6 God Is Love: 1 John 4:7—5:5
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God Is Love
1 John 4:7—5:5
Why are we so infatuated with love? It dominates our songs, poems, movies and novels. We value it above every virtue. We long to find it and fight to keep it. Everyone has an opinion about it, but no one seems to have enough of it. How can we explain our insatiable appetite for love?
GROUP DISCUSSION. Quickly name every song title you can think of that has the word love in it. What would be the definition of love in most of those songs?
PERSONAL REFLECTION. How would you define love? How does your definition of love compare with how you would have defined it ten years ago? What has made the difference?
Jesus’ disciple John wrote the Gospel of John, three letters to early churches and the book of Revelation. This first letter revolves around several ideas that John keeps coming back to. Read 1 John 4:7—5:5.
1. What repeated themes do you notice in this passage?
2. What aspect of the picture of love here is particularly striking to you personally?
3. Verse 7 seems to imply that every person who loves is God’s child, regardless of beliefs. How do you respond to that idea and why?
4. How is saying “God is love” (4:8, 16) different from saying “love is God”?
5. In Christ God clearly demonstrates his love for us. What should be the results of receiving the love of God into our lives?
6. How does our love for each other make the invisible God visible (4:12)?
7. In 4:13-16, what tests does John give us for determining whether “we live in him and he in us”?
8. If our lives are characterized by love, why can we be confident rather than fearful on the day of judgment (4:17-18)?
9. It certainly seems possible that we could love God and yet hate one of our brothers and sisters. According to John, why is this impossible (4:19-21)?
10. From what you read in 5:1-5, what is someone who is really born of God like?
11. If some of these things are not true, would you say it proves that person is not a true Christian? Explain your answer.
12. How has this passage deepened your understanding of God, the children of God and love itself?
13. This passage outlines actions that are to follow in our lives when we understand God’s love for us. What has this passage revealed that you would like to work on within yourself?
Ask God to grow your understanding of his love.
Now or Later
Read all of 1 John and note how the dominant themes keep recurring.