I John 4:7-21
ICE BREAKER
Today we will talk about walking in love. Close your eyes. Is there light in the room? If someone tells you there is, you still can’t experience it. Only when you open your eyes can you experience it. The eye opens and it receives light.
Love is similar. You need to experience it to really know what love is. Share with the group about a relationship in which you experience or have experienced love. Try to describe the impact of this love on you.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Consider the three ways we receive the love of God (Word, Spirit, and people of God) and then consider what will be your next step that will foster the love of God in your life. Share your next step with the group(see notes below for some specific ways we receive love in these categories). Group leaders: consider praying together over these next steps.
- It is an enormous honor to be a reflection of Christ in this broken world. Dream together as a group as to how you can corporately or individually love someone in a new way in the coming week.
- David Benner in his book, Surrender to Love, writes that love can only be received in vulnerability. Performing in order to receive love from God or from others actually closes the ability to receive love. Reflect on your relationship with Christ and with key people in your life. Where do you perform in an attempt to receive love? In what ways are you vulnerable with Christ and people? Share your thoughts with the group.
- Many precious believers will say that they know about God’s love but they do not experience God’s love. This can be discouraging for many. The hardship in our stories growing up, the shame we live with or the guardedness we live out can all be factors that limit one’s ability to experience God’s love. Please do not believe that tasting God’s love is out of your reach. Don’t settle for merely knowing about God’s love. It takes a journey of healing, vulnerability with God and others but the journey is worth it. Share with the group about your difficulties with receiving the love of Christ. If you have struggled in this area but have gained some traction, share your story with the group as well.
NOTES AND QUOTES
Love is very distorted in our culture and within ourselves. John wants to bring clarity to what love is.
When you experience love you know it–it is undeniable.
Let’s walk through 6 important facets of love from I John chapter 4.
- God is the source of love in I John 4:7.
Any love that we ever experience comes from God. So, any love we taste through family or friends or a mentor ultimately has its source in God.
These tastes of love from people reflect the love of God.
- God is the definition of love. I John 4:8.
We learn about love by looking at God.
So, whatever God does must be loving. Always.
Whatever He does not do must also be emanating from love.
We do not fully understand the mystery of God, especially in our pain and suffering. There is a tension in this. The question can arise: “How can a loving God allow this suffering?”.
- God demonstrates His love. I John 4:9-10.
God makes crystal clear what love is through His Son, Jesus.
Christ sacrifices Himself on the cross and dies a cruel death in order to be the atonement for our sin. Christ relates in love to friends and enemies alike. He is the perfect model of love.
- Our love is a debt. I John 4:11
John writes, “…we also ought to love one another.”.
To love God and one another is the only reasonable response to God’s love.
- Our love is evidence. I John 4:12,16
John writes, “…if we love one another, God abides in us…”
We can reveal God by our love. We can demonstrate who God is through our love.
- God initiates love. I john 4:19
We love each other because He first loved us.”
God is always the first mover.
God’s love is never a response to us, rather, He is always the initiator.
He does not respond with more love when we love Him or if we obey him.
So, when we feel ashamed of our sin and ask, “Who would ever accept me?”, we must remember that God loved us first. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all our sin.
The moon has no light in itself. The moon merely reflects the light of the sun.
The same is true with God’s love in us. We reflect back to Him and to others the love of God.
How do we experience the love of God? You can’t earn it nor can you manufacture it. We don’t create the experience.
God’s love is always reaching out to us.
3 Ways we can receive the love of God: the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God. Through these we simply open ourselves to experience God’s love.
- The Word of God. Meditation is one way to taste God’s love through His Word. To meditate is to ruminate or to repeat the verse or a phrase or a word again and again.Meditation opens the door for the Spirit to permeate our hearts.Without meditation the richer tastes of Christs’ love will be diminished in your life.
- The Spirit of God. Let’s think about the place of confession and repentance. This is not a place where we hide in shame. It is a place of humility and honesty and vulnerability. God does not turn away from me when I confess. He is with me in my sin. He is tender toward me.
- The people of God.
We receive love by serving and being served. We experience love in both of these ways. We get to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
This is a beautiful calling when we pause to consider it.
