7 Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
The Holy Spirit produces love in us teaches us to love
The power to love like Jesus did was made possible by the work of the Holy Spirit in John’s life, just like it is in ours. According to Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love.” So, the Holy Spirit produces love in us. The Holy Spirit is God. He has the power to create love in our hearts through faith in Jesus. Galatians 5:6 says, “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” This means at least that love comes from faith. Faith “works through love.”. That’s why love is a requirement. The Holy Spirit loves to glorify the all-satisfying dependability of Christ and his Word.
The character of God’s love
So, if it’s God’s love flowing through us that John is talking about, The Holy Spirit comes into our lives, making our spirit alive John 6:63 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. Christ dwells in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith, and allows us, as Eph 3:!9 says 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God. God’s love is immeasurable, surpassing even our ability to comprehend. John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. That agape sacrificial love that was so great that it caused God to give His only son to provide the perfect atonement, paying for our sins that we may be saved, and not perish in hell. And it’s this self-sacrificial love that He is trying to bring out in us toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.
everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Since love is a demonstrated action, we return love to God through willful obedience to God’s Word. John tells us that if we love God, we will obey God’s commands 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
God requires us to love one another precisely so that we can show our brothers and sisters, and the world how much He loves them, by allowing His love to pour through us.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
The one not loving has not known God. If we don’t have the Holy Spirit stirring us up in love to let our faith in God work itself out in love for our brothers and sisters, then we need to as 2 Cor 13:5 says 5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? So we must examine ourselves to see if we pass the test based on the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work within us. As true faith works itself out in the love that we show to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we know that we are In Christ.
“because God is love.”
Why will love for our brothers and sisters in Christ come about in our hearts automatically if we are Truly believers? Because it is a fruit that will automatically be produced by the Holy Spirit working through us. Our God will refine us and guide us into more revelation of Him, and His plan for our lives, as we allow Him to transform us into the very image of His son, by allowing His nature to love to be expressed through us, and reflect His image and passion for people.