Without a doubt John had the clearest understanding of the Love of God and how it worked both in and through a believer. But most importantly, he had incredible insight on how to let that love come into our hearts and have its full work in us.

Martin Luther said, “The love of God will put in us what God wants out of us.” The Song of Solomon says, “that love is stronger than death.” There is no doubt that the love of our Heavenly Father has the power to soften the hardest heart, heal the deepest wounds, and set at liberty those that are bruised. In fact, Paul says that the very fullness of God is waiting to be revealed in a man who comes to know the love of God. In the Greek language, the word “know” is a very intimate kind of knowledge, much like the kind of intimacy shared by two people in a marriage. Let’s look at the verses:

Ephesians 3:17-19
So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

My question now is ‘how do we do it?” How do we know it and come to trust in it enough so this all-powerful love can have its full work in us? John doesn’t leave us hanging; he really does show us both in word and action how we can perfect or mature the love of God in us. In 1 John 4: 12 and 17 he uses the word perfected twice to describe the process by which God’s love is matured in us.

1 John 4:17
By this, love is perfected with us…

In Greek, the word perfected is “telios”, which simply means matured or brought to its full potential. Hebrews 5:8-9 says that Jesus was perfected by the things that he suffered. We know that Jesus was already the Son of God, perfect in all ways and without sin. So how do you perfect the Son of God who is already perfect? Picture Jesus as a baby in the manger. Liken Him to an acorn, which is the seed of an acorn tree. Because He was God, He was a perfect acorn, sinless and pure. On the cross Jesus had become a full grown and perfect oak tree – still sinless and pure. The perfect acorn had now become a perfect oak tree. Jesus reached His full potential. So telios means growing, changing and processing till the full potential and maturity is reached.

The English language can be confusing because we associate the word “perfect” with sinlessness and holiness. In many ways, the Greek language is a much better language than English. In English we can use one word to describe many different things. For example, we can say we love hamburgers and use the same word to say we love our wife.  But the Greek language has a different word to describe each form of love. The translators must have scratched their heads at times trying to deal with this.

What John is saying to us in these verses is that when we are born again, God’s love comes to us in seed form. The Father inseminates us with His agape love.  That love is in seed form and He is looking for it to mature in us till it reaches its full potential. John describes this process as telios. So now John and the Word of God not only tells us what God’s love is and what it can do in us and through us, but now he is instructing us on how to work with the Father to keep ourselves in the love of God until it has its complete work in us. Let’s look at this now – this, my friends, is an eye opener. The burden to share this with you is exploding within me, hang onto your seat, here it goes!

1 John 4:16
And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

In verse 16 John points out two very important words to describe the process by which one grows in and matures agape love in our lives, know and believe.  It works like this; you know a little and then you believe and trust a little, which causes you to know a little bit more, which causes you to be able to believe and trust in that love a bit more, and the cycle continues.

John is so convinced of this process that in verse 17 he says:

1 John 4:17
By this, love is perfected within us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

Think of it! By this, (by what?) By this, (by what? you may ask.) By the very thing he points out in verse 16 by knowing and believing, “by this is love perfected”, matured and brought to its full potential.

Knowing comes from the Greek word “ginosko.” The meaning is powerful. Here are a few quotes from Vines Expository Dictionary:

• To know in a sense of realizing
• Knowing suggests approval and bears the meaning “to be approved”
• Such knowledge is obtained, not by mere intellectual activity, but by the operation of the Holy Spirit, nor is this knowledge marked by finality but is ongoing and continuous.

I just love that one statement, “and bears the meaning to be approved.” I can’t think of anything more important than the impartation of approval. I don’t believe there is a greater need in us than the need for approval. Isn’t it interesting to note that before Jesus ever did one act in the ministry, that the heavens opened up and the words came “this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” That became the foundation of His entire ministry. Imagine the impact on us if we felt we never had to prove anything or earn in any way Father’s approval, but somehow we could come to know supernaturally and then really believe in it. Wonder with me for a moment the impact that would have on each of us as we begin our walk and ministry with the Lord. Oh the rest, the peace and the security, what a joy!

John says that by the ongoing knowing and believing, love is perfected in us. The DNA seed of God that He inseminated us with begins to mature and grow in us, affecting every decision, every relationship, and our entire approach to life. The very image of God begins to be restored in us. Could it be that the day will come when we will be able to say with Jesus “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father?” I don’t believe that is presumptuous, in fact I believe it is the very will of God.

Let’s take a closer look as to how in his own personal life, John actually applied this and made it real for himself. Sometimes the greatest teacher is when someone can model it for us. John was called “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” I confess that has always bothered me a little because it does appear like the Lord has favorites. Nevertheless it made me want to know why he was called that and what exactly he had going on between him and the Lord. So I did some research on this and my discovery was one of the most liberating finds I have ever made in the Word of God.

The statement “the disciple whom Jesus loved” was used a total of five times in the scriptures. Now here is the eye opener – all five times are found in the book of John. Do you see it? John is the only one that wrote this and he wrote it about himself. None of the other disciples wrote this about John. Only John wrote this, because that’s the way he saw himself – “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Think of it! John teaches us about maturing the love of God in us by knowing and believing and then illustrates it for us with his own life.

What’s amazing to me is how our perception about ourselves affects how others see us as well. It seems the disciples began to pick up on this, always making room for him to sit next to Jesus even at the last supper where he was close enough to lay his head on the bosom of Jesus. Have you ever been around someone who had so much of a bad self image that before too long you began to pick up on it and without even realizing it, you find yourself agreeing with that person, “yeah, you really are a loser aren’t you.” All kidding aside, there is a scriptural basis for this in Numbers.

Numbers 13:33
“There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Powerful, isn’t it! What am I saying? John teaches us to know and believe in Father’s love for us and then actually gives us practical application on how to do it. If we do, it will even change the way our enemies see us, as well as our friends. Say it one time, [your name], the disciple that Jesus loves. Wow – what a way to live! There is a favor that we haven’t even begun to see yet, awaiting to be released on anyone who will begin to know and believe this.

Then I remembered that John was the disciple that Jesus entrusted with the care of His mother just before He died on the cross. I said to the Lord, “it sure seems like you favored him there.” The Lord replied to me, “son, he was the only disciple left standing at the cross, who else was I supposed to ask?” It was John who wrote “perfect love cast out all fear.” Love had matured in him to the point that it started affecting him in every area of his life. Even fear was cast out. All the other disciples had run for fear, but John was left at the cross, all fear having been cast out. So the man not only taught this, he believed it to the point that it began to affect his every decision and his entire approach to life.

Now just in case you are thinking that John was an out-of-the-ordinary kind of man, lets look at a few other character traits that make him just as human as the rest of us.

He was intolerant – he was was one of the disciples that wanted to forbid anyone from operating in the gifts without permission.

He was vindictive – he was one of the disciples that wanted to call fire down and burn those men up.

He was ambitious – he and James were the ones trying to maneuver their way into a position sitting next to Jesus on the throne.

I only mention these to show you that he was just as human as the rest of us. The difference is he knew his help was in a power outside of himself. His hope was in the love of the Lord to change him and put in him what God wanted out of him. May God help us to begin to see ourselves as the disciple whom Jesus loves. To think it, trust it, and place our confidence in it. If we do, we will be transformed by the renewing of our mind and we will be giving the Lord access to our hearts in such a way that we are changed and restored back into the image of God on the earth once again.

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved
Doug, the disciple whom Jesus loved
[Your name], the disciple whom Jesus loved

May His love ever become more real to you and may you come to know and believe in His love, thereby entering into His peace and rest,  giving Him total access to your heart transforming you back into the very image of God.

Doug