The Confidence of Love

November 9, 2025|The Confidence of Love|1 John 4:13-21

JD Cutler

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As we noted last week, our study of 1st John has brought us to the most concentrated portion of the apostle’s treatment of the subject love and the children of God. We have seen again and again through this letter that John’s primary purpose of writing is self-examination, followed closely by equipping his readers to evaluate false teachers.

To accomplish both of these purposes, John has presented a series of tests.

These tests fall into one of two categories.

There are doctrinal tests. Do we have a right view of man and sin? Do we have a right view of Christ? Do we have a right view of salvation? That is does our understanding align itself with the truth of God.

Second, there are moral or behavioral tests. These really boil down to two, obedience to the Word of God and Love for God and His people.

The whole premise of John’s letter, then is that you can by these test, test the validity of your claim, as well as the validity of other’s who claim to be a follower of Christ.

Which, by the way, we can acknowledge up front, in our day, that is immediately offensive, isn’t it?

How dare anyone presume to question some one else's profession?

Shouldn’t it be enough that someone claims to be a Christian?

Well, no.

The Bible is very clear that claiming to belong to God is not the same as belonging to God.

Whether it is the parable of the wheats and tares that Jesus tells or it is Paul’s statement that not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel or it is the Lord saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven”.

The New Testament scriptures actually repeatedly show us that there will be genuine believers next to false confessors.

Our responsibility is then two fold.

Firstly, as individuals, to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith.

Secondly, as a church, is to, to the best of our ability, not to affirm a false profession of faith as genuine. In general we do this through a formal church membership and when necessary by practicing church discipline.

The Bible is very clear that claiming to belong to God is not the same as belonging to God.

The great weakness of the modern church in general is that we have allowed the cultural influences of individualism and relativism to creep in. Coupled with the easy believism and revivalism of the last 200 years we have created a church where there are probably more tares sitting in churches this morning than wheat.

By God’s grace, I believe we have entered a period in the church where there has been an awakening to the deceptions of the enemy and there is a genuine effort to purify the bride and preach the unadulterated gospel. Men like John MacArthur, Voddie Bauchum, R.C. Sproul, and Paul Washer to just name a few have been fighting for decades to expose and call the church back to obedience and faithfulness to God’s word.

Far from being hopeless, I believe we are seeing a refining of the church of Jesus Christ. What I am praying for our church is that by examining scriptures like 1st John and studying scriptures like the book of Acts, we will embrace both responsibilities, to examine ourselves, and to corporately guard the fellowship from false professions.

As we continue this morning looking at how John holds up love as one of the most important tests, I pray that each of us would allow God’s word to penetrate our hearts and minds as we ask the simple question, does my life match what John describes as that of a genuine child of God?

As way of introduction, I will remind you that this section begins in verse 7 and extends through verse 21. Last week we looked at verses 7-12 under the heading ‘The Love of God’ where we saw the divinity of love, the declaration of love, the delineation of love, and the demand of love. This morning we pick up in verse 13. If you haven’t already, open your Bibles to 1 John chapter 4. I’ve arranged our time together this morning around three questions that inevitable arise from John’s words in these 9 verses. Let’s read these verses together and then deal with each of these questions.

1 John 4:13–21

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

As we noted last week, much of what John says here has been said elsewhere in 1st John. While it is not necessarily new information, it has been arranged in a beautiful flow that ties it all together. The themes of abiding, perfecting, and necessity are woven together to help his readers and us this morning, to thoroughly examine ourselves by asking a serious of basic questions.

The first question centers around the concept of abiding.

I. AM I ABIDING IN GOD AND IS GOD ABIDING IN ME?

John says, by this we know that we abide in God. How? Because he has given us of his Spirit. The word abide is to be continually present, to dwell with. This idea of God dwelling within his people is unique to Christianity. Most other world religions fall into two categories, those whose gods are distant, impersonal forces and those who claim that divinity is something possessed within that needs to be awoken or discovered through a serious of steps or rituals.

Christianity claims that God actually desires to abide in and with his people, not as an impersonal force, but in a experiential relationship.

First depicted in the opening pages of scripture when God is depicted anthropomorphically as walking in the garden with Adam and Eve. Then in his relationship with Abraham, his establishment of a nation through Moses. Culminated in the last few pages of our Bibles where eternity is described as an everlasting experience of being in God’s presence.

The problem is that from the very beginning, sin separates man from God. It brings death and distance from a holy and just God.

From the garden to Pentecost, God’s presence is veiled and partial. His Spirit never fully dwelling with men.

The answer is seen in Christ coming, God entering into his creation in order to live a sinless life in our place, die a sinner’s death in our place, and rise again to heaven to serve as our eternal mediator bringing man into fellowship with God. Christ tells his disciples that he is going to go to the Father and send the helper, the Holy Spirit to be with them, to continue the ministry of presence that Christ exercised with those who belonged to Him.

On the other side of the cross, how do we know that we abide in God, that our relationship with our creator has been restored? John says, because he has given us of his Spirit.

How do we know that we have His Spirit?

Depending on who you ask, you might get different answers to that question.

Some will say that when you receive God’s Spirit, there will be an outward manifestation where you will speak in gibberish. Some will say that when you receive God’s Spirit, there will be a feeling, an emotional experience. Maybe even an ecstatic one so overwhelming that you will laugh uncontrollably or fall onto the floor in convulsions.

Now, let me ask you a pretty obvious question. If either of those things were true, would this place in scripture not be the perfect place for John to say so? By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit, and we know that we have his Spirit because we speak in gibberish, because we get drunk on the Spirit, because we are slain in the Spirit?

What does John say? Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

The word confess here is the idea ‘to declare openly’. It is a once for all declaration.

What is the declaration? Jesus is the Son of God.

Let’s unpack that, because, although brief, it is a full theological statement.

Jesus- the fully human being that was born, lived, died, and was raised again, seen by eye witnesses throughout his life

Is- Not was, not became, he is, as he has always been from eternity past

The Son of God- fully divine, eternal son, sent by the Father to be the propitiation for sins, the only mediator between God and man

Essentially, to confess that Jesus is the Son of God is to rightly confess scriptural truths, divinely revealed by the Spirit of God about who God is, who Christ is, and how an individual is saved.

Where do we find these truths? In God’s word.

John says in verse 14, and we (the apostles and disciples) have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the savior of the world. This language, refers us back to John’s opening statement, which we have heard and seen and looked upon, and touch, we testify to it and proclaim to you. Through the reading or proclamation of God’s word, the Spirit brings understanding and life so that we can confess our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Why is this evidence of abiding in God?

Because apart from God’s Spirit we could not confess these things. The Bible declares that we are dead in trespasses, haters of God, and ignorant of spiritual truths.

It describes our problem not as intellectual, as though we could in our own power come to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God.

It describes our problem not as religious, as though we could in our own power do things for God that would enlighten us to the knowledge of God.

It describes our problem as one of absolute inability.

Because apart from God’s Spirit we could not confess these things. The Bible declares that we are dead in trespasses, haters of God, and ignorant of spiritual truths.

If you confess that Jesus is the Son of God, including everything that entails, John says that itself is evidence that God abides in you and you in Him.

As Jesus told Peter when he confessed rightly that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the Living God, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

The same is true for all who come to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God, or as John says here, Jesus is the Son of God.

The way we answer the question, am I abiding in God and is God abiding in me, is to examine what you have confessed concerning Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

If your confession, if what you publicly profess does not align with what the God declares through His word, according to John, you should have no assurance that you have the Spirit of God, no matter what experiences you may claim to have had.

John’s statement in verse 16 connects this understanding that a right confession indicates a right relationship with his primary topic of love. Which brings us to our next question this morning.

II. IS GOD’S LOVE BEING PERFECTED IN ME?

There in verse 16 he says, so we have come to know and to believe.

Because we have confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, that we believe wholeheartedly that Christ is the savior of the world, we both understand and have experienced the love that God has for us.

We won’t spend too much time here because we saw this clearly last week, but I believe John is just reiterating what he said there when he said ‘In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.’

The idea of coming to know is the idea of becoming aware. Another way of saying that God’s love was made manifest among us (or displayed to us). the idea of believing is the idea of having faith, placing confidence in something. Another way of saying so that we might live through him.

What led John and the apostles to understand and put their faith in the love that God had for them?

Understanding that Jesus Christ is the Son of God that came to be the savior of the world, the propitiation for sins, so that those who believe in him might have everlasting life.

What leads you and I to understand and put our faith in the love that God has for us?

Understanding that Jesus Christ is the Son of God that came to be the savior of the world, the propitiation for sins, so that those who believe in him might have everlasting life.

This overwhelming expression and display of love leads us to understand that God is more than just loving, he is love. Which means John can say whoever confesses God abides in him, and he in God, just as easily as he can say, whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. Whoever dwells in love, dwells in God. The same God that brings the ability to confess who Jesus really is and place our trust in His finished work, bring the reality of God’s love into our lives.

I will remind you of what John said last week, which he now is going to expand on, 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

How is God’s love perfected in us?

If we love one another.

By this is love perfected with us.

How? If we abide in love.

John ties our confession to our actions, once again highlighting that right orthodoxy produces right orthopraxy.

Let’s trace his flow.

If we have the Spirit, we know that we abide in him. We know we have the Spirit if we confess the truth about Jesus. When we understand the truth about Christ it is because we have understood the vastness of God’s love towards us in sending Christ. If we understand the vastness of God’s love and have experienced it, we will love those whom God loves.

John ties our confession to our actions, once again highlighting that right orthodoxy produces right orthopraxy.

So John can say, whoever abides in love, that is whoever consistently expresses the sacrificial, self-giving, unconditional, agape love of God to the brothers and sisters around them has evidence that God abides in them and they in God. By this is love perfected in us, or as we noted last week, the love of God is brought to maturity or its intended end. That those who have been loved by God would love like God. So they question of is God’s love being perfected in me is answered by asking is God’s love being expressed through me?

This transformative experience John says gives us confidence for the day of judgment.

Don’t miss John’s because statement in verse 17. Because as he is so also are we in this world.

Now John could mean that as God is so also are we in this world, in which the emphasis would be that our love for the brothers is reflective of God’s love for us. He could also mean that as Christ is so also are we in this world, in which the emphasis would be that our standing before God, as those in Christ, is like Christ’s standing before God, holy and acceptable.

If I had to choose, I would say I lean towards the second understanding, that those who are in Christ have confidence because we know that in the day of judgment we are covered by the blood of Christ and stand before God in His righteousness and there will be no judgment for Christ on that day. But even in making that distinction, the way that we know that we are truly in Christ is that we love the brothers, so in a sense both emphases are present in John’s because statement.

That is to say, we do not gain confidence, merely by saying the right things.

Our confidence, which is contrasted with ‘shrinking from him in shame’ as John says in verse 28 of chapter 2 is when the love of God is manifested in us for others, when his love is perfected in us, we gain confidence that we belong to Christ and we have nothing to fear in the coming judgment.

What does John contrast with having confidence in the day of judgment? Fear.

He says whoever fears has not been perfected in love. In those whose God’s love is perfected, all fear of judgment is driven out. We do not have to fear God’s wrath and eternal punishment because if we are in Christ, he has already born the wrath and punishment for our sins in his own body on the cross.

Let’s dig in a little deeper. Recently, our president has said something along the lines of he hopes that he will get in to heaven, usually in reference to something he has done. This statement seemingly reveals that he does not have the confidence that he belongs to Christ. And why should he. In September 21st at the memorial of Charlie Kirk, he said referencing Charlie, “He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry. I am sorry Erika."

I am praying that someone will explain to him that Charlie was only able to love his enemies because he knew the love of God through Christ Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

Yes, it matters what we say about Christ, John has made that much clear, but equally important is for us to ask ourselves, do I see evidence of God’s love working in me so that it is expressed through me to those around me.

Is God’s love being perfected in me? Which leads us to our last question and perhaps the most powerful one.

III. IS MY LOVE FOR GOD GENUINE?

Let’s reread verses 19 through 21 before we dig into John’s words. 1 John 4:19–21 “19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

We spent some time on this last week, so I will keep it brief. His statement in verse 19 reminds us that God’s agape love was not in response to us, but in spite of us.

We can only love because we have been loved. Before getting to his climatic conclusion of this section, he reminds us that God loved us when we were unloveable, when we were enemies and rebels.

Then with the words ‘if anyone says’ John picks back up on a well used statement throughout his letter. He has said previously. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,

9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

The pattern is pretty straightforward. If someone says one thing but their life reveals another, they are a liar.

Here John says, If anyone says, I love God. If someone claims to have genuine love for God, if someone claims they belong to God, they know Christ, they love God.

I would argue that anyone who claims to be Christian would agree that they love God, that’s not the test of genuineness. If at the same time that person hates his bother, John says he is a liar. He does not in fact love God.

Notice the strong language. He is a liar. This is a serious accusation, listen to Revelation 21:8.

8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.””

John is unequivocally saying that someone who does not love his brother is a liar and no matter what they claim, they do not love God and if they do not love God, they do not know God, and if they do not know God, they are still dead in their trespasses.

What is John’s reasoning for making such a strong statement?

Surely I can love God and not my brother?

Surely I can respond to God’s love in a personal way that doesn’t take into account anyone else, I mean isn’t it all about my personal relationship with God?

John uses the word ‘for’ which serves linguistically to provided the argument or justification for his statement.

You are a liar if you say you love God but hate your brother. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

If you cannot love the one who is literally standing right in front of you, if you can find no affections for his or her plight, if you can find no compassion that moves you to action, if you find no desire within you to act loving towards them, how can you say that you love God, whom you cannot lay eyes on, who needs nothing from you, and for whom you cannot do anything?

The reality that have love for God is that you have obedience to God, which brings us to the remainder of what John says here. The second reason is that God commands that his people love their brothers.

The reality that have love for God is that you have obedience to God...

Jesus tied these two together when he answered the question, what is the great commandment in the Law? Do you remember what he said? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” You simply cannot claim to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, if you do not love your neighbor as yourself. You cannot claim to love God but not obey his commands.

John has repeatedly said as much. In chapter 2 he said the commandment we have had from the beginning is that we love one another and if we hate our brother we are in darkness. In chapter 3, he says that not loving our brother is evidence we are children of the devil. In that same chapter he asked the rhetorical question that if we failed to love our brother how could God’s love possible abide in us?

Now, he says again, you cannot love God if you do not love your brother. Cannot is the idea of impossibility.

Very simply, the way you evaluate the genuineness of your love for God is not in how you feel about God, but how you treat those who are loved by God.

Think about that for a moment. You are standing before the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. What is the criteria in which he will separate those that belong to him from those that don’t? That’s not a trick question by the way, Jesus tells us exactly how it is going to go on that day. From his glorious throne, all the nations will be gathered and as the great shepherd he will separate them into two groups. Those on his left and those on his right. To those on his right he will say, come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. To those on is left he will says, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. What is the deciding factor? That they claimed to know Christ? No That they did religious things? No That they loved the brothers, that they cared for those who belonged to Christ. In that moment, Jesus reveals that how we love those we cannot see reflects how we love the one we cannot see. That what in inside of us, the love of God, expresses itself outside of us, love for the brothers.

Or if you want a more personal picture. You are walking on the shore of Galilee with Jesus and he looks at you and says, do you love me? To which you reply, Lord you know I love you. What does he say in response? I can tell you what he told Simon Peter after all three times he asked him. Essentially care for those that belong to me.

I’d like to close with an illustration this morning. Most of you know that over the last 7 or 8 years I have been involved in bread making. It’s a pretty simple process of measuring out ingredients, mixing them together, shaping the dough and baking it. But during the process there are two times that are almost completely hands off. Their called the proofing stages, and arguably these are the most important stages for breadmaking.

During the second stage the yeast ferments and produces carbon dioxide gas, which creates air bubbles and gives the bread its volume, texture, and improves flavor. This happens after shaping and before baking. But it’s the first proofing stage I want to call your attention to this morning. Whether you are using commercial yeast or natural yeast, but especially when using commercial yeast, you have to know if the yeast is still good. See, if your yeast is no good or if you forget to put it in the mix, nothing significant will happen during this stage. It will look like dough, it will smell like dough, but it will never be a delicious loaf of bread. On the other hand, if your yeast is good, the dough will grow, or be leavened, indicating that your yeast was healthy and active and you know that the process will continue towards making successful bread.

If you claim to be a Christian, you are claiming to be a recipient of God’s love. He has given you of His Spirit, and since we know that there is nothing wrong with His Spirit, the evidence that you have been in dwelt by his Spirit is that it will fill your life and produce visible measurable changes in it. Most importantly and centrally is that you will love the brothers. If you have hate in your heart for any of the brothers, you need to seriously consider no matter what you say, that you have not truly experienced the love of God. How could that be possible?

Perhaps you have been deceived into thinking that a right response to God is simple repeating a prayer with your mouth and agreeing with certain facts with your mind. You have never heard that there is a way to evaluate your confession and as you have applied the tests this morning you have realized that you are a liar and that you have never really loved God.

Perhaps you have never heard the totality of the gospel before today, and today have realized that God’s love for you is overwhelming and that Christ died for your sins. You don’t love the brothers because until this moment you have been dead in your sins and trespasses.

If either of those describe you this morning, I want you to understand that God is speaking to you through His word, and we respond to that in what the Bible calls repentance and faith. If that’s you, we would love to come alongside you and walk with you as God transforms your life. If you would like to understand more about repentance or faith, don’t hesitate to grab myself or Will or another Christian brother or sister you know this morning before you leave and says so.

The goal of this morning is not just to expose those who do not truly love God, it is to encourage those that do. It is to show you that you can have confidence for the coming day of judgment. That although we cannot see God, although we cannot see the Spirit, we can see the evidence that he is at work in our lives, and as you see that, my encouragement for you is to rejoice and pray to God, that he would give you an even greater love for the brothers.

As we close this morning, I would like to pray over you a response to these truths we have seen this morning. Let us pray.

Father, I thank you that you are willing to abide with us and to give us of your Spirit as a guarantee of a future fully with you. Thank you that you sent Jesus to be the savior, giving your only begotten son for the sins of those you have called. Thank you for your grace and mercy that works faith in us so that we may confess that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Help us understand that sending Jesus is evidence of your love and consistent with who you are. What a glorious truth that you will abide in us and we can abide in you. Father, if we have fear, help us see more clearly your perfect love so that it may be cast out. Help us have confidence that we belong to you and not of this world. Perfect your love in us. Thank you for loving us when we were unloveable and undesirable. Thank you that your love for us awakens our love for you. May none of us be found to be liars in the kingdom of Heaven. May our love for you show itself to be genuine through our love for the brothers. Give us your strength to obey your commandment. Amen.