16 God is Love

Sermon: God is Love
Sermon Text: 1 John 4:7-12
Series: The Tests of Faith (1 John)

The sermon centers on the profound truth that God is love, not merely loving but inherently and eternally defined by love, which is the foundation of all Christian experience. Drawing from 1 John 4:7–12, it emphasizes that God's love is not earned but revealed supremely in the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for sin, demonstrating that His love is eternal, holy, and self-sacrificial. This divine love, experienced through the new birth, transforms believers into new creations who are called to reflect that same love in tangible, selfless actions toward one another, making love the essential evidence of genuine faith. The preacher underscores that true knowledge of God's love is not intellectual but experiential, and its absence in relationships reveals a failure to truly know God. Ultimately, the response to such love is not passive but active—marked by prayer, reflection on Christ's sacrifice, and a daily pursuit of love that mortifies selfishness and fosters unity in the church.