Pray and then what?

Love Perfected

(1 John 4:11-12, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 1, 2017)

[11] Beloved, if God so loved us,

we also ought to love one another.

[12] No one has ever seen God;

if we love one another,

God abides in us

and his love is perfected in us.

The invisible God loved us visibly and in person

The invisible God

The apostle John wrote in his gospel about the mystery of the Father and the Son: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” (John 1:18) Jesus, very God of very God, has made known the invisible God.

The narrative of God's love for “us” (His covenant people Israel and the church)

Throughout the Old Testament the Lord's people were being prepared for the coming of the Messiah. There were even times when the invisible God was made known through a special manifestation. Whether He came to Israel as an angel of the Lord or appeared to Abraham as Melchizedek or to Joshua as the Commander of the Lord's Army or to Moses as the voice that was heard from a burning bush that was not consumed, it was all very temporary.

Nonetheless through all those centuries the groundwork was patiently laid for a permanent coming of the Son of God as the center of our redemption. When Paul writes about Jesus, he calls Him the visible “image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:18) He is forever.

The incarnate love of God

God's love was made known through the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. In the prior verses (1 John 4:9-10), John told his readers about how God gave His Son for us to be our propitiation—a sacrifice that turns God's wrath aside. To do this, He had to be more than a temporary manifestation of the Almighty like all of those Old Testament appearances. He was to be the permanent Head of the church—Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God and Son of Man. And we were to be united to Him as His beloved people—the body of Christ. This was how He loved us, through the very definition of not only true Biblical love, but also through the perfect display of the opposite of sinful pride—godly humility. This was our salvation and it was also our power for living, as Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul says in Colossians 3:3-4, “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

We who have been loved this way by God ought to love one another visibly and in person

John understands who Jesus is and who we are to be

Jesus healed the sick, not just metaphorically, but in every way. At his death, from the cross, He made sure that his mother was provided for. He actually died and He truly rose from the dead as the first resurrection man. If He loved in this way, we who claim to be His followers must do the same.

God works mightily in us for good when we love one another

This humble love is not only what we “ought” to do, or even what our admiration of Christ moves us to do, it is something that we should choose to do if we want to be more loving people. Simply put, It is God's plan that when we love people, we shall become more loving people.

How? Our choosing humble love is His chosen channel for granting divine power in us that changes us. “If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” John says so here, and therefore that is what God promises us. This is similar to what the Lord reveals in James 4:7. He instructs us there to use our will to “resist the devil,” and then He adds this encouragement: “and he will flee from you.” In today's verse we have a promise for all who will use their will to make decisions of love toward the body of Christ, the beloved bride of the Lord.

Only the invisible God of Love can perfect our love toward His beloved visible church. This is His promise for all who will follow this command.

We say that we love the invisible God, but how do we relate to His beloved family, the church that we can see all around us? Only God can perfect the motions of love for Him and for one another that have begun among us. But how will He do this?

The Lord is determined to make us more loving now and forever. Yes, He will come to judge, but He also will save. We should most definitely be in the community of the redeemed and not lost among those who are enslaved in wickedness. God is reliable in all His commands and promises. We need to trust the Lord, our heavenly Father, and do what He commands.

We cannot claim to love the invisible God and then be detached from His body, the visible church. We need to be positively engaged with others in the household of God. [i.e. Dot Kaminsky's family]

Some advice:

Let's use our daily prayers for one another as a springboard for actions of love that would be visible (not showy) and in person (not bothersome) as much as possible, like Jesus did for us.

Marcia Coskery is facing a discouraging situation with her shoulder. Pray and help. Matthew Whiteacre is starting at a new school in Haverhill this week. Pray and send something. Our former members, Matt and Rachel Parks, found out that their sweet little Anna has cerebral palsy in her right foot. Pray and befriend. May that be our reflex as a church. We pray and we love.

Old Testament Reading—Zephaniah 1:1-6 – I Will...

Gospel Reading—Matthew 5:21-26 – [21] You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ [22] But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. [23] So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, [24] leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. [25] Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. [26] Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.