1 John 4:14
Verse
Context
Sermons
Joe Root
J.C. Ryle
H.J. VineH.J. Vine
Catherine Booth
Barton W. StoneSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
And we have seen - Jesus Christ manifested in the flesh; see Jo1 1:1, etc.; and do testify - bear witness, in consequence of having the fullest conviction, that the Father sent the son to be the Savior of the world. We have had the fullest proof of this from his doctrine and miracles, which we heard and saw during the whole time that he sojourned among men.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
And we--primarily, we apostles, Christ's appointed eye-witnesses to testify to the facts concerning Him. The internal evidence of the indwelling Spirit (Jo1 4:13) is corroborated by the external evidence of the eye-witnesses to the fact of the Father having "sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world." seen--Greek, "contemplated," "attentively beheld" (see on Jo1 1:1). sent--Greek, "hath sent": not an entirely past fact (aorist), but one of which the effects continue (perfect tense).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And we have seen, and do testify,.... This seems to be particularly said of the apostles, who had a clear discerning of the love and grace of God, manifested in the mission of Christ into the world; for though no man had seen his nature and his person, yet they had seen his love, and the exceeding riches of his grace, which he had shown forth in Christ Jesus; and they had also seen Christ, God manifest in the flesh; they had seen his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father; they had seen him with their bodily eyes; they had seen his works and miracles; they had seen him dying and risen again from the dead, and go up to heaven; they were witnesses, and eyewitnesses of him, and bore a faithful testimony of him, and for him, and particularly set their seal to this truth, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world; not of every individual person in it, for there are some that will go into everlasting punishment, and even a world that will be condemned; Christ is not in fact the Saviour of all the individuals of human nature, and therefore was not sent to be such; for if he was, the end of his mission is not fully answered; nor of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also, and who are chiefly intended by "the world"; See Gill on Jo1 2:2; and even of all the elect of God, styled his people, his sheep, his friends, his church, and the sons of God; and it may be said of all that believe in him throughout the whole world, without any distinction of nation, age, sex, state, or condition: and Christ is the Saviour both of the souls and bodies of these, from all their sins, original and actual; from the power of Satan, the bondage and curse of the law, and wrath to come, and he is the only, able, willing, and complete Saviour, and who saves with an everlasting salvation.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
Since faith in Christ works love to God, and love to God must kindle love to the brethren, the apostle here confirms the prime article of the Christian faith as the foundation of such love. Here, I. He proclaims the fundamental article of the Christian religion, which is so representative of the love of God: And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, Jo1 4:14. We here see, 1. The Lord Jesus's relation to God; he is Son to the Father, such a Son as no one else is, and so as to be God with the Father. 2. His relation and office towards us - the Saviour of the world; he saves us by his death, example, intercession, Spirit, and power against the enemies of our salvation. 3. The ground on which he became so - by the mission of him: The Father sent the Son, he decreed and willed his coming hither, in and with the consent of the Son. 4. The apostle's assurance of this - he and his brethren had seen it; they had seen the Son of God in his human nature, in his holy converse and works, in his transfiguration on the mount, and in his death, resurrection from the dead, and royal ascent to heaven; they had so seen him as to be satisfied that he was the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 5. The apostle's attestation of this, in pursuance of such evidence: "We have seen and do testify. The weight of this truth obliges us to testify it; the salvation of the world lies upon it. The evidence of the truth warrants us to testify it; our eyes, and ears, and hands, have been witnesses of it." Thereupon, II. The apostle states the excellency, or the excellent privilege attending the due acknowledgment of this truth: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God, Jo1 4:15. This confession seems to include faith in the heart as the foundation of it, acknowledgment with the mouth to the glory of God and Christ, and profession in the life and conduct, in opposition to the flatteries or frowns of the world. Thus no man says that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost, by the external attestation and internal operation of the Holy Ghost, Co1 12:3. And so he who thus confesses Christ, and God in him, is enriched with or possessed by the Spirit of God, and has a complacential knowledge of God and much holy enjoyment of him. Then, III. The apostle applies this in order to the excitation of holy love. God's love is thus seen and exerted in Christ Jesus; and thus have we known and believed the love that God hath to us, Jo1 4:16. The Christian revelation is, what should endear it to us, the revelation of the divine love; the articles of our revealed faith are but so many articles relating to the divine love. The history of the Lord Christ is the history of God's love to us; all his transactions in and with his Son were but testifications of his love to us, and means to advance us to the love of God: God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, Co2 5:19. Hence we may learn, 1. That God is love (Jo1 4:16); he is essential boundless love; he has incomparable incomprehensible love for us of this world, which he has demonstrated in the mission and mediation of his beloved Son. It is the great objection and prejudice against the Christian revelation that the love of God should be so strange and unaccountable as to give his own eternal Son for us; it is the prejudice of many against the eternity and the deity of the Son that so great a person should be given for us. It is, I confess, mysterious and unsearchable; but there are unsearchable riches in Christ. It is a pity that the vastness of the divine love should be made a prejudice against the revelation and the belief of it. But what will not God do when he designs to demonstrate the height of any perfection of his? When he would show somewhat of his power and wisdom, he makes such a world as this; when he would show more of his grandeur and glory, he makes heaven for the ministering spirits that are before the throne. What will he not do then when he designs to demonstrate his love, and to demonstrate his highest love, or that he himself is love, or that love is one of the most bright, dear, transcendent, operative excellencies of his unbounded nature; and to demonstrate this not only to us, but to the angelic world, and to the principalities and powers above, and this not for our surprise for a while, but for the admiration, and praise, and adoration, and felicity, of our most exalted powers to all eternity? What will not God then do? Surely then it will look more agreeable to the design, and grandeur, and pregnancy of his love (if I may so call it) to give an eternal Son for us, than to make a Son on purpose for our relief. In such a dispensation as that of giving a natural, essential, eternal Son for us and to us, he will commend his love to us indeed; and what will not the God of love do when he designs to commend his love, and to commend it in the view of heaven, and earth, and hell, and when he will commend himself and recommend himself to us, and to our highest conviction, and also affection, as love itself? And what if it should appear at last (which I shall only offer to the consideration of the judicious) that the divine love, and particularly God's love in Christ, should be the foundation of the glories of heaven, in the present enjoyment of those ministering spirits that comported with it, and of the salvation of this world, and of the torments of hell? This last will seem most strange. But what if therein it should appear not only that God is love to himself, in vindicating his own law, and government, and love, and glory, but that the damned ones are made so, or are so punished, (1.) Because they despised the love of God already manifested and exhibited. (2.) Because they refused to be beloved in what was further proposed and promised. (3.) Because they made themselves unmeet to be the objects of divine complacency and delight? If the conscience of the damned should accuse them of these things, and especially of rejecting the highest instance of divine love, and if the far greatest part of the intelligent creation should be everlastingly blessed through the highest instance of the divine love, then may it well be inscribed upon the whole creation of God, God is love. 2. That hereupon he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him, Jo1 4:16. There is great communion between the God of love and the loving soul; that is, him who loves the creation of God, according to its different relation to God, and reception from him and interest in him. He that dwells in sacred love has the love God shed abroad upon his heart, has the impress of God upon his spirit, the Spirit of God sanctifying and sealing him, lives in the meditation, views, and tastes of the divine love, and will ere long go to dwell with God for ever.
1 John 4:14
Love Comes from God
13By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit.14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Six Pictures and Three Fires
By Joe Root6621:15:11FreedomISA 53:11MAT 6:33MAT 26:69JHN 4:421JN 4:14In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the tragic deaths of three young men in their 20s. He emphasizes that life is not a game and urges the audience to listen and take heed. The speaker uses vivid imagery to describe the power of God's salvation, comparing it to a polished shaft that penetrates through Satan's armor. He also discusses the significance of fire, particularly in relation to the young man's experience of being freed from bondage. Throughout the sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of being spiritually prepared and ready for the challenges of life.
The Father Sent the Son to Be the Saviour of the World
By C.H. Spurgeon0The TrinitySalvationISA 53:10MAT 28:19JHN 1:14JHN 3:16JHN 14:6ROM 8:322CO 5:18PHP 2:6HEB 10:71JN 4:14C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes that Jesus Christ's mission as the Saviour of the world was initiated by the Father's authority and consent, highlighting the unity and equal honor of the Trinity in the work of salvation. He warns against attributing the glory of salvation solely to Christ, reminding believers that the Father played a crucial role in equipping the Son for His redemptive work. Spurgeon encourages Christians to recognize their deep connection with God through their relationship with Christ, affirming that faith in Jesus links them to the Eternal Father. He invites the congregation to meditate on the profound love of God the Father in sending His Son and to see the unity of purpose among the Trinity in the act of salvation. Ultimately, he calls for a holistic understanding of the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the believer's faith journey.
Do You Believe?
By J.C. Ryle0SalvationFaithMRK 16:16JHN 3:16JHN 3:36ROM 8:322CO 5:17GAL 5:6HEB 12:21JN 4:141JN 5:10REV 22:17J.C. Ryle emphasizes the profound significance of belief in Christ, urging listeners to reflect on the question, 'Do you believe?' He explains that God's love for the world is demonstrated through the gift of His only Son, Jesus Christ, and that true belief is essential for salvation. Ryle warns against superficial faith and encourages a deep, personal trust in Christ, highlighting that genuine belief is marked by peace, a transformed heart, and a life of holiness. He concludes by challenging individuals to examine their faith and to actively seek a relationship with Christ, as the stakes of belief are eternal.
Not Ashamed
By H.J. Vine01JN 4:14H.J. Vine emphasizes that God uses sinners saved by grace as messengers to share His message of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul acknowledges himself as the chief of sinners but highlights the faithful saying that Christ came to save sinners. We are called to preach Christ, the only Savior, without shame, as illustrated by the story of a young man unashamedly proclaiming his Savior. The simplicity of preaching Christ is powerful, as seen in the impact of illiterate men and the transformation of a young educated man by the plain gospel message.
The Lord's Return
By H.J. Vine0PSA 72:19ZEC 12:10ZEC 14:4MAT 24:42PHP 3:201TH 4:161JN 4:14H.J. Vine preaches about the imminent return of Jesus Christ, emphasizing the certainty of His second coming as promised in the Bible. Believers are encouraged to eagerly anticipate His arrival, being watchful and prepared for the glorious moment when the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout. The sermon highlights the significance of Christ's return in fulfilling prophecies, bringing salvation to the world, and establishing His reign on earth, leading to the ultimate glorification of His followers and the restoration of Israel.
Its False Christs Compared With the Christ of God
By Catherine Booth0MAT 28:18JHN 14:6ROM 3:23ROM 5:82CO 5:17PHP 2:6COL 1:191JN 4:14Catherine Booth preaches about the universal need for a Christ, emphasizing humanity's struggle with moral evil and the realization of helplessness without divine intervention. She highlights the failure of human efforts and the observation of fruitless attempts in others, leading to the cry for an Almighty deliverer. Catherine Booth contrasts false representations of Christ in the modern age with the true Christ of the Bible, who meets humanity's need for pardon, enlightenment, and purification. She emphasizes the divinity of Christ, His sacrificial atonement, acceptance by God through resurrection, embodiment of righteousness, and claim as the sovereign over those He saves.
History of the Christian Church in the West
By Barton W. Stone0PRO 9:1ISA 55:1LUK 2:10LUK 14:16JHN 3:16ROM 8:322CO 5:141JN 4:14REV 22:17Barton W. Stone preaches about the doctrine of the gospel, emphasizing the love of God as the moving cause of salvation and regeneration, the universal offer of salvation through Christ to all, and the necessity of faith in receiving the benefits of the gospel. He highlights the belief that Christ died for all, the free gift of salvation in Christ, and the readiness of God to save sinners without requiring any qualifications or rewards beforehand.
1 John 4:14
By John Gill0Apostolic TestimonySalvation through ChristJHN 1:14JHN 3:16ROM 10:13EPH 2:81JN 4:14John Gill emphasizes the apostolic testimony regarding the love and grace of God as revealed through Jesus Christ. He explains that while no one has seen God's essence, the apostles witnessed Christ's love, miracles, and resurrection, affirming that He was sent by the Father to be the Savior of the world. Gill clarifies that this salvation is not universal for every individual but is specifically for the elect, encompassing believers from all nations and backgrounds. He highlights Christ's role as the complete Savior, delivering believers from sin and its consequences. The sermon underscores the importance of recognizing and testifying to the truth of Christ's mission.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
And we have seen - Jesus Christ manifested in the flesh; see Jo1 1:1, etc.; and do testify - bear witness, in consequence of having the fullest conviction, that the Father sent the son to be the Savior of the world. We have had the fullest proof of this from his doctrine and miracles, which we heard and saw during the whole time that he sojourned among men.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
And we--primarily, we apostles, Christ's appointed eye-witnesses to testify to the facts concerning Him. The internal evidence of the indwelling Spirit (Jo1 4:13) is corroborated by the external evidence of the eye-witnesses to the fact of the Father having "sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world." seen--Greek, "contemplated," "attentively beheld" (see on Jo1 1:1). sent--Greek, "hath sent": not an entirely past fact (aorist), but one of which the effects continue (perfect tense).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And we have seen, and do testify,.... This seems to be particularly said of the apostles, who had a clear discerning of the love and grace of God, manifested in the mission of Christ into the world; for though no man had seen his nature and his person, yet they had seen his love, and the exceeding riches of his grace, which he had shown forth in Christ Jesus; and they had also seen Christ, God manifest in the flesh; they had seen his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father; they had seen him with their bodily eyes; they had seen his works and miracles; they had seen him dying and risen again from the dead, and go up to heaven; they were witnesses, and eyewitnesses of him, and bore a faithful testimony of him, and for him, and particularly set their seal to this truth, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world; not of every individual person in it, for there are some that will go into everlasting punishment, and even a world that will be condemned; Christ is not in fact the Saviour of all the individuals of human nature, and therefore was not sent to be such; for if he was, the end of his mission is not fully answered; nor of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also, and who are chiefly intended by "the world"; See Gill on Jo1 2:2; and even of all the elect of God, styled his people, his sheep, his friends, his church, and the sons of God; and it may be said of all that believe in him throughout the whole world, without any distinction of nation, age, sex, state, or condition: and Christ is the Saviour both of the souls and bodies of these, from all their sins, original and actual; from the power of Satan, the bondage and curse of the law, and wrath to come, and he is the only, able, willing, and complete Saviour, and who saves with an everlasting salvation.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
Since faith in Christ works love to God, and love to God must kindle love to the brethren, the apostle here confirms the prime article of the Christian faith as the foundation of such love. Here, I. He proclaims the fundamental article of the Christian religion, which is so representative of the love of God: And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, Jo1 4:14. We here see, 1. The Lord Jesus's relation to God; he is Son to the Father, such a Son as no one else is, and so as to be God with the Father. 2. His relation and office towards us - the Saviour of the world; he saves us by his death, example, intercession, Spirit, and power against the enemies of our salvation. 3. The ground on which he became so - by the mission of him: The Father sent the Son, he decreed and willed his coming hither, in and with the consent of the Son. 4. The apostle's assurance of this - he and his brethren had seen it; they had seen the Son of God in his human nature, in his holy converse and works, in his transfiguration on the mount, and in his death, resurrection from the dead, and royal ascent to heaven; they had so seen him as to be satisfied that he was the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 5. The apostle's attestation of this, in pursuance of such evidence: "We have seen and do testify. The weight of this truth obliges us to testify it; the salvation of the world lies upon it. The evidence of the truth warrants us to testify it; our eyes, and ears, and hands, have been witnesses of it." Thereupon, II. The apostle states the excellency, or the excellent privilege attending the due acknowledgment of this truth: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God, Jo1 4:15. This confession seems to include faith in the heart as the foundation of it, acknowledgment with the mouth to the glory of God and Christ, and profession in the life and conduct, in opposition to the flatteries or frowns of the world. Thus no man says that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost, by the external attestation and internal operation of the Holy Ghost, Co1 12:3. And so he who thus confesses Christ, and God in him, is enriched with or possessed by the Spirit of God, and has a complacential knowledge of God and much holy enjoyment of him. Then, III. The apostle applies this in order to the excitation of holy love. God's love is thus seen and exerted in Christ Jesus; and thus have we known and believed the love that God hath to us, Jo1 4:16. The Christian revelation is, what should endear it to us, the revelation of the divine love; the articles of our revealed faith are but so many articles relating to the divine love. The history of the Lord Christ is the history of God's love to us; all his transactions in and with his Son were but testifications of his love to us, and means to advance us to the love of God: God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, Co2 5:19. Hence we may learn, 1. That God is love (Jo1 4:16); he is essential boundless love; he has incomparable incomprehensible love for us of this world, which he has demonstrated in the mission and mediation of his beloved Son. It is the great objection and prejudice against the Christian revelation that the love of God should be so strange and unaccountable as to give his own eternal Son for us; it is the prejudice of many against the eternity and the deity of the Son that so great a person should be given for us. It is, I confess, mysterious and unsearchable; but there are unsearchable riches in Christ. It is a pity that the vastness of the divine love should be made a prejudice against the revelation and the belief of it. But what will not God do when he designs to demonstrate the height of any perfection of his? When he would show somewhat of his power and wisdom, he makes such a world as this; when he would show more of his grandeur and glory, he makes heaven for the ministering spirits that are before the throne. What will he not do then when he designs to demonstrate his love, and to demonstrate his highest love, or that he himself is love, or that love is one of the most bright, dear, transcendent, operative excellencies of his unbounded nature; and to demonstrate this not only to us, but to the angelic world, and to the principalities and powers above, and this not for our surprise for a while, but for the admiration, and praise, and adoration, and felicity, of our most exalted powers to all eternity? What will not God then do? Surely then it will look more agreeable to the design, and grandeur, and pregnancy of his love (if I may so call it) to give an eternal Son for us, than to make a Son on purpose for our relief. In such a dispensation as that of giving a natural, essential, eternal Son for us and to us, he will commend his love to us indeed; and what will not the God of love do when he designs to commend his love, and to commend it in the view of heaven, and earth, and hell, and when he will commend himself and recommend himself to us, and to our highest conviction, and also affection, as love itself? And what if it should appear at last (which I shall only offer to the consideration of the judicious) that the divine love, and particularly God's love in Christ, should be the foundation of the glories of heaven, in the present enjoyment of those ministering spirits that comported with it, and of the salvation of this world, and of the torments of hell? This last will seem most strange. But what if therein it should appear not only that God is love to himself, in vindicating his own law, and government, and love, and glory, but that the damned ones are made so, or are so punished, (1.) Because they despised the love of God already manifested and exhibited. (2.) Because they refused to be beloved in what was further proposed and promised. (3.) Because they made themselves unmeet to be the objects of divine complacency and delight? If the conscience of the damned should accuse them of these things, and especially of rejecting the highest instance of divine love, and if the far greatest part of the intelligent creation should be everlastingly blessed through the highest instance of the divine love, then may it well be inscribed upon the whole creation of God, God is love. 2. That hereupon he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him, Jo1 4:16. There is great communion between the God of love and the loving soul; that is, him who loves the creation of God, according to its different relation to God, and reception from him and interest in him. He that dwells in sacred love has the love God shed abroad upon his heart, has the impress of God upon his spirit, the Spirit of God sanctifying and sealing him, lives in the meditation, views, and tastes of the divine love, and will ere long go to dwell with God for ever.