John goes on to speak of three different life changes that take place in our lives when we
1.) Remain in fellowship with Christ
2.) Have the Holy Spirit living within us
We will gain discernment.
When the Spirit lives within us, we will become more and more discerning of the truth. When we hear something that is not truth, the Spirit within us will warn us and we will experience uneasiness. The Spirit living within us is truth and is greater than the spirit who lives in this world. Because we belong to God, we listen to the Spirit and are able to discern truth from deception (1 John 4:1-6).
We will grow more perfect in love.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is REAL LOVE – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and HIS LOVE IS BROUGH T TO FULL EXPRESSION IN US.
And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us…All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, OUR LOVE GROWS MORE PERFECT. – 1 John 4:7-17a
We will obey out of love and not fear.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this show that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loves us first…And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. – 1 John 4:18-5:3
Lord, thank you for the evidence we are already experiencing in our lives, evidence that You are at work and creating us into a new person. We pray this morning that we would continue to gain in discernment, that our love would grow more perfect and that obedience would be our first response as we remain in fellowship with You and daily experience the Spirit-filled life. We thank You for Your expression of REAL LOVE as demonstrated on the cross. Lord, continue to strengthen our faith and our love for others. Amen.