“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
let us love one another,
John develops the motif of “love one another” in verses 7-12. The words “one another” mean one another of the same kind. This refers to love among believers because they have a reciprocal capacity for love. They have a love of God in them and find that same love in genuine believers. Without the love of God, human love is strictly human compatibility.
The formula “love one another” occurs five times in this epistle (3:11, 23; 4:7, 11,12).
PRINCIPLE:
Christians are to reciprocate the love of a mutual relationship.
APPLICATION:
God expects Christians to reciprocate His love by loving other Christians. This is because the very source of love is God Himself. As a logical corollary to God’s love, Christians should love one another.
People hate under guises, “I am praying for your spiritual growth.” They hate and despise you, but they say they are praying for you! This is a person with a soul kink. However, a Spirit filled believer has the capacity to love the nitpicker. If we love God, we will love all believers.
There are always those people in every congregation that you do not like. You like to pour others into a mold. The more unstable we are, the pushier we get, so even if people do not fit our mold, we try to squeeze them into it. This is arrogance and pride. People need my perspective on life. God needs my help in straightening out people I don’t like. This thinking does not love one another because true love is free from envy or pride.
Just because we love our father or mother does not mean that we love with divine love. Those who walk in the Spirit love from a supernatural love. They will love the unlovely in the family of God. Love is only potential until we actively love with God’s love.
Hi Grant, love your resources – you are a real “go-to”!
I am preaching on having a love for non christians, and in turn how that should prompt us to share the gospel with them. Is this passage not the best passage to use as an example of how we should love other people that aren’t Christians? E.g. you mention that this passage is referring to loving other Christians.
If that is the case, what would be a more fitting passage to use?
Mike, thank you for your words of encouragement. 2 Cor 5 deals with the ministry of reconciliation. In presenting that passage of sharing our faith with others, he gives the motivation in 2 Cor 5:14, which gives the motivation for evangelism.