How does John 15:17 connect with 1 John 4:7-8 on love? The command to love John 15 : 17 “This is My command to you: Love one another.” • Jesus’ direct, non-negotiable marching order • “Love” is agapáō—self-giving, others-first • Given in the final hours before the cross, highlighting its urgency and weight The source of love 1 John 4 : 7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” • Love originates in God’s own nature, not in human effort • Romans 5 : 5—“the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” • God never commands without also supplying the grace to obey Love as family evidence 1 John 4 : 7-8 “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” • Loving others proves the new birth (“born of God”) • It also proves intimacy (“knows God”) • Absence of love exposes spiritual poverty—see James 2 : 15-17 How the passages connect • John 15 : 17 = the command • 1 John 4 : 7-8 = the power and proof behind the command • Same apostle, years apart: Jesus’ Upper-Room charge becomes John’s pastoral test of genuine faith • Sequence: Command → Divine supply → Observable evidence (John 13 : 35) Practical takeaways • Draw from the Source—daily yield to the Spirit (Galatians 5 : 22) • Measure maturity by love, not activity (1 Corinthians 13 : 1-3) • Act immediately: serve, forgive, speak life (Philippians 2 : 3-4) • Guard unity; lovelessness contradicts the God we claim to know (Ephesians 4 : 32) In one sentence The order “Love one another” (John 15 : 17) is possible—and its authenticity verifiable—because “love comes from God” and “God is love” (1 John 4 : 7-8). |
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