1John 4:1
Outline:
I. \\#1:1-2:11\\ The Essentials of Fellowship.
A. \\#1:1-4\\ There is a FELLOWSHIP.
B. \\#1:5-2:11\\ How to know you have this fellowship.
II. \\#2:12-14\\ John’s Audience
A. \\#2:12-13\\ Little Children
B. \\#2:13-14\\ Young Men
C. \\#2:13-14\\ Fathers
III. \\#2:15-29\\ John’s Warnings
A. \\#2:15-17\\ Beware the World
B. \\#2:18-25\\ Beware the Spirit of Anti-Christ
C. \\#2:26-29\\ Beware the Seducers
IV. \\#3:1-5:21\\ John’s Revelations
A. \\#3:1-3\\ Christians Are Blessed!
B. \\#3:4-10\\ Christians Are Not to Sin.
C. \\#3:11-24\\ Christians Love the Brethren.
D. \\#3:24-4:1-3\\ Christians Test the Spirits
E. \\#4:4-6\\ Christians Listen to the Word
F. \\#4:7-21\\ Christians Love…
1. \\#4:7\\ The Command
2. \\#4:7-10\\ Why We Love
a. \\#4:7-8\\ Because God Is Love
b. \\#4:9-10\\ Because We Have Been loved
3. \\#4:11-21\\ How We Love
b. \\#4:11-13\\ With A Love Like God Loved Us
c. \\#4:14-16\\ With A Love Like We Have Received
d. \\#4:17-18\\ With A Love that Perfects
e. \\#4:19-21\\ With A Love Like God Commanded
\\#3:1-5:21\\John’s Revelations
IV. \\#3:24-4:1-3\\ Christians Test the Spirits
Note: It seems to me that the last line of \\#1John 3:24\\ began
John’s next topic. Remember that verse and chapter separations were
added by good and godly men but were not part of the original texts.
1John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we
know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which
he hath given us. And hereby we know that he
abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given
us.
A. "we know that he abideth in us" - John’s main purpose remained
to teach about fellowship with God.
1. There is a fellowship with God.
2. How to get it.
3. How to keep it.
4. How to know you have it.
B. \\#1\\ One of the ways to know that we have fellowship with
God is "by the Spirit which he hath given us."
1. However, we must be certain it is the RIGHT Spirit.
1John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits whether they are of God: because
many false prophets are gone out into the world.
a. The very fact that we must "try" or test the spirit
that attempts to influence us means there are evil
spirits which will attempt to influence us.
b. "because many false prophets are gone out"
Apparently, one of the vehicles in which a false
spirit may come to us in is that of a false prophet
or preacher.
2. How can I know that the spirit attempting to influence me
is of God?
1John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is of God:
a. "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is of God."
(1) John mentioned something similar to this in
\\#1John 2:22\\.
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ?…
(2) The difference being that here he specifically
stated that Jesus, the Christ, was born in the
flesh.
(a) Some believe that John was writing to
counter the man-invented view that flesh is
evil so God would not have put on flesh
(Gnosticism).
(b) That would explain why John put the emphasis
on Jesus coming in the flesh throughout
this letter.
i. Although it is true that Jesus is the
Christ Who came in the flesh and that
one who refused that doctrine would
be a false spirit, there are many
other false doctrines which—if
denied—would be just as true.
ii. The strong emphasize that John placed
on Jesus’ incarnation indicates that
Gnosticism, in some form, was the
primary doctrine that John was
correcting in this book.
1John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of
God: and this is that spirit of antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come; and
even now already is it in the world.
b. "every spirit that confesseth not… is not of God."
(1) As John often did, he restated the same truth in
it’s opposite form.
(a) If he does confess…, he is of God.
(b) If he does not confess…, he is not of God.
(2) Again, there is more to having fellowship with
the Father and His Son than just confessing that
Jesus is the Christ who came in the flesh, but
John’s intention seems to be to refute those who
deny the incarnation so he mentioned it here.
c. "this is that spirit of antichrist" - John went
further to say that those who deny Jesus’ physical,
fleshly coming are standing against God.
(1) "ye have heard… it should come" - We knew it
was coming.
(2) "even now… it is in the world" - It is here.
II. \\#4:4-6\\ Christians Listen to the Word
A. Another sign that we have fellowship with the Father and His
Son is that we hear and understand the Word of God.
1John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and
have overcome them; because greater is he that is
in you, than he that is in the world.
B. \\#4\\ Notice John’s confidence in those to whom he was
writing.
1. "Ye are of God" - He was confident of their salvation.
2. "and have overcome them"
a. He was also confident that they had grown into
spiritual men, able to accomplish the work of God
\\#1Jon 2:13-14\\.
b. So John believed his readers had "overcome" the false
professors and would not be deceived by those who
denied the physical coming of God into the world.
3. Why did John have that confidence?
a. John had confidence because the One inside the
believer is "greater," literally bigger and larger,
than the one who is in the world.
b. Although John never told us who or what the Seed was
that God placed inside of us \\#1John 3:9\\, he did
tell us that God’s Spirit dwells within us
\\#1John 3:24\\.
c. I believe God the Holy Ghost is both the Seed and the
One who abides within us.
4. The Holy Ghost is "larger" than "HE that is in the world."
a. As the "seed" was a Person, so the one who is in the
world is a person.
b. Who would "he" be? "He" would be the devil.
c. The Christians to whom John was writing was doing
battle with the devil, but the devil would lose for
God is greater.
C. \\#5-6\\ True Christians listen because they have been
changed.
1John 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak
they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1. The lost are of this world so they hear, speak with, and
are like the world.
a. Unsaved people understand and communicate with the
world because that is their world.
b. It is where they live, what they love, and how they
think.
1John 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God
heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.
Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the
spirit of error.
2. BUT "We are of God" - Although the word BUT is not in the
verse, John was contrasting what he had said about the
unsaved to what he was saying about the saved.
a. "he that knoweth God heareth us"
(1) The lost listens to the world, and the world
listens to them.
(2) God people listen to "us," John and those like
him who are proclaiming the truth.
(3) Conclusion: Our salvation changes the circle with
whom we communicate.
(a) We speak and listen to God’s people, those
who speak and listen to God.
(b) The world does not.
(c) Our heart and values have changed and so the
world does not understand us, and we do not
understand them.
b. "he that is not of God heareth not us"
(1) This was restating the same truth John had just
stated but in opposite fashion.
(a) He that hears us, knows God.
(b) He that does not hear us, does not know God.
(2) While this was a common writing style in this
epistle, in this instance it may have been to
help his readers realize that those who would
not listen to his words, did not know God and
were unsaved.
III. \\#4:7-21\\ Christians Love…
A. John again turned to his most emphasized evidence of being in
fellowship with the Father and His Son: loving the brethren.
B. Such an emphasis seems to indicate that something, probably
the false doctrine concerning the person of Jesus, had
created an unchristian spirit within that local body of
believers.
1John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for
love is of God; and every one that loveth is born
of God, and knoweth God.
C. \\#4:7\\ The Command:
1. "let us love one another"
2. Although taught several times already, this is a truth
which cannot be over emphasized.
D. \\#4:7-21\\ Why and How to Love:
1. \\#4:7-10\\ Why we love?
a. \\#7-8\\ Because God is love.
1John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for
love is of God; and every one that loveth is born
of God, and knoweth God.
(1) "love is of God" - Love comes from God.
(2) "every one that loveth is born of God" - Those
who love, like the Bible teaches we should love,
are born again.
(3) "and knoweth God"
(a) The word "knoweth" means more than to have a
passing familiarity with someone.
(b) It means to have an intimate knowledge with
that person.
(c) The "eth" on the end means this is an on-
going relationship with God.
1John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for
God is love.
(4) John took that statement, as he often did, and
stated it again from the opposite perspective.
(a) If you love, you know God.
(b) If you do not love, you do not know God.
(5) But John added another important truth in the
last part of that verse.
(a) "God is love."
(b) God is not just the Source and Example of
love.
(c) Love is the outpouring of God’s very nature
and person.
(6) We should love because God is love.
b. \\#9-10\\ Because we have been loved.
1John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God
toward us, because that God sent his only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through him.
(1) God "manifested" (showed or demonstrated) His
love to us.
(2) How? By sending "His only Son into the world."
(a) While John did not feel the need to
elaborate on all sacrifice means to the
believer, every true believer should be
able to recognize that an unfathomable
love has been shown to us.
(b) Those who have received such love, should be
able to love one another.
1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins.
(3) "not that we loved God, but that he loved us"
(a) God loved us first.
(b) For God to love the unlovable indicates that
love is more than a choice for Him.
(c) Love is Who God is \\#1John 4:7-8\\.
(4) "and sent His Son to be the propitiation"
(a) Propitiation was first mentioned in
\\#1John 2:2\\.
(b) Propitiation means "offence remover."
(c) God sent His Son to die for our sins.
(d) For God to give the Unthinkable indicates
that love is more than a feeling for Him.
(e) Love is Who God is \\#1John 4:7-8\\.
(5) We should love because we have been loved.
2. \\#4:11-21\\ How should we love?
a. \\#4:11-13\\ With A Love Like God Loved Us
1John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought
also to love one another.
12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love
one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is
perfected in us.
(1) \\#11\\ The Command
(a) If God has loved us, we should love one
another.
(b) While this may sound more like a conclusion
than a command, by the time you read all
that John had to say, it will be obvious
that it is a command.
(2) \\#12\\ John pointed out that if we love God, we
are loving One we have never seen, and that love
is evidence that "God dwelleth in us."
(3) "and his love is perfected in us"
(a) And the love we have for God does a
perfecting work in us, specifically, in our
ability to love \\#1Jhn 4:17\\.
(b) Although the wording is difficult, I believe
John was stating that God’s perfect love
perfects our love so that even when a
believer may have wronged us, we will love
him.
(4) It would be verse 20 before John completed this
thought.
1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth
his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love
God whom he hath not seen?
(a) \\#20\\ "he is a liar" - John said if a man
says he loves the God that he has not seen,
but hates his brother he has seen, he is a
liar.
(b) "how can he love God…?"
(1) John indicated that it is not POSSIBLE
to love God if you are hating a fellow
believer.
(2) No doubt due to the fact that if we
have received God’s love, it would
have perfected our love for the
brethren.
(5) In \\#12\\, John returned to a thought he had
mentioned in \\#1John 3:24\\, that the Spirit
dwells in us, and we dwell in Him.
1John 4:12 …God dwelleth in us…
13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he
in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
(a) John no longer mentioned a mere fellowship
with the Father and His Son, although that
is indeed a great reward.
(b) John stated that God dwells inside of those
who love like God loves, and those who love
like God loves dwell inside of Him.
(c) This is accomplished because God has given us
His Spirit.
(d) Loving the unlovable is possible for the
one who has fellowship with God because the
Holy Spirit indwells him.
(6) We should love like God loved us.
b. \\#4:14-16\\ With A Love Like We Have Received
1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that
the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the
world.
(1) John began to testify to what he personally saw
and experienced.
(2) By using the plural pronoun, "we," John was
testifying for himself and all those who have
believed.
(3) However, at least one truth must be believed
before God will dwell inside of a person and,
in turn, that person can dwell inside God.
1John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is
the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in
God.
(a) That person must "confess that Jesus is the
Son of God."
(b) Without acknowledging Jesus as the eternal
Son of the eternal God sent into the world
by the Father, there can be no salvation.
(c) At the least this truth must be believed.
i. Perhaps the Gnostics were doubting more
than the physical coming of God in
flesh.
ii. Perhaps they were doubting that Jesus
was God’s Son at all.
(4) And at least one condition must exist if God has
indwelt a person.
1John 4:16 And we have known and believed the
love that God hath to us. God is love; and he
that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God
in him.
(a) "and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in
God…"
(b) That person must dwell in love.
(c) That would be love toward other Christians.
c. \\#4:17-18\\ With A Love that Perfects
1John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that
we may have boldness in the day of judgment:
because as he is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love
casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He
that feareth is not made perfect in love.
(1) \\#17\\ "our love made perfect" - I believe it is
the love that God has for us that perfects our
love \\#1John 4:12\\.
(2) Such love will give us "boldness in the day of
judgment…." Why?
(a) "because "as He is (pure, holy, righteous),
so are we…" - God’s love changes us.
(b) \\#18\\ And because "there is no fear in
love" - Knowing that God loves us, even
on reward day, we will know that He is
doing what is best for us.
(c) Because "love casteth out fear." Love and
fear are opposites and cannot abide in the
same vessel.
(3) "He that feareth is not made perfect in love"
If we are afraid to see God, the love of God
has not been understood and accepted yet.
d. \\#4:19-21\\ With A Love Like God Commanded
1John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
(1) John was stating that we can and do love because
God loved us.
1John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth
his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love
God whom he hath not seen?
(2) This is John’s point.
(a) Christians do not hate their brothers in
Christ.
(b) John kept repeating that truth to fix the
lack of love being displayed among those
to whom he was writing, probably due to
the doctrinal error the Gnostics had
brought into the fellowship.
(3) John introduced the thought of having never seen
God in verse 12.
(a) Here he finished that thought.
(b) We cannot love a God whom we have not seen
if we cannot love a brother in Christ whom
we have seen.
(c) While John did not explain why, I believe it
is because of the perfecting power of God’s
love \\#1John 4:12, 17, 18\\.
i. There are some things which are not
possible once we are saved.
ii. One is to hate a brother that Jesus
died to save.
1John 4:21 And this commandment have we from
him, That he who loveth God love his brother
also.
(4) And if we cannot bring ourselves to love one
another for any other reason, we would surely do
so because Jesus commanded us to do so.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love
one another, as I have loved you.
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