Bible Study Series - The 1st General Epistle of John Chapter 4

1 John 4

Authorized (King James) Version

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1 John 4:1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

 
Chapter 3 ended in verse 24 about the Holy Spirit, it seems only fitting that we are now told in chapter 4 that the Holy Spirit isn't the only spirit around.

The bible here is giving us a warning, we are told not to believe every spirit. We are told to TRY every spirit whether they are of God: we are told it is because many false prophets, false teachers have gone out into the world.

These are lying spirits, unclean and full of deceit, speaking through the mouths of these false prophets.

How would you know you're not being deceived?

Are we to believe something is true by a feeling?

A burning in our bosom perhaps?

 

Scepticism is healthy and may save your life!

 
Whether you're saved or unsaved you should try to have a healthy scepticism concerning any teaching, to be open minded is to miss the strait gate:

 

Matthew 7:13-14 " Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: ¹⁴ because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

 
And when you miss the strait gate, meaning the narrow gate, you're on your way to destruction, in other words you're going to end up in hell. Being open to all manner of doctrines and other religions, accepting that all roads lead to heaven, is heresy and sadly, you will end up in hell.

We are warned over and over again not to be deceived, Jesus speaking about end times warns us of the following:

 

Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Matthew 24:23-26 "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. ²⁴ For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you before. ²⁶ Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not."

 
Here he warns us of false saviours, and false prophets; Jesus tells us not to believe in these things, for the only time we shall see the Lord again will be in the like manner that he ascended into heaven.

Anyone who says that they saw Jesus is a liar, even if they claim it to be a vision, should you not question anyone who says they saw the Lord or the Father? 

How can you believe a story about a young teenage boy who claims (even though he can't get his story right…) to be in a grove, see two heavenly beings and identifying them as the Father (and no man has seen the father and lived) and the Son…I myself have a teenage boy of 14 and boy can he tell some pretty tall tales himself!

Why would you believe someone who claims to have had a vision about Hell, seen Jesus and tells them to warn people and then contradict every teaching in the Holy Bible?

Paul warns the Corinthians about false teachers:

 

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

 
Paul tells the Corinthians that even Satan himself will transform himself into an angel of light, I've heard people say to me that Satan cannot perform or make something appear pure, or give you a "good" feeling; how would you know? 

If the bible is telling us that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, and his ministers also appear to be righteous, how do we know if we are being deceived?

We are commanded to TRY the spirits, how do we do this?
Paul says the following to the Thessalonians:

 

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 "Despise not prophesyings. ²¹ Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."

 
The test or to prove is to compare what is being taught with the clear teaching of the Bible. 

The Bible alone is the Word of God; it alone is inspired and inerrant. Consequently, the way to test the spirits is to see if what is being taught is in line with the clear teaching of Scripture.

The bible commends a certain group of Christians known as the Bereans who searched the scriptures daily to confirm the things they were taught were true or not.

 

Acts 17:10-11 "And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

 

The Bereans are noted to be more noble than the Thessalonians, why?

Because the received the word or the teachings with all readiness of mind, and then they SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY.

To test the spirits, is to know how to examine the scriptures, this is God's Word. Rather than accept every teaching, every eagle-eyed discerning Christians should diligently study the Scriptures. 

The Christian must show thyself approved, you need to know what the Word of God says to be able to defend yourself against these lying spirits.

 

2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

 
The Word of God is to be a lamp and a light to our feet, the Psalmist wrote:

 

Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

 
We must let the light of God's Word shine on the doctrines of the day; the Holy Bible alone is the standard by which all truth must be judged. God's Word is pure and preserved:

 

Proverbs 30:5-6 "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. ⁶ Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."

Psalm 12:6-7 "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. ⁷ Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."

 
God's Word is pure and preserved, he said every WORD is pure, not CONCEPT, EVERY WORD.

Not only is His Word preserved, kept pure, a lamp, and a light to our feet, but his Word is also known as the Sword of the Spirit:

 

Ephesians 6:17 "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

 
And it is the two edged Sword used to defend and attack against spiritual wickedness and evil:

 

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

 
Just like a soldier who handles a sword in battle, he must train diligently with his sword to be able to defend and attack against his enemies, likewise should all self-professing Christians.

 

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 "(for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)⁵ casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

 
Our battle is not a physical battle, but a spiritual one:

 

Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

 
The Holy Spirit uses the power of the Word to save souls and then to give them spiritual strength to be mature warriors for the Lord in fighting this corrupt, evil and wicked world we live in.

We must put on the Whole Armour of God! (Obviously this would be another article/sermon of its own!)

It's amazing how much you can get from just reading one verse in the bible (and that was just the first verse of chapter 4!), that why you need to be in the Word, and search the scriptures daily because you can learn so much in light of other verses. 

Continuing on with the study.

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1 John 4:2 "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:"

 
John here is telling us, if you will, the first rule to discern if something is of the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God! Every spirit that claims that Jesus is the Messiah is of God!

This eliminates many religions out there, there are many religions out there that outright denies Jesus. Judaism rejects Jesus entirely, but then there are some denominations of Judaism that acknowledge Jesus but refuses to accept that he is the Messiah, but not only that they flat out reject that he is the Son of God as well as his deity: God manifest in the flesh.

Here is the deception, there are many religions that acknowledge Jesus, but hang on, that's not good enough, there were many people named Jesus, in fact how many times have you said you know that guy, or that person but really you have no personal knowledge or relationship with that person.

Many religions will profess Jesus, but they deny who he truly is, Islam denies that Jesus is the son of God, but they say that he was a good teacher, they acknowledge him. 

Jehovah witnesses acknowledge Jesus, but they say he was not God, they believe that he is Michael the Arch Angel, Mormon leaders say Jesus was a direct result of a physical union of God the Father and Mary, but he is the eldest spirit brother of us all, and that Lucifer (Satan) is our spirit brother also begotten by heavenly father and mother, I've asked Mormon missionaries if they believe that Jesus is God, but they never answer.

So we have these religions that makes these claims about Jesus, but they deny who he really is and what is written about him in the bible. If you deny any one thing about the Lord Jesus Christ that is taught in the bible then you are deny the true Jesus of the bible, I believe that what the Lord meant when he said, do not believe if they tell you that I am in the desert, or I am in the secret chambers, let no man deceive you!

To confess Jesus as the Christ or Messiah, the Anointed One, is to have Him as your Saviour. 

This, to me, is saying, we must believe that the Word of God took on the form of flesh and dwelt among us. Inside that flesh, dwelt the Spirit of God. He was Emmanuel which means, "God be with us". We must know who Jesus is, before we can have faith in Him for salvation.

The Word, this Jesus is God manifest in the flesh, by whom Salvation must be obtained by.

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1 John 4:3 "and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."

 
Anyone who denies what I explained in the previous verse is of that spirit of antichrist, notice this is singular, it is THE antichrist that shall come, this wicked soul that will eventually come to persecute the saints. 

The bible says here that this antichrist will spearhead the great Tribulation of the end times, and what is also known as Daniels 70^th week, in the midst of this week the antichrist will turn his attention to persecute and slay all Christians, all the true believers in Christ.

This antichrist spirit is here now, and we can see it clearly working in the children of disobedience, and that great city, Babylon which in our day is definitely the United States of America, why do I say this?

Out of all countries in the world, which country has the most apostate churches/religions in the world? America

Which Country houses the United Nations as its headquarters (to bring in the one world global government)? America

Which Country in the world deceives all other countries with its sorceries and tricks (Movies, TV shows, Fashion, Music, Propaganda)? America

Which Country has its presence felt in almost every other nation in the world (Military bases, Embassies, businesses)? America

Is this country NOT modern day Babylon?

Show me another country that fits the bill in Revelation, and that's chapter 18 I'm referring to!

(Would love to do an article on the entire book of Revelation, keep your eyes peeled!).
2 Thessalonians talks about the coming of the antichrist:

 

2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴ who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. ⁵ Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? ⁶ And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. ⁸ And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:"

 
The final Antichrist will not be something new, but will be the ultimate embodiment of all the antichrist spirits that have perverted truth and propagated satanic lies since the beginning. 

The man of lawlessness is still to be revealed, but the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. 

Once he (the antichrist) receives his deadly wound, Satan will counterfeit (by actually possessing the body of the antichrist himself) a resurrection to fool the world into thinking that he is the messiah.

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1 John 4:4 "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."

True believers have nothing to fear, for even Satan hosts with their perversions can't take them out of the Lord's hand. We belong to God and have overcome them, I have said before in my articles that term overcome is synonymous with being saved: greater is he that is in you, the Holy Spirit leads into sound doctrine for genuine Christians, proving that salvation has actually transpired.

 

Romans 8:17 "and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

 

He that is in us is Christ, the Apostle Paul says this in Galatians:

 

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

 
It is Christ in me that overcomes the enemy.

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1 John 4:5 "They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them."

 
They are of the world, this "they" is speaking of non-believers, they follow after the lust of the flesh, they live in the world, these people live for the things of this world, and they appeal to their own desires and not the things of God. 

For this reason, the things of God is foolishness to them from their philosophies to their own selfish desires, they are caught up in the world.

They have no hope, because they base everything they believe on what they can see with their eyes and their other senses. They have eyes to see, and they do not see, and ears to hear, and they hear not. 
They place their faith in this world, and they shall perish with this world.

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1 John 4:6 "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."

 
We are of God: Christians will receive this message that John and the other true apostles are bringing. Christians have ears to hear, and they hear; the children of this world will not hear.

For this reason, Christians will know the difference between the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. I can't count how many times I have sat in places listening to sermons, studies and going to churches and to just listen to what people say, and then suddenly my ears tingle, my hairs on the back of my neck raise as if the Holy Spirit within me just raised alarm bells to tell me what I'm hearing is not of the truth.

I can even sit there and listen to so-called Christians talk about their faith and immediately know something is off. This is the Spirit bringing in remembrance of the Word to defend you against false teachers or teachings.

In stark contrast, demonically evil, wickedly inspired teachers either reject the teaching of God's word, even to question the validity without reason is a wicked thing to do.

 

2 Corinthians 4:2-4 "but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. ³ But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: ⁴ in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

 
God give us a warning to those who will seek to add, change or take away from this book:

 

Revelation 22:18-19 "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: ¹⁹ and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

 
I've had the deceived and the wicked say to me, but this is only applying to the book of Revelation!

Seriously, how wicked do you have to be, to think something like that? 

Look what is says in other places of the bible then?

 

Deuteronomy 4:2 "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."

Deuteronomy 12:32 "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."

Proverbs 30:6 "Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."

 

Do not tamper with the Lord's Words, these modern bible translators should take heed of the warnings also, one only needs to do a study and background of the so-called older manuscripts which only account for 5% of the majority of texts, and even these older manuscripts don't even agree with themselves in many places let alone agreeing with each other.

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1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."

 
Let us love one another, James calls this the royal law: for love is of God; and everyone that fulfils this royal law is born of God.

 

James 2:7-9 "Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? ⁸ If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: ⁹ but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors."

 

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1 John 4:8 "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."

 
Those who do not love do not know God, because God is love. This is a true statement, when you find a person filled with hate, you know that he or she, has never experienced that great unselfish love that God has for each of us. 

There is a need in every person to be loved. Some have never realized that anyone loves them. When you find a person in this condition, if you can make them understand that God loves them, they will change. 

Too many false prophets will use these verses to show that people who do not love are either unsaved or will use this to teach you can lose your salvation; this is false, this is not a salvation passage! 

In light of other clear scriptures that contains the word saved, justified, or salvation you cannot get such a teaching from these verses.

This is why it is important that you make sure you are teaching sound doctrine, if you were to teach from these verses that you have to love, turn from your sins to be saved, you are teaching a works salvation!

Can you honestly say that you as self-professing Christian say you've never hated or disliked anyone?

Can you say to yourself you have stopped sinning? 

If you did, you are a liar, the bible says so.

We should love one another, but we will still stumble over our own sins, does that mean you've lost your salvation? No, it's eternal.

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1 John 4:9 "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."

The Love of God manifested toward us because he sent his only begotten Son into the World so that we might live through him, notice the word "might", not "will", it says might; again not all believers will suddenly have a change in their lives because they got saved. 

In fact, there are people who got saved out there who go on living their worldly lives!

Consider the Parable of the Sower Jesus gave in Matthew chapter 13:

 

Matthew 13:19-23 "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. ²⁰ But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; ²¹ yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. ²² He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. ²³ But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

 
Now what I'm about to say to you is important and you need to understand this, there are 4 groups of people here, there are many more scenarios or situations that are not listed here but generally but, ONLY one group is not saved; that's right and that's the first group, the other group Jesus is talking about are all saved, which category do you think you fit into of the 3 saved groups?

If you believe you fit one of them, then you are probably not being truthful to yourself, most Christians would more than likely slip into anyone of these categories throughout our entire lives!

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1 John 4:10 "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

 
And in this verse is the whole reason why John was saying those things in the previous verses, the word "herein" is used to introduce something that depends on or arises from what has just been mentioned.

So john is explaining what love is and he says this, it is not because we loved God, but it is because God loved us, and because God loved us, he sent his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ to be what?

The Propitiation for our sins, to be our SAVIOUR, the anointed one who would come to free us from the very thing that imprisons us; sin.

Propitiation can mean atonement, in other words, He paid the penalty for our sins in full, we have no debt to pay, our bill is marked paid in full; the great love of God for man is made real to us in this alone!

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1 John 4:11 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."

 
God taught us by example of the unselfish love that we need to have for each other through the Lord Jesus Christ. If the world today needs one thing, it is love. 

Take the time to hug someone and say you love them today, greet that stranger you meet on the street, give that person you don't know a smile, let the love that God has shown you shine through you and make someone else's life a little brighter!

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1 John 4:12 "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."

We know that no man can look upon the face of God and live. Moses came the closest, when he saw the back side of God as He passed by, and because of that, his face glowed for like 3 days and they had to put a veil over his face because it was freaking them out!

We can see God by looking at Jesus, who is the image of the Father. The disciples asked Jesus to show "us the father":

 

John 14:8-10 "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. ⁹ Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? ¹⁰ Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."

 
Jesus told the disciples, if they had seen Him, they had seen the Father. This just meant that the Spirit of God dwelled within Him. Jesus was the manifestation of the Godhead on the earth.

Jesus' actions were not of himself but done to show us the Father, he did nothing of his own will, but the will of the Father; when we are full of God's love, we are full of Jesus. The more "full" of Jesus we are, the more love we have for others.

Love is the heart of Christian witness, nobody can see God loving since His love is invisible. Jesus is no longer physically in the world to manifest the love of God. We as Christians ought to make God's love known through our conduct which is in love so that it may benefit our fellow man, and our own brethren.

How do people know that everything they see around them is from God, and that he loves us that we might all come to him? Through our display of love to one another we can show the world God's Love!

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1 John 4:13 "Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit."

 
We know this because we dwell in him, and he in us, and why is this possible?

Because God has given us his Spirit, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, when Jesus went to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to dwell within each of us.

 

John 14:16-17 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

John 16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."

Romans 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

 
The fact that we have the Spirit within us, tells us that He has never really left us at all!

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1 John 4:14 "And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world."

 
The purpose of the Father sending his Son, whom is God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16) on the earth was for the salvation of all mankind. 

This Jesus, who was the Word of God in heaven, the bread that came down from heaven, took on the form of flesh as the Son of God to save us.  

He took on the name Jesus because it means "God is Salvation" or "Saviour". He is our Saviour and our Lord.

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1 John 4:15 "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God."

Anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God will dwell in him and he in God. Boom! This is an equivalent Salvation passage.

Whosoever should confess with their mouth that Jesus is the Son of God, God the Holy Spirit will dwell in him! Let's look at the parallel passages:

 

Romans 10:9-10 "that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Matthew 10:32 "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven."

 

This is in the very words of Jesus Himself. There is no question, when we confess, to confess is to tell a truth. We know in our heart, and confess with our mouth as proof that we are full of Jesus!

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1 John 4:16 "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

 
Our families and friends may turn against us, but we know that God loves us. We need never be lonely or blue; we have the love of God filling us. This is not just an sporadic love, but a love that is forever eternal!

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1 John 4:17 "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world."

 
He is not suggesting sinless perfection, but rather matured love manifest by confidence in the face of judgment, so that we may stand bold in that day: Jesus is God's Son in whom He was well pleased; we also are God's children (Which we learnt in chapter 3) and the objects of His gracious goodness. Jesus called God Father, so may we, since we are accepted in the Beloved!

To know this love gives us perfect confidence to stand before the Judge of the world on judgment day. 

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1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

 
As an unsaved sinner, we should have a fear of God, in respect of Judgement and our final destination for those who do not have Christ. All sinners will taste the second death, eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

But those who are in Christ and he is in them, the saved, the children of God are in HIS love, it is his love that makes us perfect and casts the fear from out of us, because of this, Christians will stand boldly at the Judgement seat knowing that they have been made righteous by the blood of the Lamb, because of him, our Lord Jesus Christ, his finished work made it possible. 

You can know you have eternal life, you need not fear death; as the Lord said my yoke is easy, and my burden is light…brethren, you do not longer have to fear any longer for the Love of the Lord is always with us.

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1 John 4:19 "We love him, because he first loved us."

 
Just like in the previous verse, it is His love that we come to love him, he loved us first for this reason we love him!

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1 John 4:20 "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"

 
This scripture makes me think of what Jesus said, Inasmuch as ye have done it for the least of these, ye have done it unto me. – Matthew 25:40

We cannot express our love for God directly, except in praise. We cannot buy dinner or provide clothing or give money to Jesus. We can, however, buy dinner or provide clothing and money to someone who is hungry, in need of financial assistance or in need of raiment to keep themselves warm in the name of Jesus.

When we love our brothers on the earth, we are in turn loving Jesus who made them.

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1 John 4:21 "And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also."

The commandment from the Lord to love one another as he loved us, we love him and in turn we love one another; this commandment fulfils the law. 

My Brethren love one another.

This pretty much sums up chapter 4.

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