Let's open our Bibles to 1 John
chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4. We should be
finishing up this chapter of 1 John this morning. Looking at verses 14-21. The
title of my message is The Perfection of Love. Now, the one that's
speaking to us is the Apostle John. He wrote this general epistle. And I was thinking of an introduction. I typed one out, and I thought,
well, I've lived this. I'll just tell you what happened
to me. My father-in-law, Kimberly's father, was stationed in Germany
back in the 70s. And then as Kimberly was getting
out of high school towards the end of it, she was an exchange
student in Germany. Now, before she went to that
country, do you think she asked her dad anything about that country? He lived there. He knew a lot
about it. She probably had a lot of questions
for him, didn't she? He told her that was a close sibling,
or not sibling, a close relative, and someone that's trusted, a
dear friend that's experienced something, that's telling you
something. And then, A few years later, I come along. I lived
in Germany for a few years, and so her and I had a common bond
from the get-go. We had something in common. We
started building a relationship off of it. That gave us something
to talk about, didn't it? Well, here, it's exactly what we have
today. Our trusted, our dear brother, John, is telling us
about the love of God which is in each of the Lord's children.
Look here in verse 14. 1 John 4, verse 14. And we have seen and do testify. John's speaking about the other
apostles and himself. They saw God in human flesh. I can't begin to imagine that. They asked Him questions and
He answered them. For several years they walked
with Him. They heard Christ pray. Think about that. They saw our
Savior perform physical miracles. lame and blind and lepers. They
watched him heal them. And they saw spiritual miracles. When he looked to a sinner and
he said, follow me. And they said, okay. And they
followed him. They watched that change. They
watched that love, that new man be inserted in them. Christ be
revealed in their brethren. Peter, James, and John were on
that mount of transfiguration. Their own eyes saw Christ shine
as the sun. His raiment was as white as light. They saw Him with their own eyes.
These apostles had also seen our Master apprehended. They
saw Him beaten. They saw Him hanging on a cross. They heard with their ears Him
cry, it's finished. Peter and John were the two disciples
that came running to that tomb when Mary said that the stone's
been rolled away. John beat Peter there. He was
the first one. And he looked in that sepulcher
and he saw those grave clothes, those linens and that face napkin,
folded neatly. With all patience, he saw. And
then they all saw Christ risen. John was standing there with
Thomas, and Thomas put his hand reached out and touched our Savior's
hands and He touched His side. The apostles saw Christ ascend
to the Father in glory. And after they saw that, Luke
told us at the end of his gospel, he said, and they worshipped
Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually
in the temple praising and blessing God. Spiritually, when we see
these things, what do we do? We praise Him and we bless Him,
don't we? They saw God in human flesh,
His person and His work accomplished. Now knowing the experience and
the first-hand account of our brother John, he writes to me
and you. This loved one, our brother, tells us there in verse
14 again, and we have seen and do testify. What's he going to
testify? That the Father sent the Son
to be the Savior of the world. John says, after everything that
I've seen, everything I've heard, I'm going to tell you this and
you can take it to the bank. God the Father sent Christ to
save his people. We've looked at that word world
before in its meaning, but just as a reminder, John's not talking
about every person that ever lived. He's not talking about
every person in the whole world that we call the world. Not all
the people throughout time. He's speaking about the Jews
and the Gentiles too. Turn a few pages back there to
chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. There in verse 2. And He is the propitiation for
our sins. He's that bloody sacrifice, that
satisfactory payment. And not only for ours. Not just
for the Jews. but also for the sins of the
whole world. And that word there was what
the Jews gave to the Gentiles. That's them heathens. That's
them worldly people. They're not part of us. That's
them other people. That's what we lived up in Alaska.
And if you wasn't from Alaska, that's if you was from outside.
Down in the lower 48 or something, you weren't from here, you're
from outside. And Jews said they're not as good as us. That's the
world. Turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter
5. Brother Bob read this to us a
little bit ago. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Christ
joined His people to Himself. He reconciled us to Himself. He accomplished the will of the
Father in His willing and obedient work in His life and in His death.
They're in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 19. To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself out of the Jews and the Gentiles,
not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation. Sinner, if you're in Christ,
you have no sin imputed to you. There is now, therefore now,
no condemnation between you and the Holy Father. That's the word
of reconciliation. Christ did it. That's what my
word is to you. I'll just tell you what he did
for us. But it says, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Christ
made himself united. He made himself one with his
chosen people. And our sin is not imputed to
us. That means it's not counted to us. It ain't there. When they
go through making inventory, there ain't nothing there. It's
gone. Now, if He did this for everyone
in the world, then no one could go to hell. When they come for
the judgment, and they say, I want to look in your account. Let
me see the sin there. And the Lord said, there's none.
There's none. He would be unjust to punish
someone. But our Redeemer did not offer
salvation to His people. He didn't try to save His people,
He saved them. That sin is gone. He told us
there in John 17, He said, I pray for them. I pray not for the
world. I pray for everybody underneath
the sun. But for them which Thou hast
given Me, for they are Thine. Those put in Christ before the
world was. Christ intercedes on the behalf of His people.
If He were to intercede for someone, and it didn't work, His intercession
is meaningless. It ain't worth a nickel. People
tell me, well, if they find out I'm a preacher, I say, oh, I'm
going to pray for you. I say, oh, I don't know who you're
praying to. Just people on the street, you
know, their prayers won't do nothing. I don't know who, what
idol they're praying to. God Almighty intercedes for His
people. The Spirit makes those groanings
for us that can't be understood, and that's accepted of the Father.
It's effectual. It works. As an advocate, if
I needed an advocate in this world, if I needed a lawyer,
if I was going to court, do I want one that wins 10% of the time?
Do you? No, I want a guy that ain't never
lost. I want the best one I can get.
Our advocate has never lost a case because he's the payment. And
back to our text there in 1 John 4. This confusion, it's what
I wrote, over the word world and the word whosoever, that's
not right. Confusion's not, that's too polite.
This heresy over this word is prevalent throughout our world,
throughout mankind. And so is the word, whosoever.
People say it's all people without exception everywhere. It's not
so. Look here in verse 15. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Whosoever, all over the world. Paul told us there in Galatians
3, there is neither Greek nor Jew, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus. What's that mean? Any sinner,
if you're a slave, if you're a slave owner, if you're a male,
if you're a female, if you're educated, uneducated, it doesn't
matter your status in life. Any sinner. Now, if you're a
sinner, that's good news. You say, even me? Even me? Not the world. Not those other
people. They're mad that the Lord might
save those other people. He could save me. Well, now I'm
listening. Anyone of any status or stature,
any position, that confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,
God dwells in Him, and He dwells in God. This confession is not
just of the mouth, though. It's not just to say it out loud.
There's many that say, oh, that man that was named Christ, he
was the Son of God. But it's a confession from the
heart. And it's not only confessing that Jesus physically came to
this earth, and that He was God's Son, but that who He is in that
nature of being God's Son. Holy. Look at that this evening,
Lord willing. Somebody on the street says,
if you ask a hundred people, give me one word that describes
God. Many would say love. Many would say merciful. Many
would say, oh, He's gracious. He blesses us. Holy. That's who
He is. Everything else stems from that.
His holiness. Who Christ is and what He accomplished. He didn't
come to try to save His people. He saved His people. And He honored
the Father and the Father's holiness through that. It's the person
and the work of our Savior. Let's turn over to Isaiah chapter
9. Isaiah chapter 9. This proclamation is so rich
in the truth of the gospel. And it's read and quoted so much
there in December. But it would do folks good not
just to read the Word of God, but to dwell on the Word of God. Don't try to read a whole book
a day. Get you a short text. Get you some verses whenever
you go to study. And read them. Look at those words. Consider.
That's not by accident. Consider why the Lord used those
words. Read in context. Dwell on it. Consider the meaning
of it. Here in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6. For unto us a child
is born. Unto us a son is given. You and I as human beings, there's
a man that was born. We have a child. But the Son
of God was given to us. And the government shall be upon
His shoulder. That's singular government, singular
shoulder. That means all the ruling and
reigning of this entire universe rests solely on His shoulder.
He only needed one. A mighty and powerful King. rules this government of the
universe. And His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government
and peace, there shall be no end. He's going to wax greater
and greater. Upon the throne of David and
upon His kingdom to order it, His almighty providence and will,
He orders it. And to establish it. He keeps
it as He ordered it through His mighty hand. With judgment and
with justice from henceforth forevermore, the zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this." Does my zeal perform this? Does
your zeal perform this? The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. That sounds pretty sure. Let's
turn over to Colossians chapter 2. This gospel of Christ It does
not change. There's not an Old Testament
God and a New Testament God. This message has been the same.
The Old Testament is the gospel concealed and the New Testament
is the gospel revealed. But the message doesn't change,
the Savior doesn't change, the person doesn't change. Colossians
chapter 2, we'll begin there in verse 8. Here's what Paul
is telling us. Beware, lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit after the traditions of men,
after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." He's saying,
don't let anybody tell you, you've got to think something, you have
to do something out of tradition that all of our ancestors done,
that's what grandma and grandpa did, or after the rudiments of
the world, after works, and not to follow Christ. We need to
follow him along. Verse 9, for in him, in Christ
the man, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. That's
the son given. There's the man, the child is
born, the son's given. Verse 10, and ye are complete
in him, which is the head of all principality and power. The
government is on his shoulder. He's the head of it. All the
principalities in power, verse 11. In whom also ye are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands and the putting off of
the body the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. That's the Father's judgment
and justice in punishing our sin in Christ our substitute. Verse 12, buried with him in
baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith
of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
That's the zeal of the Lord of hosts performing this, by the
operation of God, by his hand. Verse 13, and you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. Christ's
government and peace is forever. Resting in Christ as we're all
in all is true peace. He is the peace given. He is
the Sabbath and it lasts forever. His peace of his government lasts
forever. Blotting out the handwriting
of the ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us
and took it out of the way. The law is against us. Gone.
Took it out of the way. How did He do that? How did all
that law and ceremony be removed from us and we're able to be
saved forever? Look there. And took it out of
the way, nailing it to His cross. Those that see our need for a
Savior, we see our sin nature, what wretches we are, what a
worm I am. And we praise Christ for accomplishing
the salvation. We have the spirit of God dwelling
in us. God, the Holy Spirit, has convicted
us of our sin and convicted us of the righteousness of Christ,
the one that saved us. Through Christ's completed work
on the cross, we praise him, calling his name Wonderful, the
Prince of Peace, Counselor, the Mighty God. Truly confessing
Christ, knowing Him, believing Him is the direct and the sole
result of God dwelling in you. Christ being formed in you is
the reason we look to Him, the reason we praise Him. Now back
in our text there in 1 John 4, through God dwelling in His elect
people, whosoever they are, However they are, wherever they are in
the world, whatever nationality they are, there is a knowledge
of Christ and faith in Him alone. Look here at verse 16. And we
have known and believed the love that God hath to us. First John
4.16, we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. What is the love that God had
toward His people? He sent His Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. Herein is love. Those of whom
God dwells, those born again, those circumcised in the heart,
they know Christ and they believe Christ. Let's turn over to Matthew chapter
11 real quick. Matthew chapter 11. Look in verse
25. Matthew 11, 25. And at that time,
Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise
and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in my sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father. Neither
knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and He to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him." How are we going to know the Father?
How are we going to have this knowledge? Are we going to know He's our Father
and know we're His son? The Son's going to reveal it
to us. Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn
of Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart,
and ye shall find rest unto your souls." We know Him, know God
Almighty because He revealed Himself to us and we rest in
Him. Why can we rest in Him? We believe
Him. We believe His promises. Now back here in our text, 1
John 4, 16. And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love. And he that dwelleth
in the Son, I'm sorry, he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in
God, and God in him. The sinner, that helpless baby,
those babes he was speaking of, who dwell by faith in the love
of God, displayed in sin and Christ as our bloody sacrifice,
and lives loving God for His mercy and loving our brethren,
that person, God dwells in them and they dwell in God. In this
life, our love is not going to be perfect. I promise you. That there is love for God and
love for those that Christ gave his life for. We love the one
that we know, and we love those that he died for. Not the way
we want to love them. We don't love the way we ought
to love. But there's true love for God
and our brothers and sisters in Christ there. When's this
love going to overcome? When is this love going to be
perfect? Look here in verse 17. 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. Here is a result of the love
of God being bestowed to His children, being spread abroad
in our hearts, that in this life, while we walk here in this body
of flesh, while we're alive here on earth, we can come boldly
to His throne of grace. Once this body of death has been
destroyed, we can come boldly to our Master in the final judgment
without fear. Every man and woman by our nature
in Adam dread being in the presence of Holy God and being in the
presence of His justice. Our guilt over our sin causes
us to have that dread. And for the unregenerate soul,
those outside of Christ, that's a just fear. That's a just thing
to be afraid of. Look over in Hebrews chapter
10. Hebrews chapter 10. But for the
believer, for the one outside of Christ, that's a perfect fear. But for the believer, there's
no fear of the judgment of the throne of God. We may fear dying
physically because we've never done that. Things I've never
done before, I'm apprehensive about. I've never been through
that. But believers don't fear the
eternal death. That peace does not come from something we did,
but it rests solely in Christ. Why? Because we know Him and
we believe Him. We believe what He said. Our
confidence rests in His blood atonement for His sheep. Look
here in Hebrews 10 verse 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest, to the presence of God, by the blood
of Jesus. What's our qualification to enter
into the presence of God? The blood of Jesus. by a new
and living way which He hath consecrated for us. Do I reserve
that blood for myself? He consecrated it for us through
the veil, that is to say, His flesh. And having a high priest
over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith." How can we have full assurance of
faith? He is our faith. He is our assurance. having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. And our bodies washed
with pure water, let us hold fast the profession of our faith
without wavering, for He is faithful that promised." How are we faithful
to the end? How is a believer faithful to
the end without wavering throughout this life and going into judgment?
Christ is faithful, the one who promised to keep us. He said,
I'll keep you, I'll never forsake you. That's true. He didn't lie
to us. There in 1 John chapter 4, if
in this life you are given faith in Christ to come boldly to that
throne of grace because of His blood, because of His body, His
resurrection, know that you will have confidence to enter into
His bosom in that day of judgment, that final day. And our appointed
time is here. There will be no more fear. There
will be no more weeping. There will be no more sorrows.
forevermore because of Christ's love for us and what He's accomplished.
There in verse 18, 1 John 4, 18, 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 are given eyes to see the
love of God for his people. How he is just and a justifier
through Christ. How we've had a new circumcision
given in our hearts by God because Christ removed all that condemnation
and he's reconciled us to God forever through his person and
his work at Calvary. We have peace. We no longer fear. His perfect love is what keeps
us from fearing. We no longer fear the curse of
the law, and we no longer fear that wrath deserved under the
law. Now, worldly, whenever we fear,
there's not love there. My children come home, Kimberly
comes home, and she's scared to death of me. She's scared
to go to sleep in my presence. I don't love her. There's no
love there. But if they know I love them,
and I do love them, and they come home, they go to sleep.
Husband watch out for you daddy watch over you. I love you Where
that fear is there's no love They said we no longer fear the
curse of the law and the wrath that we deserve under it look
over in Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 Look in verse 15. For ye have
not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. That spirit of
bondage, you haven't been put back under that law again after
the Lord saved you and go back to being scared, being fearful.
But ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba,
Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children,
then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so
be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
What was John saying when he was talking about that fear?
through the wrath. If a man or woman still is afraid
of the law, still afraid of the judgment of God, not just afraid
to die physically, but afraid of what death brings. If they
have a fear when they see that, then that's a sure sign they
do not know and they do not believe and they do not trust in who
Christ is and what His sacrifice accomplished on the cross. We
may be apprehensive about dying, but whenever we see that we have
to face the judgment, there's no condemnation. It's gone. I
have a substitute. I have an advocate. Someone's
still afraid in that law, still trying to keep it, still looking
after it. Oh, I can't do this. I got to do that. You're not
looking to Christ. You're not looking to the finished
work. Now, lastly, there in our text of verse 18, Those people
are still looking at what needs to be done, not what's already
been done. And they do not think it's finished. They think there's
still something more to do. They feel the need to do something
more to be loved of God, to be secured. Verse 18, 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. Then John reminds us once again
that our love to God and to our brethren is not from us. He's
told us a few times. He's very repetitive through
this epistle, isn't he? Same thing over and over. I need
to hear that over and over. Look at verse 19. We love Him
because He first loved us. You say, well, I love the Lord.
I don't have fear. I'm doing pretty good. Well, the only reason
you have that is because He loved you first. Brother Henry wrote
one time, I am what I am, have what I have, and do what I do
by the grace of God. Everything we have. Those ravens
are fed by what the Lord gives them. Those lilies of the field,
they're watered by Him. nutrients are in the ground that
He gave, everything. When we love God, it's because
He first loved us. When we have peace with God,
He has showed us the peace that was made in Christ. When we rest
in our Savior only, it is because Christ was, He is, and will forever
be our rest. It's the only rest we have. Now,
verse 20. If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar. I wonder if John could have put
that any clearer. If a man say, I love God and hateth his brother,
he's lying. For he that loveth not his brother
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? We've looked at this a few times
throughout this epistle, this verse, but I want to touch on
three things. It's impossible for a person
to see the love of God towards them and to not love those that God
loves. It's impossible. I said, well,
I believe in those doctrines. I believe in God, but I just
can't stand those people down at that church. I don't want
to be around them. I can't tolerate them. Well, move over to that
state. I don't like him folks either. He's lying. They're lying. It's impossible for a person
to experience the mercy of God in Christ and
not have mercy towards his brethren. Someone that won't bend, they
grit their teeth and say, I'm taking a stand. They won't cave. They've never seen and experienced
God being merciful to us because they don't think they need mercy.
If they don't need it, they ain't gonna give you none. They'll
be like that one servant who's forgiven All his debt, and he
goes to the one who owed him $5 and chokes him, grabs ahold
of his throat. They haven't experienced that
mercy. It's impossible for a person to receive the grace of God and
not be gracious to their brethren. He gave me everything I had.
How can I not give you something? Because we're just here for a
season. And it's gone. That's it. I'll give you a ham sandwich,
it'll be alright. John told us there in chapter
3 verse 17, For whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his
brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels with compassion
of him, how dwelt the love of God in him. That's this world's
goods as far as commodities we have. You're starving to death
and I have food, of course I'll give you some. But this world's
good's of knowing Christ, knowing the grace that's found in Him,
the mercy that's found in Him, the love that's from Him, and
not being gracious, not being merciful, not being kind and
loving. How dwelleth the love of God
in Him? John asks, how can you love God who you cannot see if
you do not love Christ your brethren, Christ and your brethren who
you can see? The closest thing we have to the Lord on this earth
is Christ dwelling in you. How I treat you is how I treat
Him. I thought I broke this down.
I didn't. Does Christ love God? Yes. Does God love Christ? Yes. They are one and the same. If
Christ dwells in me and Christ dwells in you, do you think my
new man loves your new man? You think your new man loves
my new man? It does. That old man's getting away.
There's love there. True love, mercy, grace, kindness. And so when we know that, when
He reveals that in us, reveals Himself in us, we read there
in verse 21, and this commandment we have from Him, that he who
loveth God loveth his brother also. True believers cannot help
but love one another. That new man does what its nature
is. Our Lord commands it. Is that
enough for us? If we didn't just have it oozing
out of us, because we couldn't help it, those that love the
Lord, see what He's done for us. And He said, I want you to
be docile to that one. Okay. Be glad to. That's that light
and easy yoke. Do what comes natural to you
in that new man. Love. And we'll do it. Willingly, won't
we? Because that heart he's put in
us. I hope that was a blessing to you. Let's pray together.