Week 40, Day 2
October 4, 2022 Scripture: 1 John 4 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:9–12) It all comes down to love. John is dealing with false teachers and prophets. His counsel for the church is to look at two areas in their lives. One is, who do they say Jesus is? Do they confess him to be God’s Son, truly human, in the flesh? If they don’t recognize the humanity of Jesus as well as his divinity, well, they are false prophets. Secondly, they are to look at their lives, do they love others? It is important for us to balance this in our own lives as well. Right doctrine (who Jesus is) ought to reflect the right action (how Jesus loves). If we claim to have the right theology but have not love, then we are as Paul would call a clanging cymbal. I am nothing, without love. I’m just a loud teacher who has it all figured out but have nothing to show for it. We can have all the wisdom in the world, but gain nothing, if we do not have love. Paul and John are in great agreement here. Since God loved us, we love one another. God lives in us and his love is made complete. Love as Christ loved us.
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AuthorJordan Ickes, Minister of Etna Green Church of Christ. Archives
December 2022
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