공동체와 양육

Where is the Love? (1 Jn. 5:6~12)

2018.06.17P. Daniel Park

Love is testified in us, sustained in us by the Holy Spirit, and is life in us, because the death of Jesus Christ is the ground of our life and testimony.

Love is testified in us, since the love of God overcomes the world

Christians are conquerors who overcome the world, and we are meant to influence the world rather than lord it over others. The testimony of this victory is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins and bled on the cross to save us. The phrase 'water and blood' in verses 6 to 8 is difficult, and two views are commonly held: the water refers to Jesus' baptism and ministry while the blood refers to his death, or the water and blood together point to John's eyewitness account of the piercing of Jesus' side in John 19. The speaker takes both views together, because the life and death of Jesus, who was fully God and was born, grew, and died, is at the center of the testimony. God is the lion and the lamb at once, a paradox that human reason could not invent, which shows that Jesus is God.

Love is sustained in us by the Holy Spirit and the truth of the gospel (6-9)

The Spirit is the Spirit of truth, as John 14:16-17 says, and he dwells in us, testifies in us, and helps us believe and love. Christianity rests on reliable evidence: the four Gospels were written within 30 to 60 years of Jesus' death, while the earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were written more than 400 years after his death, and there are about 5,664 Greek manuscripts of the four Gospels. The earliest dated fragment of John is from 100 to 150 AD. The Spirit leads believers to concrete action, as Peter was changed at Pentecost and Stephen gave his testimony even to death. Believers in every age, including the 21 Coptic Christians martyred in 2015, have been willing to die for the truth of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Love is life in us, and rejecting the testimony of God makes him a liar (10-12)

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself, and whoever does not believe makes God a liar by rejecting the testimony he has given about his Son. God's love is embodied in Jesus who lives in us, and love received must come out, as in the principle of garbage in, garbage out. Faith cannot be passive or undecided, because saying no is rejection and saying yes is receiving. Without Jesus there is no life and no eternal life, since the death of Jesus is the only reason we have life. Those who are not yet born again are called to stop saying no, maybe, or tomorrow, and to say yes and receive eternal life.

Live as testimonies, confident in the Spirit, with the cross before us

We are called first to live as testimonies of the life and death of Jesus by stopping what tarnishes his testimony and starting what polishes it, beginning with the love we spoke of last week. Second, we live confidently in the Spirit of truth rather than in our own ability or status, trusting him without worrying about what ifs and taking the opportunities that come to be a testimony. Third, we keep the cross front and center, not behind us, in our work, family, and study. The cross is no longer a symbol of death but a symbol of new life, because the one who died on it is alive.

Apply to Life

  • 복음의 증인으로서 사랑의 증거가 되는 삶을 삽시다.
  • 성령께서 주시는 진리의 영을 의지하며 담대하게 살아갑시다.
  • 기회가 올 때마다 스데반처럼 믿음을 증언하는 사람이 됩시다.
  • 일하고 가정과 학교에서 생활할 때에도 십자가를 우리 삶의 앞에 두고 묵상합시다.
  • 아직 예수님을 믿지 않는다면 '아니오'나 '나중에'라는 말을 멈추고 영접합시다.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

← 영어 예배(English Service) 목록