Title: Love is Deserving
(Lecture 39) 1 John 4:11
love deserves
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Beloved, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11).
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The phrase “we did not love God” in verse 10 means that God’s love is not a response to human love. This is the part where people can't throw it away and have regrets. It means, “I can receive God’s love because I love God.” It is regarded as a giver by receiving God. That is why, in order to receive God's love, they will work hard to give up their own things to receive blessings. This is the reason why man cannot love God. Because wanting to be loved by God means loving yourself, and those who love yourself cannot love God.
But there is no human being who does not love himself. Therefore, we come to the conclusion that all human beings cannot love God. Yet God says that He loves us. So, in the presence of God's love, no one has anything to say.
So let's think about hating God as opposed to loving God. If you ask, ‘Do you hate God?’, you will probably say no. You will be convinced that even if you do not love God, you do not hate Him. If you hate God, you must not come to church, and you must curse God, but it is because they think that I do not have that kind of image. But is that true?
The Israelites complained to God in the wilderness. It was an expression of resentment that was not usually done. It was not that there was no resentment, but that the nature of protesting and hating God already existed within the human being who loved only himself.
People like to turn to the 'heaven's will' for the irresistible part that they can't do. And he looks to God with a desire for the irresistible parts to develop in his favor. However, when it develops in a way that is unfavorable and painful to oneself, it is to seek God and resent it.
You may have seen in dramas where the protagonist shouts, 'If there is a God, this can't be' because of the painful situation that happened to him. This is man's hard misunderstanding of God. In this way, the God that the world thinks of is only a being who plays a role in guiding oneself in a good direction. That is why resentment and complaints arise in unfavorable situations. The same is true of Israel in the wilderness. Their inner nature was exposed because of circumstances and circumstances that they did not want.
That's why you should stop thinking, 'I don't hate God'. It's just that there are no circumstances or circumstances in which to hate and blame God. As God showed love to us who refused to love God in this way, God's love cannot but be absolute for believers.
God has shown love to the world. Believers must know what the love God has shown. Because it is impossible to love our neighbor without knowing the love of God. God's love was sending his Son as a propitiation offering. Therefore, God's love can only be realized in Jesus Christ. And love for neighbor can only be understood in Jesus Christ.
The apostle says in the text, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (verse 11). For believers who are in the love of God, it is right to love one another. It's not a matter of choosing whether to do it or not. You don't have to, but it's not a matter of virtue that makes you look more like a believer if you practice love. As the apostles have said so far, if you do not have love, you do not belong to God at all. It is not in the love of God.
The gospel is not just a decorative piece on your lips. Just because he says the right words does not mean that he is a believer in the Gospel. The important thing is that the shape of the gospel is shown through life. Because the work of the Holy Spirit is evidently manifesting its activity in your life. That is, the work of the Holy Spirit is manifested through works. In other words, it is not our own righteousness, but the forgiveness of all our sins, Jesus Christ, so that we can live as those who preach and testify.
Therefore, the words of this text make us see that we, who speak of Jesus and the love of God, are still living centered on ourselves. It is to make us see ourselves who do not love each other even though we deserve to love each other. Nevertheless, God's love has not changed at all and surrounds us. Shouldn't we have no choice but to keep our mouths shut to this amazing love? Such a believer who has been completely crushed by God's love will show love for one another.
In fact, how arrogant is it that a human being who exists for me loves others? Although I have said that love is evidence of Jesus' forgiveness, how can we testify of Jesus' forgiveness? Far from witnessing forgiveness, even I can't live in gratitude for Jesus' forgiveness, so we testify of Jesus' forgiveness? In fact, all of this will end with pleasant words for a moment, like a light apricot.
So what do you mean? It's not about what to do, it's about knowing and knowing deep within ourselves that the only thing we can depend on is Jesus. That is why we need to know that the Holy Spirit comes to us and reigns over us, rebukes and heals us, and accomplishes the work of Jesus.
Believers do not gain the ability to practice love because of God's love. On the contrary, you will find yourself terribly devoid of love. It is knowing that everything I thought was love was garbage that I could neither show nor boast in the sight of God's love. I fall on my knees in the great love of God that surrounds me with such evil. This knowledge is what directs your heart to God.
God wants His people to be like this. It is not about making people who practice love, but about making them aware of the lack of love and looking only at God's love. Because God's love can be seen in such a believer. In such a believer, the forgiveness of Jesus Christ is shown.
The saints meet as those who have received the love of God in the same way. Therefore, in love, there is no distinction between the good and the bad. All of them were just beings who could not escape from destruction without God's love. Saints meet through this relationship. To meet as a person who rejoices in the forgiveness of Jesus, this is the church. Therefore, it is perfectly appropriate for love to appear in such a relationship.
Therefore, the believer must rethink who he is before he says he will love. And I have to think about who the brother who made me meet is. We need to think about how we meet each other. It is not just a meeting or gathering of people. It is a gathering of people who have been loved by God.
It is right for the saints to love one another. Jesus is working tirelessly to accomplish this rightful thing. He rebukes me by sending the Holy Spirit to make me look to the love of God. Therefore, believers should strive to look at themselves in front of the cross.