…And it’s interesting that much of the Bible is written in the present tense. It’s not reflected to that way too much in most of the modern translations, but in the original 1611 King James it was with the eth on it, as we have learned over the years. But the reason that is in the present tense is because what you are doing now is what is counting. What you did yesterday, that’s fine. Even the good and the bad and the ugly, what you did that pleased God, what you didn’t do that didn’t please God, and the sins that you did do which were very distressing to God, that’s all gone yesterday, right? And you can’t go back and undo it. Now, God does not want us have good intentions for the future, because what I did yesterday was so bad I will be better tomorrow. God says start now. That’s why it’s in the present tense, that you are loving. And as we’re going to see, whenever there’s great distress within the church, which we are experiencing now and the apostle John was experiencing it when he wrote the epistles of John, that you must have the love of God, because that is how God expresses His love on the Sabbath to each of us in addition to pouring out His Spirit to us, while we convoke together and learn of God’s way. That He gives us His love, that is true. But when you hug someone, or you shake hands with someone, or you look them in the eye and you say, “How are you?”, and you have the Spirit of the Father in you, the Father is loving that person, but are you loving them back? This is something brethren. This is so great. This is so profound that I feel most inadequate in even trying to bring the sermons. Now I’ve tried to bring this sermon for about a month. I’ve had to fight heresy for so long and so hard I finally said last week, “That’s it.” If you don’t understand the Sabbath you don’t even have a clue.

Now verse 8, “The one who is not loving, does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE!” And you think of that with your past church experience, right? Yes. And are not the minister’s charged with teaching the love of God? Yes. And have not too many ministers, not only in the Church of God, but in the world, and in every religion with their own arrogance, and authority, and vanity have choked off anything to do with love? That’s why they’re all called cults. “…Because GOD IS LOVE! In this way, the love of God was manifest in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this act, is THE LOVE!” (vs. 8-10, AT). And we’re going to focus in on that when we come down toward the Passover time. If you think you’ve loved someone, if you think you have given up for someone, if you think that you have wasted your life on something for someone, wait until you know what Christ did. And if you still feel like marching up to God in your prayer and asking for a merit badge because of what you’ve done, then you come and tell me about.

“Not that we have loved God, rather, that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our own sins.” You see it has to come from God. And God loved you when you were still a sinner. And God called you when you were miserable, and wretched, and rotten, and foolish, and stupid. “Beloved, if God so loved us in this manner, we also are duty-bound to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; If we should be loving one another, God is dwelling in us and His own love is perfected in us.” And that’s a continuous ongoing process, brethren. I think all of us, we look around and the way things are, and we have such a small window of opportunity now in the end time, to truly understand the deep and profound love of God. May God inspire us to learn it. May He grant us His Spirit to do so. May we grasp the meaning of all of these words that God has inspired to be. “In this way, we are knowing that we are dwelling in Him, and He is dwelling in us, because of His own Spirit which He has given to us. And we have seen for ourselves [that is, the apostles] and are bearing witness that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world” (vs. 10-14, AT).

And I imagine that one of the things that the apostle John never, never forgot, and one of the things that he would always see in his mind… Now all of us have experiences like that don’t we, that there is something that is so profound that happened in your life that you can close your eyes and you can see it over, and over, and over again? Now you see, John was the only one of the apostles to witness the death of Christ. All of the others ran away. Only the women stayed. And I imagine that he could see Christ dying on that stake. And I imagine, just like all the other apostles when they saw that happening, they thought how is this the Son of God? Later he understood. So when he wrote this, as Savior of the world, theSavior - not a, but the Son - not a, the Savior. There isn’t any other. That’s the way it is in the Greek.

Verse 15, “Whoever may confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God is dwelling in him and he in God.” To truly say that the way God means it to be said. “And we have known and have believed the love which God has towards us. GOD IS LOVE,…” Everything that God does is based on love. Even, brethren, to put away the wicked out of their misery, because you can’t live eternity without love. All it will do is end up just a repeat like this world. How would you like to live all eternity with the endless cycle of sin, and fighting, and warring, and stupidity, corruption? How would you like to live all eternity fighting a carnal nature? No, that’s not love. “…GOD IS LOVE, and the one who is dwelling in love, is dwelling in God and God in him” (vs. 15-16, AT)

Now brethren can we dwell in the love of God? Can we live in the love of God in our minds, in our hearts, and our innermost being? That’s the only thing that makes everything in this world worthwhile brethren. And that’s the only thing that really makes the Church of God, the Church of God. Not the name, not the title, not the person, not the preacher, not the people who are there. We altogether, if we have the love of God, then that truly is the Church of God. That’s why God is scattering. It’s a punishment, correction. Why? Because God loves us. He wants us to learn that He loves us. He doesn’t want us to go out and repeat the same mistakes in the past. That’s why God works out on everyone’s life that you’re going to come to a time that emotionally, mentally, and spiritually speaking you’re going to walk through the valley of your death. When you understand the worthlessness of human nature, the abject sin that is so deep in your heart, and mind, and being, and then you see the Church of God falling apart all around you; you got a valley of death to walk through. And all the brethren and ministers of God are now walking through the valley of death in their own lives, one way or the other. And if they learn the love of God they’re going to learn something, because God is love. And here’s the test that comes, as we’ll see here in just a minute. “By this spiritual indwelling the love has been perfected with us,…” (vs. 17, AT)

Now John, when he wrote this, was a very old man. And I imagine that in his life… truly if there was ever a life that the love of God was truly perfected in, it was his life. That’s why he’s the only apostle to truly write about the love of God, because he alone understood it. Perfected. Look at that, “…perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because even as He is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in the love” (vs. 17-18, AT). And that’s what is in the Greek, “the love.” Can you understand what a detestable thing it is to God to run His church by fear? Can you understand what a detestable thing it is, and why God must correct the church? When the only thing the church has ever done is preach law, and law, and law, and law, and law. Not to do away with it, because they’re so incompetent, and stupid, and elementary, and juvenile they can’t understand the love of God. And brethren that is a shame.

“There is no fear in the love.” Why should you run a church with fear? And every time something went wrong with the church were not the brethren condemned? Oh, you weren’t tithing enough. Oh, you weren’t praying enough. Oh, you weren’t doing this enough. All the while politics was going on, back-stabbing was going on, hatred and vehemence among the top echelon of the minister’s, so raging that they wouldn’t even walk into the same room with one another. And then they have the gall to blame the brethren. May God have mercy on them, and God have mercy on the brethren. “But perfect love is casting out fear,…” And this is what we need to come to brethren. Perfect love is casting out fear. Cannot a church of God be run that way? Can we not? Can we not all set our own goals, and priorities, and love of God that we can go to God and say, “God grant me Your love. Let it be perfected in me. I know I’m not worthy of it, but Christ died for me that it can be, that it can cast out fear.” And if brethren, truly we are the Laodicean church, and what we are all going through is repentance, believe me no one is going to endure martyrdom the way God wants them to, unless you love God. We’re going to see that’s why Christ did what He did because He loved God, and loved us.

“…Perfect love is casting out fear, because fear has torment,…” You ever gone to church with fear and torment? Have you ever had a minister come over to visit you and your all nervous, and anxious, and fear, and torment wondering why he’s coming to see me? Huh? Yes. Does God want that? Should it be? No. Did we run our families and our lives this way? Fear and torment, and discipline, and beating, and shouting, and anger? Did that accomplish the righteousness of God? Did it develop love from the heart? No. What did it create? Anger, hostility, hatred, fear, and torment.

“…And the one who is fearing has not been made perfect in the love.” That’s the whole goal brethren, to be made perfect in love. “We are loving Him, because He loved us first.” When we understand that Jesus came down to be a human being, He came in the midst of His enemies. You think you’ve had a challenge for love? We don’t have a clue, brethren. Now here’s the test. Here is the test, verse 20, “If anyone should say, I am loving God, and should be hating his brother, he is a liar.” Is it any wonder that the things are taking place in any church that professes Jesus Christ, if they’re not doing this. Are they not misrepresenting God? Yes. “…Not loving his brother whom he has seen, how is he able to love God whom he has not seen?” (vs. 18-20, AT).

Now let’s take this as a test, ok.? “…Anyone [who] should say, I am loving God, and should be hating his brother,…” (1 John 4:20, AT). Put in any name there you want. Husband, wife, children, neighbors, even enemy. Now we’re to hate the sin that they do, but we’re going to see what a profound thing it is to love your enemy. That doesn’t mean be stupid and get in the way and get wiped out, like standing in front of an ongoing truck that’s coming at you at 90 miles an hour, no. Put any name you want there. Is your household… I never will forget the prayer that one man prayed when he was baptized. He said, “Lord may there be love within the four walls of my house.” And I think maybe that’s a good prayer for everyone of us, isn’t it? How are things within the four walls of your house? How are things within the four walls of my house?

I think some of the things we’ve done in the past, I would have to say that within the four walls of my house it’s not what it ought to be. And the only repair is what God can do with His love. Can’t be any other way, can it? So try that as the test. “And this is the commandment we have from Him, that the one who is loving God, also should be loving his brother” (vs. 21, AT). And as I mentioned how many times, does this not save a lot of problems within the church? And you step back with the love of God and you look at all the arrogance, and the vanity and the little petty Hitlerian authority that so many people had. Isn’t that stupidity, and against God? Yes.

1 John 5:1, “Every one who is believing that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten from God; and every one who is loving Him that begat, also, should be loving him who has been begotten from Him. In this way, we are knowing that we are loving the children of God, [now notice this next phrase] when we are loving God and keeping His commandments” (1 John 5:1-2, AT). That’s what is in the Greek. Or, “…when we love God, and keep His commandments.” Notice love is priority. Love comes first. Commandment keeping is a result of love. Love is not the result of commandment keeping. Commandment keeping will result because you have love, it’s the first step of love, but it is not the totality or the perfection of love. Let’s read on, “For this is the love of God, that we should be keeping His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3, AT). That’s the first expression of love. Yes, it is. Commandment keeping is. But should we always have childish and elementary love? Is that the perfection of God? No.

Let’s go to Matthew 22. We’ve gone over this a lot, but you know there’s so much there it’s amazing what we can learn from it. Let’s pick it up in Matthew 22:34. “But when the Pharisees had heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them,…” Now a Pharisee is a real stickler of the law, isn’t he? Yes, he is. “…Was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” And this means the whole overriding purpose of the law. This is a commandment over all the other commandments. If you operated all the commandments below this, you’re not perfecting the love of God. So, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Now that’s how you begin. How does God want it? He wants all your heart. That means all your emotion, all your feeling, all of your capacity that God has put in there that is known as the heart. So it’s got to have feeling, it’s got to have meaning, it’s got to have emotion, and expression to it. “…With all your soul,...” And your soul is your full physical being. Why? Because that is the temple of the Holy Spirit, is it not? Did He not say that, “you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you:…” (1 Cor. 3:16), which brings us full circle back to where we started in Isaiah 66:1-2? Yes. “…With all your soul, and with all your mind…” (Matt. 22:34-37). That’s why God has given you a mind, to love Him with every fiber of your being. That’s what God wants from us, ok.

Now notice what then this will do. “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (vs. 39). But you see, the truth is you can’t love anyone unless you love God first. Oh you can, from a human point of view. Yes you can, with the phileo love. But the deep profound agape love, which is divine godly love, which loves in spite of problems and difficulties. Now there are certain requirements to be met, but you see God wants us to come to the point that our love for Him has absolutely no conditions at all. “God I will love You, if you bless me. God I will love You, if you give me faith. God I will love You, if you give me understanding of prophecy. God I will love You, if You give me wisdom. God I will love You, if You give me knowledge of languages.” No. God wants you to love Him without reservation with all your heart. See, because that’s what God wants to give back to you, is that not true? That’s correct. God wants that to come back to you so that you will know how to express love, and you can’t do it until you have experienced the profound love of God, and you give back to God that love with all your heart, and mind, and your soul. Then you can love your neighbor as yourself.

Now notice verse 40. “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” That’s something, everything that God has ever done flows from His love. Every law that God ever gave comes from His love. So the one who doesn’t love God hates His laws, right? “…Not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be…” (Rom. 8:7), right? “…And His commandments are not burdensome…” (1 John 5:3, AT). Do you think that God ever gave us a command we couldn’t fulfill? No, He wouldn’t give it if we didn’t have the capacity to do it. It’s the same way with the love of God. He wants to give us of His Spirit so that we will be perfected in that love. To grow in that love. To let that be the whole, complete, absolute consuming thing in our lives. Why? Because that’s the foundation of eternal life, brethren. And that’s what God wants to give us. Share His existence of eternity with us forever, and ever, and ever, and to know that we love Him and He loves us, and all of us together in the Kingdom and family of God are loving each other, and that is the whole purpose of it brethren.

 Now there’s so much to say and if I get into something else I will be spending much too much time more than I ought to, so even though this is cutting it just a touch short, I think there’s a lot there for us to work on and digest. So let’s see if we can take these things and ask God for that love. What you need to do is, when you pray, go to God and ask God for understanding of His love. Ask God to grant you His Spirit, to fill your heart and your mind with His love. And He will. And it will be a great, and a deep, and a profound experience, brethren. And that is something, then, that God wants you to have repeated over, and over again. Because as we’re going to see, God created us to receive His love, and to give His love. And as one man said, “Yes, we were created to be lovers.” And unless our love with God is fully established, then nothing else in this world matters.