Empirical Evidence For The Invisible God

Text: 1 John 4: 12-18                                                                                          

Proposition: The love of God transforms the way you treat others because it isn’t sourced in you, it’s sourced in God and reflects His presence in you.              

Introduction: We were in Canmore last week and thought we’d do a quick trip into Banff. We took the turn off and in my mind I thought that Banff was on the north side of highway 1. As I started to go that way my wife asked why we weren’t going to Banff. ‘We are’, I replied. ‘The sign says it’s that way’, she offered. That’s pretty hard evidence but I’m sure that Banff lies to the north. The sign is pointing south and so is my wife but I did what every man would do, I drove north. But only for a short bit, the road was blocked off. I want to tell you here and now that Banff is on the south side of highway 1, my internal map has now been rebooted. Preconceptions are powerful things, we imagine what should be and then discover reality. It could be preconceptions about Rottweilers or Dobermans, it could be about other cultures or even about death and eternity. Likely the most common preconception that most people have is about the existence of God. It may have been shaped by the way parents related to their children or by a crisis or disaster or by any number of different experiences. My point is simply that much of what people conclude to be true about the existence of God comes from preconception more than reality. There is much that can be offered in the way of empirical evidence for the existence of God, evidence that is considered scientific, coming from observation, laws of argument, irreducible complexity and so on. The arguments of design, origins, history and archaeology are there in abundance but despite the most convincing evidence it still comes down to just one thing that will ultimately overturn an errant preconception about the existence of God. Let’s look at that one thing this morning as John speaks with us in 1 John 4: 12 to 18.

I. What If the Empirical Evidence For the Existence of God Is Love?                          

Look at what he says in verse 12, “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” John begins with the obvious, God is Spirit and is not able to be seen by the physical. Now it’s true that Scripture says God has manifested Himself in various ways that point to some aspect of Who He is… a pillar of fire, a burning bush… but God is invisible in terms of Who He is as Spirit. Jesus said as much when He talked with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar in John 4:24. Yet John’s point is clear, though you can’t see God you can see the empirical evidence for the existence of God in the way you as a Christian love another person. His assertion is that what enables us to love others is the very abiding presence of God within us. Not only that but God’s presence in us transforms us in terms of our desire, willingness and capability to love, it matures in us. That’s what the phrase ‘His love has been perfected in us…’, is referring to. So the argument quickly presents itself, ‘Don’t all people love, aren’t all people then demonstrating the indwelling presence of God?’ The answer can only be that God loves in way that is distinctly different from the way mankind loves. We love only if we are loved back. We sometimes love for ulterior motives, a what’s in it for me kind of love. What if God loves in a way that is radically different from what we would say is the norm? What if He loves in a way that is not only extraordinary but sometimes even disturbing? Do you remember the story of when Jesus was invited to lunch by Simon the Pharisee and this woman who is a prostitute crashes the party. The way Jesus not only accepted her love but loved her was very disturbing to Simon. It was the same with the woman caught in the setup of adultery, the lepers He touched, even the short, tree climbing tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus. It was a disturbing love because it was undeserved, not merited, it went over the line in terms of how people deserved to be loved. What if that’s the way that God loves you? What if that goes completely against your preconception of Him? What if the way that God loves is so different from ours that when He dwells within us it’s that same kind of love that distinguishes His presence in us? What if it’s that very kind of love that is the empirical evidence for the existence of God?

II. How Do We Know For Certain That God Abides In Us?                                              

Have a look at verse 13, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” The very Spirit of God has now in some measure been made resident in people. Is the Spirit resident in all people, does God just give of His Spirit to all people? The answer to that is given to us in a deductive kind of way. Inductive methods are like a funnel where you pour in various ingredients or truths and they collectively combine into one conclusion. Deductive reasoning is like turning the funnel upside down, you begin with the premise and then the implications for how you got there begin to be seen. Verse 14 is supported by verse 15, verse 15 found its origin in verse 16. Have a look at verse 16, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” That’s the starting point, that’s the place where faith enters in. We believed that God not only exists but that He knows and loves us. At that point of faith God reconciles our relationship to Him by our acceptance of Christ as our Mediator between man and God. By our faith in Christ we are forgiven of sin. Christ stands up as our defense lawyer and then pleads guilty as charged and then to our utter amazement He takes our sentence upon Himself. That is when the Spirit of God is given to us, the moment we become reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Then look at what happens next, verse 15, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” We confess or agree with God about the reality of Who Jesus is as the Son of God. Our understanding and receptivity to what the Spirit of God is leading us in increases and we agree more and more about what the Word of God declares as truth about Jesus. Then look what happens next, verse 14, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son asSavior of the world.” In other words as I discover truth and the love of God it becomes for me not just an intellectual issue but an issue of faith and purpose and hope and life. Preconceptions about God give way to convictions about the truth of Who He is and what that means for not just me but for everyone. To testify in court is to simply proclaim the truth of what you saw and experienced. It’s your story, but it’s a testimony that calls for a conclusion. This is what I saw, this is what happened to me, this is how I know that God is real, that God knows me and yet loves me beyond any merit or deservedness in me. His grace is what has moved me to faith and that faith believes that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, the Savior of the world. That in turn takes us back to where we started, verse 13, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” That’s how we come to know for certain that God abides in us.                                                                                  

Experts tell us that babies have two natural fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. A study on fear was conducted on 500 adults of varying ages, backgrounds and lifestyles. The results showed that they shared some 7,000 different fears. This means that they must have learnt 6,998 fears since they were born. We are afraid of many things but the greatest fear is of death. But what if God’s love is greater than all fear? In verse 17 John says, “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” When are you forgiven, when do you stand righteous before God, when are you pronounced free especially free from the fear of death? The answer is the moment you received Jesus as your Lord, your Savior. In this world, ‘as He is so are we.’ If we are righteous before God because of Christ and nothing is greater than God and He knows me and loves and keeps me then nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. So John simply says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…”. Now that’s evidence that demands a verdict.