"Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 17 September 2012"
Today's Blogs Title: "Knowing God Through Love."
Today's Blogs Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:1-21
Today's Blogs Key Verse: 1 John 4:8 "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
In 1 John 3:24, we read that the Holy Spirit gives the believers assurance. But how do we as believers know it is God's Spirit, and not a lying one, who is assuring them? John acknowledges the presence of numerous spirits. John warns us as Christians, that we must be "wary" that they not be mislead.
John's opponents, may have claimed to follow Christ, but without accepting that the Son, who came in the flesh, was also One with the Father. This position was held by many Gnostic's. John tells us that the Spirit will enlighten true believers to confess that Christ did come "in the flesh." Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 6:46, speaks of those who call Him "Lord" but are false followers.
John attributes the work of the false prophets to the "spirit of the antichrist." Jesus indwells believers; Satan is likewise the lord of his own followers. But Jesus is greater than he who wreaks havoc in this world (Praise God). The strength of the believer is in the fact that we are "born of God."
"They" in verse 5, refers to all who are ruled by the spirit of the antichrist. The world and those that are in darkness, who are separated from God, find the teachings of false teachers, more appealing than the "truth of God." Those who recognize the truth of the New Testament witness to Christ, will recognize and confirm to the teachings that John is presenting here in this chapter.
In verse 7, John returns to the theme of mutual love. Perhaps the false teaching, he felt compelled to combat, had contributed to suspicion and contention in the fellowship. John is not saying, that everyone who loves is somehow a Christian, whether they trust in Christ or not. John makes it very clear, that true knowledge in God, will involve a right belief about Jesus, as well as a right response to God, including love of others. Just mere human love, which is apart from the redeeming presence, and motivation will fall short of love in its fullest dimension as a human response to God's perfect and infinite compassion.
John is his writings tells us in 1 John 1:5, that "God is Light" and in John 4:24, that God is Spirit. Love is one of the many attributes of God, and it is to be understood in relation to the others, such as holiness and justice. To grasp God's love right, one must look to how God has demonstrated it. No human love is the standard for understanding God's great compassion, but God's own action on our behalf.
God's character through His Spirit, is to shape and progressively dominate the character of the believer. The Spirit of God imparts the will to love. Trust in Jesus as the incarnate Son of God of God, makes genuine, God indwelled love possible. John here as did Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13, stresses the supremacy of love as a characteristic of God, and therefore as a dominant character of a true believer.
By dwelling in love, and thus having God dwelling in us, the believer gains the priceless assurance that he need not fear the coming judgment. For the non-believer, a fear of God is based on dread of the coming judgment of God. "Fear" is till part of our walk as Christians in the sense of profound reverence, and the unwillingness to violate God's trust in us (Acts 10:35; 13;26; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:21; Philippians 2:12; 1 Peter 1:17). We as believers need not fear eternal rejection as a result of God's judgment (John 5:24), but this does not mean that a Christians approach to God is to be causal or flippant.
Our love as Christians, will mirror God's love, and is not of our own but God's doing. Someone who claims to love God, while holding love from others, is someone who does not have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit within them, for Jesus Himself commanded that those who love God, will demonstrate God's love through loving others.
Click on this link www.cindi-davis.blogspot.com for a Bible Verse from Ephesians 3:3-5.
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. Always remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, physical, or financial in you life and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."
JESUS REIGNS!!! May God's Love, Peace, Strength, and Grace be with you all.
Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi
Today's Blogs Title: "Knowing God Through Love."
Today's Blogs Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:1-21
Today's Blogs Key Verse: 1 John 4:8 "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
In 1 John 3:24, we read that the Holy Spirit gives the believers assurance. But how do we as believers know it is God's Spirit, and not a lying one, who is assuring them? John acknowledges the presence of numerous spirits. John warns us as Christians, that we must be "wary" that they not be mislead.
John's opponents, may have claimed to follow Christ, but without accepting that the Son, who came in the flesh, was also One with the Father. This position was held by many Gnostic's. John tells us that the Spirit will enlighten true believers to confess that Christ did come "in the flesh." Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 6:46, speaks of those who call Him "Lord" but are false followers.
John attributes the work of the false prophets to the "spirit of the antichrist." Jesus indwells believers; Satan is likewise the lord of his own followers. But Jesus is greater than he who wreaks havoc in this world (Praise God). The strength of the believer is in the fact that we are "born of God."
"They" in verse 5, refers to all who are ruled by the spirit of the antichrist. The world and those that are in darkness, who are separated from God, find the teachings of false teachers, more appealing than the "truth of God." Those who recognize the truth of the New Testament witness to Christ, will recognize and confirm to the teachings that John is presenting here in this chapter.
In verse 7, John returns to the theme of mutual love. Perhaps the false teaching, he felt compelled to combat, had contributed to suspicion and contention in the fellowship. John is not saying, that everyone who loves is somehow a Christian, whether they trust in Christ or not. John makes it very clear, that true knowledge in God, will involve a right belief about Jesus, as well as a right response to God, including love of others. Just mere human love, which is apart from the redeeming presence, and motivation will fall short of love in its fullest dimension as a human response to God's perfect and infinite compassion.
John is his writings tells us in 1 John 1:5, that "God is Light" and in John 4:24, that God is Spirit. Love is one of the many attributes of God, and it is to be understood in relation to the others, such as holiness and justice. To grasp God's love right, one must look to how God has demonstrated it. No human love is the standard for understanding God's great compassion, but God's own action on our behalf.
God's character through His Spirit, is to shape and progressively dominate the character of the believer. The Spirit of God imparts the will to love. Trust in Jesus as the incarnate Son of God of God, makes genuine, God indwelled love possible. John here as did Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13, stresses the supremacy of love as a characteristic of God, and therefore as a dominant character of a true believer.
By dwelling in love, and thus having God dwelling in us, the believer gains the priceless assurance that he need not fear the coming judgment. For the non-believer, a fear of God is based on dread of the coming judgment of God. "Fear" is till part of our walk as Christians in the sense of profound reverence, and the unwillingness to violate God's trust in us (Acts 10:35; 13;26; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:21; Philippians 2:12; 1 Peter 1:17). We as believers need not fear eternal rejection as a result of God's judgment (John 5:24), but this does not mean that a Christians approach to God is to be causal or flippant.
Our love as Christians, will mirror God's love, and is not of our own but God's doing. Someone who claims to love God, while holding love from others, is someone who does not have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit within them, for Jesus Himself commanded that those who love God, will demonstrate God's love through loving others.
Click on this link www.cindi-davis.blogspot.com for a Bible Verse from Ephesians 3:3-5.
Have a God Filled and Spirit Led day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. Always remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, physical, or financial in you life and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."
JESUS REIGNS!!! May God's Love, Peace, Strength, and Grace be with you all.
Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi
No comments:
Post a Comment