1 John 4

Prove the spirits to know whether or not they are of God. We will be influenced by spirits other than God. Next, John stated how to know whether or not the spirit was from God or not...

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is of God. Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist. John referred back to 1 John 2:18 and reminded us that the antichrist spirit had come in the world, working backwards through this proof.

We have overcome the spirit of antichrist because the Holy Spirit that is in us is greater than the spirit of antichrist. Remember, we saw in 2 Thessalonians 2:6 that the Antichrist would only be revealed once the One that restrains the spirit of antichrist is removed. Here, as we stated there, the One can only be the Holy Spirit. God the Father never leaves, while Jesus is already gone which is WHY we are waiting for His return.

Those of the world hear (understand) only the world. Those of God hear (understand) the things of God…because those of God understand the things of God; they know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. This same Doctrine was presented by Jesus in John 8:47.

The next sentence initiated John's model for love. "God is love" was actually mentioned twice during this model: the beginning and the end. The definition for love was given within the model.

John modeled love:

• Love one another because love is of God, loving is done with understanding. Loving shows you know God.
• Everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. This meant you can only love if you know God, if God (Holy Spirit) is in you.

Model Summary:

• When you know God, you will love, because God is love. This did not mean God always loves. It meant that only God loves.

This model was analogous to the critical verse 1 John 1:5 that stated God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. That verse was used to prove whether a person was a believer or not by whether they had light, because the light can only be obtained from God via the Holy Spirit. Likewise, if you do not love you do not know God, because God (alone) is love.

What is love? Is it an emotion? Is it words? Is it an action? This was critical to verse 9.

Important Point: The correct interpretation of "God is love," which occurs twice because it is the beginning and proof of a logical argument, is "as to God's Nature, it is loving." It is an effect of the cause (God's Identity/Nature).

The ultimate (manifested) example of love was presented by John. Remember, John referenced "manifested" in 1 John 2:19...again, working backwards through his proof. God made His love known to us by sending His Son Jesus into the world so that we could live through Him (grace). This was the same Doctrine presented in the most quoted New Testament verse: John 3:16. Love is an action, not an emotion, not a say. God "sent." To define love as anything other than an action is to disagree with this passage from John, which people often reference because of the next verse…

God loved us first and provided Righteousness for our sins, this was an action! We can only love when we live through Him (grace). We can only do the Right action when we let God do it through us. If God loved us then we ought to love others because we are able to do it because God is doing it through us towards others and God wants to love others through us: the Second Command.

No man has seen/beheld God the Father. The proof that God exists and that we know Him is not going to happen by seeing Him. John immediately removed this option for proof. This was the same Doctrine as stated in John 1:18.

John then presented the proof: we love by His Spirit that God the Father has given to us and that lives in us. We know that we dwell in God (are believers) because His Spirit works through us (grace) to love others, which is the only way we can love.

Verse 15 was another verse that is often a victim of context abuse. This verse is used by some in "traditional" circles to say that all we have to do is confess that Jesus is God and we will be "saved." Think about the context of this whole epistle when reading this verse. What else had John said that we should remember when reading this verse?

One Example: 1 John 1:6 - "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:..." John was not specifically referencing this example but notice, from the beginning of this epistle, John's first measure of being a believer in God versus being a believer in Satan was "walking"...which was making progress...which was proven by actions, not what you say, not emotions. From the beginning, John focused on actions. Love is an action, it is giving. Next, John confirmed his model for love by working his way back to "God is love"...

The love that God hath to us was "sent" to us by God, which was Jesus. We know and believe the love that God hath in us (Jesus) when we love others. Believe meant "to be firmly convinced." We are convinced through understanding and experience. Understanding is the logic, this was what John was presenting. Experience is the actual action. People who SAY they love and believe, but do not actually love through their actions are not believers, no matter what they say!

Once again, an Important Point: The correct interpretation of "God is love," which occurs twice because it is the beginning and proof of a logical argument, is "as to God's Nature, it is loving." It is an effect of the cause (God's Identity/Nature).

Our love is made perfect in an action! That we have boldness in the day of judgment! Why? Because it is God's love through us, which means He abides in us, which means we are children of God, which means we will be treated like Jesus was by the world. 1 John 2:15 introduced this premise, which again showed John was working his way backwards through his proof. Next, John finished this portion of his proof concerning love...

Love removes fear. Fear has punishment. If we love, we will not fear punishment (loss of value). When we love, we give without expecting a return from the person we gave to. If we feared for a return on what we gave, it would not be love. John showed that not only were love and fear incompatible, love actually casteth out fear!

How? We know we will be repaid the value we give in love in the long term by God because He is Just. When we love, we will not fear loss of value because we know that we will be given a value back eventually.

This verse was loaded with Doctrine. If you do not understand love, Justice, and Reward you will not understand this verse. 1 Corinthians 13:3 had Paul stating that if he gave but did not do it by love, then it profiteth him nothing. Love is more than just the action of giving, it involves an action and an attitude that does not expect anything in return from the person you are giving to. It is not fearful of losing something. Jesus defined love as giving and not expecting anything in return from the person you gave to in Luke 6:34-35. This was the only definition that fit the words of Jesus, Paul, and John!

John wrapped up his Model on "God is love":

Loving God and loving your neighbor (the Greatest Command) is only possible if it is God's love through us.

We do not have the ability to love within ourselves. We could not do it first. God had to first love us in order for us to be able to love Him. Take some time to really state what you believe the definition of love is because it is the measure for determining if someone is a believer.

John stated point blank: How can someone who did not love his brother who he saw (did not take faith) SAY that he loved God?...who he had not seen (does take faith). If a person did not love believers in actions, then he was not a believer. These two verses were very similar to 1 John 1:6-7, however instead of love the attribute was light.

Theme of Chapter 4: John stated that loving believers was proof that God dwelled in us and that we had Righteousness, that we were making progress (action) in the light. Notice, John ended with two foundational principles: Righteousness (being a believer) and loving our brother. John then referenced the commands that he referenced earlier to show that he had proven them true. The two commands:

First Command - Love the Lord thy God

Second Command - Love your neighbor.

John went through an extremely powerful philosophical proof. Unlike Paul, John did not use the scriptures to prove his points. He did this completely logically, and it all checked out without contradiction. Next, John brought the entire proof to a powerful conclusion.