What is True Love?

Introduction

Once Hudson Taylor, one of history’s foremost missionaries, found his faith tested to the limits. Would he truly love in deed, or would he pay lip-service only? One day a half-crown coin was Taylor’s only money. As he walked home from the university where he was studying, a man begged him to pray with his wife. When Taylor arrived in the miserable apartment, he could see that poverty was slowly starving the whole family. He records that he thought, “if I had two shillings and a sixpence instead of half a crown, how gladly should they have one-and-sixpence of it!” Uneasy as he fought in his mind between saving this family and saving himself (as his mind presented it), he could offer little comfort. He relates that all the time the Holy Spirit was urging him, “You hypocrite! telling these unconverted people about a kind and loving Father in heaven, and not prepared yourself to trust Him without half a crown!” Still unwilling to part with his only means of buying his dinner the next evening, he offered to pray with the family. Somehow he made it through the prayer, but as soon as he rose from praying, "the poor father turned to me and said: 'You see what a terrible state we are in, sir; if you can help us, for God's sake do!' Just then the words flashed into my mind, 'Give to him that asketh of thee,' and in the word of a King there is power. I put my hand into my pocket, and slowly drawing forth the half crown, gave it to the man. ... The joy all came back in full flood tide to my heart!” 1 John 3:16-21 explains why the child of God gives, and why that giving, even in difficult circumstances, brings joy. Do you want that flood of joy in your heart … let’s look at how to find it.

Observation

Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what this passage means and how He wants it to change your life today.

Read Focus Verses

Read our verses for today, 1 John 3:16-21. As you read, notice what the central idea of the passage is.

What’s At the Center of It?

What is the central theme of these verses, or, what word or idea is repeated?

Read in Context

Now that you’ve read the main verses for our study today, let’s step back and see how it fits into the flow of the passage it is in. Read 1 John 3:11-24. Note how the whole section is about the theme of love and contrasts it with its opposite – hatred.

Keyword – Love

As you’ve already done several times in this book, use this heart to make the word ‘love’ stand out throughout the verses we are studying today.

True Love

Go through 1 John 3:16-21 again, this time marking ‘love.’

The Model

Whose love is the model for our love?

The Pattern

In what way did God show His love?

Insufficient Evidence

In verse 18 we are told that expressing love in what way is not sufficient?

Real Love

What does verse 18 tell us demonstrates that we have real love?

Interpretation

God’s Love

You noticed that God’s love is the pattern for ours. Read how 1 John 4:9-11 expands on this theme.

Love – A Response

According to both of these passages our love should be a response to what?

His Life for Ours

Both of these passages in 1 John say that God showed His love to us by dying. Read Romans 6:23 to understand why.

What Sin Earns

According to Romans 6:23 why did Jesus have to die to take away our sins?

Words or Deeds

Read James 2:14-17 and compare it with verses 17-18 in our passage in 1 John 3.

Empty Words

Does the one who only talks about blessings for others truly love those people? Why or why not?

Words Are Important

In this helpful article, Pastor John Piper explains that these verses are not telling us not to tell people we love them with our words, but rather urging us to demonstrate that love in actions to show that it is real. He explains: “You can’t see this one in the English translation, but the contrasting pairs of words (‘word and tongue’ vs. ‘deed and truth’) are not exactly parallel. The first two are dative, and the second two are objects of the repeated preposition en. Hence literally: ‘Little children, let us not love by word or by tongue but in deed and in truth.’ The difference may be incidental. Or perhaps there is a reason for it: ‘Let us not think of love as actions of instruments like tongues and the sounds they make (words). Let us rather think of love as a reality that is happening in our deeds and in truth.’ “

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Why Demonstrate Love?

According to verse 19, what is one of the reasons that we should demonstrate love?

Lord, Lord

Read Matthew 7:21-23 and notice what it says about some people who do good works.

Are Works Sufficient?

According to Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23, will everyone who does good works of service go to heaven? How do you know?

Doubts Be Gone

Read John 21:17 and notice how similar it is to 1 John 3:20.

God Knows

If you have trusted in Jesus Christ to take away your sins and try to demonstrate your love to Him and His people, but still struggle with assurance of salvation because you are afraid that you could deceive yourself, what assurance does God give you in verse 20?

Confidence in God

According to verse 21 what will be the result of realizing that God knows our hearts and that we truly love Him?

Further Help

If you need further help in finding this assurance talked about in these verses, this sermon by Mark Minnick explains very clearly from Hebrews 6:9-12 how a believer can and should find assurance.

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Application

God’s Love for You

Have you ever accepted God’s love for you in giving His life to give you life?

A Picture of His Love

As you live life each day how do you try to reflect God’s love in your loving actions toward others?

This World’s Good

What is something you have a little of (time, money, possessions, skills…) that you could give to someone in need, and how are you going to show God’s love to that person this week?

Assure Your Heart

Stop and think about the service you are doing for God. If it did not benefit you in any way or even if it hurt you, would you still do it? Why? Believers can rest in the assurance that their love for God and others is His work in them.

Wrapup

Closing

We hope that this study has helped you better understand true love, and that it will lead you to reflect God’s love to others so that you may know the joy of full assurance.

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