“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”

(1 John 4:8 NIV)

The one who does not love, agapao in the present tense, that is in the general direction! Therefore they, we, must be in the general direction or else. Or else we do not, absolutely we do not know, ginosko is in the aorist tense, God! For Father God is in the present tense! You may ask, what is in the present tense? Love is in the present tense calling for this to be our lifestyle. None of us will ever achieve perfection, but it should be our general direction!

It will be in our favor to distinguish John’s word for love from the love that family members have for one another, for their love is natural, while the love John describes is supernatural and is only possible for one who possesses the Holy Spirit. It follows that supernatural love gives a clear marker by which we can all test our profession of faith in Christ. Children of God should imitate their Father. “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:1-2 NASB).

Since God is love, those who call themselves His children will be enabled by His Spirit as we seek to continually demonstrate His love. However, if we seldom or never demonstrate God’s love, it is probably a good indicator that one is not a possessor but a pretender, while they profess to know God but are deceived, a liar, as proven by his or her lovelessness, speaking of supernatural not natural love, lifestyle.

Be aware that there are some so-called Christians that say the exact opposite of what John is saying. They make statements such as “it is possible to be saved and not love.” They are the ones who try to rationalize this dangerous, deceptive interpretation by saying such a person is saved, but they are just not mature.

To be sure, as we grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and women and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:17-18 NASB), we will grow in our ability to manifest His love. But to never manifest His love is a lie from the pit of Hell!

Others say the lack of love is because the person does not have intimate fellowship with God, and so they are not “connecting with the nature of God’s love.” What! The very verb know, ginosko, speaks of intimate fellowship and directly counters such specious speculation! While a genuine believer may not always manifest divine love to others, to never demonstrate such love, John says, is to demonstrate that one does not know God. And to not know God means one is still dead in their trespasses and sins. “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2 NASB).

Apostle John could not have stated this critical truth, this warning, any more clearly. Those whose lives are not characterized by love for others just might not be a Christian, no matter what they claim. Now I know that you know this. However, the Jewish religionists, scribes, Pharisees, and other leaders of Jesus’ day, as well as the false teachers in the church of John’s day, knew a lot about God, but they did not really know Him. “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’” (1 Timothy 6:20 NASB).

Every church needs a Timothy! And his advice for us today would be this: “They are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7 NASB). The absence of God’s love in their lives revealed their unregenerate condition as conclusively as did their aberrant theology.

Now hopefully this will be my final thought. However, it’s crucial to understand our study verse as we wrap this up. “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8 NASB). Now that our Lord has our attention, or should I say in this light, surely many unsaved people love their families and even sacrifice for them. And no doubt many of these same people have some kind of intellectual understanding of Father God! What, then, do they lack?

They lack a personal experience of God. To paraphrase our study verse today, “The person who does not have this divine kind of love has never entered into a personal, experiential knowledge of God. What they know is in their head, but it has never made its way into their heart.” Therefore, if there is never any love felt or shown to others, it just might be a good indication that they have never been converted from sin in salvation.

Here and now this morning, the absence of love in the life of any individual should prove to oneself that they might not know Father God! Not knowing this distinctive, that love reveals they are still a stranger to God. The absence of this God-given love in their heart and life disqualifies such an individual as a trustworthy representative and interpreter of Father God because of the nature of God as love.

There are many in evangelical churches that claim to be born again, but they do not love others and they do not even make an effort to do so. Please, family of God! Let us not be like them. They are angry, unkind, impatient, abusive in their speech, self-centered in their daily lives, and judgmental of others. They spread malicious gossip with great delight, and they are defensive if you try to point out any of these sins to them.

A navigator depends on a compass to help them determine their course. But why a compass? Because it shows them their directions. And why does the compass point north? Because it is so constituted that it responds to the magnetic field that is part of the earth’s makeup. The compass is responsive to the nature of the earth. So with Christian love. The nature of God is love.

And a person who knows God and has been born of God will respond to God’s nature. As a compass naturally points north, a believer will naturally practice love because love is the nature of God. This love will not be a forced response; it will be a natural response. A believer’s love for the brethren will be proof of their faith and fellowship.

“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8 NASB). The question before each of us today is not whether we have intellectual knowledge about God. The question is not whether we attend church or profess faith. The question is this: Does the supernatural love of God flow through your life? Does it characterize your interactions with others? Is it your general direction, even when you stumble and fall short?

If love is absent, if there is no fruit of the Spirit evident in your life, then you must ask yourself the hardest question of all: Do I truly know God? Not know about Him, but know Him personally, experientially, intimately. Because God is love. And those who know Him will love. Not perfectly, but genuinely. Not because they force themselves to, but because the compass of their regenerated heart naturally points toward the magnetic north of God’s own nature. That is the test. That is the proof. That is the evidence of genuine faith.