INTERACTIVE TEACHING/LEARNING GUIDECultural Harmony: Living in the World but not of the World

Week 2

Session Title: Unconditional Love Focal Passage: Matthew 5:43-45; John 13:34-45; 1 Peter 4:8; 1

John 4:7-21

Central Teaching/Learning Aim: The learner will discuss unconditional love and be challenged to practice it in the coming week.

I. Hook

A. Show web clip of Christian Crawford praying

Location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8mpcK4eopA   Length: .33

Synopsis: An Alabama high school graduate is receiving national attention for his powerful, impromptu preaching at his graduation ceremony while a medical emergency was taking place in the crowd.

As emergency crews tended to a woman who suffered a seizure during the Clay-Chalkville High School commencement Thursday evening, Christian Crawford stepped up to the podium and led the crowd of 1000-plus in a prayer.

“We pray right now that whatever is going on; you will fix it, God. We pray that you will heal it, God. We pray that you will redeem it, God. We pray that you will deliver it, God,” Christian prayed.

“Because we know that you are a God who knows how to make a way. And in the name of Jesus, we declare and decree in the name of Jesus that whatever is going on shall be fixed, because you are a God who is a fixer. You are a God who is a healer.”

The crowd erupted in cheers when Christian finished delivering his spontaneous and moving prayer. The ceremony continued without incident.

Ask – Is this an example of unconditional love? If so, how? Share with others around an example of unconditional love you have experienced.

State – Today we are going to discuss how to love others unconditionally even if we disagree with their lifestyles.

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B. Show movie clip “When the Game Stands Tall”

Location: http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/when-the-game-stands-tall/why-meLength: 2:16

Synopsis: It’s not how hard you fall. It’s how you get back up.

Inspired by a true story, WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL tells the remarkable journey of legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur, who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from obscurity to a 151-game winning streak that shattered all records for any American Sport.

In this scene the coach is expressing unconditional love towards one of his players whose mother is passing away and fears that he will be all alone.

Ask – Is this an example of unconditional love? If so, how? Share with others around an example of unconditional love you have experienced.

State – Today we are going to discuss how to love others unconditionally even if we disagree with their lifestyles.

C. Optional Method – Show web clip – A father loves his son unconditionally

Location: http://www.people.com/article/cory-hahn-wings-for-life-baseball-arizona-diamondbacksLength: 2:38

Synopsis:

Father Continues to Cheer and Love His Paralyzed Son

Dale Hahn once encouraged his son Cory at his tee ball and Little League games. Dale continued to cheer Cory on all the way through high school, often playing catch in the driveway and working on Cory's swing. All of that dedication paid off. During his senior year at Santa Ana Mater Dei High School, Cory received California's distinguished "Mr. Baseball" award. Cory declined a $300,000 salary offer from the San Diego Padres so he could hone his skills at Arizona State University on a full scholarship. And just like those early tee ball days, his dad was still his biggest fan and most devoted coach.

But Cory's future plans shattered during his third game at Arizona State. As he was sliding head first into second base, Cory broke his neck. Today he's a C5 quadriplegic, paralyzed from the chest down. He has limited use of his hands and arms. The kid who once led his team to a high school

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championship by pitching five perfect innings, making an over-the-shoulder catch, and hitting a long home run, now battles to eat hamburgers, wash his hair, and wheel to class.

Cory says, "My goals don't take days anymore, they take weeks, they take months." But, as always, Cory is able to stretch toward those goals from the broad shoulders of the guy he calls Pops. "There were times I would wonder, what's better, being dead or being like this?" Cory says. "But then I look up and see my dad and think, If he can do it, I can do it."

When Cory moved back to the Arizona State campus to continue his studies, Dale moved into an extended-stay hotel down the street. Together they get Cory ready for his daily classes. Each day brings a little more independence for Cory. Recently, they celebrated that Cory was using his once-lifeless hands to wash his own hair. Cory is also able to feed himself only after countless days of practicing with his dad. "It was really messy," Cory said, "but we did it."

Together they drive to campus in Dale's truck, where they go from a street parking spot to Cory's first class, with Cory wheeling himself most of the way. Dale says, "I see all these college kids running and skating across campus, and then I see Cory just chugging along in his chair, the world moving past him … and I am so, so proud of him."

"We live for the little victories," Cory says. "We're a team."

After lunch, they go to a gym for therapy, and then his father might drop him off at a Sun Devils baseball practice or game before taking him home for the night. Cory will hang out with friends until about 11 P.M., at which point his father returns to his room to lay him into bed and put the television on a timer and slip out with a simple, "Good night, buddy."

"When you're a dad, you're a dad forever," Dale says.

Adapted from Bill Plaschke, "Cory Hahn is still part of a team," Los Angeles Times (posted 2-28-12

Ask – Is this an example of unconditional love? If so, how? Share with others around an example of unconditional love you have experienced.

State – Today we are going to discuss how to love others unconditionally even if we disagree with their lifestyles.

II. Book

A. Utilize the discussion guide to examine the Scripture passages.

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III. Look

A. Place members into groups and have them discuss the handout “Unconditional Love.”

IV. Took

A. Challenge members to do 3 acts of unconditional love to acquaintances or strangers this week. Tell them that next week we will hear from some about how it went. Close in prayer.

B. Optional Method – Share the following story:

Chris Pratt Preemptively Apologizes for Offending You in the Future

'I'm just dumb. Plan and simple,' the actor wrote in a note to fans ahead of a promotional tour for his forthcoming Jurassic Park reboot.

Actor Chris Pratt posted an apology to Facebook this weekend to apologize in advance for any offensive comments he may unintentionally make on his Jurassic Park press tour.

“I hope you understand it was never my intention to offend anyone and I am truly sorry. I swear. I’m the nicest guy in the world. And I fully regret what I (accidentally will have) said in (the upcoming foreign and domestic) interview(s),” he said in the post.

Pratt says he isn’t making excuses. “I am just dumb. Plain and simple.” he writes.

“To those I (will have) offended please understand how truly sorry I already am. I am fully aware that the subject matter of my imminent forthcoming mistake, a blunder (possibly to be) dubbed “JurassicGate” is (most likely) in no way a laughing matter,” Pratt wrote.

Ask – Is this really how life works? Can you preemptively apologize for future offenses? Who in your life do you need to unconditionally love? How can you reach out to them this week?

Close in prayer.

(Note – you could have them discuss this in a group.)

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DISCUSSION GUIDETeacher Copy

1. How are we to treat others, even our enemies? (Matthew 5:43-44)[We are instructed to love and pray for them.]

2. Is this command even possible? If so, how?

3. How does praying for an enemy eventually yield love for that enemy?

4. What is your motivation for loving and praying for others, even our enemies? (v. 45)[To be like God who loves all unconditionally.]

5. What are the implications of the command of Jesus in (John 13:34)?[Jesus loves us so much that He gave His life for us. I must love others as much.]

6. How does one lay down his life for others? (List ways)

7. What is the main purpose for unconditional love? (v. 35)[To be a good example to the world so the world will see we are people of Christ.]

8. Do non-Christians know you are a Christ-follower by the way you live among them?

9. How do you think the lost world perceives the Christian community as a whole?

10.How does consistent love for others soften the blow of wrongs committed? (1 Peter 4:8)[Consistent love expressed builds a trust factor over time and people are more forgiving.]

11.What are the implications of unconditional love summed up in (1 John 4:7-21)?[We are to love fellow believers unconditionally without exception as an example to a lost world.]

12. Is there anyone you are struggling to like much less love? How can you express unconditional love this week?

DISCUSSION GUIDE

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Student Copy

1. How are we to treat others, even our enemies? (Matthew 5:43-44)

2. Is this command even possible? If so, how?

3. How does praying for an enemy eventually yield love for that enemy?

4. What is your motivation for loving and praying for others, even our enemies? (v. 45)

5. What are the implications of the command of Jesus in (John 13:34)?

6. How does one lay down his life for others? (List ways)

7. What is the main purpose for unconditional love? (v. 35)

8. Do non-Christians know you are a Christ-follower by the way you live among them?

9. How do you think the lost world perceives the Christian community as a whole?

10.How does consistent love for others soften the blow of wrongs committed? (1 Peter 4:8)

11.What are the implications of unconditional love summed up in (1 John 4:7-21)?

12. Is there anyone you are struggling to like much less love? How can you express unconditional love this week?

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UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Live life together (Proverbs 17:17)How has the love of friends sustained you in times of trouble?

How has the love of friends rejoiced with you in times of victory?

How can you avoid being a fair-weather friend?

Obey Christ’s command (John 15:12-17)What is Christ’s command pure and simple?

Do you love if? or when? Or do you just love?

How can you “lay your life down” for a friend?

Value friendship (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)What value are your friends?

When have they been there for you?

Encourage and forgive (Ephesians 4:32)How can you encourage a friend?

How can you forgive even if you have been hurt?

Is there anyone you need to forgive?

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THEE WORD FOR THE WEEK

Biblical MarriageGen 2:18-25; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:16-28;

1Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 5:21-29; 1Timothy 1:9-10

Monday – Read Genesis 2:18-25 How did God create woman? Why did God create woman? What is the description of a marriage in these verses? What need did Adam have? In what ways has God met your needs?

Tuesday – Read Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:16-28 What does Leviticus state is an abomination? What is the wrath of God revealed toward? (Romans 1:18) How are we suppose to live? Romans 1:16-17) How does some ones heart become foolish?(Romans 1:20-28) In what ways will you live your life today not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ?

Wednesday – Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Who will inherit the kingdom of God? Who will not? In what ways has your life changed since beginning your relationship with The

Lord? What areas of your life is The Lord refining right now?

Thursday – Read Ephesians 5:21-29 What’s the role of a husband? How do you feel you’re doing in this role? What’s the role of a wife? How do you feel you’re doing in this role? If we all submitted to one another in the fear of God…. What would our lives look

like? What would your marriage look like? What will be your next step in submitting to one another in the fear of The Lord?

Friday – Read 1Timothy 1:9-10 Who is the law made for? (Read 1Timothy 1:15) Why did Jesus come into the world? Has there been a point in your life where you believed and received this

forgiveness of your sin from Jesus? How does this action on God’s part make you feel?

EXEGETICAL ~ THEOLOGICAL ~ PEDAGOGICAL

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(EXEGETICAL: what it meant for the Corinthian believers back THEN)Matthew 5:43-45

I. Jesus’ interpretation of the Law, in contrast to traditional teaching [influenced by legalism], regarding hatred . . . demanded a compassion that reached out to both friends and enemies, (43-47).A. The teachers’ interpretation of the Law . . . said that everyone was obliged

to hate his/her enemy, even as everyone was obliged to love his/her neighbor, (43).

B. Jesus’ interpretation Law . . . said that everyone was obliged to love and pray for his/her enemies as well as his/her neighbors/friends, (44).

C. The result of loving both friends and enemies . . . was that Jesus’ followers would become God’s true children, (45).

Note: “This final [see verses 21-48] antithesis is the first to begin with a quotation not entirely from Scripture. ‘Love your neighbor’ comes from Lev 19:18, but ‘hate your enemy’ appears nowhere in the Old Testament. Commentators debate whether or not this latter command is a legitimate inference from texts like Deut 23:3–6; 25:17–19; or Ps 139:21, but hatred of enemies was common enough in subsequent generations so as to fit under the category of something Jesus’ audience had ‘heard that it was said’ (cf. the attitude combatted in Luke 10:25, 37). Again Jesus opposes the traditional teaching and enunciates a more demanding ethic. Christians must love their enemies (v. 44). Otherwise they are no different than tax collectors and pagans, two groups classically despised by orthodox Jews—the first for working for Rome in collecting tribute from Israel and the second because of their false religion (v. 46). Almost all people look after their own. The true test of genuine Christianity is how believers treat those whom they are naturally inclined to hate or who mistreat or persecute them. Whatever emotions may be involved, ‘love’ here refers to ‘generous, warm, costly self-sacrifice for another’s good’ . . . ‘desire for the other person’s welfare.’ People who so love and greet their enemies and pray for their persecutors thus prove themselves to be those, as in v. 9, who are growing in conformity to the likeness of their Heavenly Father (v. 45)” (C. Blomberg, C. Matthew, Vol. 22, 114–115).

“The Pharisees taught that one should love those near and dear to him (Lev. 19:18), but that Israel’s enemies should be hated. The Pharisees thus implied that their hatred was God’s means of judging their enemies. But Jesus stated that Israel should demonstrate God’s love even to her enemies—a practice not even commanded in the Old Testament! God loves them; He causes His sun to rise on them and He sends rain to produce their crops. Since His love extends to everyone, Israel too should be a channel of His love by loving all. Such love demonstrates that they are God’s sons (cf. Matt. 5:16)” (L. A. Barbieri, Jr., Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, Vol 2, 31).

“‘Be sons of your Father in heaven.’ Here, however, the focus is not on attaining a relationship (becoming a child of God) but rather on being the kind of person who shares the characteristics of God himself (a frequent meaning of the Semitic idiom ‘son of’)” (The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Mt 5:45).

“The point of the passage is not to state the means of becoming sons but the necessity of pursuing a certain kind of sonship patterned after the Father’s character”

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(D. A. Carson, Matthew. In T. Longman III &. Garland, David E. (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans–Galatians, Vol. 9, 193).

(EXEGETICAL: what it meant for the Corinthian believers back THEN)John 13:34-35

II. The means by which all people would know that Jesus’ disciples were His disciples . . . was by their obedience to Jesus’ command that they love one another just as He had loved them, (34-35).A. The new commandment that Jesus gave to His disciples . . . was that they

love one another just as He had loved them, (34). B. The means by which all people would know that Jesus’ disciples were His

disciples . . . was by their obedience to Jesus’ command that they love one another just as He had loved them, (35).

Note: “In the present verses the focus is upon the community that Jesus will establish as a result of his Passover departure. Its distinctive quality was to be marked by a new commandment. . . .

“In the establishment of communities, one of the principle factors of success is the establishing of boundaries for action, which we call laws. These laws are based on community or national covenants, whether stated or unstated. These covenants that lie behind the laws, rules, or commands are absolutely crucial. When societies go through transitions by the influx of outsiders or changes in economic or social structures, the underlying covenants are often disregarded and the society is thrown into confusion. . . . Understanding underlying covenants is therefore crucial to perceiving the significance of laws or commands.

“Thus, to understand the ten so-called words or commandments of Exodus 20 one must realize that they do not start with v. 3, ‘no other gods.’ The Ten Commandments start with the presupposition of a covenant based on the liberating act of God in bringing the people out of Egypt, the house of bondage, as it is described in v. 2. It is only when one understands the foundational liberating act of God for Israel that one recognizes the responsibility to obey the divine commands. To forget the covenant is to set the commands in a sea of meaninglessness. Rules have to be contextualized to have meaning.

“So it is with the new commandment of John 13:34. The commandment to love one another has almost no meaning apart from its contextual presupposition, ‘I have loved you.’ It is like commanding people to have no other gods who have not understood the meaning or accepted the exodus for themselves. Their question, ‘Why should I obey?’ is perfectly legitimate until they recognize that the exodus is a paradigm for them as well. In the same manner, to ask people to love one another is pointless if they have not understood the love of Jesus in his Passover death for them . . .

“The acceptance of God’s self-giving love for the people of the world, including each one of us as recipients of that love (3:16), and the obedient response in a derivative love enables ‘all people’ (pantes, 13:35; not merely men) to recognize the accepter as a disciple of Jesus. This way of loving one another is not to be interpreted exclusively as my little in-group (as it was by many Jews; cf. the message of Jonah). Instead, it was to be understood as breathtakingly explosive of old relationships and old patterns of obedience in the way it was pointedly presented in the Sermon on the Mount

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(cf. Matt 5–7 and particularly 5:43–48; cf. also 1 John 4:7–21). These two verses of John thus encapsulate the coming of the new era and the new community” (G. L. Borchert, John 12–21, Vol. 25B, 98–100).

(EXEGETICAL: what it meant for the Corinthian believers back THEN)1 Peter 4:8

III. The reason the scattered aliens were to maintain a constant love for one another, according to Peter’s command . . . was because love covered (“got beyond”) a multitude of sins, (8).A. The content of Peter’s command to the scattered aliens . . . was that they

maintain a constant love for one another, (8a). B. The reason the scattered aliens were to maintain a constant love for one

another . . . was because love covered (“got beyond”) a multitude of sins, (8b).

Note: “The imminence of the end should also provoke believers to love. In the Greek the participle ‘having’ (echontes) . . . is rendered by ‘keep’ (NASB, HCSB), ‘maintain’ (NRSV), and ‘hold’ (RSV) in other translations. Many scholars understand the participle as an imperative. . . . Peter did not merely exhort believers to love one another in light of the eschaton . . . He said that such love is ‘above all,’ and he exhorted his readers to ‘constant love.’ . . . The importance of such constancy in love has already been underlined in 1 Pet 1:22, and the theme is broached again because love is central in the Christian life. . . . When believers contemplate how to spend their lives in light of the Lord’s coming, in their few days as sojourners, they should remind themselves of the priority of love.

“In the second half of the verse the reason love should be pursued is explicated, as the word ‘because’ (hoti) indicates. The reason given is that love ‘covers over a multitude of sins.’ The proverbial saying here also is found in Jas 5:20, though the future rather than the present tense is used in James. . . . When believers lavish love on others, the sins and offenses of others are overlooked. Four arguments support this interpretation. First, it fits with the emphasis on mutuality in the immediate context. Love is directed to others, not oneself (v. 8). Genuine love is displayed to others through hospitality (v. 9), and gifts are employed to serve others, not oneself (v. 10). Second, the interpretation proposed here fits with Prov 10:12, which is alluded to here: ‘Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.’ The clear meaning is that love covers over the wrongs of others, while those who are full of hatred use the sins of others as a springboard to attack them. Third, though Jas 5:20 is also disputed, it is quite likely that the one who restores the sinner from his errant way covers over the sins of the one who went astray. Fourth, the notion that love overlooks the sins of others is clearly taught elsewhere in the New Testament (Matt 18:21–22; 1 Cor 13:4–7” (T. R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, Vol. 37, 211–213).

“Love (agapēn … echontes) each other deeply. ‘Deeply’ (ektenē, ‘stretched’ or ‘strained’) was used to describe the taut muscles of an athlete who strains to win a race (cf. ektenōs in 1:22). A Christian’s unselfish love and concern for others should be exercised to the point of sacrificially giving for others’ welfare. Love covers over (kalyptei, lit., ‘hides’) a multitude of sins. This kind of strenuously maintained love is not blind but sees and accepts the faults of others (cf. Prov. 10:12; 1 Cor. 13:4–7)” (R.

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M. Raymer, 1 Peter. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, Vol. 2, 853).

(EXEGETICAL: what it meant for the Galatian believers back THEN)1 John 4:7-21

IV. The purpose for which John’s beloved were to love their brothers/sisters with a love sourced in (“from”) God, a love instigated by God’s having first loved mankind, as revealed in His giving His Son as a propitiation for their sins so that they might live through Him, a love that was being perfected/matured in them by means of their reciprocal abiding in God and God in them as a consequence of their confessing Jesus as the Son of God and as witnessed by the Spirit, even a love that eliminated any fear of punishment . . . was so that they might have confidence/boldness in the Day of Judgment, (4:7-21).A. The reasons for John’s beloved loving one another, according to the

apostle’s encouragement [subjunctive, not imperative] . . . were that love was sourced in (“from”) God, that everyone loving had been “fathered” by God and [also] knew Him, and because the one not loving did not know God since He was [in His essential nature] love, (1 John 4:7-8).

Note: There is a major difference between the one who loves in verse 7b and the one who does not love in verse 8. The one loving has been “fathered” [born of; born again] by God (see also 2:29; 3:9) and knows Him [experiences an intimate relationship with God]. The one not loving does not know God [does not experience an intimate relationship with Him]. Notice that John does not say, nor does he at all imply, that the non-loving believer [the “beloved” of verse 7a] has not been “fathered” by God. John is not denying or questioning the non-loving believer’s salvation. He is simply saying that he/she is not acting like God’s child.

It is possible to be the offspring of a father whose DNA one shares, but not to be recognizable as the offspring of that father because one’s actions are so different, even opposed to, the father’s. I could be my father’s son and yet hate carrots even though he loves carrots. I could be my father’s son and yet cheer for the Yankees rather than the Rangers. But if I am my father’s son and have such an intimate relationship with him that I take on his very preferences and likes, then I too will acquire a taste for carrots and love to cheer on the Rangers. Yet even if I cheer for the Yankees, it doesn’t mean I am not my father’s offspring. You can be a loved child of God, truly born again, but not be living like it. If that is true, your fellowship with God and with His Son will not be intimate or joyfully satisfying (see 1 John 1:1-4).

John stated that, in His essential nature, God is love. In 1 John 1:5 he stated that God is light. To say that God is light is to profess His absolute holiness. To say that God is love is to profess His absolute and personal desire for the well-being and good of Himself (in Trinity) and of all His creation. These two attributes do not exhaust His attributes. They simply indicate that in everything God does, He does in absolute holiness and love.B. The instigation/prompting of God’s love, manifested by His sending His

unique (“only begotten”) Son into the world so that they [John, the apostles, his beloved, and mankind] might live through Him . . . was not based on

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mankind’s [first] having loved Him, but on His [first] having loved mankind and [demonstrating that love by] giving His Son as propitiation for their sins [moral, ethical, spiritual shortcomings], (1 John 4:9-10).

Note: “If God is love, then it is hardly a surprise that God is supremely and righteously angry about our sinning, because it destroys the love relationships that we have with God and with each other as well. We have here statements that are akin to what we find in John 3:16-17. Love and life are the polar opposites of hate and death, and yet the substitutionary and atoning death of Jesus is the prime example of God’s love for us” (Ben Witherington III, Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians, Vol. I, 530).

Regarding propitiation, “Inherent in the meaning of this Greek word is the idea of turning away the divine wrath. . . . God’s love for us is expressed in his sending his Son to be the propitiation (the propitiatory sacrifice) for our sins on the cross. This is an indirect way for the author to allude to one of the main points of his controversy with the opponents: the significance for believer’s salvation of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry, including especially his sacrificial death on the cross” (W. Hall Harris, III, 1, 2, 3 John, 188).

“Propitiation brings about the merciful removal of guilt through divine forgiveness. In the Greek OT . . . the Greek term for propitiation was used for the sacrificial mercy seat on which the high priest placed the blood of the Israelites’ sacrifices (Ex. 25:17-22; 1 Chr. 28:2). On seeing these sacrifice the righteous anger of God was turned aside from Israel. . . . the word does indicate that God’s anger against sin must be satisfied. In coming into the world as a man, God became the receiver of His own wrath and the means to providing escape from that wrath” (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary, 1707).

John makes it clear that loving is not the condition of being a child of God, but loving is a consequence of one who is born of God and living in intimate fellowship with Him. C. The content of John’s transitional [4:7-10 and 4:12-21] encouragement to

his beloved, based on the extent of God’s love as demonstrated by His sending of His Son to assuage/appease His wrath toward their sin [4:10] . . . was that they ought also to love one another [cp. 4:7], (1 John 4:11).

D. The proof that God abided/dwelt/made Himself at home in John’s beloved and that His love for them was being [progressively] perfected/completed/ filled out in them . . . was that John’s beloved loved one another, even though no one [of them] had ever seen/beheld [in all His glory] God [cp. John 1:18; 5:37; 6:46 and then 1 John 3:2, (1 John 4:12).

E. The reason John’s beloved could know that they abided in God and that God abided in them, a consequence of their having confessed Jesus as the Son of God whom the Father, in love, had sent to be the Savior of the world and as a consequence of their knowing and believing that love . . . was because of His Spirit whom He had given them, (1 John 4:13-16).

Note: The work of the Holy Spirit within and among John’s beloved spiritual children confirmed that God was at work in them, conforming them into the image of His Son. This “evidence” may have been more subjective and experiential than the

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evidence of the Scriptures [the apostles’ teachings and writings], but it was nonetheless confirming proof for the true believer (See 1 John 2:20, 27).

John’s reference to Jesus as “the Son of God” affirmed His divinity. John referred to one “Son of God” in all his writings and those references always alluded to Jesus’ divinity.

Also, John noted that reciprocal abiding was the consequence of one’s confessing Jesus’ divinity, and thus His saving work. F. The purpose for which love, which eliminated the fear of punishment, was

being perfected/matured/completed in John’s beloved, even as it had been exemplified in Jesus, by means of their reciprocal abiding in God and God in them . . . was so that they might have confidence/boldness [2:28; 3:21] in the Day of Judgment [the Judgment Seat of Christ], (1 John 4:17-18).

G. The content of the command that John [and the apostles] had from God for those who loved God, since He had first loved them . . . was that they also love their brother/sister [fellow believer] since it was not possible to love God who was not able to be seen if one hated his/her brother/sister who was seen, (1 John 4:19-21).

Note: If anyone had actually experienced the love of God, through His giving His Son to die so that he/she might live, and if that love had been truly reciprocated, then the natural response would be to love those who had also experienced and reciprocated God’s love. John’s logic held that if one could not love people they saw right in front of them, they certainly could not love a God who was not able to be seen, especially since those seen had also been “fathered” by God.

Once again John attacked the notion that the body (of the seen, material world) and the spirit (of the unseen, spiritual world) were disparate entities representing evil, exclusive of good, and good, exclusive of evil. The false teachers who had separated from the fellowship had hated their fellow believers as was evident from their teaching lies and living in flagrant disobedience.

(Theological: What it means for God’s people ALWAYS)LOVING ONE’S ENEMIES AS WELL AS ONE’S FELLOW BELIEVERS . . .

DEMONSTRATES ONE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.I. Believers’ loving their enemies as well as their friends . . . proves that they are true

children of God, (Matthew 5:43-47).II. Believers’ loving one another . . . demonstrates that they are disciples of

Jesus, (John 13:34-35).III. Believers’ loving one another . . . enables individuals and communities to get

beyond many instances of sin, (1 Peter 4:8).IV. Believers’ loving one another . . . proves that they are born of God and

enables them to have confidence in the Day of Judgment, (1 John 4:7-21).

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(Pedagogical: What it means for us Now)SHOW YOURSELF A CHILD OF GOD: LOVE LIKE GOD HAS LOVED YOU.

I. Show the world that you are a child of God [His adopted son/daughter]: Love your enemies as well as your friends, (Matthew 5:43-45). - Jesus used the word “son,” indicating a legal relationship.- See your cultural “enemies” as spiritually blind, lost, and dead.

II. Show the world that you are a follower of Jesus [His true disciple]: Love your fellow disciples, (John 13:34-35). -

Practice true ecumenism. Learn to love those who share your faith.- Scripture, Trinity, God-man, Depravity, Cross/Resurrection, Faith Alone,

Return/Judgment.III. Show the world and yourself that you are a child of God [His offspring] and that you

are ready for the Day of Judgment: Love one another, (1 John 4:7-21).- John used the word “offspring,” indicating a new spiritual nature (DNA).

IV. Get beyond the sins/sinning of your fellow believers: Love one another, (1 Peter 4:8). - We have more important work to do than linger over repented struggles and

failures.

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