1 John Chapter 4

vs 11

Our reason for loving one another is not because it creates good social cohesion, it's not because we're so eminently loveable, but it's because God loved us first.

vs 12

This is a profound mystery of Christianity. Not even John, one of the three on the mountain of transfiguration with Jesus, has seen God. But that God of majesty will live in us, and actually makes his own love complete in us. By us loving one another, we are furthering his purposes, and he is completing them.

vs 13

This verse sounds kooky, right? Well, it does in the greek, too. That floating 'of' is there in the greek. Well done to the translators on that one. Anyway, the verse is saying that we can know that God is indeed in us (and that we are in God), because he has given us his Spirit. Now why that 'of'? Perhaps John is wanting to say that it's not simply a divvying up of God's Spirit between all Christians. Rather, it is done in such a way that we each have the Holy Spirit in us, but it also exists separately from us and undivided. Funny that we can argue about the Trinity till we go blue, but no one has a problem with God's Spirit being split into a few billion pieces to be spread around all Christians...

vs 14

His reference to seeing and testifying might make you wonder if verse 13 is only about John. Certainly verse 14 is, because he's the one who saw - his audience weren't.

This is such a great letter. God is light. God is love. Jesus is the saviour of the world. I mean, all these things we think have become cliche in crappy Christian songs are all here, but they actually sound good when John says them.

vs 15

Again, the focus is on Jesus and our relationship with him, and in what position we put on him.

vs 16

This verse sort of wraps up the that first little section about God's love for us, which is within the greater section about God's love. And once again we can't take these broad generalisations so broadly. Non-Christians "living in love" are not godly. This is but one test of character in the book of 1 John, and it should warn you against reading passages out of context.

vs 17

The only way we could love the way God wants us to love is if he gave us the love in the first place. And that's what he did do. And that's why we have it. That should then give us confidence - after all, why would God give us this completing love if he was only going to blast us?

vs 18

This is one of those verses that people use to say the Bible is contradictory. Because here it says there is no fear in love, but elsewhere it says that we should worship the Lord in reverent fear.

Of course it's a bunch of crap. All I can say is read Romans, and write down Paul's definition of faith. Then read Hebrews, and write down that author's definition. Greek is like English - different words have different meaning given their context. John actually gives us his context - fear for John's usage comes from threat of punishment. That's not what the gospel author meant when he wrote reverent fear.

We really have nothing to fear in the form of punishment. We can live in awe-inspired dread for the sake of our friends who don't know God, but really no-one has anything to fear from God if they obey him and his love is made complete in them.

vs 19

Again, the root of all love is God. He is the first love cause, the unmoved lover.

vs 20

Repetition, but challenging. If you can see your Christian family in need and yet not help them somehow, then how can you really trust the love you have for God, who you can't see? It's a simple, commonsense idea that might beggar theology, but so much of the Bible's Christianity is pragmatic anyway.

vs 21

And of course, how can you say you love God if you're disobeying him?