Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

October 3, 2019

by Pastor Hawtree

BIBLE READING: I JOHN 4

GOD IS LOVE

I John 4:7-12
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10 Herein is love, not that we 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 ought also to love one another.

THE EXHORTATION (7)
“Beloved, let us love one another”. God is speaking to us through the pen of John here. God tells us to love one another. First, He “REMINDS” us that love comes from God. In fact, God is love. To be able to love like this, we must follow and grow closer to the Lord. John tells us that we must be “REGENERATED” to show the love of God: “everyone that loveth is born of God”. One of the signs that we have truly been saved is that we begin to show the love of God to others. In fact, Jesus said the way that the world would know that we are His disciples is “if ye love one another”.

John was teaching that there must be a real “RELATIONSHIP” with God in order to show the love of God. If we cannot show that love to others, that is a sign that there is no real relationship. John said “every one that loveth is born of God, “and knoweth God”. Then John says “He that loveth not knoweth not God“. I think that is abundantly clear.

Then we are told that we are to be God’s “REPRESENTATION” here on earth. We are to love one another, because we are the examples to others here on earth of God Himself.
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” “Beloved” means that we are individuals that have been loved by God. Because of that, we are to love one another.

THE EXAMPLE (9)
“9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”

Jesus was the example of this love that God has asked us to show. Jesus was the physical manifestation of God’s love. Jesus was God and man. This love was “manifested toward us”. Jesus was the example of God’s love and we were the object of it. Now you and I are to be the example of God’s love and others are to be the object of it. We were given an exhortation from God and we were given an example in Jesus Christ. So, let’s take that exhortation and go be that example.