Sunday
Morning Bible Study
November
25, 2012
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church
loved?
This is a book
about Real Issues
What’s real?
What’s the truth?
We’ve been addressing issues like:
Who is God?
What is He really like?
What is a Christian?
What is a Christian really like?
4:17-21 Mature Love
:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that
we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in
this world.
:17 in this
In what? In what has love been
perfected?
Is he talking about the goal of mature love?
That the goal of mature love is so that we will have “boldness in the
day of judgment”.
Is he talking about how love has been perfected in us?
(1 Jn 4:12 NKJV) No one has seen God
at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been
perfected in us.
His love is “perfected” in us when we love one another.
Robertson says it could be taken either way, though Westcott takes it
to mean the latter.
:17 Love has been perfected among
us
perfected
– teleioo – to make perfect, complete; add what
is yet wanting in order to render a thing full; mature
We saw this word last week when John told us how our love becomes “perfect”
or “mature”.
(1 Jn 4:12 NKJV) No one has
seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love
has been perfected
in us.
God’s love in us “matures” as we learn to love one another.
:17 has been perfected – teleioo – to make perfect, complete; add what is yet wanting in
order to render a thing full; to bring to the end (goal) proposed
Perfect passive indicative
A version of this word (the noun) is sometimes translated “mature”
(1 Co 14:20 NKJV) Brethren, do not be
children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be
mature.
(Php 3:15 NKJV) Therefore let us, as
many as are mature, have this mind;
and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
:17 boldness – parrhesia
– freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech; free and fearless
confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance
:17 we may have – echo
– to have, i.e. to hold
Present active subjunctive
:17 boldness in the day of judgment
boldness
– parrhesia – free and fearless confidence,
cheerful courage, assurance
Every person on
this planet will one day face God in judgment.
God’s desire is for every person to spend eternity with Him in heaven, and that’s why He sent His
Son Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sins.
(Jn 3:16 NKJV) For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
If a person chooses to believe in Jesus, they will find forgiveness. If they
choose to reject Jesus, they will find themselves having to pay for their sins,
spending eternity in hell.
Yet even those
of us who believe in Jesus will also face a judgment of another sort.
Our judgment is
not about whether or not we will go to heaven, but what type of rewards we’ll
get when we get to heaven.
(2 Co 5:10 NKJV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that
each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he
has done, whether good or bad.
The question John is posing here is this, how are you going to face the
judgment seat of Christ? Are you going to be trembling in fear, or standing
tall with cheerful courage?
:17 because as He is, so are we in
this world
Lesson
Confident Verdict
Sometimes we don’t know what to expect when the verdict is handed down.
We don’t have
to be afraid of facing judgment because we have lived our lives like Jesus
lived His.
If you are
standing before a judge, yet you have lived your life exactly like the judge
lives his, you can have confidence or assurance before that judge.
John has already told us some important things about what God is like and
how this ought to affect how we live.
Our judge is …
Pure
(1 Jn 3:3 NKJV) And
everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Righteous
(1 Jn 3:7 NKJV) Little
children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous,
just as He is righteous.
Love
(1 Jn 4:8 NKJV) He who
does not love does not know God, for God is love.
This is the most important one - The key to living like Jesus is learning
to love others. If I’m
loving others like Jesus loves them, I’m on track.
:18 There is no fear in
love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he
who fears has not been made perfect in love.
:18 fear – phobos
– fear, dread, terror
:18 love – agape
– brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence
Choosing to assign great value to
another person.
:18 perfect – teleios
– brought to its end, finished; wanting nothing necessary to completeness;
full grown, adult, of full age, mature
:18 out – exo –
without, out of doors
:18 casts – ballo
– to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls
Present active indicative
:18 torment – kolasis
– correction, penalty; punishment given to discipline
Vines: it gives no room for the fear of meeting with
His reprobation; the “punishment” referred to is the immediate consequence of
the sense of sin, not a holy awe but a slavish fear, the negation of the
enjoyment of love.
TDNT: Of greater theological
significance is 1 Jn. 4:18: ὁ φόβος
κόλασιν ἔχει, “fear contains punishment in itself.” This
means that the man who lives in fear (before God) is already punished by this
fear. His fear is his punishment. This thought may be linked with the express
statement in Jn. 3:18 that the unbeliever is judged already. The opposite of
fear is love. Perfect love is free from every fear, because perfect love for
God drives out fear before Him.
:18 involves – echo
– to have, i.e. to hold
Present active indicative
:18 fear involves torment
Literally, “fear has punishment”
Some have suggested that the fear
itself contains punishment. If you are “afraid”, then that is punishment
enough.
It may also carry the idea that
when you are afraid of God, you are afraid that He’s going to punish you.
:18 he who fears – phobeo
– to put to flight by terrifying (to scare away); to fear, be afraid
Present passive participle
:18 has not been made perfect – teleioo
– to make perfect, complete; add what is yet wanting in order to render a
thing full; to bring to the end (goal) proposed
Perfect passive indicative
:18 he who fears has not been made
perfect in love
If we are living in constant fear of God’s punishment, then it shows that
we haven’t come into this more mature love that God has for us.
:18 fear involves torment
Lesson
Fearing God
It seems in the Bible there is “good” fear, and there is “bad” fear. It’s
not always easy to tell them apart because the words in Greek are all the same.
Healthy fear
There is a lot said in the Bible about the importance of cultivating a
“fear of God”.
(Pr 1:7 NKJV) The fear
of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge, But fools despise
wisdom and instruction.
(Pr 14:27
NKJV) The
fear of the Lord is a
fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.
(1 Pe 1:17 NKJV) And if you
call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work,
conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
I think it’s best to characterize this kind of healthy fear as “respect” or “reverence”.
It’s understanding who God is as our Creator and knowing
my proper place as His child.
Unhealthy fear
We can be afraid of all sorts of things.
Some of us are afraid of the dentist.
Play
Mr.
Bean at the dentist clip
Some of us are afraid of heights…
Play
Vertigo Officer Down
clip
The unhealthy
fear that John is talking about is tied to “torment”.
torment
– kolasis – correction, penalty; punishment given
to discipline
If you are constantly looking over your shoulder because
you think that God is going to punish you without warning for every little
thing you do wrong, then you have the wrong idea about God.
(Ps 103:10 NKJV) He has not
dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us
according to our iniquities.
Sometimes fear of
God is wrong.
(Ro 8:15 NKJV) For you
did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by
whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
The
“fear” we have for God is not the fear of a slave in bondage to its master.
The
“fear” we have for God ought to be more like the “respect” that a child has for
a loving Father.
:18 perfect love casts out fear
Lesson
Ending fear
“Tormenting
fear” ends with “perfect” or “mature” love.
Mature love with God
The more I grow in my love relationship with God, the less control my fears
have over me.
The person who knows this mature love can say,
(Ro 8:31 NKJV) What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
I’m no longer afraid of “what God will do to me”.
I may not even be as afraid of my circumstances like I
used to be, since I know that I am in God’s hands and I can trust Him.
Mature love with others
Remember that the
thing that actually develops a mature love with God is learning to have a
mature love towards others.
(1 Jn 4:12 NKJV) No one has
seen God at any time. If
we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
Sometimes
I think life would be better if all the difficult people of the world just disappeared.
But it’s learning to love difficult
people that “matures” my love with God.
If I learn to love you with a “mature” love, then you will find that you no
longer need to be afraid of me.
I’ve seen children who live in such fear of their parents
that they cringe every time an adult raises a hand near them, thinking that
they are going to be hit again. It’s a sad thing when a child is more used to
being hit than they are being hugged.
What kind of relationships to you have with others?
Play
Help video
clip
Do
others cringe when they are around you, expecting that you are going to hurt
them? Or have they found that they can trust your love for them?
Maturity takes time
(Jas 1:2–4 NKJV) —2 My
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the
testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you
may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing.
As we work our way through our difficulties, we cultivate the work of
“patience” in our lives.
Patience isn’t something you get all at once,
it’s something that grows with time.
The result of patience is being “perfect and complete”,
or, “maturity”.
“Mature” of “perfect” love doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something that we
cultivate over time, with patience.
Mature love towards God and towards others is something we
grow in, and some of that growth happens with difficult things (“trials”).
I hate it when I’m not getting along with someone. I want
it to end. I want to fix the situation – now.
But I’m finding that some problems take time to fix. It
takes patience.
Sometimes I want to push reconciliation too quickly. Sometimes
I use this verse as my excuse to push things:
(Eph 4:26 NKJV) “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not
let the sun go down on your wrath,
That doesn’t mean that you resolve things before the sun
goes down. It means
that you let go of your anger before the sun goes down. You let go of your
anger, and THEN you work to resolve the problem. You can let go of your anger and still not
have the problem resolved. Mature love
has the patience to resolve the problem at the right time.
:19 We love Him because He
first loved us.
:19 love … loved – agapao – to feel and exhibit esteem and
goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing.
Present active indicative (1st), Aorist active indicative (2nd)
Choosing to assign great value to another person.
:19 first – protos – first
:19 He first loved us
Lesson
Loves Origin
When you are having trouble doing “love”, there is a place you can go where
you can find it, experience it, and grow in it.
Perfect love comes from God.
(1 Jn 3:16 NKJV) By this we
know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren.
(1 Jn 4:9 NKJV) In this the love of
God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through Him.
The word “know” speaks of knowledge by experience. We’ve come in contact
with God’s love because of what Jesus did in dying for us on the cross.
When you first came to know Christ, you came in contact with this love. Yet
sometimes we can lose our way when it comes to “love”.
John is writing this letter to the church in Ephesus, which is the church he
has been pastoring.
It’s hard to know whether this letter was written before or after the book
of Revelation, but Jesus had this to say to Ephesus in the book of Revelation:
(Re 2:2–5 NKJV) —2 “I know
your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are
evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have
found them liars; 3 and you have
persevered and have patience, and have labored for My
name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you,
that you have left your
first love.
The church had done a lot of good things, but they had
left their love for Jesus. Jesus tells them how to get it back.
5 Remember therefore
from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come
to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Where are you in the love of God today? God’s desire is
that our love for Him be growing. There should never be a time when you loved
the Lord more than you do today.
Have you lost a little of your love for the Lord? There’s
a way to get it back:
1. Remember
Remember what it was like to be walking in His love for
you, because this is where you are going to return to.
2. Repent
Identify the things that have taken you away from the Lord
and make a change.
It might not mean dumping that person that has had an
effect on your life, but it might mean a change in your relationship with them.
It might not mean that you quit the job that takes up all
your time, but it might mean a change in priorities.
3. Re-do
Go back to the kinds of things you used to do when you
were walking in that “first love”.
Maybe it was staying up late to read your Bible. Maybe it
was sharing your faith with the people at work. Maybe it was praying for your
friends.
Don’t wait until you “feel” like doing them, just do them.
:20 If someone says, “I love
God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother
whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
:20 says – lego
– to say, to speak
Aorist active subjunctive
:20 I love – agapao
– to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight
in a thing.
Present active indicative
Choosing to assign great value to
another person.
:20 hates – miseo
– to hate, pursue with hatred, detest
Present active subjunctive
Both “love” and “hate” are in the “present”
tense, speaking of a continual action. The person who says they are right now
“loving God”, but is also right now continually hating his brother is a liar.
:20 liar – pseustes
– a liar
:20 he is – eimi
– to be, to exist, to happen, to be present
Present active indicative
:20 who does not love – agapao
– to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight
in a thing.
Present active participle
Choosing to assign great value to
another person.
:20 seen – horao
– to see with the eyes
Perfect active indicative (both
times)
:20 can – dunamai
– to be able
Present middle indicative
The person who hates his brother is
“not able” to love God.
:20 love – agapao
– to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight
in a thing.
Present active infinitive
Choosing to assign great value to
another person.
:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he
who loves God must love his brother also.
:21 commandment – entole – an order, command, charge, precept,
injunction
:21 we have – echo – to have, i.e. to hold
Present active indicative
:21 love – agapao – to feel and exhibit esteem and
goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing.
Present active participle (1st); Present active subjunctive
(2nd)
Choosing to assign great value to another person.
:20 If someone says, “I love God,”
Lesson
Real Love
You can’t say you love God when you hate your brother.
Illustration
George took a Bible class taught by Professor Smith, who was known for his
elaborate object lessons. One
day George walked into class to find a large target placed on the wall, with
several darts resting on a nearby table. Professor Smith told the students to
draw a picture of someone they disliked or someone who had made them angry—and
he would allow them to throw darts at the person’s picture.
George’s friend, drew a picture of another guy who had stolen his girlfriend.
Another friend, drew a picture of his younger sister. George drew a
picture of Professor
Smith, putting a great deal of detail into his drawing, even drawing pimples on
his face! He was quite pleased at the overall effect he’d achieved.
The class lined up and began
throwing darts with a lot of laughter. Some of the students threw with such
force that they ripped apart their targets. But George, looking forward to his
turn, was filled with disappointment when Professor Smith asked the students to
return to their seats so he could begin his lecture. As George fumed about missing his chance to
throw the darts, the professor
began removing the target from the wall.
Underneath the
target was a picture of Jesus. A hush fell over the room as each student viewed
the mangled image of their Savior—holes and jagged marks covered His face. His
eyes were virtually pierced out.
Professor Smith said only these words, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Here is another
of John’s “real” statements. What is a real Christian like?
We’ve seen John say something
similar:
(1 Jn 2:4 NKJV) He who says, “I know
Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in
him.
There the issue
was obedience. A person who claims to
know God but lives in constant disobedience to God’s ways does not know God.
Here, the issue, is it possible to really love God when you hate other
people?
John says no. John says that you are fooling yourself if you think you can
love an invisible God, while hating a visible person.
Your love is simply a convenient love, not a real love.
It’s convenient because you say you love God, when you
obviously don’t know who God is. If you knew who God was, then you would find
that you HAVE to be loving others.
Years ago I remember sitting in a Bible Study and hearing Pastor Chuck say
something that was profound to me: “Loving God. Loving my brother. You
can’t do one without the other.”