Galatians 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? On Propitiation, see 1John 2:2; 1John 3:16. (18) There is no fear.--The more perfect this disposition of serene sympathy becomes, the less share can any form of anxiety have in it. (9) In this was manifested.--St. 1Jo 4:7 Let us love one another. John has just spent six verses warning us (4:1), “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” He did not say, “Let’s just set aside those points of doctrine where we disagree and come together where we do agree, loving those who differ on these matters.” Because these men denied essential truth about Jesus Christ, John calls them false prophets, whose teaching is the spirit of antichrist. In this case, however, it is a huge deal! Only begotten.--In contrast to us, His adopted sons. His love didn’t just brush aside our sin, because His holiness and justice would have been compromised. ... 1. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole. They spread malicious gossip with great delight, and they are defensive if you try to point out any of these sins to them. John says, “Beloved, if God so loved you, you also ought to love that difficult mate.” There may be people in this church whom you do not like. This chapter relates the journey of the Lord and his disciples through Samaria (John 4:1-5), recounts the interview with the woman at the well (John 4:6-26), gives the conversation with the disciples upon their return (John 4:27-38), sums up the results of Christ's teaching in Samaria (John 4:38-42), narrates the continuation to Galilee, and records the performance of the second of the seven great signs (John 4:46-54). ... Scripture: 1 Peter 4:7–9. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Real knowledge of God has a convincing practical effect; without such an effect it is not knowledge, but a mere mental deception. Many passages in both the Old and New Testaments affirm this aspect of His love (Deut. No book related resources for this page. Footnotes. “Propitiation” means to satisfy God’s justice and wrath toward our sin. 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 1 John 1:1-4. These loving deeds stem from God’s common grace. He tells us why we must love one another: We must love one another because God is love and He showed it by sending His Son as the propitiation for our sins. God is the source and the definition of love. For example, to say that God’s love is unconditional is true if you are referring to His elective love, but it is not true with regard to His disciplining love of His people. (7 c,) (11) Beloved.--An impulse moves St. John's mind corresponding to that in 1John 4:7. 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. …. 1.The great wisdom of the Lord Jesus in leading the thoughts along to the subject of practical personal religion. Why did He come? 1 John 4:9, ESV: "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." Thankfully, most of us will never have to go through that kind of ordeal! Let’s move on to something else.” But John not only repeats the imperative to love one another in 4:7-5:4, but also he hits it longer and harder than at any other point in the book. He will go on to show how love for one another is evidence of God’s abiding in us and our abiding in Him (4:12-16). Implicit in what John is saying here is that we must love those who may not be especially lovable or easy to love. He is the only source of love in the world. Here he arrives at the very central position of all: that as God is Love itself, so he that allows nothing to trouble that atmosphere of pure love (here neither specially towards God or man) which God would enable him to breathe, if his own wilfulness did not turn him away from it, will be bathed in the light of God, animated with His life, and one with Him. But before the sentence could be carried out, the Christian father pleaded for the life of this Communist who had killed his son. For example, to embrace so-called “evangelical feminism,” which argues that there are no gender distinctions in the church, has significant implications both for the church and the home. John is not portraying a superman, some kind of super-hero, but a fully human man in whom the Spirit and Presence of God dwell fully. Their teaching and their behavior simply promoted self, not Christ. (f)The fearlessness which is the result of perfect love (1John 4:17-18). But he also heard Jesus pray, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). - Beloved (see on verse 1) The address is specially suitable where the subject is love. Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular. John echoes his beloved Lord (from John 3:16). Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2006, All Rights Reserved. We also need to think biblically about the statement, “God is love.” On the surface, it sounds simple, but when you begin to consider all that Scripture teaches on this, it gets rather difficult. John’s point here seems to be that we, as God’s born again children, are Exhibit A of His great love that sent His only begotten Son to this wicked world. 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