The Gospel Community (1 John 4:7-11)
Our goal this year is to develop our understanding of the gospel. The gospel is the good news that Jesus died for our sins to be forgiven and was raised to give us hope of eternal life. That’s why we call Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the gospels because of each book crescendos or climaxes with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Everything leading up to the death of Jesus shows us that he was the Son of God and that he was completely innocent. He is the only man ever to live who did not deserve death, but he experienced it for us.
We spent the last two months understanding some basic ideas. First, we studied Colossians 1 and saw that faith, hope, and love are why we care about the gospel. The gospel produces these three things inside us, making the world a better place. Then, we studied Romans 1 and saw that Paul believed the gospel transformed lives and multiplying believers throughout the world. We need to see the gospel as powerful and believe that it will affect us when we speak it.
Gospel Communities
Today, I want us to understand another basic idea about the gospel. That idea is that the gospel makes a community. What do I mean by a gospel community? Think for a second about what makes a community. Communities are groups of people who have a shared location, interest, or experience. Christians fall into the second and third categories. We have a shared interest and shared experience. Our location can vary dramatically, but we are still part of that community.
To help us understand the gospel community, we will look at a few texts this morning. The first text is in 1 John.
1 John 4:7--11 (ESV) --- 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Notice that the word gospel isn’t used in this text, but the gospel is easy to see. Verse 9 says, “In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” That is the essence of the gospel, and this text hits on a misbelief about the gospel. The gospel is not that you, in all of your righteousness and goodness, decided to love God and submit to him. The gospel is that God decided to love you even though you weren’t what God wanted you to be.
The gospel doesn’t mean you are good enough for God to save you. You will never be good enough. I don’t care how much you do for God. The gospel tells us that we are far worse than we ever imagined. But it also tells us that God still loves us more than we ever imagined. I didn’t come up with that. I stole it from another preacher, but it’s true. This text tells us that very thing.
But it also tells us a fundamental idea that I want us to grasp today. In verse 7, he says, “Let us love one another.” This idea is repeated at the end, where he says, “We also ought to love one another.” The idea we will study today is how the gospel creates a community. God’s love for us transforms our hearts so that we love others. We love them not because they love us but because God has shown us how to love the unlovable. This love creates an unshakable community.
Thessalonian Gospel Community
1 Thessalonians 1:2--5 (ESV) --- 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
The first thing we read about this gospel community is that they are working. Faith, Hope, and Love are not just thoughts they possess. They are characteristics that define their work. The gospel’s impact is not just superficial or surface level. It has a profound impact on the lives of those who accept it. They become different people who demonstrate faith, hope, and love as they work together for the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 1:5--10 (ESV) --- 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Next, I want us to notice that the Thessalonians imitated Paul. They didn’t begin this work in a vacuum. They looked to Paul and saw how he suffered to make the word of God known. Then, they put themselves out there to set an example for others. Verse 7 says, “You became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” These Christians had become part of a community. They were participating in the work and helping the community grow.
Philippian Gospel Community
Philippians 1:3--8 (ESV) --- 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
In this text, we see something very similar. These Christians in Philippi are always on Paul’s mind because of their “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” These men and women have not been bystanders watching the gospel be proclaimed by someone else. They have played an active role. They have been doing their part from the very beginning.
Notice that Paul says God began a good work in them and will complete it. These brethren are like those in Thessalonica. They are working to build up and strengthen the community. Paul says that he is holding them in his heart. He yearns for them with great affection because of all they do for the Lord. They motivate him to keep suffering for Christ because they join him in the suffering. They are partners with him. There is an agreement between them to demonstrate faith, hope, and love in the world. Each Philippian plays an active role in the kingdom because they believe in the gospel.
Corinthian Gospel Community
The letters of 1 Thessalonians and Philippians show that a gospel community has been created through suffering. The Second Corinthian letter explains how this community operates. This text explains our shared interest and our shared experience deeper.
2 Corinthians 1:3--4 (ESV) --- 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
This text begins with a similar idea as 1 John. It tells us that God is the “Father of mercies and God of comfort who comforts us in all our affliction.” Isn’t that a similar idea as sending his Son for our propitiation or forgiveness? He provides us with comfort and mercy. That’s who he is and what he does. But notice that this text says, “In all our affliction.” This text moves from the gospel to the community the gospel created.
As Christians, we are enjoying every spiritual blessing from God. We have a relationship with God and a peace of mind that is unmatched by the world. But we also have a gospel community. Communities are groups of people brought together with shared interests and shared experiences. Believing in Jesus as our Messiah and submitting to his rule brings us together. We have a joint mission and goal. But it also brings us into conflict with the world. If we live out the way of Jesus, we will find affliction, resistance, and rejection. That’s part of what makes us a community. Listen to how Paul words this.
2 Corinthians 1:5--7 (ESV) --- 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
The people who serve Christ aren’t our enemies, they are sharing in Christ’s suffering, and they want the same thing. These Christians share Christ’s sufferings and the sufferings of their community in Christ. This understanding that they belong to a group that has gone through the same trials should strengthen their bond.
Paul says that they will also share in comfort. They are going through difficult times right now. It may be that some are losing hope, but not Paul. Paul has an unshaken hope of their future comfort. He says that if they patiently endure suffering, they will find comfort. Then, he brings up his own life as an example.
2 Corinthians 1:8--11 (ESV) --- 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
What Do We Need To Know?
All of this study shows us that God saved us through the gospel to make us into a gospel community. He desires that we be brothers and sisters who work together, demonstrating faith, hope, and love in our transformed lives. He wants us to be partners in spreading the gospel, and he wants us to build one another up by sharing our experiences of suffering and comfort.
Is Our Community A Gospel Community?
Isn’t it hard for us to compare ourselves to the communities we find in scripture? They all seem so perfect, and they all seem to be doing such a great job suffering for Christ together, but if we were to dig deeper into these letters, we would see that they have the same struggles many of us have. The gospel makes us a community, gives us a united purpose, and motivates us to love each other and love the world around us. But the world is still afflicting us and causing us pain.
If our group that meets here doesn’t feel like a gospel community to you, what are you doing about it? Are you going to yell at people until they straighten up? Is it better for us to ignore the problem and act like it doesn’t exist? Or is the solution finding another group that looks more perfect. I’ll tell you that perfection is not something we will find. The grass isn’t greener somewhere else. It’s greener where we water it.
Your faith needs to push you out of your comfort zone, your love needs to drive you to serve people who don’t deserve it, and your hope needs to create steadfastness. This community only works well together if you step up and do your best in whatever role God has given you to do. Don’t try to do everything. Just see a need and work hard to meet it. Share in Christ’s sufferings and Christ’s comfort. Share in our sufferings and our comfort.