Family Love: Love flows from God, because God Himself is love (4:8). In His three persons the triune God has forever dwelt in the overflow of love between the persons of God. This reality has implications for the children of God. All who are born of God reflect God’s likeness even as earthly children resemble their parents. It is as if we have His love coursing through our veins. Even as love is God’s very nature, so it is the nature of our new man in Christ.[1] Love is the force that moves our lives. It is what keeps us serving and caring (Gal. 5:13; Eph. 5:2). Love is what makes us stop short of saying or doing anything injurious to our brethren (Rom. 13:10). Finally, love is what propels us to lay down our lives for the brethren (3:16). Love is in our spiritual DNA.

God’s Love: God’s love is manifestly real. Love is no passing emotion or sentiment in the heart of God. Love is honest, true, and active in God. To use the language of 3:18, He Himself does not merely love with word and tongue, but in deed and truth. Therefore, out of His great love, God acted by sending His Son into the world to restore sinners to Himself. He did it to redeem us from our futile way of life (1 Pet 1:18) to our new life in Christ. Through the gospel, the Holy Spirit reconciles us to God. We come to the end of ourselves and we cling onto Christ. We abide in Him, and He in us (John 15:5-6). As we abide, we exhibit the love and righteousness possible only in Christ. Further-more, God’s love is what sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins (2:2). “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8). O, how He loves you and me!

[1] Cf. Rom. 6:4; 7:6; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:10. This was prophesied in Dt. 30:6; Ez. 11:19; 36:26.