The Work of the Loved | 1 John 4:14-16

The indelible mark on the heart of every Christian is God’s love. In our depravity, we were undone, lost, and spiritually dead, yet God loved us, justifying us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His love defined Apostle John’s identity- the disciple whom Jesus loved- and it was His love in Christ that compelled Paul to give up his life to preach the gospel to the gentile nations. (Jn 21:7, 1Tim 1:12) Christians are loved by God- and this love stimulates both the understanding and the mimicking of this love. Christians love as God loves. As we continue our series in 1 John, we will look at the unique responsibilities of those who are deeply loved by God.

The beloved testify about Christ. To testify is to bear witness about what is true and absolute. In this portion of John’s letter, we see what compelled John to testify about Christ- they have seen Jesus Christ, who was sent by the Father to be the Savior of the world. This is no passing glance of the Savior- the apostles were engraved with the love of Christ, and they testified about this love with full conviction of the gospel. (1Jn 1:1-3, 2Pet 1:16-18, Acts 4:20) If evangelism is natural for one who has seen the love of God in Christ, why then do we lack the desire to testify? We must see Christ as the apostles saw Christ by preaching the gospel to ourselves daily. We sin every day, and we need Jesus in every moment of guilt and hopelessness that comes from realizing our sins and facing our sinful nature. The gospel reminds us that in love God gave His only Son to die on the cross for our sins, so that we might have forgiveness and eternal life in Christ Jesus. Grace abounds in the gospel, and every moment becomes an opportunity to see Jesus.

– We testify Jesus Christ as the only Savior. None are righteous before God. The penalty for our sins is eternal death, but God provides the way of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus alone is the eternal God and sinless Savior, the source of life, who can save those who cannot save themselves. (1Jn 5:12, Acts 4:12)

– We testify Jesus as Lord. Jesus is not only the Savior, but He is and Lord of all. His is truly man, but is also truly God. His authority was never diminished in His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. All things- mankind and otherwise -are subject to the authority of Jesus. We testify not only of salvation in Christ, but His lordship over all. (Col 2:9, Phil 2:9-12)

– We testify of and for salvation. We tell the world the truth concerning Jesus’ offer of salvation, that whoever confesses that Jesus is Lord and believes Jesus is the Son of God will be saved. After this, we lead them to the body of Christ. Saving faith is public, and this public life of faith is to be lived together with the body of Christ, the church. (Rom 10:9)

– We testify of our blessing. In Christ, we live with every spiritual blessing as children of God- salvation, joy, security, spiritual fruit, answered prayer, and countless more. We testify of how God has blessed us in Christ, and how He is ready to bless those who come to Him with repentance of sins and faith in Christ.

The beloved remains in God’s love in all circumstances. Beloved, we must know that Jesus Christ is always with us. As we come to know God through a deeper relationship and knowledge of Jesus Christ, a deeper faith and trust in Him is established. (Heb 13:8) Sin indeed separates us from God, but we trust in Jesus for our forgiveness. The throne of grace is wide open for those that draw near to God with repentant hearts. We become convinced of our forgiveness, we are reminded that we are the children of God. Everything in this fallen world will try to lead us away from God’s love, but it will be unable to separate us from the love of God in Christ. (Rom 8:38-39) We must strive against circumstance to keep this biblical perspective on God’s steadfast love for us in any situation that arises in our lives.

The blessing of experiencing God’s love every day enables us to take on this great privilege of doing the work of God. The world must know of this love- we have seen the love that God has for us in Jesus Christ, and we share this love by sharing the gospel with all those around us.