Exploring 1 John: The Meaning of God’s Love
Exploring 1 John: The Meaning of God’s Love
1 John 4:9-11; John 3:16 - God reconciled with us first; it is only fitting that we show His love to others.
“By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
1 John 4:9-11 NASB1995
John continues his theme of God’s love and how it was manifested in us. There are some words or phrases that are probably worth studying (or studying again) in these verses.
“Was Manifested” comes from the Greek word φανερόω or phaneróō, with the following Biblical usages; Strong’s G5319 is used 49 times in the New Testament:
to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way
make actual and visible, realised
to make known by teaching
to become manifest, be made known
of a person
expose to view, make manifest, to show one's self, appear
to become known, to be plainly recognised, thoroughly understood
who and what one is
So God’s love is made real and visible in us through the sacrifice of Jesus and by our living through Him.
“Only Begotten” comes from the Greek word μονογενής or monogenḗs, with the following Biblical usages; Strong’s G3439 is used nine times in the New Testament;
single of its kind, only
used of only sons or daughters (viewed in relation to their parents)
used of Christ, denotes the only begotten son of God
In this context, where it is used to describe Christ and His relationship to God, “Only begotten” is found exclusively in the writings of John except for one verse in Hebrews (see the commentary below). Luke uses the term in his Gospel, but only to describe only human sons or daughters. Most famously, this adjective is used in John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NASB1995
This adjective is difficult to understand and can lead to the errors that John is trying to correct in his letter to believers. Jesus is not a created being. He is equal to the Father in the Trinity. I muttered those words about being “begotten” thousands of times as a Lutheran in saying the Apostle’s Creed but I never really thought about what it means. Here’s a great explanation from Gotquestions.org:
It’s this last phrase ("only begotten" used in the KJV, NASB and the NKJV) that causes problems. False teachers have latched onto this phrase to try to prove their false teaching that Jesus Christ isn’t God; i.e., that Jesus isn’t equal in essence to God as the Second Person of the Trinity. They see the word "begotten" and say that Jesus is a created being because only someone who had a beginning in time can be "begotten." What this fails to note is that "begotten" is an English translation of a Greek word. As such, we have to look at the original meaning of the Greek word, not transfer English meanings into the text.
So what does monogenes mean? According to the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG, 3rd Edition), monogenes has two primary definitions. The first definition is "pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship." This is its meaning in Hebrews 11:17 when the writer refers to Isaac as Abraham’s "only begotten son" (KJV). Abraham had more than one son, but Isaac was the only son he had by Sarah and the only son of the covenant. Therefore, it is the uniqueness of Isaac among the other sons that allows for the use of monogenes in that context.
The second definition is "pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class, unique in kind." This is the meaning that is implied in John 3:16 (see also John 1:14, 18; 3:18; 1 John 4:9). John was primarily concerned with demonstrating that Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:31), and he uses monogenes to highlight Jesus as uniquely God’s Son—sharing the same divine nature as God [my emphasis] - as opposed to believers who are God’s sons and daughters by adoption (Ephesians 1:5). Jesus is God’s “one and only” Son.
The bottom line is that terms such as "Father" and "Son," descriptive of God and Jesus, are human terms that help us understand the relationship between the different Persons of the Trinity. If you can understand the relationship between a human father and a human son, then you can understand, in part, the relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity. The analogy breaks down if you try to take it too far and teach, as some pseudo-Christian cults (such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses), that Jesus was literally "begotten" as in “produced” or “created” by God the Father.
Let’s look at one more phrase: “to be the propitiation”. This phrase comes from the Greek word ἱλασμός or hilasmós. If it looks familiar, it is because the only other New Testament usage of this same phrase (not the word propitiation) is in 1 John 2:2. The definitions and Biblical usages are a bit circular (pointing back to the same word), so I am relying on excerpts from Gotquestions.org to help explain this:
The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement or satisfaction, specifically toward God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.
The necessity of appeasing God is something many religions have in common. In ancient pagan religions, as well as in many religions today, the idea is taught that man appeases God by offering various gifts or sacrifices. However, the Bible teaches that God Himself has provided the only means through which His wrath can be appeased and sinful man can be reconciled to Him. In the New Testament, the act of propitiation always refers to the work of God and not the sacrifices or gifts offered by man. The reason for this is that man is totally incapable of satisfying God’s justice except by spending eternity in hell. There is no service, sacrifice, or gift that man can offer that will appease the holy wrath of God or satisfy His perfect justice. The only satisfaction, or propitiation, that could be acceptable to God and that could reconcile man to Him had to be made by God. For this reason God the Son, Jesus Christ, came into the world in human flesh to be the perfect sacrifice for sin and make atonement or “propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).…..
It is only because of Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day that a lost sinner deserving of hell can be reconciled to a holy God. The wonderful truth of the gospel is that Christians are saved from God’s wrath and reconciled to God not because “we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The only way for God’s wrath against sinful man to be appeased and for us to be reconciled to God is through Jesus Christ. There is no other way. This truth is also communicated in 1 John 2:2, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” An important part of Christ’s saving work is deliverance from God’s wrath; Jesus’ propitiation on the cross is the only thing that can turn away God’s divine condemnation of sin. Those who reject Christ as their Savior and refuse to believe in Him have no hope of salvation. They can only look forward to facing the wrath of God that they have stored up for the coming day of judgment (Romans 2:5). There is no other propitiation or sacrifice that can be made for their sins.
This action was initiated by God and not by us! In this love, not the love that we could have for Him but through His love for us even though we were still sinners, Jesus came to suffer and die, capture our sins and be resurrected. We can’t buy our way into this sacrifice through works or any other means other than believing in Jesus. I love the commentary about this from Enduring Word:
God has sent His only begotten Son: This shows the love of God, because love gives its best. There was nothing better God the Father could give to lost humanity than the gift of the Son of God Himself. As Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 9:15, Jesus was the Father’s indescribable gift.
“If there was to be reconciliation between God and man, man ought to have sent to God; the offender ought to be the first to apply for forgiveness; the weaker should apply to the greater for help; the poor man should ask of him who distributes alms; but ‘Herein is love’ that God ‘sent.’ He was first to send an embassy of peace.” (Charles Spurgeon)
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins: This shows the love of God. It might have shown enough love that the Father sent the Son, and not some lower-grade angel; but He sent the Son, not on a fact-finding mission or merely a mission of compassion – He sent the Son to die for our sins.
“If God had merely sent Jesus to teach us about Himself, that would have been wonderful enough. It would have been far more than we deserved. If God had sent Jesus simply to be our example, that would have been good too and would have had some value… But the wonderful thing is that God did not stop with these but rather sent His Son, not merely to teach or to be our example, but to die the death of a felon, that He might save us from sin.” (James Montgomery Boice)
For our sins: This shows the love of God. God gave His Son to die, and to die for sinners. We can think of someone paying a great price to save someone deserving, someone good, someone noble, someone who had done much for them. But God did all this for rebels, for sinners, for those who had turned their backs on Him.
“But who among us would think of giving up his son to die for his enemy, for one who never did him a service, but treated him ungratefully, repulsed a thousand overtures of tenderness, and went on perversely hardening his neck? No man could do it.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Jesus, the Son of God, really loved us and came to us and did His part for this Great Reconciliation, but we must do our part and repent and believe in Him; we can show that commitment to Christ and our sanctification through baptism by water but that action is NOT necessary for salvation (see this Article)!
If you hear otherwise from a religious leader (that you must be baptized to be saved), I always like to use the example of the Thief on the Cross, who didn’t get baptized, who didn’t go through confirmation, who never had communion, who didn’t serve in a church, who was probably ignorant of Biblical scripture and who confessed directly his belief to the Son of God suffering next to him and not to the priests standing below him (see Luke Chapter 23). The thief also stood condemned by men, he obviously did not do any good deeds, and he was unable to pay back his theft before he died. He is in Heaven today.
The Son of God died for that thief on the cross. He died for the concentration camp guard who cheerfully herded people into gas chambers. He died for the serial adulterer and the person hooked on pornography. He died for the worst blasphemer who mocked Him and spit at Him. He died for the murderer, the prostitute, the drug addict, the alcoholic, the chronic liar. He died for the person who is confused about their gender. He died for the Jew, for the Muslim, for the Buddhist, for the Hindu, for the nature worshipper, for the tribalist, for the atheist, for the agnostic. He died for those who are proud, envious, greedy, wrathful, gluttonous, lustful, and slothful. He died for His apostles and followers. He died for the kind Grandmother, the generous shopkeeper, the self-sacrificing military man or woman. He died for the CEOs and for the janitor. He died for Presidents and for field laborers. I could on for hours, but you get the picture. His love touches all and is unconditional, but your part is to repent of your sins and believe (that’s it!!).
We can only respond to this love with love, although our love is an anthill compared to the infinite expanse of Heaven above. I’ll end this with another great commentary from Enduring Word:
If God so loved us: Having received this love from God, we are directed to love one another. This pattern of receiving from God, then giving to others was familiar to John (John 13:14).
When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, and showed such great love and servanthood to them, we might have expected Him to conclude by gesturing to His own feet and asking who among them was going to do to Him what He had just done for them. Instead, Jesus said: If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet (John 13:14). The proper way to love God in response to His love for us is to go out and love one another.
This love will lead to practical action. “Has anybody offended you? Seek reconciliation. ‘Oh, but I am the offended party.’ So was God, and he went straight away and sought reconciliation. Brother, do the same. ‘Oh, but I have been insulted.’ Just so: so was God: all the wrong was towards him, yet he sent. ‘Oh, but the party is so unworthy.’ So are you; but ‘God loved you and sent his Son.’ Go write according to that copy.” (Charles Spurgeon)
If we do not love one another, how can we say that we have received the love of God and have been born of Him? Love is the proof we are taught to look for. If you had a pipe that was clogged – water kept going into it, but never came out, that pipe would be useless. You would replace it. Just so, God puts His love into our lives that it might flow out. We want the Lord to clear us and fill us so that His love can flow through us.
If we can’t be reconciled or forgive others or we think others are not worthy of salvation, we are certainly not demonstrating His love!
My next devotional examines 1 John 4:12-14 - God’s love is perfected in us.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Your love is so great that we imperfect humans could never begin to describe it! I am so humbled by Your sacrifice to reconcile with us! Please help me to grow in faith and love for others because You loved us! Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 6/5/2024 to review the lexicon for the phrases was manifested, only begotten, and to be the propitiation.
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 6/5/2024 to review the answers to the questions “what is begotten” and “what is propitiation”. This resource is also linked for the answers about baptism.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.