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Our apostle here resumes his exhortation to brotherly love, and urges and reinforces it with fresh arguments.
1. He assures us, that love is God; that is, the fruit of his good spirit in us; common love is his common gift, and holy love is his special grace: Love is of God.
2. It is an evidence that we have a right knowledge of God, both of his nature and will, and that we understand both what he is, and what he requires; he that has not the grace of love in his heart, has not the right knowledge of God in his head, whatever he may think of himself, or pretend to others.
3. The apostle assures us, That love is not only commanded, but exemplified by God himself: God is love. He had said before, Love is of God, as a quality; here he says, God is love;not as a mere quality, but his essence. God is love.
1. Essentially; love in the creature is an accidental quality, in God an essential property.
2. God is love, casually, the efficient cause of whatever is loving or lovely in us: All our love to him, and one another, is but a reflection of his love to us.
3. God is love, objectively; he is, or ought to be, the supreme object of our love; and we must love him above all, or he accounts we love him not at all.
4. God is love, declaratively; all his works, as well as his word, are a declaration of his love to us, and ought to engage us to stedfastness in our love to him. Let us, therefore, says the beloved disciple, love one another, for love is of God is love.