We're going to be focusing actually on verses seven through nine of this chapter, but I believe to get the flow of the chapter, it is best if we read a few verses beyond there. So I'm going to begin reading in 1 John chapter four with verse seven, and I'll read through the end of the chapter. 1 John four, verse seven. Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God towards us because he sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Here in his love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us his spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father hath set the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believe the love that God hath to us. God is love, and in him, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love. But perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God and hate his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? In this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his brother also. Let us bow for prayer as we begin this morning. Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank you that the book before us this morning is not the word of man. It is not a book after man's wisdom. It is not a book of man's thoughts and ideas, but rather it is the inspired word of God. It is God breathed. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. So fathers, we come to gather here this morning as a body of people who call upon thee, who believe in thee, and who believe ourselves to be your own elect. We come acknowledging that man has nothing that is beneficial to the heart of man. but the Word of God is profitable in all. And so, Father, we pray that as we gather this morning and as we open your Word, we plead that the Holy Spirit would speak to our hearts and direct our thoughts, that you would guide us into all truth, that you would show us the way of Christ in the Word of God. And, Father, may we, your people, be fed and edified with thy truth and with thy truth alone this day. And, Father, we pray this now in Jesus' name, amen. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. John here returns to this theme of love, and we saw in our introduction to this book back in October of last year that this word, love or loveth, is found 46 times in the five chapters of this book. It is packed in there. We found also that the term brother or brethren, brother is found 13 times and brethren four times. And so it's a pervasive theme throughout the book, love the brethren. But this idea of love that John has given us by divine inspiration is not confined just to the book of 1 John. In the gospel of John, we find love 39 times. In the book of Revelation, also written by the human author, inspired by God, but God inspired John in Revelation to refer to love six times, and an additional six times we find love in 2 John and 3 John put together. And of course, when we think of the Gospel of John, we think of God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And so this theme of love is woven through all the writings of John, and it makes sense. The word of God always makes sense, doesn't it? Because what is the name by which we know John? John the Beloved. Why was John so focused on this issue of love? He knew what love was. How does a child learn to love? By experience. A loving parent will have a loving child. because the child in receiving that love will learn themselves how to love in return, how to express that love. John was the beloved disciple. It makes sense that love is so pervasive in all of the writings of John inspired by God. And so we come to this verse 7 of chapter 4, and we find that first word, beloved. And again, referring back to our introduction, there are five times in this book of 1 John that John uses this address, beloved. In chapter three, verse two, beloved, now are we the sons of God. Chapter three, verse 21, beloved, if our heart condemn us, then have we confidence toward God. Four, one, our text for today, our chapter for today, beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be of God. That's what we looked at, I guess, four weeks ago or three weeks ago. Then our verse for today, 4.7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And then also in this same chapter, 4.11, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. Now we said that we learn love by experience. We've experienced the love of God. John was the beloved disciple. Here John is expressing his love for the people of God. and he calls them his beloved. You see, John had learned what true love was from Jesus Christ. And John was a disciple of Jesus Christ and a servant of Jesus Christ and a follower of Jesus Christ and a student of Jesus Christ. He was a Christian. And so it's natural that that term beloved be used, that that love flow out from him. Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Let's take the verse apart and consider its various pieces. First of all, beloved, love one another for love is of God. God is the source of love. He created it. He's the one that made it. God created love. And when God created all things in the beginning, what did he say about them? It is good. God created love good. He created it perfect. He created it right. Today, the concept of love is totally defiled. What the world calls love is lust. What the world calls love is abomination. What the world says, oh, I can love whoever I want to love. You see, man corrupts everything he touches. And when man fell in the Garden of Eden, when we fell in our father Adam, the capacity for pure, unadulterated, unpolluted love was destroyed within man. Beloved, let us. You see a pronoun there? Let us. Who is the us there? It's talking about the beloved. It's talking about those that are in Christ. It's talking about the believers. Beloved, let us love one another because we know the source of love. We know the creator of love. God created love very good. The love that God created was distinct from lust. When God created all things, he created man, man and woman, male and female. And if you look there at Genesis, God created them, male and female created them. In the next verse it says, go be fruitful and multiply. There were no transgenders in the Garden of Eden. When Noah took the animals onto the ark, God distinctly told him, take the male and his female. Why? Because the purpose was reproduction. There were no transgenders on the ark. Man corrupts everything he touches. But the children of God are to be separate from the corruption? We're to be separate from the world and we are to love one another because love is of God. And so God is the creator of love, but not only did God create love itself, God created the very concept of love. Show me what love is. I mean, it is an emotion. It's not something we can, okay, here's love, we'll set it right here. It's an abstract. It's not something that we can lay our hands on. We can demonstrate it. God made the very concept. And the concept of love that God created was the concept of sacrifice. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Why is that? Because Jesus Christ, we read, was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. You see, when God created the very thought of love, the thought in the heart and mind of God was the very redemption of His people. And that tells us a little bit about love, doesn't it? You want to define love, Love in its basic definition is sacrifice. Because that's the concept that God created. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And so God, before the foundation of the world, ordained that His Son, and right there at the fall we find the promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. Beloved, let us love one another because God is love. Love is of God. He's the one that formulated the very idea of love. But also, we find that when God created man, he created man with the capacity to love. God is love. He originated love, and he put within man the capacity for love. Now we've already said that man in the fall lost that, that in the fall it was corrupted within man, but God made man in his own image. God made man as a creature who could love. Now, I'm sure many of you would say my cat loves me, or my dog loves me. I won't try to tell you that Spot, my python, loves me because Spot has no emotions whatsoever. And my son has a turtle that is totally without emotions as well. It is very true that the cat runs to the door when you walk in and the dog greets you. Dogs and cats and other animals, many have within them the ability to show instinctual affections. and often it's just related to the fact that you're the food source, right? But an animal does not have the capacity to love in the way a human being does. The animal cannot love and serve its creature. It obeys. The rooster obeyed and crowed on command. The donkey spoke. But the animal kingdom does not have that capacity to love God because they do not have a soul, they do not have within them the awareness that there is a God to whom they're responsible. But beloved, let us, who have a soul, and not only have a soul, but have a soul that's been awakened from the dead by salvation in Jesus Christ. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. It is because that we have within us the capacity to love as regenerated creatures, regenerated beings, that we can truly serve God. You see, the lust of man serves man. The unbeliever cannot love God or man. All he knows is lust. And not to get way down a sidetrack, but young people, don't marry an unbeliever. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Doesn't matter how many times he says, I love you, he's lying. because an unbeliever cannot truly love in the way that God ordained love. But then the verse goes on. First of all, beloved, let us love one another for love is of God. Secondly, beloved, let us love one another for everyone that loveth is born of God. Those that truly have the divine given capacity for love, they're born of God. And that's the evidence, because they are born of God. Those who truly are born of God have been made again in His likeness. We are Christians. We are being day by day conformed to the image of Christ. Therefore, we have restored within us the capacity for true love. Beloved, let us love one another. For everyone that loveth knoweth God. Think about that one. The unbeliever does not know God. He does not know what love is. He does not know the truth. But the one who truly loveth knoweth God. In Ephesians chapter three, Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers, and I'll start reading in verse 17 of Ephesians three, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and heighth, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. See what Paul there is praying for these Ephesian believers, that they might be able to comprehend with the saints, that they might have the knowledge that the saints may have, and that knowledge is founded and rooted and grounded in love. that she might be rooted and grounded in love and be able to comprehend the height, the depth, the breadth, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that love that is beyond all loves. And brethren, that's what John knew. John, the beloved disciple, he knew that overwhelming, all-encompassing love of God, that love that is totally separated from anything in the world. That is the love of God which is within the heart of the believer. Beloved, let us love one another. And you see, when that true love of God comes and rests within the heart of the believer and brings that uniting force within the believer, that alone is the means by which we can love our enemies. You see, to love the enemy is not a natural thing at all. It's opposed to our nature. We want to destroy our enemies. But we find we're to love our enemies. How is that possible? It is only possible when this love of God is within the heart of the believer. Now, God will destroy our enemies. God will take care of them. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. But we as the children of God, dwelling in the love of God, the recipients of the love of God, and experiencing the love of God, and knowing the love of God, we're to love our enemies. But if we're to love our enemies, how much more are we to love the beloved? Brethren, let us love one another. Love is of God, and everyone that loveth knoweth God and is born of God. But then look at verse 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God. That's a sobering statement, isn't it? We've talked about the fact that we have been brought into this great love of God and we've experienced this love of God, but if you do not know the love of God, you do not know God. It's a pretty cut and dried statement. There's no gray area here. He that loveth not knoweth not God. And we need to connect verse nine there to it. For he that knoweth not God, or loveth not, knoweth not God, in this was manifested the love of God towards us, because he sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. You see the connection there. If you don't know the Son that was sent into the world, it's natural that you don't love. Because you're yet in darkness. Because you're yet in your sins. And remember we said that the unbeliever cannot love. The dead in trespasses and sin have not the capacity for true love. And turn back with me to 1 John 2. Back in October, we looked at 1 John 2, and I said at the time that we'd come back later on to verses 9 through 11 and consider them a little bit more in depth. But in 1 John 2, in verse 9, He that saith, and that word saith there is a very important word, he that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. He that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes. And this theme of the dichotomy between light and darkness is another one of the sub-themes that flows throughout all this book. Flip back one more page to chapter one of 1 John. And there, verses 5 and 6, this is the message that we have heard of him and declare unto you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. And so you see the connection here, that he that says he is in the light and hates his brother, he's in darkness. And the ones that are in darkness lie and do not the truth. And so, verses eight and nine of chapter four perfectly fit the puzzle. The peace falls right into place. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. And it's impossible, as we go through scripture, to separate the concept of true love and the concept of forgiveness. Because remember, when God created the very idea of love all the way back at the foundation of the world, his purpose was the forgiveness of sins. It was the redemption of his people. Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. His purpose, his design was that of sacrificial forgiveness. He would send a substitute. In 1 Peter chapter four, verse eight, Peter said, and above all things have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover a multitude of sins. Think about that verse. Charity shall cover a multitude of sins. Ah, the great love of God covered my mountain of sins. The great love of God, that great charity of God towards me covered the multitude of my sins. And charity among the people of God, the love of the brother, it covers a multitude of sins. It forgives it. It passes by it. It covers it. It buries it. My sins are removed as far as the east is from the west. And so, any strife among brethren should be moved just as far away by that same love. It covers a multitude of sins. And we read this morning in our response of reading there in Matthew 18 about the servant who owed 10,000 talents, and his master calls him and he says, I don't have it, but give me time. Be patient. I know I owe the debt. I'll pay it. I'll pay it all. And the master forgives him. That same servant goes out and finds a fellow servant that owes him one pence, I believe it says. It's basically the equivalent of a Roman penny, not a huge sum. And he takes him by the throat and says, pay me every bit. And he's cast in the jail. And the master says, you're a wicked servant. I forgave you much. You would not forgive little. God has forgiven me so much. How can I not forgive those that trespass against me? And again, remember when Christ was sitting in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and a wicked woman of the city, we don't know what her sin was. Some people believe she was the town prostitute, but Scripture does not give us that. It just says she was a wicked woman. She was a woman of the city. And she comes up to Christ weeping, and she has an alabaster box of ointment, and she washes his feet with her tears, and she dries them with her hair, and she anoints his feet with this precious ointment, and she kisses his feet. And the Pharisee's horrified. If he truly were a prophet, he would know that this is a wicked woman. But Christ says, those that are forgiven much Finish the verse for me. Love much. Ah, you see this concept of love and forgiveness are wound together throughout Scripture. And so, God has forgiven us so much. My trespasses against him are so great and he has forgiven them all. And so, as we love one another, we forgive the trespasses of our brother. Coming back to verse nine, and this was manifested, the love of God towards us. You know, it's one thing to say you love someone, it's another thing to show it. You know, the old saying, talk is cheap. When I was in Jamaica many years ago, one of the popular Reggae, ska, soca songs. Not that I listened to them, but we rode public transportation and it was always playing on the buses and there were little discos and saloons all around our mission and so it played literally 24 hours a day a lot of the time. But one of the songs that was real popular said something to the effect that I want you for my beauty queen. And I told the young ladies in our youth group, I said, you know what, they crown a new beauty queen every year. And last year's beauty queen isn't worth much anymore. So any guy that says he wants you for his beauty queen, run. Run. But again, that's the concept of love that the world has, that it's just some emotion, just some affection that, oh, I love you so much, and tomorrow I don't love you anymore, because I don't like what you did, or what you said, or the way you look, or what's changed about you, or whatever. I don't love you anymore. You see, if you don't love me anymore, you never loved me in the first place. But here we find the love of God was manifested unto us. It was demonstrated. It was proven. It was established. Because He sent His only begotten Son into the world. And why did He send Him? To die that we might live through. Ah, what a glorious proof of love, that self-sacrificing love that God gave His only begotten Son that we might be forgiven. And so, herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Here is the ultimate demonstration of love For greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Ah, dear one here today, do you know love? Do you know what love is? Have you experienced the love of God? Has the love of God grabbed a hold of your heart and thrilled your soul? You know, when someone loves you, you know it. And it's so popular today to say God loves everybody. But that's not what the Word of God says. God's Word says that He's angry with the wicked every day. Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. You want a really loving phrase from Scripture? Here's one. Year of your father the devil and the lust of your father you will do. He was a liar from the beginning and the father of it. That's a pretty loving statement, isn't it? But we read here, in this was manifested the love of God toward us. And I love these pronouns. Because it's a great big funnel that flows down to the people of God. In this was manifested the love of God toward us. Because God sent his only begotten son into the world. And so here in his love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us. Now I said of your pet a while ago, that part of the reason your pet runs to the door is because it knows it's time to eat. It's feeding time. You see, our animals, our pets, will show us emotion, and they can be very affectionate, and we enjoy that. I think a lot of us, the reason we have pets is because they show us that affection. But here, we find true love towards us because God sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. This is the true manifestation of love. It is a demonstration of the ultimate love. Greater love hath no man than this, that man lay down his life for his friends. your pet probably will not die for you. Now I know that there are sometimes service animals and dogs that will instinctively protect their caregivers. But it's a different thing. It's a totally different concept. This is the ultimate demonstration of love. There's no comparison to anything on earth to this. He manifests his love towards us. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us. We love Him because He first loved us. You see, I love God, but the abortionist hates God. Oh, he may not admit it, but he does. The homosexuals, they hate God. They spit in the face of God. The so-called atheists, they despise God. They want to remove his name from our speech. They want to remove his word from our presence. They want nothing to do with him. They despise God. Why do you love God? What is so good about you that's better than them? It is simply that he loved me. We love him because he first loved us. If he loved me, back to verse seven. Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God. It came from him. And everyone that knoweth God, or loveth, knoweth God, it comes from him. but also we find here in this verse that God sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. And we talked about that word propitiation before. It basically means a covering. It is the covering for our sins. It is the appeasement of our sins. And though it's not the exact same word, etymol, I can't say it. Word origins. This word propitiation is linked to the word mercy seat. The mercy seat was the covering of the ark. It was the top of the ark. He is the payment, the appeasement, the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. No man has seen God at any time, we read in John 1, verse 18. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him unto us. Drop down with me to verse 20. If a man say, I love God and hate his brother, he's a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? Okay, no man has seen God at any time. We touched on this briefly, I believe in Sunday school this morning, that we have not seen God physically and yet we see him by faith in the word. If we don't love our brother who we have seen, then how can we claim to love God whom we have not seen? You notice there again in verse 20 that fourth word, if any man say, and remember when we were back in chapter 2 a few moments ago, he that saith. You see men make proclamations but truth is found in God. And so verse 19, we love him because he first loved us. In his first love, he elected us to be his own. In his first love, he ordained our redemption before the foundation of the world. In the first love of God, he sent his only begotten son to die for our sins. In his first loving us, he convicted us of our sins when we had no thought of him. In his first loving of us, he drew us to himself and made us willing in the day of his power. In his first loving, he granted to us repentance. In his first loving, he gave us the gift of faith that we might believe. And in his first love, he has made us his own children. We love him because he first loved us. And so, beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God. You know how different our churches would be if the children of God always loved one another. But you know what our churches are filled with? Redeemed sinners. Redeemed people who day by day are being conformed to the image of Christ, but none of us have gotten there yet. We all offend one another. We all do foolish things. We all stumble sometimes. Our own flesh gets in the way of that which the Spirit of God would do in our hearts. How many of you ever threw away the baby because of a dirty diaper? No, no. How many of you ever, how many of you ever changed the diaper and thought, you know what, that's the last one? Potty training's done, I see some smiles on some faces. Oh, it's a glorious day in our families when we say, you know what, that was the last diaper. You know what, in the church the last diaper won't happen, and I don't mean to be crude, but the last diaper won't happen until we're in heaven. We're gonna keep on offending one another and making mistakes and messing up and having to apologize and apologize again and then apologize 70 times seven like we saw there in Matthew 18. But beloved, let us love one another for love is of God and everyone that loveth knoweth God and is born of God. Let us stand for prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we love you because you first loved us. And we thank you that you love us with a perfect love. And yet, Lord, our love is not yet made perfect because we still are stumbling, we still live in these bodies of flesh. Lord, help us to love one another. Help us to grow in that love. Help us, Lord, to grow in the knowledge of Thee, and as we grow in the knowledge of Thee, we will grow in the knowledge of love. We'll grow in our love for one another. Lord, we thank you that the Apostle John, who you used to write this book, learned love from the Master. He was the beloved disciple. Lord, the more love we learn from Thee, the more love we'll have for one another. Father, we thank you for this congregation. We thank you for the love that we share. Lord, we thank you that you are still working among us and still in the process of purifying yourself a glorious church without spot and without wrinkle. Lord, we pray that you would continue that work in us until Jesus comes. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.