Peter Barnes | 1 John 4:11-21
SERMON NOTES
LOVING GOD AND HIS PEOPLE
Leviticus 19:1-18; 1 John 4:11-21
– 1 John 2:7-11 and 3:11-18 – like ascending a spiral staircase
1. God’s love comes through the gospel.
– 4:13-16; trust in Christ to receive the Spirit who brings God’s love to us (Rom.5:5)
– Augustine: ‘Let God be your house, and you be a house of God.’
2. God’s love is made complete in His people’s love.
– 4:12 (or perfected, as in ESV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV)
– not unlike Col.1:24; the circuit of love is completed
3. God’s love casts out fear.
– 4:17-18; fear of God is good (Rom.3:18), even for the Christian (Eph.5:21; 1 Pet.1:17). But there is a fear that comes from sin and unbelief (Gen.3:10; Heb.2:15)
– Helen Roseveare when captured by rebels in the Congo in 1964: ‘God was greater than the fear.’
4. God’s love is necessary.
– 4:20-21; James 3:9