#365 1 John Series# 6, 3M Love

#365 1 John Series# 6, 3M Love
By: Zach Sloane

1 John 3:11-24

RECAP:
1 John – a book written for you, but not to you.
Main thrust of the book is to help you to know, to be assured.
1 John 5:13 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may knowthat you have eternal life.” 

Applying wrong filter when reading 1 John can do the opposite of assure you of eternal life in Christ and can actually cause some religious anxiety.

Interpretive Key: 1 John 5:13 where he says… “I am writing to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know.” The ones who get to know are the ones who believe.

Rev. Canon Dr.  Lizette Larson-Miller writes that “it is often surprising to reflect on how much of our theology is based not only on philology but also specifically on etymology…”^[1]Greek dictionaries cant make sense of it all. So much of the Bible only makes sense when read through lens of faith.

Hebrews 11:3 says that it is “by faith that we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, that visible things came from the invisible.”  St Anselm said “theology is faith seeking understanding.”

By faith we understand John… when you believe. After you taste then you see that God is good. Psalms 34:8

From a secure position in faith and experience you can know and be sure. And then in faith… these things that he is writing to you, uncomfortable things like SIN, these aren’t to trip you up NOR ARE THEY TO  encourage you to try harder to prove that you have life.  Its to show you that because you have life, this is what will happen in you and through you.

Last week: “Who’s your Daddy.” Its a question of nature.  You either are in Adam or in Christ. You don’t have two natures.

Your nature is who you are at your very core. The essence of you. If you are a believer, you have God’s nature inside you. You can live out of that nature  or you can live contrary to that nature… but it doesn’t change the fact that you have a new nature.

Don’t confuse the confusion you experience when you successfully act contrary to your nature with the Holy Spirit condemning or convicting you. He convicts you of your true identity. Evangelical identity angst!

Two bad responses to fact of new nature: (1.) Take yourself too seriously and think you need to maintain the new nature by your best efforts. Sin-consciousness will rob you of the life you are meant to live. (Remember the tight rope walker)

You are righteous, you actually are even sanctified. The process you are on, is one of manifesting the real true you… of manifesting and revealing the union you already have with Jesus.

(2.) Think that sin doesn’t matter and is no big deal!

God is committed to not only possessing the divine nature, but to you expressing that nature, and that nature is love!

Sin is wrong… BUT… God’s life in you is strong. It will have a manifestation. The message itself has a prophetic, faith-imparting power to produce in you the very thing that it sets out to accomplish. Jesus said “the words I speak to you they are spirit and they are life.” John 6:63. 

A lot of John’s writing is him believing in the power of the message.

1 John 3:11-24 (NKJV)
11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain whowas of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love [a]hisbrother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down ourlives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we [b]know that we are of the truth, and shall [c]assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave [d]us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

3M Love

(1.) The Message
1 John 3:11 “that we should love one another.” If God’s seed is in you, when you act out of that nature you will not sin, but you will do something else: love.

Galatians 5:6 expresses itself through love. God is Love. His message is Love… and that what John is saying… and if you are united to Him,  you too are love and you too will love… he is able to make you love.

Love AS I Have loved you! John 13:34. As he gave commandment.

Love as the Model.

1 John 3:12-16
“…not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love [a]his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Cain didn’t love at all. Cain… killed his brother, so whats that all about?

Genesis 4:1-10 (ESV)
“…4 Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground… 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell…8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.[d] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him….”

Clearly murder is not love!

When Cain brought his sacrifice he was effectively bring the fruit of his own work  to God. Abel on the other hand brought something that was not the fruit of his own labour. Sounds a lot like religion?

The message is, love one another, but not like Cain, not with religious striving and false energy. Don’t love out of duty or out of religious obligation. Don’t let your love for one another be an extension of our religious duties to God, as if your best efforts to love is acceptable to HIm.

The possibility that exists is this that in our enlightenment towards the truth that God is love, that love is what he is after, that love is what we all need, we go hard after love in the way of Cain, as if its a religious duty, our obligation and our religious outworking.

When I give my best, perform my very best love, when I give my all but its under duty, obligation, or out of some sort of misplaced idealism its always with expectations attached. I did my duty, now this must happen. I loved you now you must perform for me God, or others. Then when what I think is supposed to happen as a result doesn’t happen… what do I have left? Anger! Bitterness! Hatred! Resentment!

The love you are to have… not like Cain who’s religious works were evil… but the kind of love that lays down its life for another.

Here’s the model of love that we need to see” 1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Life… we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers, its not the word bios, its not our physical lives. Its the word psuché, and it means:

 5590 psyxḗ (from psyxō, “to breathe, blow” which is the root of the English words “psyche,” “psychology”) – soul(psyche); a person’s distinct identity(unique personhood), i.e. individual personality.

He is saying you ought to lay down our ability to manifest something of our own selves and manifest that in us that is divine in nature. 

You may give up your rights, whats important to you personally. In all actuality, you did give up your up life, you died with Him. Now he is your life!   Jesus is the model in that he lived out of His Father’s life and that looked like love… thats what took Him to the cross.

Manifestation

1 John 3:23-24:
23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 

“as I have loved you.” That command is the difference between the law and grace, the old and new covenants. Love was the priority in both … but when he say “as I loved you,” he’s not saying copy my example with all your strength and might.”  He is saying literally “Let me love fill your heart and your being and then literally share my love… not your best effort at love.”

Because its His love its real and will have a concrete manifestation.

1 John 3: 17- 24
17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we [b]know that we are of the truth, and shall [c]assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

When we love as he does with his love, he says its by this that we know we are of the truth.

1 John 3:19-22
19 And by this we [b]know that we are of the truth, and shall [c]assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

Not a works based assurance program, as if you appease God and relieve your own guilt by loving. When you are established in loving ashe loves,  you know that what you when you are loving is His love through you, so you can’t take credit and try to get God points for it. Its actually His love in and through you, its fruit of the Spirit.

1 John 3:20-22
For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

If your heart still condemn you before God, God is greater than your heart, he knows about you what you don’t yet fully know and believe, and the truth of its doesn’t rest on your subjective feelings about it.

There is an experience in life where your work before God is none other than to believe in Him, and the expression of his life in you is love for others… and that simplifies your life and brings a rest to you and your heart like no other life orientation can. Faith gets answers to prayer, and real faith is manifested through love.

God is committed to you not just possessing His nature, but expressing it.. and it looks like love.

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