I. Love is Personified in God Himself (7–8).
John gives two reasons for the command to love one another in v. 7.
1. Love has its source in God. (7a)
2. Love evidences the new birth and knowledge of God (7b)
Verse 8 reverses what John said in verse 7 by placing it in the negative for emphasis. Those who do not love in the way described by John in verse 7 give evidence that they do not know God.
The reason for this is: “God is love.” (8b)
God’s love is his settled disposition toward us that flows from his being & nature.
Human love is often response love: “I love you if…” or “I love you because….”
God’s love is: “I love you anyhow!”
God loves me because he is he, not because I am I!
God created human beings and loved them. Even when they rebelled against him and deserved eternal death, he chose to love them still and provide a way for their salvation. How that occurs is the point of vv. 9-10.
II. Love is Proven by Christ Dying for Our Sins on the Cross (9–10).
God revealed the magnitude of his love in five ways:
1. God initiated Salvation. “God sent.” (9a)
It is normal for the offender to seek forgiveness and reconciliation with the offended. But God, because of his love for us, did not wait for rebellious humanity to send to his throne for terms of reconciliation. God himself commenced negotiations! He designed salvation; initiated it, provided it, offers it, and applies it to all who believe.
2. God sent Jesus. Notice whom God sent: “his only begotten Son.” (9b)
Here John distinguishes Jesus from God in terms of persons and declares both to be divine by nature. The word order in Greek puts emphasis on “his Son”: “that his Son, his only Son, has God sent. . . .” The verb translated “sent” is in the perfect tense in Greek, conveying the connotation “God has sent Jesus and we now enjoy the blessings of his mission!” “Mission Accomplished!”
3. God sent Jesus for a purpose: “so that we might live through him.” (9c)
Our only hope of eternal life is forgiveness of sins and a relationship with God through his Son, Jesus.
4. God love originated this salvation and His love for us precedes our love for him. (10a)
5. God’s love is costly. It cost Jesus his life on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. (10b)
“Propitiation” is an important New Testament Word. It includes six concepts all rolled into one:
- God’s Holiness
- God’s Wrath
- God’s Justice
- God’s Mercy
- God’s Love
- God’s Grace
When Christ died on the cross, all six of these converged.
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God’s holiness demonstrates the sinfulness of all sin.
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God’s wrath against sin was poured out on Christ on the cross.
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God’s justice was satisfied at the cross.
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God’s mercy toward sinners was demonstrated at the cross.
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God’s love for the world was demonstrated at the cross (John 3:16)
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God’s grace was demonstrated at the cross. He gives us what we don’t deserve.
III. Love Must be Practiced by All Christians (v. 11).
Christ’s propitiatory death becomes the ground and the standard of our own love. When we truly understand what God has done for us and how much he loves us, we must love one another.
“Ought” means obligation. Some Christians view loving others all the time as optional. Love is not optional; it’s obligatory.
“So” translates a Greek adverb meaning “so intensely.”
“One another” here as means more than just Christians because the model is Christ, who died for all sinners.
Since God loves us, we must love others. No excuses.