All About the Love of God

Before you start todays devotional, ask the Lord to use it to grow you up in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12). Really? What about Adam, who walked with God in the Garden of Eden? And Moses who talked with God face to face and was hidden in the cleft of the rock as He went by?

The answer, of course, follows John’s explanation. “The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18)—that is, He has exegeted Him; He explains who He is. Jesus said to Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). But how did they see Him? They didn’t even know He was the Son of God.

No one has seen God in His fullness even today, but God makes Himself known through believers loving each other. None of us knew about God’s love until God showed it to us on the cross when Christ died. All we know about God is what we see in Jesus. If we want to know what God thinks or feels about certain things, just follow the Lord and listen to Him. He came to make God known.

The world is hungry for love, yet it doesn’t know what love is. They don’t know how wonderful God is, but we can make Him known. We can’t work up this love in ourselves, but God’s Spirit living in every believer will produce it in our hearts. The world sees God in us and is drawn to Him.

This is our message to give: The purpose of our love is to reveal Jesus Christ to a lost world of sinners.

This love we know from God and the love we share with others are inextricably woven together. You simply can’t say you are God’s child and turn around and hate someone. If we don’t love our brother, we do not love God either. God commanded us to love even if we don’t feel like it or want to. “Because I love, you are to love.”

When we obey Him, His life and love in us are made complete, so we can boldly share His love with the world. Jesus is at God’s right hand, interceding for us. We are safe in Christ and fully accepted in the Beloved.

Do you hear that? In Christ, you have nothing to fear. There’s no judgment coming for you—all your debts were settled when Christ died for you. Relax and enjoy your salvation. Joy stems from love, and if you have love for the Lord Jesus, for God, and for others, then fear has been cast out.

Of course, this all began with God. He loved us first. He loved us when we were unlovely. He is worth loving. The Lamb of God is worthy of all of our love, all of our devotion, and all of our service.

1. The task of loving people fulfills the same role of showing God to people as Jesus coming in the flesh. What effect does that have on your desire to love other people?

2. The only way the world will know about God is if we make Him known. How should that change the way we think about and interact with those around us?

3. Love and fear cannot coexist. What fears do you have in your life which love needs to conquer?

Additional Resources

Listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee's complete teaching of 1 John 4:7-11 and 1 John 4:12-21.