John tells Christians that God displayed his love for humanity by sending his son Jesus into the world to be the propitiation for sins. In response, believers ought to love one another through sacrificial love (agape), which involves caring for others in need. This shows that Christians know God and have been born again by reacting properly to his love. Loving others allows God's presence to be seen naturally and perfects his love within believers.

1. Everlasting Mercy Fellowship

2. 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God,
and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because
God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest
among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so
that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that
we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to
be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved
us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever
seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his
love is perfected in us.

4.  John tells us two things in this section of his epistle.
 How did God react to us.
 What our reaction should be
 It is these two things that we will examined this
morning.

5.  Scripture teaches us that God reacted towards us by
displaying His love. How does God display His love? By
sending His son into the world (1st John 4:9-11).
 The greek text reads that God commissioned His Son by sending
Him into the world’s system so that we would live through Him.
 What was His Son sent to do? To be our propitiation
(1st John 4:10). This is the gospel!

6.  How do we react to this action by God? We display our
love back...to each other. The word used in the greek
for this entire section is agape.

7.  What is agape? Agape means to love sacrificially.
Loving costs.
 Agape simply means sacrificial love.
 Why does it have to be shown by me? Because it
shows the following:
 That you have been born again (see 1st John 4:7-8; 1st Peter 1:3-5)
 That you know God (see Jeremiah 24:7)
 That you have reacted properly to God’s love in your life (see 1st
John 4:11)
 Allows people to see God move naturally (see 1st John 4:12)
 Agape challenge
 Do something random for somebody this week ie. Shovel
snow, buy them a cup of coffee, tip your waiter/waitress a little
extra, give someone the right of way instead of trying to be
1st, etc.
 Next week
 Abiding in Faith and Love (1st John 4:13-5:5)