9/7/25 “To Know Him is to Love Them”
“To Know Him is to Love Them”
1 John 4:7-21
Does anyone remember from English class (or maybe it was called ‘Grammar Class’ for those of you a certain age) ….something called “Conditional Statements”?
Conditional Statements are proclamations that assert a condition (or hypotheses) that – if met – will result in a certain conclusion or outcome.
Another way to describe these proclamations are to call them “If/Then” statements.
Our English teacher would say that the word “If” is the antecedent…while the word “Then” is the consequent.
For example, a mathematician would say “If two lines are parallel, then they are lines that will never meet.
Or…a chef might say “If we add sugar, then the dish will taste sweeter.”
We can put almost anything from our daily lives into a conditional statement:
“If I gas up at Kwik Trip, then my tank will be full”
“If you press the brake pedal, then the car will stop”
“If I fix the sink, then it will no longer leak”
“If I go to Culver’s, then I will be happy”
Think of all the Conditional statements that have become famous from movies:
“If you build it, he will come”….from ‘Field of Dreams’
“If we work together, we survive”….from ‘Gladiator’
“If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything”…from ‘Back to the Future’
Conditional statements tend to stick with us…probably because they are so matter-of-fact…
…they are very decisive….very, definitive.
In our passage for today, we see John uses three conditional (If/Then) statements….
All with an ‘if’ to begin the sentence, and an understood ‘then’ to begin the consequent – even though the word ‘then’ isn’t part of the original text….
…all of these conditional statements set a definitive tone for the overall theme of this chapter.
Verse 12 (1 John 4:12) reads “If we love one another, (Then) God lives in us and His love is made complete in us”
Verse 15 (1 John 4:15) states “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, (Then) God lives in him and he in God.”
And finally, Verse 20 (1 John 4:20) says “If anyone says, ‘I love God’, yet hates his brother, (Then) he is a liar.”
These proclamations are all very memorable….
….not only because they are convicting…
But also because they are so straight-forward and matter-of-fact.
…there is absolutely no ambiguity as to what the Holy Spirit is conveying through the pen of the elderly apostle in these conditional statements.
While verse 15 speaks to the truth of Jesus’ identity - something we covered in detail last week…
…verses 12 and 20 both lay out the simple truth that having genuine love for others (Agape, selfless love) points to the reality that the Holy Spirit resides in that person’s heart.
Or, to put it another way,
To know Him (God)…is to love Them (Others)
If we are indeed children of God (Who – in His essence – is love) then we will continually be reflecting the love of God to others….
….especially to those within the household of faith…
…those souls who we will be spending all eternity with in heaven.
Let’s begin looking at today’s passage in verses 7 & 8 (1 John 4:7)
John is telling his readers that since God is pure love, those who partake in His nature (Born again believers) will also be characterized by selfless acts of love toward others…
…now, what John is not saying here is that everyone who conveys love is a born-again believer.
…it is possible for unbelievers to engage in acts of love toward others.
Perhaps you grew up in a home where your mom and dad were not Christ-followers…yet you still felt a certain degree of love there…
The act of occasionally displaying selfless affection toward another person doesn’t always make one a child of God…
However…A true child of God will always convey selfless love to others.
Remember those Venn diagrams in school?
Basically, they are circles drawn on a piece of paper that merge into each other….showing how two or more things are related.
(Show Venn Diagram Picture)
Well…these verses are like Venn diagrams comparing the act of selfless love with that of believers and unbelievers.
For instance, if we began with a circle labeled agape love, and then added to the picture a circle representing non-believers, the circles would be mostly separate – with just a sliver of each merging into each other…
…this sliver of commonality would represent those individuals who don’t know Jesus, yet because of an extra sensitive conscience…or guilt…or by some other motive…are moved to consistently help others in a selfless manner.
However, In my 53 years of being on this earth, I’m convinced that this commonality is a pretty small percentage of people.
On the other hand, if we had a Venn diagram comparing selfless love with all genuine believers…any idea what our circles should look like?
Yeah…they’ll be right on top of each other – with no part of either circle outside of the other…they would be indistinguishable from each other…
…The picture would look like just one circle.
This would represent the truth that John speaks of here in verses 7&8 – namely that ALL genuine believers will display – reflect – convey – administer (whatever word you want to use) ….selfless, agape, godly love to others – consistently.
Right now some of you are undoubtedly thinking….But…pastor Andy…I don’t always feel like loving others every single moment of the day…right?
…I don’t even feel like loving members of my own family some days!
Well…you know what? You’re not alone.
This is called the human condition…none of us exemplify the perfect, selfless love of God ALL the time every single day.
But – like almost every other facet of what defines obedient faith – those moments of “unlovingness” will be far and few between for the follower of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit – who resides within your heart – will not allow you to remain unloving for any length of time…it just won’t happen.
As a redeemed child of God…your default mechanism of love will be that of a godly, selfless love…rather than a selfish, worldly love.
Verse 12 (1 John 4:12) describes this when it says, “…If we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.”
There really is a difference between a selfless kind of love, and a selfish brand of love.
For instance, we were watching a romantic movie the other day – and when I say ‘we’…I of course mean ‘Lisa’ was watching a romantic movie…
I was doing something on my laptop…giving the movie, like, 15% of my brain’s attention..
…but I remember at one point in the movie one of the characters said to the other “I love you – and I need you”
That sounds so beautiful, doesn’t it?....maybe you’ve even said those words to your spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend.
But think about what those words are actually conveying…the ‘I love you part’ is all fine and dandy…
but the ‘I need you’ part…really – if you think about it – does not reflect a selfless, agape love.
Instead, it reflects a heart that is primarily concerned about its own well-being…rather than the complete well-being of the other person.
It sounds nice at the end of a Hallmark movie after the leading lady finally ditches her mean, big-city fiancé for an old high school acquaintance who wears a lot of plaid, and now owns a Christmas tree farm…who’s been patiently waiting all these years for her to come back to town…and, of course, she does…just in time to join forces with him to save the local children’s clinic from being bulldozed by some evil, out of town investor.
….ladies, did I get that right?...that’s like the plot to every Hallmark movie, right?
Anyway, getting back to our statement about needing someone else…
What is actually being said when someone proclaims “I love you and I need you”…is actually more like “I love you for what I can get out of this relationship…
rather than…I love you for what I can do for you that will result in your best interest and well-being within this relationship.
Just for fun…the next time you’re at the department store, head over to the greeting card section and take a look at the anniversary cards that are written from the perspective of one spouse to the other…
Take note of the high percentage of cards that refer more to the person giving the card than the person receiving the card.
I never really picked up on this until last year when I was looking for an anniversary card to give Lisa…
So many of the cards were like…”You make me so happy”…or “I would be lost without you in my life”…or “I just can’t believe that you are my wife”…
If you think about it…these are all really selfish sentiments.
When’s the last time you saw an anniversary card that only referenced the receiver of the card?...and perhaps their relationship to Jesus.
…something like “You are kind, considerate, and loving…please know that you are loved”…or “Because you are made in God’s image, you are an amazing person”…or…”You are an incredibly loving person because you reflect the love of Jesus in your life.”
In loving others biblically, let’s try to keep the focus away from ourselves…and onto the other person…this reveals a heart full of selfless, agape love.
I love how verses 9&10 (1 John 4:9-10) remind us that the ultimate, infinite expression of selfless love was displayed through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
The weight of verse 10 becomes that much more vivid when we consider the idea behind what John is saying when he talks about the atoning sacrifice for sin…
…many translations use the word ‘Propitiation’ for our sin.
I like that word because it carries with it the idea of covering…or diverting wrath away from others…
In the case of all of those who are ‘In Christ’, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross diverted God’s wrath against sin away from us – and onto him.
And – in that great mysterious transaction at the cross – the righteousness of Christ is imputed to all who genuinely believe upon His name.
…so when the Father looks at you…He no longer sees a sin-stained creature of depravity…rather…He sees His Son!
Brothers and Sisters…that’s the eternal beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Amen?
This means that we can have confidence in our salvation – both in this world – and when we someday stand before God the Father (or kneel…or simply fall on our face…however our posture will play out)
John refers to this assurance of salvation in verse 17 (1 John 4:17) when he says “In this way (speaking of one’s relationship with Christ) love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment…”
The apostle Paul also refers to this confidence that believers can have in his letter to the church in Ephesus “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:12)
What joy should permeate the believer’s heart in knowing that he/she can boldly go before the Father – and that there is absolutely nothing to fear.
He is our Father – our ‘Abba’ – which, in the original language, literally means ‘Daddy’
Think about the times when your child or grandchild would come and sit upon your lap…what love saturates those memories, right?
you knew they weren’t perfect little people…yet you had nothing but love in your heart for them…
This is how God relates to His children…yet with an even greater, perfect love than what we can experience here on earth.
Sadly, many Christians live with a kind of uncertainty about their salvation…
they feel as if they haven’t been a good enough person….or they just haven’t ‘done enough’ good things for the Lord…
Folks, this is missing the point of what Jesus did on the cross.
He took on ALL of your sins – every single sin that you have ever, or will ever, commit.
And in one of Jesus’ final statements while dying on the cross, he said ‘It is finished’
Do we understand what that means…? It means that He did the work that needed to be done in order for each and every one of us to inherit eternal life.
In fact, there is nothing that you could ever do to work your way to Heaven…Jesus was the only person who could accomplish the work of salvation…and – praise God – He did it! Amen?
So – yes – if you talk to someone who believes they haven’t done enough ‘good things’ in their life to inherit salvation, They’re right!...they haven’t…But their Savior has!
This is why we can come before God the Father with confidence…
It’s not confidence in anything we’ve done or accomplished…but what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf.
In fact, did you know that when you appear before God someday, He won’t bring up 1 single sin that you’ve ever committed…
Because if He were to bring up just one sin, it would mean that Christ’s sacrifice was not enough.
…But Jesus himself said that it was enough…it was finished…completed
Psalm 103:11-12 says “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.”
Verse 18 of our passage for today (1 John 4:18) elaborates on this theme when John says that “There is no fear in love” and that “Perfect love drives out fear”…
John is still referring to coming before God at the judgment seat of Christ.
As a believer, did you know that when you appear before God, your eternal destiny will not be in the balance…
Brothers and Sisters, Your eternal destiny was secured forever on the day you gave your life to Christ.
The judgment for believers is one that will involve rewards in heaven…not IF you will be welcomed in.
The bible says nothing about St. Peter at the pearly gates sitting at an office desk looking over your resume and making a decision as to your worthiness to enter into glory…
That’s a ridiculous – and frankly, heretical – image of judgement.
First of all, Peter was just a human being like you and I – he would have no authority to decide your eternal destiny…
This is not what Matthew 16:19 is referring to when Jesus tells Peter that he will give him the ‘Keys to the Kingdom’….that’s where this image of Peter at the entrance of heaven originally came from.
And second of all, if entering heaven depended upon our ‘good works’ none of us would ever get in…
Again, it’s not we have done, it’s what Christ has done for us.
Lastly, John gives us that last If/Then Conditional statement in verse 20 (1 John 4:20) “If anyone says ‘I love God’, yet hates his brother, (Then) he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”
John is plainly stating here that it is simply absurd (And hypocritical) to claim to love God…yet refrain from actively loving his brother or sister in the faith….i.e. God’s people.
This is what the Pharisees and Sadducees were guilty of…they claimed to love God, yet their hearts were filled with the toxins of apathy, indifference, and hate toward the people of God….
This unloving attitude revealed that many of them were not genuine people of faith.
John is saying that no one who has been born again will ever withhold love from others within the church…it simply cannot happen.
Love is an essential component in defining a follower of Jesus.
A love-less Christian would be like a stripe-less zebra…or a wing-less airplane…or a sail-less sailboat…
Believers are recognized and defined by their love for others…
Therefore – according to verse 20 - a believer….without love….is not a believer.
Maybe you’ve been struggling with actively loving others…
Maybe personality conflicts – or a hurtful history with another person – have made it next to impossible for you to express self-less love to that individual.
If this is you this morning, ask God to help you truly love them…to genuinely want the best for that person’s well-being.
And – yes – for some of you, that individual might be a family member…
For some of you, that person might be someone sitting in a pew here this morning…
You know, John is not telling you that you have to be best friends with everyone within your community of believers….
…there will always be people who you naturally gravitate toward, those who share a similar personality…or interests…or sense of humor…
…But your love can shine the brightest for Christ when you make the decision to actively show self-less love to those who naturally may be harder for you to love…
That is when others will see God’s selfless, supernatural, agape love in you!
Let’s Pray.