Peter Barnes | 1 John 4:7-10
SERMON NOTES
GOD IS LOVE
Psalm 31:1-24; 1 John 4:7-10
– see 1 John 2:7-11 and 3:11-18
1. God is love.
– 4:8, 16; God loves (John 3:16; Rom.5:8), but more than that, He is love
– He is spirit (John 4:24); a consuming fire (Heb.12:29), and light (1 John 1:5)
2. Love for Christians is a necessary evidence of the rebirth.
– 4:7-8; more than common grace love as in Luke 6:32-33; Acts 28:2
– faith leads to love, and must lead to love
3. The love of God satisfies the justice of God.
– 4:9-10; propitiation is the right term; ‘God’s love requires righteousness’ (Calvin); Rom.3:25-26
– Amy Carmichael: If the praise of man elates me and his blame depresses me; if I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself; if I love to be loved more than to love, to be served more than to serve, then I know nothing of Calvary love.