THE CONTINUATION OF THE INCARNATION (10 OF 12)
by Keith Krell
Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21
This content is part of a series.
The Continuation of the Incarnation (10 of 12)
Series: Living in the Light
Keith Krell
1 John 4:7-21
''Bible study, prayer, witnessing, and serving in the church . . . now these are the greatest measures of spiritual maturity.'' The Bible says, ''NO!'' None of these are the greatest measures of spiritual maturity. Don't get me wrong, there's a definite place for all of these, but there's an even greater maturity measure than all of these combined. The greatest maturity measure is love. We reveal the depth and the degree of our spiritual maturity by the love that we have for other Christians. To put it bluntly, at no time are we more like Jesus than when we love one another.
The apostle John, the beloved disciple, loves to speak about love. In the book of 1 John, he hits this theme in three critical passages. He begins addressing the topic of love in 2:7-11. In these five verses, John states that our love for other believers is an evidence of our fellowship with God. In 3:11-24 he stresses the fact that God's children should love one another and thus exhibit their new nature. Finally, in 4:7-21, John fully completes the subject of love. This doesn't mean John has run out of ideas and has to repeat himself. It means that the Holy Spirit, who inspired John, presents the subject once more from a deeper point of view. In this passage John tells us: We are the continuation of the incarnation. The word ''incarnation'' simply means ''in flesh.'' The incarnation refers to the act when Jesus became a man clothed ''in flesh'' on our behalf. It's the original Christmas Story. John is saying that since Jesus isn't present on earth we're to be His flesh-His hands and feet. We are to pick up where He left off. In order to do so, we must bear in mind two important truths.
1. Our love for others incarnates God's love (4:7-12). In this section, John answers the question, ''Why should Christians bother loving one another?'' In 4:7 John writes: ''Beloved, let us lov ...
Series: Living in the Light
Keith Krell
1 John 4:7-21
''Bible study, prayer, witnessing, and serving in the church . . . now these are the greatest measures of spiritual maturity.'' The Bible says, ''NO!'' None of these are the greatest measures of spiritual maturity. Don't get me wrong, there's a definite place for all of these, but there's an even greater maturity measure than all of these combined. The greatest maturity measure is love. We reveal the depth and the degree of our spiritual maturity by the love that we have for other Christians. To put it bluntly, at no time are we more like Jesus than when we love one another.
The apostle John, the beloved disciple, loves to speak about love. In the book of 1 John, he hits this theme in three critical passages. He begins addressing the topic of love in 2:7-11. In these five verses, John states that our love for other believers is an evidence of our fellowship with God. In 3:11-24 he stresses the fact that God's children should love one another and thus exhibit their new nature. Finally, in 4:7-21, John fully completes the subject of love. This doesn't mean John has run out of ideas and has to repeat himself. It means that the Holy Spirit, who inspired John, presents the subject once more from a deeper point of view. In this passage John tells us: We are the continuation of the incarnation. The word ''incarnation'' simply means ''in flesh.'' The incarnation refers to the act when Jesus became a man clothed ''in flesh'' on our behalf. It's the original Christmas Story. John is saying that since Jesus isn't present on earth we're to be His flesh-His hands and feet. We are to pick up where He left off. In order to do so, we must bear in mind two important truths.
1. Our love for others incarnates God's love (4:7-12). In this section, John answers the question, ''Why should Christians bother loving one another?'' In 4:7 John writes: ''Beloved, let us lov ...
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