1 John 4:1-12, Truth and Love
- Lance Lefler
- May 10, 2009
- Series: Assurance
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There are only two imperatives (commands) in 1 John 4: "test the spirits" and "love one another." The first six verses are built around the exhortation to test preachers, teachers and prophets to make sure they are teaching you about the right Jesus. The rest of the chapter is built around the exhortation to love one another.
4:1-6 the Apostle exhorts the church to "test the spirits" to see whether they hold to the orthdodox doctrine of Christ. If they don't, they are not of God and not to be listened to.
In 4:7-5:5 John brings love into razor sharp focus, beginning with the concept that God is love, showing how God's love was manifested in the sacrifice of his Son for the sin of the world, and moving us to love one another because of how greatly we've been loved by God.