1st John 4:13-21

1 John 4:13-21 “We know that we belong to him and he belongs to us. He has given us his Holy Spirit. The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We have seen it. We give witness to it. God lives in anyone who agrees that Jesus is the Son of God. That kind of person remains joined to God. So we know that God loves us. We depend on it. God is love. Anyone who leads a life of love shows that he is joined to God. And God is joined to him. So love is made complete among us.

We will be bold on the day God judges us. That's because in this world we love as Jesus did. There is no fear in love. Instead, perfect love drives fear away. Fear has to do with being punished. The one who fears does not have perfect love.

We love because he loved us first. Anyone who says he loves God but in fact hates his brother or sister is a liar. He doesn't love his brother or sister, whom he has seen. So he can't love God, whom he has not seen. Here is the command God has given us. Anyone who loves God must also love his brothers and sisters.”

God has given us His Holy Spirit. It is the spirit that in the beginning makes us seek God at all. It is the work of the spirit, which makes us aware of the presence of God and it is the work of the spirit, which gives us the certainty we are at peace with God. It is the spirit, which lets us dare to address God as Father. (Romans 8:15-16)

The reason we don’t need to fear God when we stand before Him is because Christ took our punishment and God loves us perfectly. (Romans 8:38-39)

My application Bible says it’s easy to say we love God when that love doesn’t cost us anything more then weekly attendance at church. But, the real test of our love is how we treat the people in front of us: family members, fellow believers, etc. We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in His image.