Love: The Social Test
1 John 4:7–21
Love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

Of the three tests for Christian assurance, we might ask which is most important. In one sense this obviously is an illegitimate question, for any approach to the tests is illegitimate if it allows us to minimize one of them. On the other hand, there are senses in which a question about the most important test is valid. We can ask it in terms of our need, for instance: which do we most lack? Or we can ask it in terms of John’s interests: upon which does John lay most emphasis as he writes this letter? Interestingly enough, the answer to both these forms of the question is love, for we need to love, and it is upon love that John himself seems to lay the greatest emphasis. There are several reasons for this.

The first reason is obviously that we need love most, particularly in the so-called evangelical churches. These have sound doctrine, at least to a point. There is a measure of righteousness. But often, sadly, there is very little love. Without it, however, there is no true demonstration of the life of Christ within or true worship of the Father. The second reason is that Jesus himself made love the first and second of the commandments. The first commandment is love for God (Deut. 6:5). The second is love for one another (Lev. 19:18). The two properly belong together. As Jesus said, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40). The third reason is that it was the realization of this double love in us for both God and man that was the object of Christ’s coming. This is what John seems to speak about in the opening verses of the letter when he says, “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). That is, the coming of Christ is proclaimed so that those who hear of his incarnation and death might believe in him and thereby learn to love both God and one another.

The devil is the one who disrupts. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who draws together. Moreover, in the drawing together into fellowship, love is the key factor. Little surprise, then, that we have this commandment from him: “whoever loves God must also love his brother” (4:21).

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.