Lenten Midweek IV: “We Love
Because He First Loved Us”
April 2, 2025
Text: 1
John 4:17-21
“(P)erfect love casts out fear”
(1 John 4:18; ESV). Well, that’s just
great! If I could only have perfect
love, I would no longer have anything to fear. We know that, in and of ourselves, the quest
for perfection when it comes to loving God, or our neighbors, is
unattainable. So… what do we do with
this?
Well, the first thing to say about
it is, I’m not so sure “perfect” is the best translation of the Greek word in
this context. The word is τελεία, the
same root as the word Jesus says from the cross in our Holy Gospel, Τετέλεσται, “It is
finished” (John 19:30).
Though “perfect” is certainly a fine translation of the word in general,
the idea here is “complete,” “full-grown,” “accomplished,” or perhaps best
here, “having reached its goal.” I
suppose, in some sense, all of these come into play. But at the end of the day, the love we have
in view here is a love that has come into its fulness.
The second insight that will help us
is theological, and it is the insight given to Luther that blew the
doors open for the Reformation. It is
this: What God demands of us, He gives to us, perfectly,
completely, in all its fulness, freely, in Christ Jesus. He demands righteousness. We don’t have it. But Jesus does. And Jesus’ righteousness is given to us
freely in His Word and Sacraments, and we receive it, not by our works, but by
faith in Christ. Christ’s righteousness
is our righteousness. And it is
that which makes us righteous in God’s sight.
So it is with other things God demands: the work of God: “that is, what
God works in us; the power of God, by which he makes us powerful; the wisdom of
God, by which he makes us wise; the strength of God, the salvation of God, the
glory of God.”[1] Etc.
And so it is with perfect love.
It is the love with which God loves us.
And then (as a result) makes us loving.
So where does love come into all its
fulness, achieve its goal, its telos, τελεία? In the Τετέλεσται of Christ. The cross. Jesus’ death for sinners, for you, and for
me. That is perfect love in every sense
of the word. And it is that love that casts
out fear: The love of Christ for us, having reached its goal in His
sacrificial and sin-atoning death for our forgiveness, life, and salvation.
Now, it casts out fear, because fear
has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18).
Think of the things you fear. You
know what they are, your fears? They are
symptoms, microcosms, of your true Fear with a capital F: Fear of God’s
Judgment. Fear of God’s condemnation
(eternal death and hell). Fear that God
will reject you and abandon you. You may
not even be conscious of this. In fact,
you probably aren’t. But think about it
a minute. Think about what causes you
anxiety and dread. Physical death? Just one component of spiritual and eternal
death. Pain (physical, mental, or
emotional)? An appetizer of eternal
suffering apart from God’s gracious care and protection. Loneliness?
You are only truly alone if God abandons you. Rejection?
If God is for you, who can be against you? But then, what if God is not for me? Unemployment?
Foreclosure? Destitution? Social chaos?
Or tyranny? Again, all a foretaste
of eternal punishment. Fear has to do
with punishment.
But Jesus has taken your punishment
upon Himself. He has suffered to take
away all your sin and guilt. And as a
result, the things we fear in this life lose their teeth. It isn’t to say they don’t hurt when we
suffer them, but it is to say, that suffering is only temporary. There is a happy ending, and that happy
ending is eternal. We know the end of sufferings,
the end of our fears, because Christ, who died for us, is risen from the
dead. He loves us with a perfect love, a
love that has reached its goal. So He
won’t forsake us now. As He is risen, He
will raise us.
And so, we have confidence in the
Day of Judgment, John says. Because as
He is, so are we (v. 17). That is, we
are in Him. He is in us. He covers us with His righteousness. He envelopes us in His love. So we already know the verdict on Judgment
Day. We hear it every time the Holy
Absolution is pronounced. What is that
verdict? Forgiven. Innocent.
Righteous on account of Christ. This
is justification and restoration to God.
Then, He fills us with His righteousness. He fills us with His love. He fills us with His Holy Spirit. He does this by Baptism, Word, and Supper. And that righteousness, and that love, then
overflow in us in the form of the fruits of the Spirit, so that we love our
neighbor with righteous works that help and support him and provide for his
needs. This is sanctification, the beginning
to do according to who we are in Christ. Doing as He does. Loving as He loves, with His own love for us.
John sums this whole thing up for us
in these words: “We love because he first loved us” (v. 19). That is, we are in His perfect love. Therefore we love. Now, needless to say, being filled with God’s
love, God having justified us and saved us in Christ from all that we fear, we
love God. We love Jesus Christ,
His Son. But God has a very
particular way for us to love Him.
That is, by loving our neighbor.
We love the One we cannot see, by loving those around us. Our families.
Our brothers and sisters here in this congregation. John is getting at a very practical concern,
here. It’s easy to say, “I love God,”
when all I can do is receive from Him. I
can’t give anything to Him. By
definition, God already has everything He needs. All things belong to Him. I can’t help Him. He helps me.
He is my Help. I can’t
even see Him, so it’s all just theoretical and abstract at this point. But if I say “I love God,” there is a
way for me to show it. Love is action,
remember, not mere feeling or emotion.
So, I can act for my neighbor.
And I don’t mean my theoretical neighbor. I mean, look around you. These are the faces of the people you are
given, by God, to love. Act for
them. Give to them. Help them.
Sacrifice for them. If you don’t
love them, you are a liar when you say “I love God.” That’s what He says here. We all struggle with this, but… repent of it. Turn around from it. Change your mind about it. Do not despise your brothers and sisters in
Christ. Love them. Decide on it.
Act on it.
And it’s not as though you have to dig
deep down within yourself to drum up some love for these people by your own
resources. Repent of that thought, too, because,
in that case, you’re back to relying on your own works, and living once again
in the economy of Fear. No, remember,
who are you? Who are you in Christ,
baptized into Christ? You are one immersed
in His love. Covered by His
love. Hidden in the depths of His
love. And His love is in you. To the overflowing. Don’t look deep in you so you can love
your neighbor. Look deep into Christ. Look at the Τετέλεσται. Look at the cross, Christ crucified for you,
loving you to death… Christ, risen from the dead, living and reigning and
loving you unto your eternal life.
And then realize His love puts you
in a specific place and time, in a specific set of circumstances, to love the
real, flesh and blood people around you.
His love puts you in relationship.
Again, we see this in our Gospel.
Just before He pronounces His Τετέλεσται, declares the whole work of atonement
finished, complete, in all its fulness, what does He do? He looks upon the disciple whom He loves, St.
John, and on His beloved mother, Mary.
And he puts them in relationship.
“Woman, behold, your son!” (John 19:26). “Behold, your mother!” (v. 27). And from that very hour, John takes Mary into
his home, and they actively love one another.
That is, they care for each other.
Now, here you are, beloved, and
understand, you are the disciple whom Jesus loves. He looks at you. Then He looks at His Church. And He says to His Church, “Woman, behold,
your son… your daughter!” And He says to
you, “Behold, your mother!” Love
her. And love your brothers and sisters
who are born of her.
All of which is simply to say, live
in God’s perfect love for you, which casts out fear. Live in Christ Jesus, and in His Τετέλεσται. When our Lord gives us His new command, that
we love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34), He is simply bidding us to
live in this reality. His love. His sacrifice for us. His resurrection life for us. Live in that, beloved. How?
Faith toward God. Fervent love
toward one another. Under the cross. By this is love perfected (τετελείωται) in us
(1 John 4:17). In the Name of the
Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
