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Love Is From God
1 John 4:7-12
Dr. Tony Chute, Lead Pastor

Overview: The first epistle of John is a brief letter written to provide certainty of who God is and assurance of God’s love. Throughout the letter, John offers several tests that reveal whether or not one is truly walking with the Lord: the moral test, the doctrinal test, and the ethical test. In our passage this morning, we find the ethical test applied as it relates to loving God and loving one another. John informs us that God is love and that love is from God. He does not equate love with God, but reveals how love originates in God, is manifest by the coming of the Son of God, and is present in all who have been born of God. Thus, the love of God is not an idea about love but an ongoing reality displayed by God loving us before we loved Him and by sending His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. In light of such love, we are called to love one another in order that God’s love may abide in us and be perfected in us.

01. Love is from God; therefore, our definition of love must come from God.

02. Love is from God; therefore, our lives must be characterized by love for God.

03. Love is from God; therefore, our love for one another confirms that we are born of God.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & DISCOVERY

1. Read 1 John and note how frequently he writes, “this is how we know.” Try to categorize these statements under the headings of moral, doctrinal, and ethical tests. What do these categories suggest about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

2. Suppose a person lives a morally upright life and is correct in their doctrinal understanding of God but fails to love. What does today’s text stipulate about the importance of love in relation to living uprightly and believing correctly? Why is love a foundational quality of what it means to be a Christian?

3. How do worldly ideas or definitions of love contrast with the biblical definition of love? What gives God the right to determine what love is? How has God demonstrated His love toward us, according to this text? In what ways do you reflect on and rely upon the love of God for your daily living?

4. John states that God loved us before we loved Him. In what way is this evident in history? In what way is this evident in our lives prior to coming to faith in Christ? What are the implications for this kind of love as we love others? Are we to wait for someone to get their lives right before we love them?

5. In what ways can you show or live out the love of God in the lives of others here at Northpoint? Is there anyone you have trouble loving at Northpoint? In what ways does the love of God cause you to love Him with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength? Pray that God will continue to perfect His love in you as you reflect upon this passage.

For Further Reading: Patrick Mitchell, The Bible Speaks Today: The Message of Love (2019)