"By This Love Has Been Perfected With Us" -martin

[b]"By This Love Has Been Perfected With Us"[/b]
[i]by Alan Martin[/i]

John sets forth the simplicity of how the love of God is perfected among us in the fourth chapter of his short epistle. Beginning in verse sixteen he writes, " And we have known and have believed the love God had in us ." Note that both known and believed are perfect tenses in the Greek, indicating there must be a mature and abiding quality of our knowledge and faith. It is also important to note his choice of 'in" us rather than " for" us; there is a difference. God loves the world, but that does not mean that all who He loves has His love in them. Jesus Christ prayed that the love the Father had for Himself would be "in" us, and He Himself in us. Having the love of God "in" us enables (empowers) us to love others as He has loved us.
John continues his thought by writing " God is love and the one abiding in love abides in God and God abides in him." We are commanded to do what God "IS" spontaneously, continuously, steadfastly. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, because His love is His nature, His being, and thus is as constant as the light He is. The only way we could possibly love others as He loves us is by " abiding" in His love in union with "God" abiding in us. When we are abiding in His love and He Who IS love is abiding in us – then the truth of verse seventeen becomes our reality – "In this love has been perfected with us (among us)".

When we experience the union of abiding in His love and God Who IS love abiding in us – only then will His love be perfected among us. We can only partake of this by abiding through faith. Then the steadfast love of the Lord which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit begins to flow out of our innermost being in the same way the life of God flows from Himself – spontaneous, steadfast, glorious. God dwells in us by His Spirit Who is His life, and when we become rooted and established in His life through faith, living by and keeping in step with His Spirit – then His life – His spontaneous – steadfast - perfect love- begins to flow through us to others.

The result of this is " confidence in the day of judgment". How so – because in this union of abiding in His love – in Him – and He Who IS love abiding in us – we actually become " AS HE IS in this world." This is the goal of the commandment – to this we were predestined – to be conformed to His image. He is love and we are to become as He is in this world. Those who are abiding in His love are abiding in Him and He is abiding in them. This is the same relationship Jesus had with the Father and it is this relationship that He prayed we would be fully brought into. "And I declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." When the love of God is being shed abroad in our hearts, and Christ is dwelling in us - His prayer is fulfilled; both Christ and the Father are dwelling in us through the life of the Holy Spirit.

It is this union we are called to, this is the "rest of God" we must enter – oneness with God through oneness with Christ by His Spirit. Those who have come to know and believe (in a mature way) in the steadfast love of God enter into the abiding rest of union with God Who IS love. Our union with The Loving One and His abiding in us will then begin to well up within us as a river of living water. The Spirit will first fill our inner most being, then just like other vessels that become full, the water then begins to overflow out to others.

Father, Our Perfect Love, You Who ARE what You call us to become and do - finish Your work by bringing us into perfect union and abiding with You so that Your life and our life become one in the same way You were one with Your Son. We want the glory that You long for us to receive – oneness with You – to see You and know You as You are and to be as You are in this world.

There are a few points raised by this article which don't sit right with scripture - even though the article is presented as an exposition.

I'll post the relevant verses first, which give the context from which the article ought to be drawing its conclusions. These are from Young's.

John 17
25 `Righteous Father, also the world did not know Thee, and I knew Thee, and these have known that Thou didst send me,
26 and [b]I made known to them [u]Thy name[/u][/b], and will make known, that the love with which Thou lovedst me in them may be, and I in them.'

John 17
9 `I ask in regard to them; not in regard to the world do I ask, but in regard to those whom Thou hast given to me, because Thine they are,
10 and all mine are Thine, and Thine [are] mine, and I have been glorified in them;
11 and no more am I in the world, and these are in the world, and I come unto Thee. [b]Holy Father, keep them [u]in Thy name[/u], whom Thou hast given to me, that they may be one as we[/b];
12 when I was with them in the world, I was keeping them in Thy name; those whom Thou hast given to me I did guard, and none of them was destroyed, except the son of the destruction, that the Writing may be fulfilled.

Hebrews 4
5 and in this [i]place[/i] again, `If they shall enter into My rest--;'
6 since then, it remaineth for certain to enter into it, and those who did first hear good news entered not in because of unbelief--

9 there doth remain, then, a sabbatic rest to the people of God,
10 for he who did enter into his rest, he also rested from his works, as God from His own.

Hebrews 11:6
and apart from faith it is impossible to please well, for it behoveth him who is coming to God to believe that He is, and to those seeking Him He becometh a rewarder.

1 John 4
7 Beloved, may we love one another, because the love is of God, and every one who is loving, of God he hath been begotten, and doth know God;
8 he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God in us, because His Son--the only begotten--hath God sent to the world, that we may live through him;
10 in this is the love, not that we loved God, but that He did love us, and did send His Son a propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if thus did God love us, we also ought one another to love;
12 God no one hath ever seen; if we may love one another, God in us doth remain, and His love is having been perfected in us;
13 in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He hath given us.
14 And we--we have seen and do testify, that the Father hath sent the Son--Saviour of the world;
15 whoever may confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God in him doth remain, and he in God;
16 and we--we have known and believed the love, that God hath in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in the love, in God he doth remain, and God in him.
17 In this made perfect hath been the love with us, that boldness we may have in the day of the judgment, because even as He is, we--we also are in this world;

Romans 8
9 And ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God doth dwell in you; and if any one hath not the Spirit of Christ--this one is not His;
10 and if Christ [i]is[/i] in you, the body, indeed, [i]is[/i] dead because of sin, and the Spirit [i]is[/i] life because of righteousness,
11 and if the Spirit of Him who did raise up Jesus out of the dead doth dwell in you, He who did raise up the Christ out of the dead shall quicken also your dying bodies, through His Spirit dwelling in you.
12 So, then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh;
13 for if according to the flesh ye do live, ye are about to die; and if, by the Spirit, the deeds of the body ye put to death, ye shall live;
14 for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God;
15 for ye did not receive a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye did receive a spirit of adoption in which we cry, `Abba--Father.'
16 The Spirit himself doth testify with our spirit, that we are children of God;

Zephanaiah 3:17
Jehovah thy God [i]is[/i] in thy midst,
A mighty one doth save,
He rejoiceth over thee with joy,
He doth work in His love,
He joyeth over thee with singing.'

KJV
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [i]is[/i] mighty;
he will save,
he will rejoice over thee with joy
he will rest in his love,
he will joy over thee with singing.

{rest: Heb. be silent}

contd.

I am leaving the reader a bit of work here, or this post would be even longer. See how differently vv 16 and 17 can be read, when put in the context of John's preceding sentences.

John sets forth the simplicity of how the love of God is perfected among us in the fourth chapter of his short epistle. Beginning in verse sixteen he writes, " And we have known and have believed the love God had in us ." Note that both known and believed are perfect tenses in the Greek, indicating there must be a mature and abiding quality of our knowledge and faith. It is also important to note his choice of 'in" us rather than " for" us; there is a difference.

This verse is definitely about something that has already happened to and in the believer, [u]consequent[/u] to the [i]operation of faith[/i] by the believer.

Before ever arriving at a place where v 16 is our usual condition, we first must have believed in God and His reward for seeking Him. Then, through faith in His Son, we have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry 'Father'. From now, [u]we are in His name[/u]. The understanding which had been revealed to the disciples about who Jesus was, and who had sent Him, are just as important for us in our Christian living. We also must be in His name.

1 John 4
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

In v 9, we see that the basis of the love we are supposed to be demonstrating, is available to us because we are living [i][b]through Him[/i][/b].

Why are we living [i]through Him[/i]? Because we have been crucified with Him, and the life which we now live in the flesh, we live (Young puts it) 'in the faith I live of the Son of God, who did love me and did give Himself for me'.

It is worth noting that in John 17 and 1 John 4, the love of God operating towards our fellow Christians - not towards the world :-o (gasp) ;-)

1 John 4
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [i]to be[/i] the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
12 No man hath seen God at any time. [b]If[/b] we love one another, [u]God dwelleth in us[/u], [i]and his love is perfected [u]in us[/u][/i].

We are commanded to do what God "IS" spontaneously, continuously, steadfastly. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, because His love is His nature, His being, and thus is as constant as the light He is. [b]The only way we could possibly love others as He loves us is by " abiding" in His love in union with "God" abiding in us[/b].

Is not John's meaning that our response to God's love for us, is to love in return, and that this love necessarily is demonstrated by loving those whom we can see with our eyes, seeing we can't 'see' God (v 12)?

Once we are caught in the necessary outworking of the love which we feel toward God for His love toward us ....

13 Hereby [u]know we[/u] that we dwell in him, and he in us, [u][b]because[/b] he hath given us of his Spirit[/u].
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son [i]to be[/i] the Saviour of the world.
15 [b]Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God[/b].

We are back at Romans 8 and John 17 (Young).

19 and for them do I sanctify myself, that they also themselves may be sanctified in truth.
20 `And not in regard to these alone do I ask, but also in regard to those who shall be believing, through their word, in me;
21 that they all may be one, as Thou Father [i]art[/i] in me, and I in Thee; [u]that they also in us may be one[/u], that the world may believe that Thou didst send me.
22 `And I, the glory that thou hast given to me, have given to them, that they may be one as we are one;
23 [u]I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be perfected into one[/u], and that the world may know that Thou didst send me, and didst love them as Thou didst love me.

When we experience the union of abiding in His love and God Who IS love abiding in us – only then will His love be perfected among us.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

In v 16, the fact that God endorses the believer by coming to dwell in Him, is what 'perfects' his love, and therefore he has confidence that 'his' love (which is really God's love) will pass the test on the day of judgement.

This really is not about a feeling of love. It is about an objectively observable godliness which becomes certifyable by others, in the person loving the brethren with the love of God. It is as we love one another, that this all falls into place.

If we have the idea we should be able somehow to sense, or feel, or hold the love which we must pour out [i]before we permit it to flow in recognisably loving actions[/i], then we will soon become a dry well.

It is this union we are called to, this is the "rest of God" we must enter – oneness with God through oneness with Christ by His Spirit.

Those who have come to know and believe (in a mature way) in the steadfast love of God enter into the abiding rest of union with God Who IS love.

John's reference to young men and fathers logically take it as a prerequisite that those young men and fathers already love like this.

Our union with The Loving One and His abiding in us will then begin to well up within us as a river of living water. The Spirit will first fill our inner most being, then just like other vessels that become full, the water then begins to overflow out to others.

Now, I am [u]not[/u] saying that we [i]don't[/i] need the love of God to dwell in us. I'm saying it happens differently from the writer's analysis.