What love is

1 john 3:16-18

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.




When John says 'This is how we know what love is...' What does his descriptions in Vs 17-18 mean in light of ' love: with actions and truth' ?

Theses verses are not aimed at the body ( The church)

https://christianchat.com/bible-dis...nd-coming-of-jesus.193968/page-6#post-4476228

I need your help, the help is not money,Help me deliver a message.

Let me say something more in detail,I knew that I saw him, maybe others can't saw him, maybe others can saw him, but they were busy on the way to make money, and didn't look up to the sky.
After that,another day.I saw cars coming and going on the road，There was a bottomless pit in the middle of the road,The pit looks very dark as not accepting light, but I still saw cars could passing on the road,It's like there's no bottomless pit at all.I could saw people working on the side of the bottomless pit with modern tools which is the drills used by road builders.

I mean, God can raise up children for Abraham out of stone.What I saw is something like this.Almighty god.

That is completely false. The whole NT is for the Church.

I think John means what he says. We should help one another. Minister to each other's needs.
There is a difference between sentimental feelings of love and proactive love.

We do live in an age where we have to be careful with this aspect of our faith though.
We are being taken advantage of for evil purposes and mocked by many non-believers over this very principle.
We shouldn't be manipulated into funding humanitarian 'good-without-God' efforts & sinful endeavours.

The NT makes it perfectly clear that love (agape love) expresses itself not in sentimentality but in (a) specific actions and (b) truthful communications.

The specific actions and/or attitudes are also listed in 1 Corinthians 13, as well as all passages relating to the fruits of the Spirit. The truthful communications are all included in the full and true Gospel, and in the totality of Bible doctrine. Therefore love also includes (a) correction and (b) reproof (2 Tim 3:16,17). All the epistles includes love and that which does something concrete for those in need, as also illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The Bible also says that because God loves His children, He chastens them as a father should chasten a son. So divine discipline is also an act of love.

Yes FOR But not TO .

1 John 4:10

This is how we ought to show faith, mercy, grace, etc. as well.

James said faith without such actions is dead. I would suppose these others would be dead as well.

Jesus also said we will reap what we sow. For christians showing these actions, they shall reap many blessings.