Love, judgement, fear, perfect love.

The words in the title are covered in the text here in 1st John 4:17-21
Let's take a look at them one by one. 


First of all, there is love and judgement. John tells us that Love has been perfected among us in this: Or, love has had it's purpose accomplished in that, we will have boldness, or confidence in the day of judgement. Further, it's told us that as He is, so are we in this world. How is He? He is with the Father, He is of course accepted by the Father, and we are with the Father as has been stated in this chapter, and because we are in Christ, we also are accepted by the Father. 


We will have boldness, or freedom, a cheerful confidence, and assurance because we have been saved, and we belong to God, we have been forgiven, we have been made His. We have passed from death to life, from darkness to light, from error to truth, etc. Thus in the day of Judgement, i.e the Great White Throne Judgement, while we will be there, we will not be being judged. We have passed from judgement to life. 




Secondly, John tells us that there is no fear in love. That is, because God has loved us, and we have received His love, His salvation, His Savior, His forgiveness, His gift of eternal life, we live our lives without fear ( of the day of judgement ) seems to be the context and meaning. Christians are not living in fear of the future judgment of God. Because, they know they have come to faith, and are forgiven. Saved people are not tormented about the future judgement, but, in all reality, looking forward to being with the Lord when He comes for them, or they go to Him through death. His love is what has cast out that fear. 


Thirdly, here's why we love Him. It's because He first loved us. He started it. He gave us Christ, and then drew us to Christ, making us aware of our need for a Savior. Then, He gave us faith and we have received Christ. We know love Him. But, it's because He first loved us. He gets all the credit, because He manifested His love towards us first. Then, or now, we love Him as a result of His grace. 




Fourthly, and here John is repeating himself about professions of faith. ....1st John 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?


The person who says one thing, but does another is a liar. They say they love God, but they hate their brother, they are not telling the truth, they are telling a lie. They do not really love God. John says it this way..........( for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? ) it's hard to argue with that simple fact, and logic. 


Finally, this section ends with 1st John 4:21, "And this is the commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also"


What a great and powerful God we serve. He commands what He wants in His kingdom. It's love. Lord, thank You. 


Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia 

More about God's love, and our loving one another

See 1st John 4:12-16

John begins here, by telling us that "no one has seen God at any time" This is generally true with some exceptions that are given to us in the Bible. 

But, he goes on to say, that "if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. "

So, while we may not have ( and we have not ) seen Him, if we love one another, the God whom we have not seen is abiding in us, and His love has been perfected, or realized in a practical way, runs it's full course, in practice in our lives. 

This is how we know that we are in Him, and abiding in Him, and He is abiding in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. The Holy Spirit started to live inside of you the very instant you were born again and saved. He became resident within you. And, He bears witness to your spirit that you are God's child, and He also bears in your life the fruit of the Holy Spirit. So, He has much to do with your knowing that you know God.

Here's something else said by John. Here we are told as to what John had seen and was testifying to .....this was their word about what God had done........God had sent the Son as Savior of the world. This is what God has given to the world a Savior. And, it says, of "the world", that is for any and all who want to be saved, anywhere in the world can be. The word Savior, means, deliverer, preserver.

Going on, John says that "whoever confesses etc, etc.......God abides in Him, and he in God. So, whoever will confess, which means to agree with God about His Son, then God will be abiding with you, and you will be abiding in God.

Lastly, in 4:16, John says, "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. So, they both knew and believed the love that God has, that is, in sending Jesus, the expression of God's love.....And, then John adds, "God is love, and he who abides in love, abides in God and God in him."

What a blessing to know that we are in Him, and He is in us. There is no better place to be then in the Lord.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

In this is love........

Please see 1st John 4:10


1st John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.


This has been a favorite verse of mine over the years. It does describe for us, what love is. That is, what is this love that John talks about in his epistle. 


This love that was demonstrated in Jesus Christ's coming from heaven to this world. He took upon Himself a human body, and lived with the single focus of going to the cross, and there dying for our sins. He came to take away our sins, and to bring us to God.


What John does in this verse, and of course, it's really the Lord speaking through John, but what is said here, is that this love, is not that we loved God, but, that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 


This underscores the truth and the fact, that salvation is something that God gets the credit for rather then us. It leaves out any chance for us to boast. God gets all the credit. 


It's clear that it was the Lord who loves us, and it was the Lord who sent His Son for us. We did not have a natural love for God. We did not produce Jesus Christ, we did not make Him come about, or put the idea into God's mind to send Jesus. In fact, we did not even truly know that we were sinners. Normally, it's just the opposite. We think others are sinners, and that we ourselves are very righteous in ourselves.


But, He loved us. This is the motivation behind God sending Jesus to the earth. It was not because of anything great within us, that somehow made God love us, no, in fact, we are sinners. Born that way, and living that way. So, there was nothing within us that somehow caused God's love. He simply loved us. And, he does love us. And, it's His love that brought about the coming of Christ to the earth. 


His love sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins. That word means, satisfaction. Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross, is the only offering that satisfied God concerning sin. 


If it was possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to save us, then there would not have been any need to send Jesus. But, those animals could not save us. 


If it was somehow possible to offset our current and past sins by our living good lives, and our doing good deeds, then there would have been no need to send Jesus. But, we could not do those things so as to satisfy God. 


No, it too, Christ coming to the earth, and dying on the cross to take care of sin as far as God was concerned. And, that is exactly what Jesus did. 


So, when you look at Jesus Christ, and when you think about Him, you can know that because you are in Christ, because He is your savior, God is satisfied with you, because of Christ. 


Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia 

Let us love one another, for love is God.

See 1st John 4:7-9

We have once again, the word beloved, used to describe John's readers. They were in fact, loved by him, but more importantly, loved by God. 

The message here is simple, and it's of central importance. It's God's call in our lives to "love one another" Actually, what he says, is "let us etc, "......that means that we as christians, can, and ought to do this We ought to love one another. The reason is, that Love is of God. This love is of Him, it's from Him, it's who He is. Secondly, we are told that everyone who loves ( this way ) is of God, and knows God.

So, these two things are true then, of everyone who loves. They have been born again, of Him as John says, and they know God. That is, they perceive Him, they understand Him, the have an intimate knowledge of God.

On the other hand, the person who does not love does not know God,  and then John repeats what he had said earlier, and that is, that God is love. So, if a person knows God, who is love, then they would be those who love others is the idea.
If someone says they know God, but they do not love others, then they are not telling the truth about themselves. They may think they know the Lord, but their lack of loving others is proof positive that they do not know God. Regardless of what one may think or say about themselves. The truth of God's Word is above our own thinking.

There are people even today, as there always have been who are physically in the church, you can see them talk to them, sit by them, listen to the Word of God right there with them, sing worship songs with them, serve in ministry with, but, they do not know the Lord.

It's very important that we are not deceived about this matter. If someone says they know God, but they do not have His love for others, they are not telling the truth. They are deceived, and John does not want you to wind up being deceived either.

Love does not hate, it does not wish the worst for others, it does not desire their destruction, etc, etc. This is as plain as anything can be. Yet somehow it can be missed. John was trying to bring it front and center.

Now, John describes this love. It was manifested towards us by God, in that He sent His only begotten son into the world that we might live through Him.

What does only begotten mean? It means, there is no one else like Him. He is unique. He is in a class of His own. There is the Father, the Holy Spirit, and there is the Son. And, the Father sent the Son. What a sacrifice the Father made, and what a servant the Son was and is. God gave up His Son, and His Son agreed to give His life for us on the cross. The result is, that by receiving Christ, we then have eternal life. He gave His life, that we might gain eternal life.

Pastor Bob Grenier.
Calvary Chapel Visalia

1st John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

1st John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1st John 4:9 n this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

The spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. See 1st John 4:1-6

The common endearing term, "beloved" is used once again. This reminds us that today, just like yesterday, and like it will be tomorrow, and will be forever, and forever, you are dear to the Lord, He loves you.


But, here's what's said to God's beloved. It's something we ought not to do.
Don't believe every spirit, or do not believe everything you hear, and every teacher that you hear, but test them, to see if they are of God or not. ( note: these false prophets were being influenced by demonic spirits. See 1st Timothy 4:1 ) 


The reason for this not believing, and testing, is because there are many false prophets that have gone out into the world.


Earlier, twice in fact, John had mentioned his concern about those who were trying to deceive them. So, false teaching, through false teachers, was and is, a serious concern, as it ought to be today. 


The way to not be deceived is given to us right here, and even they youngest christian can apply this wisdom. Here it is. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit ( teacher ) that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And, every spirit ( teacher ) that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And, this is the spirit of Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.


So, that's what's to be done in an effort to not be deceived. It has to do with the teaching about Jesus Christ. And, means, that those who teach that the man Jesus Christ, was indeed the Messiah, God come in the flesh, they are of God, and those who deny that the man Jesus Christ was God, they are not of God, and they are of the Antichrist. 


Satan, who has sinned from the start, either lies about what God has said, or tries to dissuade people from believing in Jesus Christ, and or deny's outright that Jesus Christ is in fact, the only way of salvation, and that He is not truly the king of kings, and lord of lords. They do not want to promote the knowledge of Jesus Christ, but rather deny that knowledge, and offer something different then the true Biblical teaching concerning Jesus Christ. 


Later this week, we will look at why this is fundamentally, and absolutely important to the Christian Faith. But, for now, we can see that this is the main point of John's concern. Who is Jesus? That's the primary issue here. And that there are people who preach and teach the true Jesus, and there are those who do not. There are indeed false teachers, and there are lying demonic spirits at work, and the believer needs to beware of them, and know how to identify them. 


In closing here, John tells us who we are, and what has happened to us, and why it has happened. 

1John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

John, then goes on to give further explanation. 

1John 4:5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

Finally, John declares who we are, and about those who hear us, and, about those who do not hear us. 

1John 4:16 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

This is how we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

Gleanings from 1st John 3........and thoughts about prayer

1 John 3:1
We are regarded by God, because we are indeed, His children. We have been born again, born into His family. So, as a Christian, this truth is true about you at this moment. You are His child. You have been born anew by the Holy Spirit's work. You are a child of God.

1 John3:2
When He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is
Jesus will be revealed, that is, He is coming again to the earth, both in the rapture of the church, and to rule and reign on the earth for 1000 years. We are going to see Him face to face, and at that time we will be changed, and have a new and glorified body like His.

1John 3:3
God's children not only have the hope of seeing Him in the future, but in the present, there is a cleansing that takes place in their lives. This cleansing comes from God as we confess our sins, and put off the flesh, and seek to walk in His ways, and obey His commandments.

1John 3:6-7
God's children, ( those who abide in Him ) do not sin. That is, they do not practice sin. Of course they do sin, but not as a lifestyle. Conversely, the person who practices sin as a lifestyle has neither seen Him, nor knows Him. To sum it up....The person who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1John 3:8-10
The person who sins ( as a lifestyle ) is of the devil. Whoever has been born of God, ( that is, become a christian, saved etc, ) does not sin ( does not practice sin as a lifestyle ) These two lifestyles show us the child of God, and the children of the devil. To sum it up......He who does not practice righteousness, is not of God, neither is he who does not love his brother.

1John 3:11,14
God's message from the start was and is, "that we should love one another" One of the ways we know that we are saved, that is, we have passed out of the realm of death, into the realm of life, is that we love the brethren. The person who does not love his brother, is abiding in death. They are not in life and light.

1John 3:22
Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. Here John links prayer, and receiving answers to our prayers, with our keeping His commandments, and our doing those things that are pleasing in His sight. So, our lifestyle and answered prayer are linked together.

A comment and thought about 1st John 3:22 about Prayer.

First of all, it reminds me that there is something called prayer.
Prayer is talking to God.
Prayer is something that Jesus did while on earth.
Prayer was taught by Jesus.
Prayer was practiced by the early church.
Prayer is encouraged all through the Bible.
Prayer is something we all wish we did more of.
Prayer can take place in many ways.
Prayer does not have to be a certain length.
Prayer can be for others, or for myself.
Prayer is effective.
Prayer is heard by God.
Prayer is part of the practice of the church.
Prayer is more then is mentioned above.
Prayer has many promises attached to it in the Bible.
Prayer is recorded for us in the Bible.
Prayer is prayed in blessed and in troubled times.
Prayer is also singing to the Lord.
Prayer is praying for others.
Prayer is praying about situations.
Prayer is praying for myself and my needs and situations.
Prayer is something the apostles would be doing, and then fall asleep.


My prayer today, this morning is, Lord please help me to pray. In Jesus name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

How to be sure and know that you are a christian.

See,1st John 3:17-24

John had been talking about the expression of God's love through Christ. He is our example of laying down His life for us, and that this is what we ought to do as well, lay down our lives ( live sacrificially on behalf of others ) for the brethren. 

Here, he gives an example of this love, or the failure to show it in action. 

If you have material goods, and you see a brother in need, yet, you shut up your heart from him, how does the love of God dwell in you? If you have say, food, and you are with a christian brother who literally has no food, and you keep your food, and don't share it with him that has none, is that an expression of God's love in you.

Let's not love just in word, but in deed and in truth. Let's not just talk about it, but actually show it in the way we act and live is what John is saying. Let's walk our talk as they say. Live out what you say, live out who you are. Walk in love towards others, in the most practical of ways. 

This love that is shown, is one of the ways we know we are of the truth......and, it's how we assure our hearts before Him.

In other words, for the person who does more then say they are in the truth, or that they are saved, or that they are in Christ, etc, they will have an assurance. They will know that they are of the truth. Again, your life's actions say something about if you are truly in the light, in the truth etc, etc. Actions bring assurance. Works bring assurance, and a knowing that you are in the truth etc. 

In the remaining verses in this this chapter, John deals with the subject, of "if our heart condemns us"

First of all, God is greater than our heart.

Secondly, God knows all things. 

Then, to further explain this, he says, that if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 

Why did he say this about "our hearts condemning us" Well, because our hearts can do that from time to time. Even if we are indeed Christians, we can begin to experience condemnation. Condemn here, means to find fault with, to blame, to accuse. The Christian can find themselves being condemned. What John was saying, is that even though your heart may do that, God knows what's true about you. He knows all things. He knows not only your profession of faith, but He knows your practice of faith. 

Then, John talks about prayer, which can include asking, and receiving from God. 

Three things are said here.....

1. Whatever we ask we receive from Him.

2. Because we keep His commandments.

3. And do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 

This teaching about prayer here, does not mean a person just prays and always gets from God what they were asking for. No, it's qualified with a couple of things. It's those who ask from Him. And, it's those who keep His commandments, and it's those who do those things that are pleasing to Him. This really speaks of disciples who want to do the will of God, and will in fact find the will of God taking place in their lives as they walk with Him, and ask of Him etc, etc. 

The chapter ends with a clarification of "the commandment" It's simple. 

We should believe in Jesus Christ.

And love one another. 

And, this is the commandment that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia