[Maximum Joy Series] Perfect LoveSample

Mandate to Love

Imagine that there is a white canvas waiting to be painted by an artist. A work of art is about to be born. Brushes are waiting for the artist to arrive. Once he stands up next to the painting, he starts performing little strokes that at the very beginning do not seem to resemble anything. Then, as the lines and colors collide, the image begins to show us a clear vision of the message that the artist wants to convey.

Our beloved apostle John begins his portrait of perfect love with a “few strokes” that go like this: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (4:7-8) 

This same “stroke” has been referenced a number of times in this letter. It gives us a clear clue to the nature of perfect love—Love is of God. God is the source; love comes from God, it is divine, not of human origin. Can you imagine a better picture of love than this? God is love, that is His essence. 

This kind of love is not something that you can produce unless you are in contact with the source. It comes from the Holy Spirit; in fact, it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Therefore, it is a spiritual love—it is agape love. In Greek, the language in which 1 John was written, there are three words to express different types of love: 

EROS LOVE—Body, Physical, Selfish, Getting.

PHILE LOVE—Soul, Emotional, Half and Half, Getting and Giving.

AGAPE LOVE—Spirit, Spiritual, Unselfish, Giving.

As you can see, each type of love is entirely different from the other. Agape love is the result of our relationship and fellowship with God. It is for this reason that the apostle uses the example of a tree and its fruit. Apart from God, we can do nothing. We cannot produce love. 

When the Holy Spirit comes to live inside our human spirit, we receive life. The unbeliever is spiritually dead and separated from God. When we trust Jesus Christ our Savior, the barrier of sin is removed, and God comes to live within us. The light of God comes into our lives, and darkness vanishes because God is light; in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). 

That is the first statement that the apostle gives as a premise in the epistle.

The second statement regards another aspect of God’s character, of His essence: Love. Love enters our lives the same way light entered—through the Holy Spirit. God is light, and God is love. So, a person who has agape love is born of God and knows God. This means that the person who exercises agape love has a relationship and fellowship with God. The person who does not exercise agape love might be a person who has a relationship with God but no fellowship with Him. 

It is my prayer that you will pursue both aspects of God’s character in your life—the aspect of light and the aspect of love. May the light of God cast away all darkness from you, and may the love of God—a spiritual, unselfish, and giving love—abound in you as it abounded in Jesus Christ.