This is pretty amazing…
1 John 5:1-3. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
God says that I can know I love the children of God through these two criteria: If I love God and if I observe His commandments.
John 12:48 He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
Jesus is the Word. We will be judged by what the Bible says—pure and simple. Some think they are loving the children of God because of their actions toward them. God says we are loving the children of God because of our actions toward Him.
1 John 3:11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
Does John’s example of Cain murdering his brother seem a little out of place? Doesn’t it seem obvious that no one would think that murdering your brother would be loving him? His example is a perfect one. Why? Because John is showing that loving your brother is the opposite of murdering him. Loving your brother is to bring life to your brother.
1 John 3:18-24 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
True love is shown by deed and truth, not with word or tongue. We are commanded to love one another. We know that God abides in us if we keep His commandments.
1 John 2:3-6 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
The love of God is truly perfected in the one who keeps His Word. We know that we are in Him when we keep His Word.
1 John 4:7-13 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
Loving one another does not cause God to abide in us—rather, if we love one another, it means, or shows, that God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. Why? Because if God abides in us, we will keep His commandments!
Don’t be confused about love. Let God alone define what it means to love the brethren. He does so in 1 John very clearly. Loving the brethren is not defined by sending a card, or taking someone a meal. Nor is it defined by how another person reacts to your love. It is defined by obeying God’s commandments. That is how we love the brethren. That’s what God says—so that is what it is.
The question is, are we?
