1 John 4

Refine by chapter:
13 results found

THREE PROOFS OF SALVATION

December 4, 2023

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us” (1 John 4:12-13 NLT). The apostle John gave several “proofs” of

Renovating our Relationships

February 12, 2023 | 1 John 4:7-21 | discipleship, relationships

All along, we are being shaped by these various relationships. We seek acceptance, but we are so bent and broken by sin, that we often experience rejection and in like manner, cause others to feel rejected by us. This is the human condition apart from God. We are all deeply wounded relationally. We are hurt. And hurt people, hurt people.

We’re relationally broken and only a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ can heal us and renovate our relationships. And what is the chief way that God moves to heal us? Love. In the apostle John’s first letter, he wrote to encourage believers to let the love of God heal and renovate their relationships with Him and with others. We can let the love of God renovate our relationships.

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:10 NLT).

December 4, 2022

THIS IS REAL LOVE If we have any claim to love, it originates with God, who first loved us. This love is most fully demonstrated in the sending of His Son, Jesus, as the “sacrifice” for our sins, dying on the cross for us. For in the cross we see the intersection of God’s love

“All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.” (1 John 4:15 NLT).

December 4, 2018

THREE PROOFS OF SALVATION GIVEN BY JOHN
The apostle John gave several “proofs” of new birth for the believer’s assurance. The first proof he gave is that we love each other. For love comes from God. If we don’t love, we don’t know God. The second proof is that God has given us His Holy Spirit “as proof that we live in him and he in us” (1 Jn. 4:13). And the third proof, is that “we declare that Jesus is the Son of God.”

John’s purpose for writing his first epistle was clearly given: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 Jn. 5:13). He wanted us to “know,” to be sure that we are saved.

Do you have this assurance of salvation today?

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10 NKJV).

December 4, 2017

If we have any claim to love, it originates with God, who first loved us. This love is most fully demonstrated in the sending of His Son as the “propitiation for our sins,” dying on the cross for us. For in the cross we see the intersection of God’s love demonstrated and God’s justice satisfied. Our sin called for death, but God’s love answered the call, sending Jesus to die in our place. That God sent Jesus shows His love. That He offered Jesus as the “propitiation for our sins” shows His righteousness. As the apostle Paul wrote of Christ, “whom God set forth as a propitiation… to demonstrate His righteousness” (Rom. 3:25).

Propitiation is about covering and satisfaction. Christ’s sacrifice both covers our sin and satisfies the proper demands of a righteous God for judgment on sin. God’s righteousness required that He judge sin. God’s love moved Him to send His Son to pay the price for our sin.

Receiving Christ’s Love

July 2, 2017 | 1 John 4:13-21

Pastor Gary continued our sermon series called “So You Think You’re a Christian?”. Once we confess our mess and our need for a savior, the second movement of the gospel in our lives is receiving Christ’s love. Do you have a hard time forgiving yourself or others? Do you find yourself working really hard to try and measure up? Are you a perfectionist that has a hard time understanding that God loves you the way you are? Receiving Christ’s love is necessary to be a mature, growing Christian.

Be Filled

November 8, 2015 | 1 John 4:11-18 | discipleship, holy spirit

Jesus promised that those who received Him would experience abundant life, full and overflowing. Are you experiencing this life today? Or do you ever feel empty and powerless? Do you dream of living a life of fulfillment, a life filled with passion and purpose? In the apostle John’s first letter, he told his hearers that they could abide in Christ by being continually filled with His Spirit. We can experience the abiding life of Christ within us by being continually filled with His Spirit.

“And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us” (1 John 4:13 NLT)

December 4, 2014

What the apostle John here calls “proof,” the apostle Paul calls a “guarantee (deposit, earnest, pledge)” (Eph. 1:14). Paul spoke of how the Holy Spirit seals our salvation, giving us inward assurance of salvation. But John is more concerned with what this mutual abiding looks like outwardly. He says that the one who lives in the Spirit and has the Spirit living in him, will testify that Jesus is the Son of God with his lips and have the love of God for others in his actions. The outworking of the Spirit living in us is evidenced by our testimony about Jesus and our love of others.

Are You Growing in Loving and Forgiving?

May 11, 2014 | 1 John 4:7-21 | discipleship, relationships

Pastor Gary Combs continued the sermon series “Diagnosing Your Spiritual Health” with this message from 1 John. This sermon discussed the importance of examining your spiritual heart. Does it beat with the love and forgiveness that comes from God? This sermon was preached on Mother’s Day.

Love All

December 29, 2013 | 1 John 4:7-12 | advent conspiracy, christmas

In this conclusion of our Advent Conspiracy series, Jonathan Combs helps us understand what it means to love with the same love God showed when he sent Jesus as a baby on that first Christmas