A Closer Look at 1 John 4:19-5:3

Read 1 John 4:19.
What makes our love possible?
What did John tell us previously about this love for us? How do we know that God loved us?

Read verses 19-21.
What two kinds of love do these verses discuss?
According to John, can you have one kind of love without the other?

Read 1 John 5:1-3.
How is 5:1 related to 4:21?
How are the ends of those two verses similar?
Whom are we to love if we love God?
According to 5:1, how can we tell who a brother is?

Read verse 5:2.
Get out your "What We Know/How We Know It" chart.
What does this verse tell us that we know? Add that to your chart.
How do we know it? Add that to your chart.
Notice that love for God's children is inseparable from loving God and obeying his commands.
Read verses 2:3 and 3:23.
How do these two verses relate to what John writes in 5:2 and 5:3?

Read through all your entries on your "What We Know/How We Know It" chart.
Do you know these things?
How can you know them?
If you know these things, what do you have when Christ comes again? (See verses 2:28 and 4:17.)
What are you able to live without? (See verses 4:17-18.)
How does knowing these things affect your life?