I recently went though this passage in a class I'm taking and just thought I'd share some of my thoughts on these beautiful verses written in 1 John 4: 15-19.
"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."
We live in a time and place where claiming an absolute statement on truth is considered ridiculous. Spiritual and cultural relativism is rampant and people are under the impression that even if there is a singular divinity out there somewhere, that there cannot possibly be one way. Here, John reaffirms the Truth that Jesus is the only way to be in connection with God.
"We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him"
A lot of times, people want to understand this verse as saying "Love is God." Notice, though, that John does not say this. Love is a description of God.
"By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world."
What is the 'this' that John mentions here? 'This' is referring to our relationship and connection to God through abiding in Jesus, which in turn allows us to abide in God allowing love to be perfected in us.
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."
When we love, we are not to fear what others think about us, what people may do to us, or even fear messing up. When we have this kind of fear, we are living as if we are still apart from God. We are to be living with reckless abandon in the way we love God and others! Don't confuse this fear with the 'fear of the Lord' that we find in the Hebrew Scriptures-that is a correct fear in respect and loyalty, but never a paranoid fear that God is 'out to get us.' That fear is reserved for those who stand in opposition to God, but we are called to cast out that fear by bringing the Good News of God's forgiveness!
"We love, because He first loved us."
We love God and people not because we are so awesome and intrinsically good, for we surely aren't. We love because it is a response to the love that God has shown us and continually gives to us.I hope this was a nice little break!
May the Lord God bless you and keep you in His heart for all time. Grace and Peace be with you all in the gracious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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