Study Notes:

1. The CONFIRMATION of His love.
Vs. 12-16

1) By the DEMONSTRATION that God dwells in us.
Vs. 12
What does God’s invisibility have to do with love?
The invisible God becomes visible to others through you.
Second, this lifestyle of love is the evidence that the goal of God’s love has been “perfected in us.” God desires that we become like him. John 13:35
Eph 3:16-19

2) It is DESCRIBED as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Vs. 13
The Holy Spirit comes to indwell the believer at the moment of conversion.
1 Cor 6:19
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the means of assurance that we are truly united to Christ.
Rom 5:5, Gal 5:22


3) When we will DECLARE our faith in Jesus Christ.
Vs. 14-15
Confession of Jesus as Son of God means confession of the full deity of Christ. This is something the false teachers were not willing to confess.
Right belief about who Jesus is and what he has done on the cross is essential to salvation.
But notice the motive of the Father. The phrase “the Father sent me” is used 48 times in the New Testament. John uses it 35 times.
Luke 4:16-19, John 20:21-22

Notice the phrase, “Savior of the world”
Vs. 14b the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
This is a phrase used by Roman Emperors. John 4:42

Can you deny Jesus and still experience the Love of God? NO!

4) It is DISPLAYED by God’s presence within us.
Vs. 16
His love CAUSES us to respond to Him.
His past faithfulness and his present faithfulness guarantee his future faithfulness to us.
Vs. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us.
The word “for” means toward.
His love causes us to respond to Him.
His love CHARACTERIZES his very nature.
His love CONVINCES us of his dwelling in us.
Vs. 16c
Rom 8:37-39

2. The CERTAINTY of His love as it pertains to our future with Him.
Vs. 17-19
1) His love PERFECTED in us gives confidence on the day of judgment.
Vs. 17
In Greek the word translated “confidence” is a word that etymologically means “all speech.”

The future judgment will be formal, public, and final.
Christ himself will be the Judge (Matthew 25:31; John 5:27; Acts 10:42; 17:31).

Believers will be judged at what the Bible calls the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10; cf. Romans 14:10).

Col 3:23-25, 2 Cor 5:10-11, 1 Cor 3:12-15

2) His love PREVENTS us from being afraid.
Vs. 18
The unsaved will experience eternal separation from God in a literal place called Hell.

John continues to develop this thought in verse 18:
Christians have no need to fear at the final judgment because their eternal destiny is not at stake.

God’s perfect love for you serves to cast out your fear.
John 5:24, Heb 9:27-28

3) His love PRECEDED our love for Him.
Vs. 19
Here the exhortation is to love God.


The only reason you have the capacity to love is because you have been a recipient of God’s love and have been born again.

3. The CONFRONTATION of our lack of love for others.
Vs. 20-21
1) The CONTRADICTION of not loving our brother or sister in the Lord.
Vs. 20
John’s logic is impeccable:
the one who cannot love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

And Jesus takes it a step further. we should love even our enemies

2) The COMMANDMENT to love our brother or sister in the Lord.
Vs. 21



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