This We Know: Week 5 - Love: The Purpose of Knowledge

Week 5: Love: The Purpose of Knowledge 1 John 2:7-17 Let’s open our Bibles together This we Know, is the title of our series through 1st John, so we are dealing with the topic of Knowledge. Our mind affects every part of our life. How does the life of the mind relate to life of the heart? What is the connection between mind and heart, intellect and affection, thought and feeling? Jesus was asked, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he (Jesus) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Can we love God without engaging our minds? Can we truly love God apart from knowledge of Him? No This is a very practical question. Can you love someone if you don’t know them? Women, would you trust a man who says he loves you, but can’t tell you why? Dad’s. Would you trust your daughter to someone who tells her he loves her the first night they meet? What about love at first sight? Well… That involves knowledge. Love at first sight is exactly that… I love how you LOOK! That can grow into true love, but it’s not true love! 
 True love demands knowledge. It’s founded in knowledge and it is fueled by knowledge. I love my wife more today than I did 27-1/2 years ago when we met on a blind date. I went home and told my mom that I was going to marry her, that night, but that just meant she passed 3 important tests. Do you know what those were? 1- She looked good!!! 2- She was extremely intelligent (and funny) 3- She would have me!!! : ) She gave me signs that I had a chance. ( I still haven’t figured out why!!! 

She was actually crazy about me. It was awesome. : ) Men, do you remember when your wife was crazy about you? It was before they knew you!!! : ) Now, they love you… and they put up with you… but it’s love that is way better than being crazy about you. They know you and they love you anyway. Today, we are going to talk about, Love: The Purpose of Knowledge. (Recap) 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 

8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 

10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12  I am writing to you, little children,
    because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. 13  I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
    because you know the Father. 14  I write to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
    because you are strong,
    and the word of God abides in you,
    and you have overcome the evil one. Do Not Love the World 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1. We are commanded to love God. (3-6) - Not just here, but throughout Scripture! - To know God is to Love Him - Knowledge of beauty and perfection, mercy and grace, light and life, hope and healing, leads to love. - God is Love! To know love is to be loved and to love in return. - Love manifests itself in obedience

2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Why did John write this? 1. It’s true. 2. Jesus said it!

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments… 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. 


- This is true because of God’s Authority. (Kid’s can’t say this to their parents) (Parents can say this to their children)

 - This is true because our Behavior always follows our Belief. 

- This is true because the greatest commandment is to Love God! He uses Love and Know interchangeably. 

3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:

“If you love me keep my commandments…”
 2. We are commanded to love each other. (7-11) - This commandment is timeless (Old and New) - "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love (agape) for one another." (John 13:35) - Love is more than words (9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness…) (11…whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes) - Love is proof of light (Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling) 3. Our Identity is motivation to love. (12-14) - John is pausing to encourage the children he is correcting. - Love is in our nature! It is the fruit of the Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is love. - He reminds them of their identity - They are part of the family of God. - God’s Children - Forgiven - (His name’s sake) Greatest honor to be named after someone. We are Children of God. Christians. We bear His name. - Fathers - Leaders who know the eternal God - Young Men - Strong in the word, overcomers - These are stages of maturity… Stages of love - We are called to BE what we ALREADY ARE! Live out your faith! 

He reminds them of their identity because we are tempted to leave this love behind.



 4. This world competes for our love!

 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. - This is where I want to look deeper into this word, “love”. The word used in this passage is Agape. - Agape - unselfishness, self-giving, willful devotion, concern for the welfare of others. - Biblical agapē love is a matter of the will and not a matter of feeling or emotion, though deep feelings and emotions almost always accompany love. 

 - Agape love does not depend on the world’s criteria for love, such as attractiveness, emotions, or sentimentality.

 - Only agape love gives continuously and unconditionally. (John MacArthur) - 

The earliest accounts show (this word) being used by epic poets like Homer to describe relationships on the battlefield. Generals would love their soldiers with agape love. Soldiers would fight and die for each other because of agape. Agape love was the love of the battlefield. (www.bayviewbiblechurch.org/post/what-christians-misunderstand-about-agape-love) - Jesus said, in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Serve - Love, Devoted vs. Hate, Despise - We are supposed to have a committed devotion to God above all. We are to have sacrificial and unconditional love for God and our brothers and sisters in Christ. 
 - The thing that competes for our love is the world. - We are clearly told, “Do not love the world or the things in the world” - Is he talking about the planet, the mountains, the ocean, the people, coffee, food, etc.? NO - Kosmos - world system, worldview, antichrist, against God. - The desires of the flesh - Selfish lusts - The desires of the eyes - Greed - The pride of life - Self-centered - These are not from God, but from the world. 

 - The opposite is self-sacrificial love for God and others. - They are against God. They hate God. James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. - This world is passing away. Don’t waste your life. This world is a bad investment. - Every Christian struggles with this!!! This is why he tells them to stop doing it. - …whoever does the will of God abides forever Application: - All of that takes us back to where we started. Can we love God if we don’t know Him? Not really. 

Do you know who He is? What He has done for you? What His heart is? What He loves? What He hates? 

 - How do we grow in love for God? We grow in knowledge of Him. 

 - We all have an inner conflict. We are all drawn to this world. It looks attractive. It deceives us! But, we must not agape it! We must not love it, be devoted to it, sacrifice our soul for it! 

 - What does it profit if we gain the whole world and lose our soul?