We Love Because God First Loved Us

Rev. Tim Eden, pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Bryan, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 John 4:13-21. St. John continues to emphasize that love starts with God. He has given us His Spirit, and now we testify to the truth that Jesus truly is the Son of God, sent by the Father to be the Savior. In this love of God, we abide. In this love of God, He casts out our fear of punishment on the Last Day; instead, we long for rhat day with expectation. His love for us is primary and brings about love for our brothers. By loving our brothers, whom we see, we show our love of God, whom we do not see. “The Love of God” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the three epistles written by St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. As St. John rejoiced to be the disciple loved by Jesus, so he writes his epistles to give us the same joy when we know that we are the beloved of God. God’s love for us in Jesus shapes our lives as Christians in all that we believe, say, and do.