The Love Challenge (Part 8)

We are busy looking at love from 1 John 4. I recommend reading the other posts first.

1 John 4:14-15: And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

How do we have it now? Jesus said in John 3:3 & 5: "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again," and in verse five Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit," and in 1 John 4:7-8 as we discussed earlier in this series: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Then, there is the clear indication in several passages that obedience is a prerequisite to salvation. What needs to happen for salvation is that the Lord needs to be your first love. That's what a love relationship is all about, isn't it? Imagine a woman meets someone and promises commitment to him, but their relationship consists of her saying hi to him every morning, and that's about it. He never sees her apart from when she greets him, and the occasional asking for help when she has exhausted all other options. He sits there longing to spend time with her. Do you think he'd want a relationship like that? The Lord desires a relationship with those who love and need Him at all times, not only when it's convenient for them.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 

What Jesus said here is that those whose attitude is one of using His power for their own benefit won't be accepted into the Kingdom of God, but only those who have a childlike relationship with Him and obey His Father, acknowledging Him in all they do. As we obey Him, we get to know Him and build a relationship with Him. That's why He said, "I never knew you". It's like using the name of a well-known person to open doors for you, but you never meet them. Then, one day, you happen to see him at a meeting, and you walk up to him, saying, "Hello, I'm John. You have opened wonderful doors for me." He'll just look at you and say, "Who are you?" 

A believer's first priority is to build a relationship of trust with Father God, by the Holy Spirit, through the Son, Jesus. Everything else flows from it by faith and in obedience. The focus should never be on the believer, but on and to the glory of the Master who does the work through the believer.

These words in 1 John 4:15, "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God", therefore encompass all the passages relating to salvation we've mentioned above. Acknowledgement is more than just saying that Jesus is the Son of God
Acknowledgement is living in obedience as if Jesus, the Son of God, is your Lord. 

It's like a little child waiting for the next step from her parents. She
knows she cannot do it on her own and acknowledges her complete dependence on them, exercising the resulting obedience to them. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 18:3: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

From this will flow all the other prerequisites for salvation - rebirth, love, and obedience in doing the love acts He has prepared for you.

To be continued