I John 5:1

I John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. We have two words here that are hard to understand: begat and begotten. When you have a child, the child was begotten of you. When you had a child, you begat the child. This is the way the King James Bible says it. Not too hard to understand. Our verse says that if you believe in God, you also have to believe in His Son, Jesus, because they are both the same. They are both God – just with different jobs. God the Father is in heaven and sent His dear Son, Jesus to do His work here on earth. If someone doesn’t like your father, how could you trust them? How could you like them and be their friend? If they claim to like you, but do not like your father, that is hard for you to take. That’s what our verse is saying. If you love God, you will love His Son.

I John 4:19

I John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. This verse is very simple. Actually, God’s plan of salvation is very simple as well. God makes it simple so that everyone can easily be saved. He doesn’t make it complicated. You don’t have to be a college graduate in order to understand God’s plan for your life. It is easy. It is simple so that even a little child can be saved. Our verse explains why we love God. Why do we love God? Because He first loved us. And how did God show His love to us? By sending His Son down to die for our sins. Because of such a great sacrifice, God must really love us. Isn’t that wonderful?

I John 4:15

I John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Here in our verse we have the Jesus Test stated a little differently. When we admit that Jesus is Who He said He was, the Son of God, we are born into God’s family. We are in Him and He is in us. What a wonderful relationship we have with God!

I John 4:13

I John 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. There are many things that we think that we know. But there are much fewer things that we know for sure. One of those for sure things is here in our verse: When we were born into God’s family, God the Father gave us the Holy Spirit to indwell us. And because the Holy Spirit is in us, we know – for sure – That we are in God and He is in us. What a wonderful comfort. As a matter of fact, in John chapters 14 and 16, the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. What a comfort to know that God is with us all the time!

I John 4:11

I John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. If is a little word, but it is filled with meaning. If your dad says, “If you clean your room every day and do all of your school work every day, we will go to a Titans football game”, do you get all excited? Not quite yet. You see, you have to do all of the things that are mentioned first in order to get to go to the game. That little word, if will cause you all kinds of trouble. Our verse begins with if, but it means actually means because. Our verse actually says, because God loved us so much, we ought to love one another. God’s love is never a question. He always loves us and has always loved us! And because He loves us, we have a responsibility to one another. The word ought tells us that there is something that we should do. We ought to love one another. Do you remember the love test? Or the brother test? This is another way to say the love test. Remember, since God has loved us so, so much, we should love one another. Let’s please God this week and love one another.

I John 4:10

I John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We have a big word in our verse for today: propitiation. Propitiation means the payment for a debt. For example, if you are speeding, the police officer pulls you over and gives you a ticket. Then on a certain date, you must go to court and face the charge of speeding. If the officer proves to the judge that you were, in fact, speeding, the judge finds you guilty and you are charged a fine. When you go to the court clerk, she looks at your fine and you pay the amount on the fine. And then you are cleared of the offense. you are finished – you have paid your debt. It is over. The money that you paid was the propitiation for your debt. You were guilty, but your fine has been paid. But what about the fine for sin? How can we pay for our sins? Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death. We must pay for our sins with our death! But, Jesus paid for our sins with His death! He paid our debt. He paid our fine. In lawyer words: Jesus was our propitiation. Our debt before God was paid in full by Jesus Christ with His death on the cross! Hallelujah! We are free!