⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us. ¹³ This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God – God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷ In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world.

1) How does one really love like God?
Verse 7 hinges on a critical word, “know”. The Greek word for “know” here is “γινώσκω”, which, if that’s Greek to you (haha!), it’s the prolonged form of the verb “to know”. It carries a sense of intimacy, increasing personal knowledge over a period of time, and was the Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. It’s a progressive sense of deep intimacy of another where one party is allowing him or herself to be fully known or revealed. The meaning for us in this context becomes exceedingly rich. The Lord God Himself is both allowing Himself to be known by us, comparatively simple human beings, while at the same time, inviting us to increasingly come to know Him in deeper, ever more intimate ways. Truly a remarkable gift!

2) How do we know what love is supposed to look like in our everyday lives?
Verse 11 charges us, “if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another”. “This way” refers back to verse 10 where God shows His love for us by sending His son to be the sacrifice for our sins and herein we discover how we are to love. God loved us first, setting for us an example of supremely lavish love by which we are to love others. He loved not based on merit or goodness, but on His own character (Ephesians 2:8-9). He loved humbly (Philippians 2:5-8), sacrificing Himself and knowing the recipients of His love (us!) could never possibly repay Him. He loved with singleness of purpose, unity (John 17:23). These are the guideposts for our own ways of loving others.

3) How is love “made complete” in us and how does that impact the Day of Judgment?
“Complete” here is also translated “made perfect” or “fulfilled”. It’s the idea that what was missing has now been filled up to its designated fullness. The love of God, far from being reckless, has always been intentional, deliberate, and exact in its purposes. From the moment sin entered the perfect creation, God’s love was already in place to bring about restoration of humanity back into sweet relationship with Himself as He originally designed it to be. God’s love was the motivating factor behind every single act in history, purposefully moving humanity forward to the exact point in time when Christ would die as a sacrifice as an atonement for our sin (Romans 5:6).

1) How does one really love like God?
We are called to love one another because we were first given the example of love in its source, God. We cannot really love like Him at all if we do not do one thing, “know God.” It’s a beautiful process. We are the beloved of God, chosen in Him before the creation of the world out of His own love for us. (Ephesians 1:4-5) He loved us first (1 John 4:19), even while we were running away from Him in our sin (Romans 5:8). As we relinquish ourselves to His love, giving Him reign and rule of our lives, He begins to unleash in us, through His Spirit, true love from Himself that we, in turn, love others with. Jesus says, “all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) The more that we spend time with God, learn from Him, learn His ways and the rhythms of His heart of love, the more we will love others (1 Peter 1:8-9). This is the foundation of a relationship with God: loved by Him, knowing Him intimately, loving Him increasingly, and thereby loving others well.

2) How do we know what love is supposed to look like in our everyday lives?
As we know God better and give ourselves over to His love, these “rhythms of love” will mark how we engage in relationships, how we view other people, and the judgments we so easily seem to make. From that curt word from our spouse, to the child who sassed back, to the driver who cut us off in traffic, to the waiter who got our order wrong…these are all opportunities to love as we have been loved. A love that is not based on someone’s performance, a love that is humble and not self-seeking, a love that does not expect repayment, and a love that binds us together for the purpose of unity. Reflect back on your day so far, where were the opportunities for love popping up? How did you respond? Let the Spirit of God grow your heart into deeper love in these everyday moments!

3) How is love “made complete” in us and how does that impact the Day of Judgment?
When we delight ourselves in the love of God, when we submit to His lordship, this is His designed intention; it’s the perfected fulfillment of His love. Love was designed to bring us back into relationship with Him, and when we are enjoying the preciousness of that intimacy, love has fulfilled its purpose! Being sealed with this love of God, unlike any human love we could possibly muster, we are safe on the Day of Judgment when Christ will judge all of humanity (2 Corinthians 5:10). Safe in a relationship with Jesus is the only way to be declared righteous on Judgment Day! Are you His? Are you safe in a relationship with Him, sealed by His love? Being safe in His love isn’t promised to everyone, only to those who believe and are found in His love. If you have questions, we’d love to chat! Send us an email at contact@gracefullytruthful.com

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Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

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