The Reformative Love of God | 1 John 4:11-13

Lord's Day: August 10, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Love Scripture: 1 John 4:11–13; 1 Corinthians 1:30–31; 1 John 4:8–9; 3:2; Romans 8:16–18; 5:1–5; Hebrews 12:5–11; Ephesians 2:3–13; Romans 9:23; 2 Peter 1:3–4; Romans 8:28–30; John 17:17; Jeremiah 23:28–29; Matthew 28:19

11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 1 John 4:11–13

I. The excellencies of God’s love correspond to the order of our salvation (ordo salutis)

• The order of salvation is a result of, the consequence of, God’s love being poured out richly on all of us who have been chosen by God, to be loved by Him—it is all God’s gracious gift to us! Because God is love (1 John 4:8)

II. Reformative: After regenerating us, God’s love continues to mold us, rebuke, chasten, discipline us, to conform us to the image of His Son

III. The path of God’s Reformative love refines, sanctifies, prunes and perfects us

• God’s Reformative love sanctifies us and “is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12) through suffering—but not as those who are without God and without hope in the world (Eph. 2:12)
• God’s adoptive love for us as our heavenly Father disciplines and reforms us (Heb. 12:5-11)

IV. God’s Law & Gospel of Love

• A Redemptive, Restorative, justifying love, and a Regenerative and ongoing, Reformative, sanctifying love that disciplines us unto holiness, to make us more like His precious, unique Son, “so that we may share His holiness” (Heb. 12:10)

V. God’s law and gospel both sanctify us in special ways, because they are both God’s holy Word

• God’s holy love transforms us by His holy law, His holy gospel, His Holy Spirit

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
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  email: [e-mail]

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com