Study Focus: Matt. 19:16–22; Matt. 22:35–40; Matt. 25:40, 45; Luke 10:30–37; 1 John 4:20.
Introduction: If we love God, we will love one another and share a concern for one another’s well-being.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights two main ideas:
The unbreakable link of loving God and loving others (justice). In Scripture, to love a fellow believer involves concrete loving actions by sharing material goods with a brother or sister in need. Loving one another implies a concern for his or her well-being. Christ’s self-sacrificial love for us is the basis for our knowledge and practice of love, in which failing to love others means failing to see the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ.
Failings of love—when love and justice are disconnected. If we love God, we will love others and share a concern for justice focused on people’s well-being. Conversely, a disconnect between loving God and doing justice to others demonstrates a lack of commitment in keeping God’s commandments. This is the case in the history of the rich young ruler, who presumed to obey the commandments but failed to show love to the poor. Another example in the Gospels is the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan. They also presumed to follow the rules of purity but failed to express compassion and love.
Life Application: How are you living up to the notion that loving God involves caring about the needs of others?
Part II: Commentary
1. The Unbreakable Link of Loving God and Loving Others (Justice)
The connection between loving God and loving others, in 1 John 4:20, provides an important elaboration of John’s pastoral warnings against the failure to love brothers and sisters, as emphasized in previous passages. Karen H. Jobes points out that in 1 John 4:20, “John comes full circle in his discussion of love, especially for fellow believers.”—1, 2, and 3 John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), p. 206. At least three passages in 1 John deal with this discussion.
In 1 John 2:9–11, John associates the attitudes of loving and not loving/hating fellow believers with the opposing images of light and darkness. In his words, “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:9–11, NKJV).
Likewise, in 1 John 3:10, 11, the distinction is between the children of God and the children of the devil. “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:10, 11, NKJV).
Then, in 1 John 3:14–17, we find more details about John’s warnings on this matter, now with the opposition between life and death. “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:14–17, NKJV).
Two significant details are observed in this passage. First, to love a fellow believer is spelled out in terms of sharing material goods with a brother or sister who is in need. This concrete loving action is an important form of justice, inasmuch as the furtherance of justice or societal welfare is positively understood as the promotion of the well-being of others, which implies the alleviation of suffering in the world. Suffering is seen here as a tangible form of injustice. Second, the love that stands for justice, in the sense of supplying the needs of others, is Christologically grounded in 1 John 3:16 (“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” [NKJV]). That is, Christ’s self-sacrificial love for us is the basis for our knowledge and practice of love.
Therefore, if we read 1 John 4:20 (“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” [NKJV]) in light of 1 John 2:9–11, 1 John 3:10, 11, and especially 1 John 3:14–17, it is possible to draw the following conclusions. First, the failure to love fellow believers is particularly expressed in the neglect to supply the material needs of brothers and sisters. According to the theological deduction of 1 John 4:20, this failure is an evidence that the professed believer does not love God. Theological anthropology could be the basis for this deduction, as God created human beings in His own image (Gen. 1:27).
However, the basis of the deduction of 1 John 4:20 also seems Christological. That is, as already seen in 1 John 3:16, Christ’s self-sacrificial love is both the foundation of our knowledge of love and the stimulating pattern/power for our love toward others. This Christological basis is reaffirmed in 1 John 4:9–11.
While “no one has seen God at any time” (1 John 4:12, NKJV), His love became visible or “manifested toward us” because He “sent His only begotten Son into the world” (1 John 4:9, NKJV). In fact, the statement that “we love” God “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NKJV) is Christologically explained in the sense that it was not we who loved God first “but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10, NKJV). And “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11, NKJV).
The idea that Christ is the visible manifestation of God’s love, who is not visible to us (1 John 4:12), is reinforced by John’s own testimony as an eyewitness of Jesus: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14, NKJV; see also John 1:14, 18). Hence, as Jobes summarizes, “a failure to love others means that a person has failed to see the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ and therefore is unable to love God at all.”—1, 2, and 3 John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, p. 207. This unbreakable link of loving God and loving others (in the sense of promoting justice, that is, the well-being of others), seen from a Christological standpoint, reminds us of what Jesus affirmed in Matthew 25:40: “ ‘Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ ” (NKJV; see also Matt. 25:45, which employs negative language to express this principle).
2. Failings of Love: When Love and Justice Are Disconnected.
The connection between loving God and others, particularly in the form of justice (promoting their well-being and alleviating their suffering), provides the necessary articulation in life for all the commandments we find in Scripture. To put it another way, the disconnection between loving God and doing justice to others (loving them) means that there is no real harmony in our lives, as we attempt to keep God’s commandments. An example of this principle is the rich young ruler (Matt. 19:16–22), who presumed to obey the commandments but failed to show love to the poor with his material possessions and then, ultimately, failed to follow Jesus. Another significant example in the Gospels is the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37), as they presumed to follow the rules of purity, related to the temple, but failed to show mercy and love to the man half-dead on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho.
Jesus emphasizes in a dialogue with a lawyer, as recorded in Matthew 22:35–40, that to love God and one’s neighbors are “two hangers” that hold all the biblical teachings (the law and the prophets). While many translations of Matthew 22:40 render the Greek verb kremánnymi as “depending” (“On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” [ESV]; see also NASB 1995, NET, RSV), the more literal meaning of hanging is employed in other translations (“ ‘On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” [NKJV]; see also NRSV).
Part III: Life Application
In the context of the unbreakable link between loving God and loving others, Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross is the basis for your love to others. From this perspective, discuss with your class the following questions:
In what ways is God’s love, as revealed on the cross, your example of loving others?
What sacrifices do you personally make to love others and to render justice/supply to their needs?
When people are afflicted by poverty, oppression, or any kind of injustice, what can we do as a church to support them?
Notes
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Key Text: 1 John 4:20
Study Focus: Matt. 19:16–22; Matt. 22:35–40; Matt. 25:40, 45; Luke 10:30–37; 1 John 4:20.
Introduction: If we love God, we will love one another and share a concern for one another’s well-being.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson highlights two main ideas:
The unbreakable link of loving God and loving others (justice). In Scripture, to love a fellow believer involves concrete loving actions by sharing material goods with a brother or sister in need. Loving one another implies a concern for his or her well-being. Christ’s self-sacrificial love for us is the basis for our knowledge and practice of love, in which failing to love others means failing to see the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ.
Failings of love—when love and justice are disconnected. If we love God, we will love others and share a concern for justice focused on people’s well-being. Conversely, a disconnect between loving God and doing justice to others demonstrates a lack of commitment in keeping God’s commandments. This is the case in the history of the rich young ruler, who presumed to obey the commandments but failed to show love to the poor. Another example in the Gospels is the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan. They also presumed to follow the rules of purity but failed to express compassion and love.
Life Application: How are you living up to the notion that loving God involves caring about the needs of others?
Part II: Commentary
1. The Unbreakable Link of Loving God and Loving Others (Justice)
The connection between loving God and loving others, in 1 John 4:20, provides an important elaboration of John’s pastoral warnings against the failure to love brothers and sisters, as emphasized in previous passages. Karen H. Jobes points out that in 1 John 4:20, “John comes full circle in his discussion of love, especially for fellow believers.”—1, 2, and 3 John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), p. 206. At least three passages in 1 John deal with this discussion.
In 1 John 2:9–11, John associates the attitudes of loving and not loving/hating fellow believers with the opposing images of light and darkness. In his words, “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:9–11, NKJV).
Likewise, in 1 John 3:10, 11, the distinction is between the children of God and the children of the devil. “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:10, 11, NKJV).
Then, in 1 John 3:14–17, we find more details about John’s warnings on this matter, now with the opposition between life and death. “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:14–17, NKJV).
Two significant details are observed in this passage. First, to love a fellow believer is spelled out in terms of sharing material goods with a brother or sister who is in need. This concrete loving action is an important form of justice, inasmuch as the furtherance of justice or societal welfare is positively understood as the promotion of the well-being of others, which implies the alleviation of suffering in the world. Suffering is seen here as a tangible form of injustice. Second, the love that stands for justice, in the sense of supplying the needs of others, is Christologically grounded in 1 John 3:16 (“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” [NKJV]). That is, Christ’s self-sacrificial love for us is the basis for our knowledge and practice of love.
Therefore, if we read 1 John 4:20 (“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” [NKJV]) in light of 1 John 2:9–11, 1 John 3:10, 11, and especially 1 John 3:14–17, it is possible to draw the following conclusions. First, the failure to love fellow believers is particularly expressed in the neglect to supply the material needs of brothers and sisters. According to the theological deduction of 1 John 4:20, this failure is an evidence that the professed believer does not love God. Theological anthropology could be the basis for this deduction, as God created human beings in His own image (Gen. 1:27).
However, the basis of the deduction of 1 John 4:20 also seems Christological. That is, as already seen in 1 John 3:16, Christ’s self-sacrificial love is both the foundation of our knowledge of love and the stimulating pattern/power for our love toward others. This Christological basis is reaffirmed in 1 John 4:9–11.
While “no one has seen God at any time” (1 John 4:12, NKJV), His love became visible or “manifested toward us” because He “sent His only begotten Son into the world” (1 John 4:9, NKJV). In fact, the statement that “we love” God “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NKJV) is Christologically explained in the sense that it was not we who loved God first “but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10, NKJV). And “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11, NKJV).
The idea that Christ is the visible manifestation of God’s love, who is not visible to us (1 John 4:12), is reinforced by John’s own testimony as an eyewitness of Jesus: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14, NKJV; see also John 1:14, 18). Hence, as Jobes summarizes, “a failure to love others means that a person has failed to see the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ and therefore is unable to love God at all.”—1, 2, and 3 John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, p. 207. This unbreakable link of loving God and loving others (in the sense of promoting justice, that is, the well-being of others), seen from a Christological standpoint, reminds us of what Jesus affirmed in Matthew 25:40: “ ‘Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ ” (NKJV; see also Matt. 25:45, which employs negative language to express this principle).
2. Failings of Love: When Love and Justice Are Disconnected.
The connection between loving God and others, particularly in the form of justice (promoting their well-being and alleviating their suffering), provides the necessary articulation in life for all the commandments we find in Scripture. To put it another way, the disconnection between loving God and doing justice to others (loving them) means that there is no real harmony in our lives, as we attempt to keep God’s commandments. An example of this principle is the rich young ruler (Matt. 19:16–22), who presumed to obey the commandments but failed to show love to the poor with his material possessions and then, ultimately, failed to follow Jesus. Another significant example in the Gospels is the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37), as they presumed to follow the rules of purity, related to the temple, but failed to show mercy and love to the man half-dead on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho.
Jesus emphasizes in a dialogue with a lawyer, as recorded in Matthew 22:35–40, that to love God and one’s neighbors are “two hangers” that hold all the biblical teachings (the law and the prophets). While many translations of Matthew 22:40 render the Greek verb kremánnymi as “depending” (“On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” [ESV]; see also NASB 1995, NET, RSV), the more literal meaning of hanging is employed in other translations (“ ‘On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” [NKJV]; see also NRSV).
Part III: Life Application
In the context of the unbreakable link between loving God and loving others, Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross is the basis for your love to others. From this perspective, discuss with your class the following questions:
In what ways is God’s love, as revealed on the cross, your example of loving others?
What sacrifices do you personally make to love others and to render justice/supply to their needs?
When people are afflicted by poverty, oppression, or any kind of injustice, what can we do as a church to support them?
Notes