 Any thoughts or any questions on what we've been discussing so far? Because I know that all of you are ministering at some capacity, so you don't have any questions? Okay, things are clear. Okay, that's fine with me. Okay, all right, let's go ahead. So as I told you, the next section is more about the love of God and the demonstration of the love of God through our lives. So we will talk about it. We have touched on it earlier as well, but this is a little more in depth and a little more in detail. So we will have a look at it. We are starting from verse nine where we are told that this is love of God. The love of God was manifested toward us and God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. The nature of God is revealed through what God has done, through what it got to. We are told here that He sent His only begotten Son into the world. So God the Father demonstrated His love. So as this love of God was manifested, it was shown to us. Now God has done many things to demonstrate His love, but we would like to call this the grand gesture of love. So the greatest demonstration of love through the pinnacle, so to speak, if we want to understand what God's love for us is, then Jesus being sent to the earth for us is God's greatest grandest gesture of love. So the love of God was manifested or shown to us by God and it says here His only Son, the only begotten Son. Because there are sons and daughters of God by the redeeming work of Christ. Jesus, we know that He has won many sons and daughters and brought them into the kingdom of God, but they are not begotten of the Father. There is only one Son who is begotten of the Father and we need about this in Hebrews. He is the exorcist image of the Father. He is the radiance, He is the glory of the Father. He is the perfect representation of the Father because He is the begotten of the Father. You know when there is a father and a child, the child in many ways reveals the father's nature or the way the father appears, but it comes from that same substance that the father is made of. So you have people say that he is just like his dad or she is just like her dad. That same substance. So in this case the begotten or the same substance that the Father is made out of. The nature of Jesus reflected and represented that nature as well. So He is the only begotten Son who came into the world. This also is very beautiful because this world which is corrupted by sin, which is infested by sin. Why would God want to send His only begotten Son? It's an act of love. You see that's what we said the love of God was manifested. God had to make a choice like that to send His precious Son to this world. He must have had a reason why He took such a big decision. What is that reason? The love of God. So the way God loves mankind, the way He loves His creation, that is man. That we might live through Him. And what does that love result in? Life. Life through God. So it's God a good God. We often say that. We say God is a good God and we sing that song. We are a good, good Father. This verse is a very beautiful verse. It says why did God even do that? So that we might live. Through Him we might live. All our life circumstances and every season of our lives. If at all we have a doubt in our hearts and we are wondering, God, do you really care for me? Do you really want to see me do well? Do you really want to see me prosper and fulfill your purpose in my life? Or are you bringing destruction into my life? The answer is very clear because God's love is such that He gave His only begotten Son. He sent Him into this world and you also know the reason He did that is so you and I might live. Do you remember what Jesus said that you might have life and have it in abundance? Come that you might have life and have it in abundance. Because I live, you shall live also. And we've seen this as we're studying the book of Acts. One of the descriptions that Peter used to describe Jesus, the Prince of Life. So God has come so you and I might have life. So what does that show us? It shows us that He's there to protect us. He's there to care for us. He's there to give us hope. He's there to give us a future. It's incredible to know that that's what love can do for us to give us a hope, to give us a life. If I live through Him, through Him, we should have a life here on earth. So that is the love of God. And how was it manifested? How was it shown to the world by sending God's only begotten Son into the world? Just that one verse, you know, you could talk about it for day and night. And it says, in this love, not that He loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. Again, the initiation of love happens from God. In other words, He is the source of love. And He is the one who takes the first step to love us. If you look at the book of Romans, Romans 5 verse 8, beautiful scripture. It says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So while we did not have a willingness to live a life that is pleasing to God, while we were rebels, while we were living in our own ways. You know, Isaiah talks about it, we like sheep have gone astray, each one, you know, going his own way. And yet the Lamb of God was saved for us. Before we had the understanding that God loved us. So that's what this verse says. Not that He loved God, but that He loved us. So He is the one who has initiated that love for us. So what do we do? We've seen this earlier as well. Responding, response. It starts with Him. So we do it. He is so weak. So John is going on in that same rhythm here. And He says, because He first loved us, we respond with love. And He sent His Son into this world. He talks about the purpose with which the Son was sent into this world. We adore that He would be a propitiation. Propitiation that word is basically paying the price. So a ransom. A ransom for our sins. That's the reason the Son was sent. But can you think about it? What would have gone on in the Father's heart that He had to make a decision to send His Son, His only begotten Son, His best representation, pay the price to become a sacrifice to be the Lamb of God who will be slain. He was already slain in God's mind, but to actually go through that pain of betrayal, of being hurt by the ones He loved and then finally being crucified on the cross. Why should the Father make such a decision? And we are told here, God loved us in such a way that He sent His Son with the purpose. What is that purpose? Propitiation for our sins. So the purpose is our redemption. And it reveals the love of the Father for us. And in this way, He's encouraging the believers. And we say, can you understand what a great love this is? What a sacrificial love this is? What a powerful love this is? What a compassion? What a kind love this is? Because God has loved us in this way, He's calling for a response and He's saying, we also ought to, that term ought to, in English when you see ought to, it's like you have to, you have to brush your teeth and you have to wake up because your classes are starting. There's no option there, you have to. So John is saying, when you understand that God loved us sacrificially, unconditionally. So God's love, we see that, we say God kind of love. The Greek word is agape. And agape is an unconditional love. It's an eternal, it's a steady, secure love. It's a forgiving, redeeming love. You can talk about the facets of the love of God itself, right? And it would take forever to discuss that. But the God kind of love, He loved us with that kind of love. And when we understand how He loved us, John seems to think that it will make it easier for us to love others with a similar approach. So the kind of love that God gave to us is selling, you have to, you must, you ought to love one another. What is the reason? If God so loved us, you know, He must also love one another. So now He's talking about the demonstration of that love of God. God has loved us. So He has to do that for each other. And then He says, no one has seen God at any time, but if we love one another, God abides in us. His love has been perfected in us. So no one has seen God. Is that true? We would argue and say, there is a, like a theological term because it's called epiphany. Epiphany. There's also another term. Let me just look here. Okay. I don't seem to have that in my notes. But yes, epiphany is when you have times when God encountered man in a form or something finite that man could see. Time when Jacob, he saw God encounter him and wrestling with him. And similarly, Moses also had this experience. So when these things happen, did people really see God? Because here John is saying, no one has seen God at any time. Well, see, a graphic, a form, just a glimpse of God that doesn't mean that people have seen God. In fact, Paul, when he writes to Timothy, he uses a description of God in which one of the words that he says, this is in 1 Timothy 1, 17, he says, immortal invisible God, invisible God. So, you know, we have not fully grasped who God is. He's immense. He's infinite. He's greater in what our minds can take and our eyes can see. So nobody has seen God. But how do we know that this God is living in our midst? John gives us a key here. And this is a practical key. This must be a demonstration. You know, through our lives, he says, if we love one another, because God loved us in this way, let us also, we must love one another. And he says, we have not seen God. But you know, it's like saying, have you seen the wind? Can you see it in science? Usually when you stop talking about, you know, some matter, they will say, okay, the oxygen, it is an odourless, colourless, you know, colourless gas, unless it has a colour. Some other gas, okay, it is, it has this odour or it has that colour. So you can describe it by what you see. But here, God, we can't see him. Invisible God. But similar to, let's say, wind. Okay, I'm just saying wind. We can see the effects of the wind. You can see the trees moving. You can feel the breeze touching your skin. So you feel it, feel it and you see the effects of it. And in the same way, how do we tell if God is living in our midst? He's calling the believers to a love film coedonia or community. Do a life which is filled with love for each other. Okay, so when we do that, when there is love in the midst of believers, love in the church, there's love in fellowship of believers. He says, God abides in us. So, you know, the wind moving the trees, it's like that. Is God really there in our midst? Is love there in our midst? If love is there, yes, God is there in our midst. And his love has been perfected in us. Okay, so when we love one another, so what is love has been perfected in us? Does it mean that, you know, we are loving in a perfect way? Not necessarily because I know that, you know, we do fall short from time to time. But the word there in the Greek is telio. Telio has to do more with maturity and completion. So loving in a mature way, loving in a complete way is the perfect love that he's talking about. Not necessarily, oh, yeah, it's perfect. The way you're loving your brothers and sisters is perfect. That perfect may not be the right term there. But telio refers more to mature, loving them maturely and speaking the truth and love, guiding them into, you know, more of God and being edified for God, being strengthened for God, fulfilling their purpose for God, knowing more of God. So it's leading them into those things, the love that we show upon our brothers and sisters. So we say, look, if there is love in our midst, it shows that God is there. Okay, so there should be, you must love one another. He says, by this we know that we are blind in him or that we are living with God. Remember the theme of John, even earlier in the first two chapters was abide. Abide or live in God or stay with God. And he says, we know that God is with us and he's in us because he has given us the Spirit. So that is an old fact. This is like, it's a fact that when the Holy Spirit is in us, God is with us. That's easy to understand. We've also seen, he says, and that's the fact that the Father has sent the Son as saviour of the world. And we've discussed this before. And one of the fantasies that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he is God. So there is a, you don't find like the trade of thought very clear. You know, he's kind of touching upon old things that he has already mentioned. He just now said, Jesus has a propitiation for our sins. The Father sent his only begotten Son. He's sort of repeating that and he's saying that we have seen and testified. Remember John chapter 1, John chapter 1, we have seen, we have heard, right? So we are known. So he's bringing that up once again. He's saying, look, we have seen Jesus. Now we have seen and we testify that the Father is the one who has sent the Son, who is a saviour to the world. And now he talks about the right Spirit. Earlier he talked about the wrong Spirit and he says, whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God earlier. We were discussing about the humanity of Christ and the spirit of Antichrist. And particularly in the time of John, when he was referring to the false prophets, Dale is saying that Jesus was not a human. But right now he's saying that whoever confesses, excuse me, that Jesus is the Son of God. So the deity of Christ, whoever confesses, God lives in here. So how can we know God lives in our midst oneness? He's already given us the Holy Spirit and we know that he lives in our midst. Another point is when we love one another. And third point here is he says, when we confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he is God. We are abiding in God. Moving forward, I have a verse 16. And we have known and believed in love that God has for us. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. So he's talking about this integrity. It's really beautiful. It's like if you take a cloth, it's a white cloth and you have blue ink in a bowl. And you kind of mixed it with water and it's nice and blue. You take that cloth, you put it into that ink there. And you bring that cloth. You would see that the ink is in the cloth. And the cloth is in the ink. So there's a oneness. It's just that whole mixing together that has happened. If you wear the cloth, any corner of the cloth, all the threads would be blue. You can't change that because the ink has gone into it. The cloth has gone into the ink. It kind of becomes one. And there's that oneness that has come about. And he's saying that, look, when we live with God, he abides with us. We abide in him. We kind of become one with God and we demonstrate that through our lives. So we love our brothers and sisters. And we also confess that Jesus is the Son of God. And by that we know that we are living with God and God is living with us. And we have understood. He's saying, look, we've understood this great love of God. It's as we have known and believed the love that God has for us. So we've understood the depth of that love of God. Earlier in chapter 3, I told you when we started 1 John 3, what manner of love the Father has given up to us, that we might be called the sons of God. That we might be called the children of God. So that great love which God has given to us, we say we have known. Don't would mean like a deep sense of understanding. It's not just, you know, reading over here, we finish 1 John. It talks about the love of God. So we have the knowledge of the love of God. But is it what John is talking about? He says we have known. We have experienced. We have understood. And thereby we have believed. So it's a deeper way of, you know, touching, feeling, taking in, receiving, accepting the love of God. He's saying that what a great love this is. That God has sacrificially sent his son to make a way for us and we have understood this love. And he makes a beautiful statement about the nature of God here. And he says God is enough. Okay. So God is agape. Now when we use the term love, there's a lot of misunderstanding because of the understanding that people have about love. There are several Greek words used to describe this word love. There is strawberry. There is phelios. There is eros. These are words that we use to describe love. But agape is the God kind of love. The other loves have to do with relationships, apparent love, love between brothers, brothers that eros is the sexual love that you have between husband and wife. But here he says God is agape. That's the greatest form of love we could ever receive. And it's unconditional. And the description of the agape love is one Corucine 13. The description of the agape love is Jesus hanging on the cross for us. Not that we deserve. God loved us. We love because he first loved us. So he says God is love. God is agape. Now what if we say love is God? Would it be the same thing? What is your perspective on that? God is love. Love is God. Is it the same thing? The same thing. God is love. Is it the same thing? Or not the same thing? Not the same thing. Not the same thing. Okay. Thomas is saying it's not the same thing. David is saying it's not the same thing. Okay. So could you explain why it's not the same thing? According to Bible, God is a love. But the word says love is God. It's a two different meaning. When people say if you love, when the love came, I don't know how to explain it, but love is a person. That person's name is Jesus. He manifested. And Bible says, even though we were seen as he demonstrated the love on the cross of Calvary. So he's the lover. Love is the person. But the world defines opposites. They say love is God. We cannot accept as believers. Yes. Yes, Thomas. Thank you for sharing that view. Dave, why don't you say it's not the same thing? Yeah. First, the meaning is totally different. Of course, God is love. His character is love. He loves what is created. He loves us. But love is an emotion. And love can never be God. It's just an emotion that we feel. And our feelings can't be our God. That's what I think. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Dave. Thank you for sharing your view on that. So that's true. God is love. But the converse, love is God. It's not the same thing. Because you see, God is love. And we could take love as one of those very foundational parts of the nature of God. But that's not all that God has made up of. God is true. God is justice. God is righteousness. God is powerful. You could describe him in so many different ways. God is love. And just to say that love, only love is God, might be misleading. And I also shared with us that in English, we're using only one word, love. But the understanding which people have is varied. So are we talking about the agape, unconditional love of God being God himself? Well, that might not be what people actually mean when they say love is God. I think I just mean the relational love that they have for one another. And obviously that cannot be complete in itself. We need the love of God to flow through us to demonstrate his love for one another. So for all these reasons, these two statements are not the same. God is love is not equal to love is God. But it's beautiful to know that God is love. And he who abides in love. We talked about the one who lives with God, abide with God and fellowship with the father, the son, the Holy Spirit. Abide or live in love. And that also shows that we are with God and God is with us. So us living in love. So what does this living in love look like? So we're talking so much about love one, you must love one another. He loved because he loved us and live in love. How does it, that doesn't mean that we don't correct things that are wrong. Because if you say something people might take it in the wrong way. How does it work? Is it only about being kind? Is it only about saying nice things or let me put it that way. Being kind is okay but saying nice things that don't hurt people ever. What does it abide in love? How to love one another? What kind of a love is that? Again, we can just go back and reflect on the first quote. It says right, like it rejoices in the truth. It is not boastful, it does not envy. So basically this love which is from God will build us up towards God. That's the true nature of love. So when love abides in us and we abide in that love. And God is living in our midst. It will show as our obedience to God. It will show as us building up other brothers and sisters in Christ. Now, it might be through a kind word. Or it might also be through a revue when you are mentoring someone. Just because you are correcting that person to bring them on the right track. It doesn't mean that you don't love that person. So love will build up the person. Love will bring growth. Love will bring maturity in the people whom we love. Love will not sort of cripple people, make them dependent on us. That is not love. That is control. That's not love. Now, what does true love do? True love builds up the other person. True love strengthens the other person. True love builds that person to a place where they are strong and they can fully live the life which God has called them to live. So there is liberty as freedom in the God kind of love when we love people with that love. That's the kind of love that John is describing here. He says that God is love. You live in love. And God lived with you. And you extend this kind of love to your brothers and sisters. And he also adds now in verse 17, he says, Love has been perfected among us. He says that we may have boldness in the way of judgment. As he was in this world, so as he was, as he is, so we are in this world. So basically he says that this love, the perfection of this love, or first of all, we love completely our brothers and sisters. And now he says that this love, its maturity will also be seen at the day of judgment. Because when we stand there in God's presence, we will stand acquitted. We will stand delivered from the punishment that we have to take. So there is a boldness in the day of judgment because of what Christ Jesus has already done for us. Remember he talked about Jesus being the propitiation of our sins? So we can have boldness because of this love. The love that God has extended to us even on the day of judgment which probably is a scary thought for a lot of people. If you are a believer, since I am a believer, I can have boldness in that day knowing that God has loved me in this way. He has paid for my sins through the Lord Jesus Christ. And I stand confident. And he also says because as he is, so are we in this world. So once again he says that whatever God is and the Lord Jesus was, that same sacrificial love that we saw in the Lord Jesus, we can demonstrate that to the world today through our... So who is there in the world right now? Who is there in the world? There is Jesus. Where is the Lord Jesus right now? The heaven interceding for us. Correct. So the history of Jesus has changed in that he is now interceding for us in the presence of the Father. But now who is in the world? We are here. Holy Spirit is there in the world with us. But we are being told that we are here in the world too and we are supposed to represent Jesus as he is or as his nature is. So should be our nature here on the earth. He is talking about all this in the context of love. When we live in love, when we labor in love, I always think of when I was just like a volunteer in church without involving too much in ministry at some point in my life. I used to look at pastors and I always think every Sunday I want that motivation from God's work. You have your personal work with the Lord but it's nice to just go and hear the word as the pastor preaches the word and every time get recharged, experience the work of the Holy Spirit in us and come back. But I used to think about the pastor. Every Sunday this person is preaching. Who is preaching to them? Don't they want some time where they want to sit and listen? Wouldn't it be tiring to be engaged in this kind of a labor? But now on the other side as God has taken me through my journey and being a pastor several, in fact before COVID, just before COVID when I was ministering one day I thought to myself it's been so many Sundays Sunday standing and sharing God's word. Of course here at APC we have a common message most of the time. Sometimes it's my message that I preach but still ministering over there. But I don't feel tired. I feel energized. It's like you want to see the people being discipled in God's word. You want to see the work of the Holy Spirit as you speak the word of God. So these things motivate you and you know the church must grow. The people must mature. And I think to myself you know these intentions that God gives us isn't that love that the pastor has for his congregation. So what does that love make you do? It forces you to labor in a way. To show that pastor loves the congregation it's not always you know oh you are so nice, you people are so good. The pastor may not say that but you see it in the labor. And in any context I'm just giving you an example. So you know loving in that way, living a life of love in every context maybe in the family. You find husbands and wives serving the home, building up the home, parents teaching the children, earning for them, equipping them for life. What is all that? It's the love of God. Us relating to brothers and sisters, helping them in their time of need, speaking the word of encouragement for them, teaching them God's word. We don't know okay, they have a question about baptism. Okay, I'll tell you whatever I know. So what are you doing? You're imparting into the life of a brother and a sister to help them grow. So these are all the demonstrations of love and love looks like all of this. Okay, so that is what God expects from us. That we be like him in this world. Jesus, whatever he did, I'm sure the outworking was because of the love that he had carried the way the father had the love for the people, for mankind. Okay, so as he is his nature, his example, his service, his ministry, so we are in this world. Our nature, our example, our ministry, our labor. Today we are here on the earth and we must be the right representatives of who God is. And finally, describing the nature of God's love, we are also told there is no fear in love, but perfect love, complete love casts out fear because fear involves torment, but he fears has not been made perfect in love. So, you know, this one verse here, it has so much depth to it. Just receiving the love of God and as being perfected in that love, right, it will cast away all fear from us. Okay, so what should we do as God's people? Yes, we want to love others. We want to demonstrate God's love to others. But we must first receive. This is the principle of the kingdom of God. First we receive. I'm filled with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I'm filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Then what can I do? I can release the work of the Spirit. I receive the word of God. I receive the revelation of the word of God. I release the revelation of the word of God. Now, we are being told the love of God. You must, you ought to love one another. But how perfect love? We made complete love. Let us receive. Let me receive the love of God. And that cures me, spirit, soul and body. And as I understand how much God loves me, this is the way God loved me. Therefore, I know how to love the people that he has put in my life, people that he has given. But you know, in the ministry, the people that I am supposed to build up. So I must receive that love. And when that love is being perfected, perfect love casts out all fear. So there is no fear involved in it. It's very secure. It's stable. It is steadfast. It is firm. And you know, it is a love that brings assurance, brings confidence. Okay. That's the God kind of love. And there is no torment involved in it. And he continues on the same theme and he says, we love him because he first loved us. I've already explained that to us. It is he who has initiated and we as his people, you know, this goes more in the context of Jesus being the groom and us being the bride. And what is happening? You know, our love is a response to his love for us. We love because he first loved us. And again, in the context of living out this love, John is saying, if somebody says, I love God and he hates his brother, he's a liar. Or he who does not love his brother, who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? This commandment we have from him that he who loves God must love his brother also. So he's, you know, hopping on the same string here and he says, look, if this love of God has been perfect in us, then we will surely love our brothers and sisters. If we don't love our brothers and sisters, actually God's love has not been perfect in us. So we must receive that. You know, Jesus said, love your neighbor as you love yourself. Right? So something within me, whatever has happened within me, I'm only able to release that much. And in this case, God's love has been perfected in me. If I have received God's love, then I'm able to give it out. But if I'm not giving it out, then he's sort of rebuking towards the end. And he's saying, look, if you say I love God and you don't love your brother, you're a liar. And he says, he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? So everything must translate into actions, behavior, patterns of thinking, lifestyle. And the love of God, on one hand, we understand, we rejoice, oh, wow, how God loves us. But if you really understood it, if you really received it, you can give it out. We will give it out to others in our lives. So even that is what we have seen today. I just want to pause at this time to probably hear from you what you are thinking. If there's anything additional you want to kind of put across to what we've been discussing. So yeah, just feel free. Any thoughts you want to share? Any questions? It's quite practical, isn't it? I hope it's not all up in the air. God's love. Oh, how to receive that love, how to give that love. That's nice. So it's quite clear. That's good. So class, I know that we are trying to finish this quickly. But I believe the theme of the love of God, understanding God's love, and perfect love casts out all fear. I think that love ministered to us. And getting our boldness from the love. It's a course of a lifetime. And you can't really just cover it and close it in two hours. So I pray that whatever we have discussed today, that it is a start or a continuation to what you already know about God's love and never complete this course on God's love. Close up one John and move on to second John, but please never close up understanding God's love. Because our loving of God's people close from there. I told you that it's so powerful. Even in psychology, people say who we think we are and how we love ourselves. It really depends on how much of God's love His acceptance we have received. And that makes us healthy as individuals. We are able to give out God's love to others. So yeah, I just pray for that revelation for all of us to be strengthened and establish in it. Okay, so let's close. Let's close with the word of prayer. Akira, would you like to pray and close please? Please ma'am. Father God, we just come before you. Throw in Father God once again. Once again, thanking you Father God for your love, for your agape love Father God, for your begotten son Father God. Father God, we used to do mistake and everything Father God and steal your love is there Father God. You used to forgive us Father God and please to write to your Father God to be able to just say thank you Father God. Father God, thanking you Father God for your love and that your Holy Spirit Father God who always helping us Father God to every side, every street Father God and moving forward to coming journey your kingdom way Father God, thanking you Father God, thanking you in everything Father God, thanking you to ma'am and thanking you to all the students Father God. Nicely we are learning Father God to you every verse Father God and thanking you Holy Spirit and thanking you Father God, for wisdom and knowledge Father God, thanking you everything Father God blessed us to do your kingdom work Father God to practically Father God. When we go in front of earthly people and earthly way Father God and help us to share that Father love for the two between them Father God. Sometime it's difficult Father God to help us to understand and share that love Father to other Father God. Thank you for your wisdom and knowledge Father God. Upcoming time I'm just submitting to your hand Father God you just take care of every side, every movement Father God. Thank you. Almighty Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you Kiran. Thank you everybody. Please feel free to log off. I know you have another class to catch. I'll see you again in the class for acts. God bless. Bye. Bye.