God’s victory over the world, sin, and death is the source and ground of our confidence and security. Because we are in the Son, we have been given eternal life, the very life of God flowing through the veins of his Son. This is the greatest treasure of them all. Having Christ, we have everything. He is the true God and eternal life. God’s true love tells his own that they are forever loved, forever safe and alive in Christ.
Not everything that shines is gold, this saying captures the possibility of being deceived by the appearance of things. In the spiritual realm the potential for deception and distractions is an ever-present reality that loving discernment must discern both in matters of faith and practice. Thankfully, the revelation of God through Jesus Christ in the gospel is clear as day and available to all so that we may have a point of reference to keep us tethered to the life of God come what may. It is in the security of God’s love and the love of his people that all fears can be cast away and experience the freedom of living under God’s perfect love.
Love does not only talk the talk but must also walk the walk. In this passage, John shows that we demonstrate the effectiveness of God’s message when we love each other with our words demonstrated in our works of mutual care and edification, sacrificial service and generosity. All this is only possible because God has welcomed us into the very fabric of the intra-trinitarian outpouring of his presence and love.
The love of the world as a system of values that actively opposes God is antithetical to his love. In a culture where everyone is entitled to their own opinions and preferences the love of God radically sets a standard that denounces evil and promotes good. Because love does not rejoice in evil but rejoices with the truth, it is imperative for God to establish a point of reference for the way in which we should live. Instruction and correction in a world of chaotic and confusing values is what love does to make a way out of the bondage of sin.
Love is God’s bridge across the ethnic and generational divide. God’s will for his family is that we go from the alienation of sin to the reconciliation of the gospel. In his family those who were former enemies are now brothers and sisters maturing in the likeness of God’s son. Being part of a family where everyone grows to reach their redemptive potential is what makes the church a community where all nations and all generations grow in love.
Satan loves to accuse God’s people and rub our failures on our very faces. “I told you so” can be a phrase used to bring shame and condemnation on those who knowingly fall. Unlike Satan, God doesn’t simply say “I told you so” but provides the necessary means to both satisfy his perfect righteousness and transform sinners into his restored instruments of redemption. This is what propitiation is all about and this is what love is all about.
Anxiety feeds on perceived threats but God’s love casts away all fears (1 John
4:18). When God’s love fills our lives and hearts, joy is the overflow from God’s
salvation by grace through faith. As we look at the future of DFBC, God wants to
transform us into a community overflowing with the joy of his salvation. In 1
John 1-4, we will discover how God’s love poured in our hearts spills over in our
lives as joy that grows and matures us in our fellowship with God and each other.
Come rejoice in God’s love telling of the story of his joyful community!
