LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Responding to Present Needs (3)
The Lord Jesus said: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:12). His words were a clear prophecy of what is happening in these final days. These two things are like two sides of the same coin. The increase of wickedness (sin), will bring a cooling of the nobler feelings and affections such as love.
This is already happening today in the world; but this does not have to be a reality in the church. The Lord has provided the resources so that love not only remains unchanged, but so that this love increases and becomes the seal of distinction of the children of God.
The First Epistle of John speaks to us of love. First of all, it tells us that "he who loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no stumbling block" (2:10). This shows us a reality: that brothers love one another. But what is the source of love, and is it in themselves?
Chapter 3 tells us that this love was given to us from the Father, and that it is a very great love: "See what love the Father has given us" (v. 1). Then we are told that this love of God is a distinguishing characteristic of God's children. "Whosoever ... loveth not his brother is not of God" (v. 10).
This love is not a product of man (man only knows how to multiply evil), but of God. Therefore, because we have it, and because it is also of noble workmanship, God commands us to love one another (v. 11). "We know that we have passed from death unto life, in that we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (3:14).
The greatest example of love, by which we know that God loves us, is that "he (Jesus) laid down his life for us". Where? On the cross of Calvary. Therefore, says John, love among brethren must be practical, not "in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (v. 18). So great is this that God's commandment is twofold: "That we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he has commanded us" (3:23).
In chapter 4, John returns to love. Not only does he tell us that God loves us, and that this love was demonstrated in Jesus laying down his life for us, but that God himself is love, is essentially love. And he adds that, if we love God today, it is because he first loved us. God first.
Then he says: "If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 Jn. 4:11). "If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us" (v. 12). The perfection of love is to love our brother, and to love without fear. The proof that we love God is that we love our brother.
Thus, the apostle John has told us what God's response is to man's hatred of his brother (for Cain killed Abel and has hated him ever since). It is not the love of man, but the love of God, demonstrated on the cross, which was poured into our hearts. This love is practical, for God made it practical on the cross. This love is the essence of God, and is the fundamental characteristic of the children of God.