God’s love matters. If you’re thinking to yourself— ‘Well, here we go again… church is turning into a big love-fest…where is this God’s love emphasis really going exactly?’ I have the perfect answer for you. But first—Good question! The answer comes directly from God’s Word. In 1 John 4.13-16– “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” Focusing on verse 16— “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us…”
What a fantastic goal that is—reaching that place where we know that God IS love! When you study 1st John you come to the same goal the book has. John said himself that he wanted them to “know” and to “believe” in Jesus’ new way, His new command. That is simply: the love that God has for us! How great is that?! Sadly, it seems that believers today aren’t living in that sort of light. In fact, it seems the way of this world has got a stranglehold on them. The need to follow with urgency is more apparent every single day. Our God loves us, but why isn’t that being realized in a way that it lives itself out in the daily?
Maybe it would be helpful if we unpack a few gems in those words. First, notice the phrase: “have known”. John is describing his and there personal experience from the past. That would be my first question for you… do you know His love intimately? Do you know what it means personally? Is there a specific time when you can say yes, I trusted Christ as my personal savior. Do you KNOW it for sure? But not that only—the word used in that phrase later is “hath”. This makes it a continual experience. In our modern English you might say:‘There was a time in my life when I knew about Him. But I didn’t really comprehend the depth of His love for me.’ Depth is an issue. How much do you know about His love? For you? In particular? This is where we begin to unlock why the impact of the statement, ‘God loves us’, matters.
Truthfully, through counseling, discipleship, and simply listening and observing I’ve found this is true for many. They know a lot of things about God’s love. They are consciously aware that God is love. But here’s the thing: Do you know? Yes, you in particular. It seems to me that people for years have doubts and questions and just can’t get a handle on them. A discipleship church by design has multifaceted way of handling those things all the time. But, we are a prideful bunch. So our embarrassment and fear of what others will think get to us.
The word: “know” means more than just information. More than just some facts like the recipe for a Denver omelet. This ‘knowing’ is savoring the omelet! Do you see the difference? You should be able to say: ‘now I know like I didn’t know, and I’m still finding out!’ It should be a fresh experience, renewable daily. Otherwise it’s cold and dead, and that is not God’s love! When John says “known”, the word points to a level of relationship and intimacy that is deep and satisfying. Not only knowing it theoretically, or theologically, but also knowing it in your heart. It takes up space and is a moment by moment reality. When going about your day you pray to the One who is always listening anyway. You see a wreck and what do you do? We should be talking to our Father and relating what we see and feel, like you would with a passenger in the car with you, because He is. It is to ‘know’ Him by deepening your walk and talk with Him.
John said— “and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”This is the ear-mark of a Christian… did you see it? To dwell in love is to dwell in God. “Dwelleth” is not just an old English way of saying something. It is showing a process and progression. It is an action in motion. So, are you dwelling more with Him and He more in you? Is this process increasing more rapidly or has it plateaued? There is no other more important or impressive person in your life than your God, Savior, King, and friend. His love for you spreads as far as the thoughts He had about saying you before the universe was placed into existence (Ephesians 1.4— “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love”). Did you see that: “before Him in love”? This is His motivation for all things… love. Or how about John 3.16— “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” But what about the next verse? 17— “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” How long has this been going on for you, personally? Jeremiah 1.5 answers that— “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…”
He loves you. He wants a friendship with you. How good of a friend are you back to Him?