The Source of Love Sunday School Lesson

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The Source of Love Sunday School Lesson

Introduction

A. Searching for the Source

Hernando de Soto was the first European toexplore the Mississippi River. Despite all hiscourageous efforts, however, he only got as farup the river as modern-day Memphis, Ten-nessee. Little did he know that he was less than a

third of the way up that mighty river! He died in1542 of a fever, and his body was buried in theriver that was too big for him to trace. David Liv-ingstone was a Christian missionary and explorerof the Nile River in Africa. His final, most fa-mous, journey was a search for that long river'ssource. When he died in 1873, he still had notfound the elusive headwaters for which he wassearching.

Sometimes searching for the source of a mightyriver has been just too difficult. But what of thegreat river of love that flows in the community ofGod throughout the world and throughout his-tory? What is its ultimate source? What inspiredthis love? The apostle John makes it clear in thislesson that the source of love is God. Love is partof His central nature; love flows from His heart.Whenever we act in love, we are reproducingwhat we learned first from Him.

B. Lesson Background

The apostle John is in some ways an unlikelyperson to be writing about love. He did not showmuch love when he and his brother wanted tocall down fire from Heaven on a village inSamaria (Luke 9:54). He did not show much lovewhen he and his brother tried to secure preferredseats of honor alongside Jesus (Mark 10:35-37).But while John did not show love very well inthe beginning, he certainly received it—as "thedisciple whom Jesus loved" (see John 21:20).John learned firsthand that we love because Hefirst loved us. In the end John came to be knownas the apostle of love.

Previously, we saw John demonstrate that lovefor fellow Christians is a test that revealswhether a person is really walking in the light.Now John goes further: love is also the test thatreveals if a person actually is born of God. SinceGod is the ultimate source and embodiment oflove, anyone who is genuinely born of God willreflect His characteristics. A person without loveis a person who is not God's child. We will seeJohn establish that such a person does not evenknow God.

I. Example of Love(1 John 4:7-12)

A. Our Pattern (vv. 7, 8)

7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love isof God: and every one that loveth is born ofGod, and knoweth God.

John addresses his readers as people who arebeloved in his eyes (see also 1 John 3:2, 21; 4:1,11). John's urging that they love one another is a repeat of 1 John 3:11, 23. He is quick to supply athreefold reason. First, love is of God; that is, Godis the source of this selfless emotion. Second,those who love show that they are born of God;they as genuine children resemble their Father ina vital way. Third, those who love show thatthey know God; they follow God's love as theirpattern. I See question #1, Tiage 256.1

8.He that Wroth not, knoweth not God; forGod is love.

John said previously that the one who lackslove walks in the darkness and abides in death(see 1 John 2:11; 3:14). If someone does not havelove, John now asserts, he or she does not evenknow God. Since the very nature of God is love,the person unacquainted with love is unac-quainted with God.

This is the same truth that Paul wrote to theCorinthians. Even if a person speaks in tongues,delivers prophecies, and exercises mountain-moving faith, it all means nothing without love(see 1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Love is the most ex-cellent way because it is God's way. (See ques-tion #2, page 2561

B. Our Salvation (vv. 9, 10)

9.In this was manifested the love of Godtoward us, because that God sent his only begot-ten Son into the world, that we might livethrough him.

God's love is not just an empty emotion. It is amighty passion that impelled Him to bring salva-tion to those created in His image. It was mani-fested, or shown, in the way God sent his onlybegotten Son to take on human flesh and to dieon the cross. This will forever be the world'sgreatest example of love (see John 15:13). Godsent—and Jesus came—so we might live throughHim. Exactly how Jesus' death can save us is thesubject of the next verse.

10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, butthat he loved us, and sent his Son to be the pro-pitiation for our sins.

God is the source, the fountainhead, of love. Itis not that we loved God, as if we had taken thefirst steps to make salvation possible. Rather, itis that He loved us, even when we were sinfuland unworthy (see Romans 5:8). Love beginswith God.

When God sent His only begotten Son into theworld, He sent Him to be the propitiation for oursins. That word propitiation is vital for under-standing how God forgives sin. God providedJesus to be the sacrifice for sin. When Jesus gaveHis life, God accepted Jesus' suffering as pay-ment for sin's penalty. This payment turnedGod's wrath away from us—God was propitiated.We could never have turned away God's swathon our own (see also Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2).God does not just ignore our sins and pretendthat they do not exist. His own holiness and jus-tice do not allow this. Holiness and justice requirethan sin be punished. Yet in His great love for us,God took the necessary steps to deal with our sins.He sent Jesus, who was both infinite God and sin-less man, to give His one great life in our place.

C. Our Challenge (vv. 11, 12)

11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought alsoto love one another.

The theme of love is repeated often in thisepistle. God, the source of love, has so loved usthat He gave Jesus for our salvation (John 3:16).Since we have been saved by this love, we oughtto be ready to love one another. In view of whatGod has done for us in love, nothing less is ac-ceptable (see also Matthew 18:33). (See question#3, page 256.1

STEALING JESUS

A few years ago a church in midtown Manhat-tan (New York City) was burglarized. It was afairly predictable theft: an offering box and itscontents were stolen. Three weeks later a moreunusual theft took place: a four-foot plaster fig-ure of Jesus, weighing 200 pounds, was stolen.Stranger yet was the fact that the statue was partof a crucifix, and the cross itself was left behind!The church custodian commented, "They justdecided, 'We're going to leave the cross and takeJesus.– Think about the implications of that for amoment. Lots of people today like the idea ofJesus as an example of love. They even like theidea (theoretically, at least) of being a personwho loves like Jesus. But, as John tells us, Godshowed His love for us by sending Jesus to be apropitiation for our sins.

If we're going to "take Jesus" as the model forour lives, then we're going to have to "take the

cross" as a model as well. "If any man will comeafter me, let him deny himself, and take up hiscross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). Is thisthe model of love and service that directs yourlife? —C. R. B.

12. No man hath seen God at any time. If welove one another, God dwelleth in us, and hislove is perfected in us.

Adam heard the sound of God, Abraham heardthe voice of God, and Moses stood on holyground at the burning bush, but no man has everseen God. Moses was even told that no mancould see God's face and live. So on the mountainMoses was covered in the cleft of a rock when thepresence of God passed by (see Exodus 33:20-23).Some were allowed to see various kinds of mani-festations of God (Exodus 24:11). Yet the NewTestament reaffirms that no man hath seen Godat any time, both here and in John 1:18.

Even though we cannot see God, we can stillhave God's presence dwelling in us. God's verynature is love, no it is natural for Him to live inus if we have love for one another. This does notmean that we somehow "become" God—creatorand creature are still distinct. Even so, we areable to reflect His love for each other. In this wayHis love is perfected. It reaches completion andfulfills its intended purpose

II. Proof of Love(1 John 4:13-16a)

A. Spirit Was Given (v. 13)

13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him,and he in us, because he hath given us of his

Our knowledge that we dwell in God is notbased on some mystic, mysterious experience. Itis based on the fact that God has given us of HisSpirit (Romans 8:9; 1 John 3:24). We know thatwe have the Spirit because God—who cannot lie(Hebrews 6:18)—has given us His firm promise(see Acts 2:38). Thus God's promise of the Spiritand our practice of love join together as proofthat we are in Him and He is in us. Love is thefirst and greatest fruit that His Spirit produces inus (see Galatians 5:22).

B. Son Was Sent (v. 14)

14. And we have seen and do testify that theFather sent the Son to be the Saviour of theworld.

When John says we have seen and do testify,he reemphasizes the truth of the opening versesof his epistle (see 1 John 1:1-3). He and the other

apostles could testify because they knew first-hand that the Father sent the Son into the world.They had seen with their own eyes, heard withtheir own ears, and touched with their ownhands the one sent to be the Saviour of the world.Jesus did not come just to teach, lead, and be-friend—He came to rescue (John 3:17).

C. Confession Is Made (vv. 15, 16a)

15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is theSon of God, God dwelleth in him, and he inGod.

God sent His Son to save humanity, and Godhas the right to set certain conditions for salva-tion. Specifically in this verse, God expects us toconfess that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesuspromised that if a person confesses Him beforeothers, He will confess that person before the Fa-ther in Heaven (see Matthew 10:32).

Mere confession is not the entirety of the planof salvation, of course. As John makes clear, lov-ing action serves as proof that we belong to thetruth (1 John 3:17-19). But confessing Jesus is anecessary condition.

16a. And we have known and believed thelove that God hath to us.

John knows for certain that Jesus really came(v. 14), and because of this he also knows of thegreat love that God has for us. He and his readershave known this love and have believed it; theyhave put their trust and confidence in it.

III. Results of Love(1 John 4:16h-18)

A. Living in God (v. 16b)

16b. God is love; and he that dwelleth in lovedwelleth in God, and God in him.

God does not just "have" love, God is love. Heembodies everything that is good about love andencompasses the entire range of love's expres-sions. God and love are so much identified witheach other that to dwell in love is to dwell inGod. Furthermore, when we dwell in this love,God himself also dwells in us.

B. Bold at Judgment (v. 17)

17. Herein is our love made perfect, that wemay have boldness in the day of judgment:because as he is, so are we in this world.

When our love is made perfect or complete,the final result is that we will have boldness onJudgment Day. We will have nothing to fearwhen that day comes.

We will have this boldness before God becauseas he (Jesus) is, no are we. Just as Jesus is pure

i1 John 3:3) and righteous (1 John 3:7), by Hisblood we can also stand before the Father pureand righteous. Jesus abides in the Father (seeJohn 17:21-26), and so can we. Although we livein this world, we can have confidence when ourlove has been made perfect through Christ. Evennow, we can approach God's throne of grace inbold confidence (Hebrews 4:16).

C. Freedom from Fear (v. 18)

18.There is no fear in love; but perfect lovecasteth out fear: because fear bath torment. Hethat feareth is not made perfect in love.Christians can have boldness in judgment, asthe previous verse says, because there is no fearat love. This fear is not the kind of healthy awethat a person should have for God. Rather, thekind of fear in view is a paralyzing dread and ter-ror. Love and that kind of fear simply have noth-ing to do with one another; they cannot coexist.Therefore, love that is perfect or full grownwill cast out fear. While fear paralyzes and hastorment, genuine love confirms our salvation.The person who still lives in unhealthy fear ofGod is not yet mature. He or she is not yet madeperfect in love.

IV. Grand Summary of Love(1 John 4:19-21)

A. God Was First (v. 19)

19.We love him, because he first loved us.Now John sums up his grand teaching aboutlove. God is the source of love. When we lovehim, it is only because he first loved us. WithoutGod's initiative we would not have known gen-uine love; neither would we have known how tolove. When we abide in God and His Spiritabides in us, divine love becomes a natural partof our lives.

We return to God the love He has shown us.At the some time, we pass on this kind of love onto our brothers and sisters in Christ.

B. God Commands Us (vv. 20, 21)

20. If a man say, I love God, and hateth hisbrother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not hisbrother whom he bath seen, how can he loveGod whom he bath not seen?

The practical test of love, as seen before, isthat God's child must love the brother or sister inChrist. A person who says 1 love God but thenhates a fellow Christian is a liar. There is a logi-cal reason for this fact: we have been made in theimage of God. Therefore, this brother or sisterwhom we should love bears a certain resemblance to God. We have seen this brother or sis-ter. even though we have not seen God. If wecannot find anything attractive or lovable in ourfellow Christian, then we will not find anythinglovable in God. If we fail this practical test oflove, our claims to love God are simply lies. ISeequestion #4. page 256.1

CLEAN HANDS AND LOVING HEARTS

Millions of people suffer from food poisoningevery year. A primary cause is the failure offood-service workers to wash their hands prop-erly. Now "big brother" is here, this time forgood! Ultraviolet light scanners developed to de-tect germs on meat in processing plants are beingadapted to show whether we have washed ourhands thoroughly. Imagine a parent saying to achild, "Johnny, put your hands under the scan-ner and let me see if you got them clean"!

Do we need to be reminded that what we can'tsee can hurt us? Yet there are ways to see the un-seen, and ultraviolet scanning for germs is onlyone of them.

A much more important means of "scanning"for both the good and bad of life is found intoday's text. John acknowledges that we can't seeGod. Even so, if we love God then our lives willbe a confession of His existence. The Spirit livingin us will help on to make this confession. Theconfession is more than just spoken words. It isalso the testimony of our deeds each day of ourlives as we exhibit godly character. We reflectGod's love in the way we treat others.

21. And this commandment have we from him,That he who loveth God love his brother also.

John concludes as he began: we must love oneanother. To love God and to love one's neighborare inseparable. "On these two commandmentshang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew22:40).

Moreover, this is our Lord's commandment. Itis not optional or negotiable. By observing thislove in us, all people will be able to tell that weare Christ's disciples (see John 13:34, 35). (Seequestion #5. page 256.1

Conclusion

A. Source of Love

Love does not out happen. It is a virtue of thehighest order, created and demonstrated by Godhimself. If the world were merely an evolution-ary accident and the law of the jungle demandedthe survival only of the fittest, then there wouldbe no room for self-sacrificing love. But just asGod is the creator of the universe and the sourceof all life, so is He the source of true love.Without our knowledge of God, searching forthe source of love would be an impossible task.We would be like the early explorers who werehopelessly ill-equipped when they searched forthe sources of great rivers. If we had only scien-tific observation to guide us, we would ulti-mately give up on love and agree with the law ofthe jungle: the strong devour the weak. If we hadonly the history of human empires as our guide,we might conclude that there is no real love to befound. It is only in the spiritual realm that we areable to trace love back to its divine source.But unlike the source of a river, which be-comes smaller and smaller as it is traced, the di-vine source of love becomes greater and greater as we draw nearer. Also unlike the source of ariver, the source of love does not need to be in-creased by tributaries. God's love can never bediminished or depleted: it flows from God's infi-nite heart.

B. Channels of Love

When we recognize that God is the source oflove, we next realize that He intends for us to bethe channels of that love. We become the pas-sageways through which the mighty river ofGod's love flows. This love will bless countlesslives, but only as we allow it to flow through us.God continues to be the dynamic source ofthe love that flows through us. but He has givenus the responsibility to direct that love in waysthat would please Him. For instance, we knowthat we should direct generous love toward thewidows and the orphans (James 1:27). Weshould be channels of divine love toward thosewho are helpless. homeless. and hungry (Mat-thew 25:34-36).

To be like Jesus means being ready to extendGod's love to children (Matthew 19:14), to socialoutcasts such as Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10), and topeople of other races such as the woman ofSamaria (John 4:9). To be like Jesus means sur-prising people with the range of our love. To belike Jesus means also surprising people with theintensity of our love. Jesus' love for John markedthat apostle for life. He never forgot that he was"the disciple whom Jesus loved."

Finally, we must remember that love begins athome. If we cannot love those who are nearby,we deceive ourselves to think that we can lovethose who are far away. It is in our own familyand in our own church that love builds its foun-dation (Galatians 6:10; 1 Timothy 5:8). It bearsrepeating: How can we love the God whom wehave not seen, if we do not love our brothers andsisters whom we have seen?

C. Prayer

Dear Fattier, thank You for showing us Yourlove even when we were sinners and enemies ofYour kingdom. Help us to learn to love You bet-ter and to be channels of Your love to all ourbrothers and sisters. Thank You that there hasnever been a greater love than the love Jesusshowed when He died in our place. Forgive uswhen we fail to love but let us learn from ourfailures. In the name of Jesus, the ultimate exam-ple of love, we pray, amen.

D. Thought to Remember

Focus on the source of love.

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