No one has ever seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:12-16
When we first read “No one has seen God at any time.” You may think, “What about Moses? And I would say, well, I have to believe John writing here, that no man has ever seen God at any time. What about Moses? The Scriptures tell us that Moses was only able to see the afterglow. God says, “You can’t see Me Moses, or you will surely die. I will place you here in the cleft of this rock and I’ll pass by. And I will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:19-23). And the grace of God was radiate on the face of Moses, so much that he had to put a veil over his face. Jesus said on the Sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” But before I can see God, I have to have a new glorified body, which the Bible says is promised to every believer in Christ. So the saying is true, in this mortal flesh, this old body will not be able to see God at any time. But, If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us. And that is a work of the Holy Spirit within our lives. Perfecting us in the love of God. John introduces us to the third of five reasons Christians love: Because love is the heart of a Christian’s witness. Nobody can see God loving since His love is invisible. Jesus no longer is in the world to manifest God’s love, the only demonstration of God’s love then is the love of God in the church. It’s a huge part of our testimony, that God’s love has gotten a hold on me. And As I yield to the Holy Spirit that dwells in me, as I am filled with the Spirit so that work of His love for me is ultimately perfecting God’s love in my life. That I will indeed love as He loves.
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world—In chapter 1 of this Book 1 John, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life (v.1). That we might have fellowship with the disciples who were with Jesus, and were eyewitnesses of His death, and resurrection; The purpose of His coming: That He might take away our sins—Now here again he gives another reason for His coming: ” That He might be the Savior of the world.”
Whoever confesses—The importance that Jesus is the Son of God, and (a) son of God as the Mormons would make Him, one of many. Or as the Jehovah Witnesses would make , a son of God. Our testimony is that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God the Father, and God dwells in Him, and He in God. That is truly what separates millions of people in our world today. We all can’t be right. The Scriptures must be interpreted correctly, for the consequences are eternal. And dealing with these truths, how can we know who is right? There are a lot of false prophets in the world that have come. Jesus, before He went to the cross, had been preparing His disciples for what was to come. “I still have many things to say to you, but you can not bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:12-13) This verse points to the supernatural revelation of all truth by which God has revealed Himself in Christ. In the Old Testament which speaks of His coming, and the New Testament claims of His deity.
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us—-Let me point something out on what the Scriptures say that is not love. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good (Romans 12:9). A Christ-like love Christians are to have is to be shown purely and in sincerity. And is to be without self-centeredness and without hypocrisy. I’ve said here before: People are not going to care how much you know, until they know how much you care. This kind of love is seen in Christ, and is revealed to us through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Another reference about love is: Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5); Paul was revealing to Timothy what he is to be revealing to the church; Because the goal of preaching the truth and warning of error is to call men to true salvation in Christ, which produces a love for God from a purified heart (1 Peter 1:22), and a cleansed conscience (Hebrews 10:14), and genuine faith (Hebrews 10:22). This is the love of choice and the will that is characterized by self-denial and self-sacrifice for the benefit of others, which is always the mark of true Christianity.
Beloved friend, God is love. Indeed and for sure. But love that is without truth is not love at all. People are so quick to judge what God is like by believing a lie of God’s judgment as taking away their freedom of choice. They will not be told what they can or cannot do in this life, even though everything about this life involves the consequences we face when choose not obey the law, nor the commandments of God. In 1 John chapter 5 we read, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome (v.3). In contrast to the burdensome man-made religious traditions of the Jewish leaders (Matthew 23:4), the yoke of Jesus is easy and the burden is light to follow and learn from Him (Matthew 11:28-30). Let us be in that place of victory over sin and the deceitful lusts of this world, and be about our Father’s business of sharing our faith in Jesus Christ. He is coming soon! There is no denying it in our world today. Every believer should have their eyes on Christ, and His love for them will make a difference in the lives of those who need to know these truths who are all around us.
May the Lord bless your walk today!
