Green Up Clean Up

Meeting Jesus in the streets

1 John 4

Testing the Spirits

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.
4 You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world’s perspective and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; the person who knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

God is Love

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. 8 The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. 10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
11 Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. 17 By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he loved us first.
20 If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.

Swan family showing love Love - We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.1 John 4:19 MSG In a letter to Mrs. Johnson dated Feb. 19, 1954, Lewis says, “Charity means love. It is called Agape in the N.T. to distinguish it from Eros (sexual love), Storge (family…
Swan family showing love God is love - Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.1 John 4:8 Theologian A.W. Tozer once stated, “Nothing God ever does, or ever did, or ever will do, is separate from the love of God.” Everything He has ever done has been out…
Father and son walking together God is love - So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.1 John 4:16 Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.–…
Swan family showing love God is Love - God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on…
Living in Him - This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior…
The Cross Propitiation - Propitiation refers to the appeasement of God's wrath against sin through a sacrificial offering. It is a key concept in understanding the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. A breakdown of its meaning and significance Atonement for Sin: Propitiation emphasises that Jesus' death on the…
Because you're loved Agape - The word "agape" (ἀγάπη) refers to a specific type of love that is central to the faith. It is often translated as "unconditional love" or "selfless love," and it represents the highest form of love that is possible. Here are some key aspects of agape love…

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  1. […] (a) of place, e.g., Matthew 10:11 , metaphorically 1 John 2:19 , is said of God, 1 John 4:15; Christ, John 6:56; 15:4 , etc.; the Holy Spirit, John 1:32,33; 14:17; believers, John 6:56; 15:4; […]