GOD’S GREAT LOVE!
Series: ILLUMINATE — Message #3
1 John 3:1-3
INTRODUCTION:
I love it when we study God’s Word together. But, we’re not doing it to gain more INFORMATION but to experience life TRANSFORMATION. So, there’s a bigger goal here than just increasing knowledge. We want to increase our faith and grow in godliness. And that’s one of the goals of this passage we’re going to look at today.
TRANSITION:
So, turn with me to the New Testament book of 1st John. In this brief letter — the apostle John, uses the last of his influence (during the final years of life) to remind us that faith in Christ isn’t about maintaining the rules of religion, but rather is all about knowing Christ, trusting in Him, and living in His love.
And he reminds us that while there are many things that motivate us…prodding us forward in life, that encourage us to excel — none compare to the power of love! And just saying that has taken some of you back to the future…or at least back to 1985 — to that song made famous by Huey Lewis and the News. Right…The Power of Love.
Love is absolutely the greatest motivator in all of life! Think about it — HUMAN LOVE is greater than money, or fame, or threat or fear….it has the power to move not just the heart—but a person’s life. When you know you are loved, cherished, valued, and embraced — it SEEDS within you great hope and personal strength. Now, contrast that — with the belief or feelings of being unloved or rejected by someone…it can be devastating, staggering, paralyzing.
But here’s the thing — as great as human love is — God’s love is far greater! And that’s the point John makes in 1 John chapter 3. So again, if you have your Bible — look with me to 1 John 3…. and we’ll begin in verse 1…as John writes:
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)
MESSAGE:
In this chapter (as in the previous two), John seeks to confront the lies of the Devil.
These include things like:
— God’s love is limited. There’s not enough for everyone all the time. Only some people when the climate is right.
Another lie is that…
— You have to earn God’s love. It’s based on you and your performance. So do well and you’re loved. Miss the mark and you’re in trouble.
Another lie is that…
— God’s love is subjective — its totally based on the subjective feelings or emotions of God. So, if you catch God on a good day…that’s great. But beware if you catch Him on a bad day.
But there are so many things wrong with those lies and all the rest that the enemy would like you to believe. And so, John addresses these issues as he points you towards a divine pathway for experiencing God’s love.
And the first thing John says is:
1. YOU ARE GREATLY LOVED BY HIM!
Know it. Believe it. And receive it — because YOU ARE LOVED!
In fact, the love of God is is great, it’s really beyond comprehension. God’s love is so great, so deep, so wide, so towering, so all-encompassing…that we will never fully understand it.
It is so measureless. And just when I think I might understand it, I seems as if I discover another aspect of His great love. And once again, my mind blown.
God’s love does not come cheap. It cost Him everything. And because of that — John says in verse 1,
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us…”
John wants us to pause and think about it.
I want you to remember, when John wrote this letter — he was an old man. He had lived a long time — in fact, he had outlived every other original disciple. But, even as an old man — the thing that captivated his thoughts was the LOVE OF GOD. Even still, he maintained a sense of wonder for God’s love.
And so, as he ponders the unique relationship he has with God — and it leaves him amazed. Shocked. Surprised…and nearly, gasping for air! And that’s the way it ought to be.
That’s why John uses the word “see” in verse 1. It’s a word of astonishment — and wonder. This word is sometimes translated as: “Behold!” And John is saying — come on…take notice. It’s like he’s saying, “Look at this! Think about this! Consider the significance of God’s love!”
And, I think John is urging us to SHAKE OFF THE TENDENCY to take God’s love FOR GRANTED. Instead, we need to value and appreciate it. Because, it’s like a cherished gift that He’s given to us.
Again, John wants us to remember God’s love — is a great love. But…not only that, John also wants to recognize GOD’S LOVE IS A GENEROUS GIFT TO US.
And it’s that the thing with love — it’s best demonstrated by its giving. Think about the way you give love — it happens as you give others your time, and attention, and resources, and affection.
And, that’s the way it happens with God as well. It comes as a GREAT GIFT to you. I just can’t seem to get past the simplicity of this point.
John said, the “Father has lavished” His great love on us. Which tells us, it’s totally one-sided. All we do is receive it. We can’t earn it. We can’t maintain it. And, we certainly don’t deserve it.
That’s why Romans 5:8 tells us,“while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God loves you despite your disfunction and imperfections, and beyond your worst day — and your greatest sin.
That’s His great gift — or present to you! But the question for you today is this:
Have you paused to recognize the depth of God’s love for you?
And that’s why John calls us to pause and take notice. As he puts it:
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us…”
So, take notice — You are greatly loved by Him. But in addition…
2. YOU’RE IDENTIFIED WITH HIM!
So, John continues his challenge to the lies of the Devil — when He says…not only does God love you. But, He has also claimed you — and given you a place in His family. Notice the end of verse 1 — John says,
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1 (NIV)
It’s not just something He possesses for us — but it’s something He has offered to us.
Regarding your physical birth, you are noted as belonging to someone. Each of us had a human mother and father. And in the beginning of our life, our identity was based upon who they were.
I know I’ve told the story before — but it bears repeating. When our first son was born…we struggled with naming him. Recognizing the permanence of a name — we wanted to get it right. I say we (but it was primarily me). I struggled what to name him.
I couldn’t decide between two different names. And so, his nurses chose to identify him with the words — “BABY BOY Hill.”
And here’s my point — even without a name of his own, he was still identified as a part of our family. He was OUR son!
And in like manner, when we put our faith in Christ and surrendered our lives to Him, our identity changed. In that moment, we became CHILDREN OF GOD!
AND AS SUCH, we bear His name. That’s why people refer to us as Christians — Christ-follower — because we are known as belonging to Him!
In life, we typically define our identity in a lot of ways.
- Your driver’s license defines you by stats like, height and weight and hair color.
- Your water bill can define you by the location of your home—where you live.
- We sometimes allow groups we associate with define our passions in life.
- And sometimes we identify who we are by hobbies or by our favorite sports teams.
But, rather than finding our identity horizontally, God designed us to gain our identity vertically—through Him.
As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
So, the question for you today is this:
Have you identified yourself Christ? Are you a part of God’s family?
And if not, why not? What’s holding you back? There’s nothing like BELONGING. As John 1:12 tells us,
12 “…to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12 (NIV)
If you’ve not given you heart to Christ — do so today. And if you have…then let the world know. Don’t hide your identity. Let the world know that you BELONG to Christ.
So, pause and take notice — YOU’RE GREATLY LOVED BY HIM. And your INVITED TO IDENTIFY WITH HIM.
And lastly…John tells us that the GREAT LOVE of God, works in our lives…because:
3. YOU’RE CALLED TO LOOK LIKE HIM!
Get this…as children of God — you have nothing to earn. Nothing to prove.
But God’s love isn’t stagnant. God’s love is active within us…moving us towards His best — His destiny for us.
It’s been said — God loves us just as we are, but He loves too much to leave us that way.
So, what does that mean? Well, John reminds us — while we may be God’s children now, even so…we still have some growing up to do (3:2). Not to earn God’s love — but to reflect the nature of Christ.
And that’s brings us a key QUESTION for you today:
Is your life increasingly looking like Jesus?
Is your life conforming more and more to Him?
Not, because you have something to prove…but because you are motivated by God’s love for you — that you desire to LOOK LIKE HIM!
John explains this in verse 2, when he writes,
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
God’s love is not simply to experience of the present — it is an expression of your future.
In Ephesians 2:4-7, Paul tells us that it will take all of eternity for us to recognize the power and potential of God’s love at work in us.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
Notice what he says next. In verse 6, he continues:
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:6-7 (NIV)
God knows that you possess the potential to become more than you are.
So John wraps us this thought by saying in verse 3,
3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)
You see…knowing your destiny purifies your life in the here and now.
God’s purpose for you — is that you would grow into your potential. That you would become more than you are today, And, become more like Him!
Just as Christ is pure in every sense of the word. Pure in life, in thought, in character, in morality, in deed, in motive and in every way. So also, you have the potential to become more like Him.
And, part of what it means to follow Jesus is to never become complacent. Never to become satisfied with our own spiritual progress.
We have a tendency to think what you see is ALL YOU GET. Like Popeye — we say,
“I yam what I yam and that’s all that I yam.”
But that must not be our conclusion!
Because God’s conclusion is always more.
Remember, the commerce of the kingdom is the supernatural and miraculous. God is not about settling for death — He’s about calling out live. His business is resurrecting hopeless cases. He calls blinded eyes to see, lame men to walk, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, and the dead to live again.
God is constantly seeking to transform the old you into someone new! And that’s what this life ought to be about for you and me.
As some of you know — one of the primary figures of the Protestant Reformation was a man named Martin Luther. Luther was a German priest and theologian. In fact, this past Monday was the day that he took a bold step and confronted the false teaching of his day, and nailed his 95 theses (his points of concern) to the University of Wittenberg’s chapel doors, in 1517.
But, this week I came across a very power statement he made summing up this 3rd verse in 1 John 3. And it’s this — Luther said,
“This life is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road.”
And he’s right. There is a divine potential waiting to be produced in you.
So, in this passage — John calls us to recognize the potential of God’s love to change our lives.
CONCLUSION:
So, take notice:
YOU’RE GREATLY LOVED BY HIM.
YOU’RE INVITED TO IDENTIFY WITH HIM.
And, YOU’RE CALLED TO LOOK LIKE HIM.
So, in light of that — I challenge you today to lean into God’s plans for you.
Lean into the promises He’s set before you.
Lean in to His great love — and BECOME the person He created you to be.
Open your heart to His invitation…and live your life for Him!