not later. And you have the illustration there, following verse 17. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? And we see how Lord, we think of that word, he that hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none. Our Lord has a righteousness of His own, but He has a righteousness that He wrought out on this earth that He can communicate to His people. They have no righteousness of their own at all. They have no coat without a seam, this garment's woe bequeathed in everlasting love. That is for the people of God. They did not rent His coat. They said, let us cast lots for it. The Robe of Righteousness, this is the name wherewith he shall be called the Lord our Righteousness. And so, it is what the Lord has done. I believe that the early church, they had this spirit, you read in Acts 2, how that they, that believed, they had all things in common. Those that had much, they sold, they gave to those that had little. It's not that we should, when we believe, just sell everything that we've got, but we use the gifts that the Lord has given us to relieve the needs of those that have not. And that was very evident in the early church, holding the world with a loose hand, not being a miser, not filling our bank and filling our shares Everything else in money, while you see the brethren have need, it is actually using it and it springs from love. It's not dragged out. When I was first going to Ashford to see Ron, I was going but not willing, really. It was not without being pulled and dragged back. But as soon as the Lord spoke that to me, I had a real love to him because The Lord had told me, there's one of the brethren, and also so highlighted what he had done for me in laying down his life. And so hereby perceived, this is how we realize or become aware that we love God, that we have the love of God, and the love of God toward us personally. And you know, this word also is speaking of the laying down, if we go back a few verses and have this very clear token in verse 14, John 1, 3, 14, we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. Very clear assurance and knowledge of it. And it's not always, it's not a constant, but sometimes it just wells up. And I may have mentioned it before, it comes to mind as we've been recently up to Clifton for the annual meetings with our churches. So years ago when we used to meet there as ministers for a prayer meeting, and coming back on the M1, Going most unexpectedly, it came upon me. Oh, how I do love the brethren. And the tears of love flowed. I could hardly drive. And it just whirled over me. Such a love to those brethren I'd been with. And we'd had time of prayer together. Now, that's not always felt like that. It's one special, precious time. We love them for Christ's sake. We love because we see Christ's image upon them, something that they might say, something that they might do, something what they say that then strikes a chord with us and what we have experienced and gone through, or that opens up a little bit of the veil and we can see and perceive, just for maybe a few moments, the love of God toward us. what he did, what it cost him in laying down his life for us. And that's a blessed thing, perceiving. You know sometimes we might, and we think of the hymn writer, dream not of faith so clear that shuts all doubtings out. This word perceive, almost it is a gradual dawning or an understanding, rather than a a seeing very clear or seeing in full view, it's a perceiving. You know, David, we read when he became king, we read he perceived that the Lord had established his kingdom to him. No, it wasn't the Lord saying, I've established your kingdom. No, he noticed men were given him, they were obedient, the tribes came to him. He saw providence, working with it and establishing his kingdom. So he perceived this. And that was a great comfort, great blessing to him, as good as if the Lord had said, I've established your kingdom. He perceived it so. It may be with you here that you are able to perceive the love of God. Perceive it by what he has taught you, what he has shown you. The word, how you've heard the word, where that word has been precious, where you've seen little glimpses of the Lord and his work. and of his coming to this world and his sufferings. You know, Manoah and his wife, when they'd had the angel and ascend up in the flame, Manoah thought they'd die because they'd seen God. But his wife said, no, no we won't. Why would he have received a sacrifice at our hands? Why would he have shown us such things as these, and told us such things as these, if he was pleased to kill us? Now the Lord hadn't said to her directly, you are not to die, though you have seen an angel of God. But she takes these things, these tokens, these evidences, and she perceives, rightly so, that God's intentions toward her and her husband They're not for evil, they're for good, and they're for blessing. And it's a blessed thing to come to assurance, come to perceive the love of God to us personally through this way. And so the love of God perceived is a very important aspect. Or the last one is the love of God perfected. Now, what is meant by perfection? Of course, we are used to it as meaning something that is perfect, without a flaw or anything in it. Well, of course, all what God does is perfect like that. There is nothing that is imperfect in it at all. In 1 John chapter 2 and verse 5, But whoso keepeth his word, In Him, verily, is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him. It's very definite, isn't it? Hereby, in this way, we know that we are in Him. We know that we are in Christ. We spoke before about love being a practical thing. a thing that is actually evidenced in works. Our Lord spoke of one or two that were told to go work in his vineyard. And one said, I go, Lord, but he went not. And the other said, I go not, but afterwards he repented and went. And our Lord said, who did the will of God? And they said, the one that repented and went. It's not enough just to say and not do. The Lord says, be you doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. He told the parable of the house built upon the rock and built on the sand and the whole difference was the difference between one that heard and was a doer one that heard and was not a doer, the fruits of the love of God will be shown. And so there are three things that bring us to a completion, or the aim of God when He sets His love upon a sinner, when He calls that sinner by grace, manifests His love to them, and they perceive His love to them, And that is perfected by our keeping his word, by knowing we are in him, that is by assurance we are his, and by walking as he walked. Because verse five, he that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. That is a true disciple. John says the disciple whom Jesus loved, the follower whom Jesus loved, walking after the Lord, obeying the Lord, walking in love, and having that assurance that we are in Him. This is how that love is perfected. Really, whenever the Lord sets His love upon His children, His aim is that they know that they are his children. He always has known they are, but he will convey it to them. And they have that knowledge by the spirit that he gives them and the fruit and effect of it in their lives. And so here, John, and we've only just touched on these four points, but right through this epistle, first in one way, then in another way, He is setting before us what is the love of God. And may we truly know that we do know something of the love of God ourselves. A scriptural way of the love of God. Not just a vague man-centred, man's ideas, but in the words of scripture, what the Lord has said. God will look like. Remember the beginning verse of the chapter we read, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. The love of God, very distinct love that it is, and that is what is described here. What is the love of God, how it is manifested, how it is perceived, and how it is perfected, completed. May the Lord bless His Word to us. Amen.