Today, I would like you to turn
in your Bible, please, to 1 John, 1 John chapter 4. 1 John chapter
4, and let's read verse 10 and 11 together. John says in this
epistle, and he writes all about love, but he said, Herein, here
is love. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation. or the atoning victim. He sent
His Son to be the sacrifice for the sins of God's people, for
our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us,
we ought also to love one another. John says here in this verse,
herein is love. Here is a grand display of love. Here is love not in word, but
in deed and in truth. Here is love that is shown and
explained and demonstrated toward the unlovely. Love at its climax. Love outdoing itself. This is
a love of God that's manifested toward guilty sinners in and
by and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Herein is love. It's
love beyond all degree. Surpasses every standard of human
love. Exceeds all earthly expectation
of love. And all other love stories must
dwindle away into pale insignificance and utter insignificance when
we consider this love. Herein is love. He says back
in chapter 3, verse 1, Behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us. that we should be called sons
of God. And then again, he says in chapter
4, verse 10, herein is this love demonstrated and explained in
the sacrifice of God giving His Son to die for the sins of His
people. I want to look at four or five
things this morning, and I pray that God will give you ears to
hear. The first thing is this. This love of God is to those
who do not love Him. Notice the text again. He said,
here in His love, not. Not. Now he begins with a negative.
Here in His love, we're going to talk about love. We're not
going to talk about the love that we have. Not that we loved
God, but rather He loved us. Since Adam's ruin, since Adam's
total fall, since our human race has been totally depraved and
dead in sin, there never has been a person who has loved God. Not first. We read in Romans
8, the carnal mind is enmity. That is deep-rooted, deep-seated
hatred. Men love darkness rather than
the light. We read again in Romans 3 that
there is none righteous, no, not one. There is not a spark
of love to God in our sinful, depraved nature. Jeremiah put
it this way, our heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. Instead of loving God, we have
rebelled against His every command. That's right. We've all sinned
and come short of the glory of God. I hope we understand that
God didn't love us because we loved Him. Rather, it's just
the opposite. We read in this same chapter,
verse 19, we love Him. We love God only because He first
loved us. His love to us is eternal and
prior to us ever loving Him. Jeremiah put it this way, He's
loved us with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
has He drawn us to Himself. Here in His love, God loved the
unlovely, God loved the God-hater, God loved the man who was dead
in trespasses and in sin, and loved them, though we didn't
love Him. He says that in John 15, 16,
He said, You've not chosen Me, You've not loved me, I've loved
you. You've not chosen me, but I've chosen you. This shows us
again that His love to us is free, unmerited, sovereign, unsought,
and eternal love. He loved us because He would.
We don't merit or earn God's favor, earn His love. He loved
us because God is love. Oh, herein is love, not that
we love God. Secondly, notice this. This love
to sinners flows from God Almighty. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but rather that He loved us. We read in Romans 5, God
commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. What does God want in loving
us? Did you ever think about that? What an insignificant,
minute little creatures we are in this vast, infinite universe
of God. Yet God set His heart upon sinners. Yet God loved His people. Someone
said this, it's great to be loved by a dog. However, it's even
greater to be loved by a child. And it's the greatest to be loved
by a friend. But to be loved of God, what
great glory! And infinite majesty does this
involve. Here in His love, not that we
love God, but that He loved us. Listen to this scripture in Romans
chapter 8, verse 37 and following. We are more than conquerors through
Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in the Lord Jesus Christ." You see, this
love flows out from God. Here in His love, not that we
love God. That's not where love is manifested,
but in this, He loved us. Love freely, sovereignly flows
out from God Almighty to guilty, wretched, miserable sinners. Thirdly is this, this love was
unsought. This love was unsought. It says
in our text again here in His love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son. This love is unsought. We never sent for Him. We never
sent for God. God sent to us, where was Adam
after he fell? Running from God. Hiding from
God. God came to him. This human race
was content to love darkness rather than light. This fallen
human race was content to believe a lie rather than God. This human
race, fallen and depraved, are content to seek salvation by
work rather than in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord came to
this world, not that we might seek His love, but rather that
His love might seek us. Remember what He said to Zacchaeus,
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. The shepherd seeks the sheep.
Why? Because he loves the sheep. The
shepherd seeks out that lost sheep because the shepherd has
affection and sovereign love. toward that sheep. We read this
in Revelation, unto him that loved us and washed us from our
sin in his own blood. You see, this love was unsought.
He sought us out. We read again in Ephesians 2,
God who was rich in mercy for His great love were with. He
loved us even when we were dead in our sins. Shut out. Fourthly, we see this
in this text. Are you with me? Here in His
love. Not that we love God. but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation, the atoning victim, the sacrifice
for our sins. God's love provided the means
to deal with our sin problem. Love provided propitiation. He is our sacrifice. He is our atonement. He is our
pardon. Now, let me ask you an important
question. Could God justly save His people from their sin and
not deal justly with our sin? Absolutely not. God couldn't
pardon sin without complete atonement, expiation, and payment for all
the sins of God's sheep. God must demand atonement for
sin because He's holy. God is holy, but God Himself
also not only demanded atonement, but God Himself, and here's the
glorious truth of God's love, God not only demanded atonement,
demanded payment for sin, but God Almighty Himself provided
the Lamb to take away our sin. We read in this same epistle,
1 John 3, verse 5, let's read that first. We know that He was
manifested to take away our sin, and in Him is no sin. He says
in 1 John 3, verse 16, Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because He laid down His life for us. My friend, this is love. This is the love of God. God
will provide Himself a sacrifice. God will provide Himself a Lamb. And my friend, that Lamb that
He provided is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now remember this, what
God demanded, God provided. God provided that Lamb. John
the Baptist identified that Lamb that day. He said, God's Lamb
that takes away our sin. What God demanded, God provided. And my friend, what God provided,
God accepted this sacrifice. We read again in Romans 3 that
He was justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ whom God had set forth to be
the propitiation, the atoning victim, the sin covering through
His blood to declare God's righteousness for the remission of sins. That
God might be just and justify the ungodly Through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now who among us would give up
his son to pay for the crimes of the enemy? Our enemy. We wouldn't, but my friend God
did. We read in scripture that he
died for the ungodly. Christ died for the ungodly. We read that He suffered once
for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us
unto God, the One who is just and holy. He suffered for the
unjust, that we might be brought unto Him. He bare our sin in
His own body. Here we see the grand display
of love. We see God's love displayed in creation. He made all things
by the Word of His power. We see His love displayed in
providence. We know all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to God's purpose. We see His love displayed in
God's incarnation. When He took to Himself our humanity
apart from sin, God Almighty was manifest in the flesh. We
see His love displayed in His life. He was tried and tempted
and tested in all points, like as we are yet without sin. But
we see here, Here in His love, the most glorious display of
God's love and grace towards sinners is displayed at Calvary
when God made Him to be sin for us. When it pleased God to bruise
Him and wound Him in the room and the stead of God's people.
God made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might
be made the righteousness of God through Him. And my friend,
it's just not His death. That is an amazing fact itself
that the Son of God died and took our judgment in our place.
But consider this, He died under the wrath of God, under God's
judgment against sin. Our sin was made and laid to
be put on Him. God laid on Him the iniquity
of us all. Herein is love. Here is the trophy
of love, the display of love, the grand display of God's love
and mercy to guilty sinners. That He sent His Son to be the
sacrifice for our sin. Lastly, in 1 John 4, verse 11,
we read this, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to
love one another. What should be the effect? of
this love, of looking upon this great wonder. If God has loved
us so freely, so sacrificially, so infinitely, we ought also
to love one another. It shouldn't be difficult for
one who has been the object of love to manifest this love to
others. It shouldn't be difficult for
one who has been freely and fully forgiven to freely forgive others.
It shouldn't be difficult for one who has received mercy to
show mercy. Our Lord loved us with all our
sin. Can we do less than to love others
who have sinned against us? I don't think so. Love is the
evidence of life. He says in this same epistle,
we know we pass from death unto life because we love the brethren. Love is the fruit of the Spirit.
Herein is love. You see what John is saying in
this text? Herein is love. Not that we love God. That's
not where it is. But He loved us everlastingly,
lovingly, Loved us with eternal love, saving love, electing love,
dying love, redeeming love. Here in His love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
sacrifice for our sins.