God is love. Be born of God. See God for Who He is. Then we shall be like Him. We will love others.
Vs. 1-3 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." John is refuting the Gnostic idea that Jesus did not have a fleshly body, but that He only appeared as a spirit, or in spiritual form. If He did not have a fleshly body, He could not bear the punishment for our sins in His body, and we cannot be born of God. John keeps going back to his major theme: be born of God, learn that He is love and that He lives in you, and then love others. All false teaching leads us away from this sure foundation of being born of God by trusting in Jesus, and walking in love toward others. All false teaching comes through people who are being motivated by the spirit of the Antichrist.
Vs. 4 "You are of God (born of God), little children, and have overcome them (antichrist or evil spirits), because He Who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." God has come to live within us when we are born again. He is love. We should be overcoming the lust or selfishness that is in the world through the One Who is love within us.
Vs. 5 "They (false teachers who are motivated by spirit of the antichrist) are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them." What is he referring to as being of the world? 1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world." We are either motivated by love, or by lust and pride, which is basically selfishness.
Vs. 6 "We are of God (born of God). He who knows God (knows that God is love and has learned to walk in love) hears us; he who is not of God (not born of God) does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." Again, the spirit of error leads people away from being born again and walking in love toward others.
Vs. 7-8 "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." He who loves is (1) born of God and (2) knows God. He who does not love (2) does not know God. It does not say that he is not born of God. He just does not know God, that He is love.
Vs. 9-10 "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live (be born again and learn to love) through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Notice that God initiated this great plan of love. It is not that we loved God, or draw close to Him through our own efforts. He loved us so much that He sent Jesus to pay the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime. Propitiation means that God is satisfied with what Jesus did. We merely respond to His love for us.
Vs. 11 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." When we receive His love for us, we can then love others properly. We offer them grace and forgiveness, because we have received grace and forgiveness from God. We tell them that the sins of their entire lifetime have already been paid for. We can also act in love and not act selfishly in our actions toward others.
Vs. 12 "No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us." If we love one another, we are born of God, and have received His love for us, and His love is flowing through us to others. The circle of love has been brought to completion in us.
Vs. 13 "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He is us, because He has given us of His Spirit." He abides in us when we are born again. We are abiding in Him when we are being led by the Spirit Who teaches us to love.
Vs. 14 "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world." God is the One who initiated this. He showed His love for us through Jesus paying for our sins. He then shows us how to love.
Vs. 15 "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him, and he in God." This is our response of faith to His grace and love for us.
Keith Oliver
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