"This is how God showed his love among us:
He sent his one and only Son into the world that
we might live through him."
(1 JOHN 4:9)

1 John 4:7-21
Do you understand how much God loves you? He gave you His only Son Jesus as the great expression of that love. But there is more for you: God’s gift of love.


Out of God’s unfathomable love for you, He shares His very life with you, and you can know this to be true as you respond to His love and receive His Son. “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us” (v. 15-16).


There is even more. Think of standing in God’s presence. His perfect holiness and purity engulf you. Immediately your every misdeed and impure thought is exposed before Him. Every excuse you ever leaned on evaporates now as you stand before Him. What will your response be?
Do you panic or shrink in shame?
You do not, because you have His gift of life! “We will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment” (v. 17-18).



Scripture Focus

1 John 4:7-21

Insight

WRITTEN BY DR. RAY ORTLUND, DECEMBER ANCHOR, 1989

Bible In A Year

  • Numbers 25-26
  • Psalm 74
  • John 16

RENEW Your Anchor Subscription Today