In 1 John 2:5-29; 3:5-8, 24; and 4:9-15, we see that we may enjoy Christ, who is a living person, as our abiding place.
First John 4:9 says, “In this the love of God was manifested among us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might have life and live through Him.” In this verse we see God’s intention and goal in sending the Son: God sent the Son so that we might live through Him. Living through the Son implies having the divine life. If we did not have life through Him, we could not live through Him. Therefore, living through the Son implies that we have received Him as our life. God sent His Son, and we have received Him as life. Now we live through Him.
God came to be a man so that we could have His divine life. If He had never been a man, He could not come into us and we could not have Him as our divine life. Incarnation was for the impartation of the divine life into us.
In verse 9 John says that God sent His Son, the only begotten, into the world. As in 1 Timothy 1:15, the “world” here refers to fallen mankind, whom God so loved that, by making them alive through His Son with His own life (John 3:16), they may become His children (1:12-13). We have seen that in 1 John 4:9 John tells us that God sent His Son into the world that we might live through Him.
We, the fallen people, are not only sinful in nature and conduct (Rom. 7:17-18; 1:28-32) but also dead in our spirit (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13). God sent His Son into the world not only to be a propitiation for our sins that we might be forgiven (1 John 4:10) but also to be life to us that we might have life and live through Him. In the love of God, the Son of God saves us not only from our sins by His blood (Eph. 1:7; Rev. 1:5) but also from our death by His life (1 John 3:14-15; John 5:24). He is not only the Lamb of God who takes away our sin (1:29); He is also the Son of God who gives us eternal life (3:36). He died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3) that we might have eternal life in Him (John 3:14-16) and live through Him (6:57; 14:19). In this the love of God, which is God’s essence, has been manifested.
In 1 John 4:10, John goes on to say, “Herein is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.” The word herein refers to the following fact: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins. In this fact is the higher and nobler love of God.
The word propitiation indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 9:28), not only for our redemption but also for God’s satisfaction. Through His vicarious death and in Him as our Substitute, God is satisfied and appeased. Hence, He is the propitiation between God and us.
We had a problem in our relationship with God. Therefore, God sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins in order to restore our relationship with Him. God did this because of His love. Although sin caused a problem in our relationship with God, we had no thought of dealing with our sin in order to restore our relationship with God. Even if we desired to restore this relationship, we would have had no ability or way. However, God’s love caused Him to send His Son to accomplish this matter for us before we even had such a thought.
Since our sins brought us under the requirements of God’s righteousness and holiness, God could not receive us or abide with us peaceably. Therefore, God’s love caused Him to send His Son as a propitiation for our sins so that He could receive us and abide with us peaceably according to the requirements of His righteousness and holiness. God’s love fulfilled all the demands of God’s righteousness and holiness.
In 1 John 4:9 we see that God sent His Son in order that we might live through Him. In verse 10 we see that God sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins. If we consider these verses together, we will see that God’s sending His Son as a propitiation for our sins is not the goal. Rather, this is a procedure for arriving at the goal, and the goal is that we may have life and live through the Son. Therefore, God sent His Son as a propitiation for us with the intention that through His Son we may have life and live.