One Another, Integrity; 1 John 4:7,8
1 John
1 John 4:7 NASB
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from [the ultimate source of] God;
and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
The context of Romans 12
is on the application in the believer’s spiritual life. Romans 12:3 NASB “For
through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more
highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound
judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. [4] For just as we
have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same
function, [5] so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually
members one of another.” There is our first use of the words “one another.” There
is an interdependence in the body of Christ. That
means that we are going to have involvements with other believers. If we think
that we can just an island unto ourselves in a local body then what we are
doing is operating on the cosmic ideal of individualism that is cosmic
thinking. There is a mutuality and an interdependence
among the body of Christ. [6] “Since we have gifts that differ according to the
grace given to us, {each of us is to exercise them accordingly:} if prophecy,
according to the proportion of his faith; [7] if service, in his serving; or he
who teaches, in his teaching; [8] or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who
gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with
cheerfulness… [10] {Be} devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference
to one another in honor”—the idea of being a
priority, putting our attention on the fact that there are others in the body
of Christ and they have particular problems and needs, and that as we grow as a
mature believer we can minister in those areas. [12] “rejoicing in hope,
persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, [13] contributing to the needs
of the saints, practicing hospitality.” We see these ideas repeated again and
again in contexts related to love. [14] “Bless those who persecute you; bless
and do not curse.
Romans 14:13 NASB
“Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not
to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.” As believers we
are not to run down, gossip or malign others. This doesn’t mean not to evaluate
on the basis of doctrine. Quote: “In order to put a stumbling block in someone’s
way they have to be moving.” [19] “So then we pursue the things which make for
peace and the building up of one another.” This is a priority issue: Let’s put
into priority the things that are going to contribute towards edification,
spiritual growth and spiritual maturity.
Romans 15:14 NASB
“And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you
yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to
admonish one another.” Notice the order here. “Filled with all knowledge” –
this is a spiritually mature believer who has a full comprehension of the Word
of God and they have a tremendous amount of doctrine in their souls, and
because of that doctrine they have wisdom that goes along with it, and that wisdom
enables them to be able to help a person think through the issues in their life
and make biblically sound decisions. The term “admonish” is the Greek word noutheteo [nouqetew]. The root is nou which comes from nouj, meaning mentality. It has to do with thinking, helping
someone think through life’s issues. A word of caution about “one
another.” This doesn’t mean equally to every other believer. It is based
upon a mutual understanding and a mutual relationship. You don’t just admonish
every Christian you see; you don’t have the framework for it. You have to
exercise a little discernment and wisdom and that is why it is preceded by the
statement “filled with knowledge.” It is based upon an understanding of God’s
Word.
Galatians
Galatians
6:2 NASB “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” You can’t do that equally with every believer you
could possibly meet. That is impossible. But those who come into your sphere of
life, to a certain level of intimacy, you can do that. You can encourage them
and help strengthen them spiritually as they go through various testings.
Ephesians 4:2 NASB
“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one
another in love …. [25] Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE {of you} WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another…. [32] Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each
other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Philippians
2:3 NASB “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with
humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”
1 Thessalonians
1 Peter 4:9 NASB
“Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”
All of these are based
upon the command to love one another which we have here in 1 John 4:7. This is
not an option but this is indicative of reaching that level of spiritual
maturity necessary to avoid being ashamed at the judgment seat of Christ. “… for love is from God.” The Greek word translated “for” is hoti [o(ti], indicating that he is going to give the reason for the command. 1
John 4:8 NASB “The one who does not love does not know God, for God
is love.” What he means by that is the one who loves is reflecting his position
as a member of the royal family of God and is manifesting the character of his
Father. The one who is not loving is not acting like a
member of the family and is not manifesting the character of his Father.
1 John 4:7 NASB
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God …” Love has its source
in God, ek [e)k] plus the genitive indicates that God and God alone
is the ultimate source of this category of love. Then he adds to this
statement: “and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” “Everyone who
loves” is a present active participle with a definite article ho [o(] agapon
[a)gapwn], and because it has the article it is the person who
loves. This is going to be further modified by a perfect passive indicative of
the verb genao [genaw] which means to be born. The perfect tense indicates
the present reality of a past action. The past action would be faith alone in
Christ alone and the present reality is now you are a bona fide member born
into the royal family of God. John says here that the one who loves is born of
God because if love is uniquely from God only someone who is a member of His
family can demonstrate that kind of love. John uses this kind of grammatical
structure several times and when he does the present participle indicates the
results of a past action. The past action is the one who is born again. So we
have a born-again one and John says they love. But he doesn’t say that every
born-again person loves. He is making a positive assertion that only the person
who loves can be born again because this is uniquely produced by God. But if
you don’t see the love it doesn’t mean they weren’t born again. There are two
conditions to loving. The first is that they are regenerate, have been born of
God. Second, they know God. What we need to recognise is that love is a product
of spiritual growth, and what we are going to see is that it is related to
knowing God, therefore it is related to having a
personal love for God the Father. But that only starts to come along if we
reach a certain level of spiritual maturity beyond spiritual adolescence.