True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Connect. During this series, we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John.

During this series, we are going to discover the components that make for true connection and community. During this series, we are going to discover the landmines and roadblocks that keep us from true connection and community. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands, in a way that moves us to the place where we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. 

Today I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John, we will see John reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. So let’s jump into the next section of this letter together, beginning in 1 John 5:1:

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

Now to fully understand the significance of what John is going to communicate to us in these verses, we first need to understand the context in which these verses occur. Last week, in 1 John 4:15-21, we saw John make a statement designed to demonstrate how one may experience the relationship and connection in the relationship with God that they were created for. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” John’s point is that that the person who professes allegiance to the fact that Jesus is God in a bod who entered into humanity to reveal Himself to humanity remains in close community and connection with God and God remains in close community and connection with them.

We talked about the reality that John revealed for us the timeless truth that true community and connection with Jesus is revealed by our response to God’s love. We discovered that true community and connection with Jesus responds to God’s love by remaining connected with God in love. We discovered that true community and connection with Jesus responds to God’s love by rejecting the fear of final judgment. And we discovered that true community and connection with Jesus responds to God’s love by loving God and others.

Now, with that background context in mind, John begins this section of his letter by making two powerful statements surrounding how one experiences the community and connection with God that we were created for. First John states that “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” When John uses the word believe here, this word literally means to consider something to be true and therefore worthy of trust. The something that is considered true and therefore worthy of trust is that Jesus is the Christ. John here is referring to a person who considers as true and worthy of trust the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah that would provide humanity the opportunity to turn from their selfishness and rebellion and turn back to the relationship with God that they were created for. 

John then explained that for the person who considered as true and trusts that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a rescuer to bring them back to God, the result is that they are born of God.  As we discovered earlier in this series, when John uses the phrase born of God, here is revealing for us the reality that when we respond to Jesus making Himself known to us by placing our confident trust in Him and recognizing and acknowledging who He is by accepting Him as being large and in charge of our lives, we become a part of the family of God. As we talked about earlier in this series, becoming a part of the family of God as a child of God is solely the result of God’s transformational activity in our lives. It is only through God’s transformational activity in our lives that flows from His desire to bring us into an eternal relationship with Him that results in us becoming a child of God as a part of the family of God.

Second, John states that “whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” When John uses the word love, this word refers to a warm regard and interest in others that is marked by a selflessness in their relationship with others. So when John states that whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him, he is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history of the reality that we demonstrate our love for God by how we love and treat others. As John pointed out last week, every human being is created in the image of God and bears the very thumbprint of God on their lives. And because of that reality, we reveal and reflect our love for God by how we love those around us. If we demonstrate hostility, animosity, or indifference to those around us who bear the image of God, we demonstrate that we have hostility, animosity, or indifference to God. The person who does not love his brother, who was created in the image of God and who he has seen, cannot possibly love God whom he has never seen.

\John’s point is that followers of Jesus demonstrate the depth of their connection with the invisible God by how they treat the visible around them. John’s point in these two statements is that the person who considers it true and worthy of trust that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer and Messiah will demonstrate the reality that they are now a child of God who is a part of the family of God by how they treat their others who are also a part of the family of God. John’s point is that the result of a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus as part of the family of God is that God’s transforming love will produce love for those around them who are also children of God who are a part of the family of God. We see John continue to unpack this reality in what he says next in verse 2-3:

 ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

In these verses, we see John provide a spiritual MRI to help the readers of his letter throughout history diagnose and evaluate where they are at when it comes to being a part of the family of God as a result of having a true community and connection with Jesus. John begins to provide this spiritual MRI by stating that a person can arrive at the knowledge that they truly loves those around them who are also children of God who are a part of the family of God when they love God. Because, as John has repeatedly reminded us over the past several weeks, we show and demonstrate our love for God by how we love others.

Here, however, John reveals that the reverse is also true: we show our love for other followers of Jesus who are a part of the family of God by how we love God. John is reminding the readers of his letter that loving God and loving others who are a part of the family of God are inseparably related.

John then continues to provide this spiritual MRI by stating that a person truly loves those around them who are also children of God who are a part of the family of God when they observe His commandments. What is so interesting is that this word observe literally means to carry out an obligation of a moral or social nature. And that obligation involves the commands and demands of God that are contained in the message and teaching of Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible.

John then provides the evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of this spiritual MRI in verse 3 by explaining “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” With this statement, John is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history of the timeless connection between love and obedience. John is revealing the reality that what should drive a follower of Jesus to live in obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus is their love for Jesus. 

John is revealing the reality that obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus should be driven by delight in Jesus, not by duty for Jesus. Just as one’s love for Jesus should produce love for other followers of Jesus, one’s love for Jesus should produce obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus. Because, as John points out “His commandments are not burdensome”. When John uses the word burdensome here, this word literally means to be a source of difficulty and trouble because of the demands made.

John is referring the readers of his letter back to Jesus own words that are recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. So let’s look at Jesus words together beginning in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰ "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

You see, John wanted to reinforce the reality that Jesus entered into humanity to provide an opportunity for humanity to enter into a new covenant, a new agreement between God and humanity. A new covenant that was not driven by religious duty in keeping a burdensome set of over 613 religious rules that were difficult, if not impossible for humanity to follow as a result of their selfishness and rebellion. A new covenant that was driven by the love of God to follow two commands that encapsulated God’s commands to humanity: Love God supremely and love one’s neighbor as themselves.

A new covenant that was driven by a love of Jesus to love others who were a part of the family of God the same way that Jesus loved His closest followers. A new covenant that was designed to overcome those things in the world that were hostile to God and placed themselves in opposition to God. We see John reveal this reality in verse 4-5:

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith. ⁵ Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

As we have talked about in the past, when John refers to the world here, he is referring to those things in the world system that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God and the kingdom of God. John here is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history that as a result becoming a part of the family of God as a child of God by trusting in what God has done through Jesus, followers of Jesus overcome those things in the world that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God. It is one’s confident trust in what God has done for humanity through Jesus that results in a life of devotion and trust in Jesus that provides victory over those things in the world that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God.

John then asked a rhetorical question to hammer his point home in verse 5: “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Now the reason why this question is rhetorical is due to the fact that, in light of all that John has said up to this point in his letter, the answer to this question should be so obvious that it does not require an answer.

John asked this rhetorical question to reinforce the reality that the person who places their confident trust and professes allegiance to the fact that Jesus is God in a bod who entered into humanity to reveal and explain God to humanity and to provide humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience the relationship and connection with God that they were created for also overcomes that which opposes God and the kingdom of God.

And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in community. And that timeless truth is this: True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God.  Just as it was for followers of Jesus in John’s day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God.

The timeless reality is that true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus will demonstrate the depth of their connection with the invisible God by how they treat the visible around them. A person who is experiencing true community and connection with Jesus will demonstrate the reality that they are now a child of God who is a part of the family of God by how they treat their others who are also a part of the family of God. The result of a genuine and authentic community and connection with Jesus as part of the family of God is that God’s transforming love will produce love for those around them who are also children of God who are a part of the family of God.

True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because loving God and loving others who are a part of the family of God are inseparably related. True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because what should drive a follower of Jesus to live in obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus is their love for Jesus.  Obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus should be driven by delight in Jesus, not duty for Jesus. And just as our love for Jesus should produce love for other followers of Jesus, our love for Jesus should produce obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus, including loving other followers of Jesus.

True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because Jesus entered into humanity to provide an opportunity to enter into a new covenant, a new agreement between God and humanity. A new covenant that was driven by the love of God to follow two commands that encapsulated God’s commands to humanity: Love God supremely and love one’s neighbor as themselves. A new covenant that was driven by a love of Jesus to love others who were a part of the family of God the same way that Jesus loved His closest followers.

You see, living in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus is really quite simple: Love God supremely and love others as Jesus loved. There are only two commands to follow, that when followed, result in us obeying every one of God’s commands and demands. A new covenant that was designed to overcome those things in the world that were hostile to God and placed themselves in opposition to God. And true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because it is our confident trust in what God has done for humanity through Jesus that results in a life of devotion and trust in Jesus that provides victory over those things in the world that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God.

So here is a question to consider: What does the way you treat others followers of Jesus say about your relationship and connection with Jesus? Does the way you treat other followers of Jesus who are a part of the family of Gods reflect a genuine and authentic community and connection with Jesus as part of the family of God? Do you show your love for God by how you love other followers of Jesus? Or do you reveal the reality of your lack of community and connection with Jesus by your lack of love for other followers of Jesus?

Because, true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God. True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because loving God and loving others who are a part of the family of God are inseparably related…