1 John 4:12 [12] “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” Atheists will say that God does not exist. They will say that they do not believe in his existence because no one has ever actually seen God. They will also argue, that even if he did exist, it would be impossible for him to be everywhere at the same time. Yet they believe in something as simple as the air they breathe. Air is not visible, but we know it exists. Air …

1 John 4:11 [11] “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Heaven will be a place of no misunderstandings. There will be no division or separation in the glory world. It is going to be a place of eternal happiness and love among the family of God. What a time God’s people will experience as we live together and serve our Creator and our King! However, we are not in heaven right now. God’s children need each other more in this present world than ever before. Too often Satan gets the advantage because the …

1 John 4:10 [10] “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” One of the great mysteries of God’s love is that He loved us first. God did not turn his heart toward man because man sought after God. He took the initiative in our life. God saw the need in man’s life before man was aware that he even had a need. God knew the end result of man, and what his eternal state would be if he was not delivered. He knew …

1 John 4:9 [9] “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” When I read our verse many precious songs flood my mind. Songs like, “Amazing Love How Can It Be?”, “The Love of God”, or “Isn’t the Love of Jesus Something Wonderful?”. These are all songs that try to describe the divine love given to us. The truth is that the love manifested by God the Father and God the Son will always be a mystery to those who receive …

1 John 4:8 [8] “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” How can people live with the absence of love? Never expressing love for their children, their spouse or the parents who sacrificed and raised them. What a tragedy when someone lives such a selfish life only thinking about number one. It is hard to comprehend how someone can abandon their loved ones, or go so far as to even mistreat them. Why do we live in a world that at times can seem so cruel? The answer is in our verse. The Bible makes it …

1 John 4:7 [7] “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” The verse before us begins by addressing the saints of God. John uses the word “Beloved”. How fitting this word is for this verse because it is a word of love, and John is going to emphasize four truths concerning love. I call these cords of love because they seemingly tie together.  The first cord I see is the sharing of love. John gives the admonishment to love one another. Although at times …

1 John 4:6  [6] “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” Who you listen to determines a lot about the decisions you will make in life. Influence is a very powerful tool in today’s society. There are many who have been led astray because they have listened to the wrong individual. It is sobering to think that even the Bible, in the wrong hands of the one teaching, can lead people astray. Though they may have …

1 John 4:5 [5] “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” I remember as a child, an old soap opera that came on television entitled “As the World Turns.” I had no interest in the show because of my age, and because of the nature of the show itself. What I do remember about it though, was that it was full of filth and drama. There was nothing decent, wholesome or godly about the series. It was a daily show filled with lies, cheating and deceit. As bad as the television …

1 John 4:4 [4] “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Whenever I read this verse, I cannot help but break it down phrase by phrase. I notice first of all our standing when John said, “Ye are of God”. This is enough to make us stop and rejoice. The fact that we are of God and not the devil anymore! What a blessed position. Calvary did more than save our soul from hell. Calvary gave us a new standing with God.  …

1 John 4:3 [3] “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” I want us to see four fundamental facts in this verse. What you and I will notice about these facts is that they are practical, proven and relevant for the days we are living in. John is talking in this chapter  about what is true, and what is false. What is right, and what …