4:201 John 4:20

To claim love for God while hating a brother is false, an inconsistent profession that neglects the very love it pretends to hold.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+2 Love for the brother who is seen is the test and measure of love for God who is not seen, so failure to love the one makes love for the other impossible.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+2 Whoever loves God is therefore commanded to love his brother also, the two loves springing from one root and unable to be kept apart.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4 This love comes from God who is love and who first loved sinners by sending His Son to be the propitiation for sins, and it cannot be manufactured by effort but springs from Christ abiding in the heart.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4 When believers so love one another in deed and truth, God dwells in them and His love is perfected in them, proving they have passed from death to life and giving them boldness in the day of judgment.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4

To claim love for God while hating a brother is to speak falsely, and the profession is empty and self-contradictory when brotherly love is neglected or refused.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4 No one can truthfully profess love for God while cherishing hatred toward a brother or sister.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4 Such a claim is a lie.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4

Love for the brother who is seen tests and measures the claim to love God who is not seen.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4 The visible brother is the proving ground of love for the invisible God, so withholding love from the one who can be seen shows that love for God cannot be genuine.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4 Whoever does not love the brother before his eyes cannot love God whom he has not seen.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4

Love for God is proved by love for the brethren and is inseparably bound to it by commandment.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4 Loving God requires loving one's brother also by direct divine command.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4 Everyone who loves God must also love his brother.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+4

God is love, and all true love is of God, so everyone who is born of God and knows God loves others, while whoever does not love does not know God.Lt 146, 1902, par. 16–19+3 Love for God exists because He first loved, and His love was manifested by sending His only begotten Son into the world to be the propitiation for sins so that believers might live through Him, and those so loved ought also to love one another.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+2 When that love is received it is perfected into boldness in the day of judgment and casts out fear.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+2

Christ reached humanity by clothing His divinity with humanity and laying aside His glory and kingly honor to bless humanity with His presence and example.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+2 In taking human nature He bound divinity with humanity, so that through grace men might become partakers of the divine nature and stand on vantage ground with God.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6 He calls humanity to unite with Him in His work and become part of His firm in the great plan of redemption, where no one is independent but all act in perfect harmony of one mind, one purpose, and consecration to one great object instead of acting independently and alone.Ms 56, 1898, par. 10–11+1

The love required is not mere human friendship nor love in word and tongue only, but the love of a repentant sinner redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, who counts it the highest honor to work and suffer for his Lord.RH Apr 3, 1900+1 It is shown in deed and truth by laying down life for the brethren as Christ laid down His life, and by opening compassion and sharing this world's good with a brother in need.RH Apr 3, 1900 This love cannot be produced by trying harder, for it springs naturally from having Christ's love in the heart with self merged in Christ, and the love of God in the heart is the only spring of love toward the neighbor.RH Apr 3, 1900+2 A heart in which Christ abides cannot be destitute of love, while a cold and stern heart is not catching the bright softening beams of the Sun of Righteousness.RH Apr 3, 1900

When love for one another is present, God takes up His dwelling within, and His love is brought to completion in believers by His Spirit, bringing fellowship with one another and cleansing from all sin through the blood of Jesus.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+2 That perfected love gives confidence for the day of judgment, for as He is so are believers in this world, and perfect love drives out fear.Lt 221, 1903, par. 2–6+2 The more love is held for Christ, the more love is held for one another, and love for God exists because He first loved.Lt 146, 1902, par. 16–19

Love for the brethren is proof of having passed from death into life and of being born of God and knowing God, for God is love and light.RH Apr 3, 1900+1 Hatred of a brother is murder, leaving the hater abiding in death with no eternal life abiding within, while failure to love shows failure to know God because God is love.RH Apr 3, 1900+1

This love marks completeness of Christian character, when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within and heaven's sunshine fills the heart and appears in the countenance.RH Apr 3, 1900+1 It glows in the heart for Christ and moves to earnest untiring labor for fellow men, especially for brethren in the church, with life in harmony with teaching.RH Apr 3, 1900+1 It is not mere human friendship and cannot be produced by trying harder, but springs naturally from having Christ's love in the heart with self merged in Christ.BS 45.1–3+1

Love and self-sacrifice toward others is the touchstone of character and the great test at the final judgment.Ms 58, 1896, par. 20 Failure to cherish Christlike love for one another brings condemnation, and the case goes against such a one in the courts of heaven.15MR 299.2–300.2+1 Christ's word to the rich young man to sell what he had and give to the poor and follow Him was the application of this same final test.Ms 58, 1896, par. 20

The spirit shown toward brethren declares the spirit toward God, so to claim love for God while hating a brother is false and breaks the law that is professed to revere, for love for the brother who is seen tests love for God who is not seen and the love of God in the heart is the only spring of love toward the neighbor.DA 504.5 That love fulfills the principle of the law to love the neighbor as self, illustrated in the good Samaritan and made manifest in the life of Jesus, and when the children of God manifest mercy, kindness and love toward all men they witness to the character of the statutes of heaven that the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.DA 504.5 Love to God includes love for those made in God's image, and giving God His rightful place in the heart leads to keeping the duties to others, so the commandments to love God and to love neighbor spring from one root and one principle and cannot be kept or obeyed separately.3SP 52.2+1

Love for God and love for one another are the two great principles on which the law and the prophets depend, and love is the basis of godliness from which the duties of righteousness flow by loving God supremely and neighbor as self.Lt 21, 1901, par. 13+1 No profession of love to God is real without unselfish love for one's brother, and that love is a bright evidence of true religion and a daily witness to the world, shown by Christlike love that refuses to leave a soul in greatest peril and need unwarned, unlabored for, and uncared for.Lt 21, 1901, par. 13+1 It refuses to hold the erring off with criticism and exacting harshness or to abandon them to deeper unhappiness, discouragement, and falling on Satan's battleground, loving all for whom Christ died because He first loved us.Ms 62, 1894, par. 11–12 God will deal with a person as that person deals with brethren and the younger members of the Lord's family.Ms 62, 1894, par. 11–12

Cain illustrates the lie, for jealousy and anger over his rejected offering and Abel's accepted offering led him to kill his righteous younger brother, proving his own works evil and his lack of righteousness and love.Ms 78, 1901, par. 3–11 Love comes from God, and everyone born of God and knowing God loves others, while not loving shows not knowing God because God is love, with the commandment bound to it that whoever loves God must also love his brother.Ms 78, 1901, par. 3–11 Those who do not love God's children do not love God, yet those who are hated, excluded, reproached, and rejected because of the Son of Man are blessed and have great reward in heaven.ST Apr 11, 1878

Claiming love for God while hating a brother or sister is a lie, for love for the brother who is seen measures love for God who is not seen, and love for God commands love for the brother also.3T 59.2–3+2 Dissension and hatred between brothers dishonor God and bring reproach on His cause, and those at fault must subdue self, cultivate the Christian graces, and become fully reconciled to each other before that reproach is lifted.TCBMP 80.2–82.1 Before they can be clean vessels fit to labor for God and influence souls for good, there must be repentance of sins, confession of faults to one another, humble prayer together, unity and love, and exceedingly careful conduct and speech that creates no ill will.TCBMP 80.2–82.1+1 Love for God is proved by regard for one another in every line and in every way, especially among fellow ministers, shown in kindness, deference, courtesy, Christian politeness, fervent tender love, honest confession of wrong treatment of brethren, and tearful reconciliation that brings a purer and more holy atmosphere.Ms 41, 1894, par. 10–11

Love for Christ cannot exist together with discourtesy toward one another, drawing apart without love and sympathy, or cherishing enmity and coldness.Lt 146, 1902, par. 16–19+1 The deeper the love held for Christ, the deeper will be the love held for one another, for it is impossible to love Christ and at the same time act discourteously, draw apart, or cherish enmity.Lt 146, 1902, par. 16–19+1 Without reformation on brotherly love there is a perilous departing from God.Lt 146, 1902, par. 16–19 To say love for the Lord exists while saying a brother cannot be loved as he should be is false.Ms 56, 1898, par. 10–11+1

That love must hold even when a brother's ways are very trying, when he does unwise things and grieves and tries the soul.Ms 56, 1898, par. 10–11+1 Those with longer experience and more even, well-balanced judgment must connect with such a one rather than refuse him, instead of acting independently and alone.Ms 56, 1898, par. 10–11+1 Refusal to love and connect reveals one is not a follower of Christ.Ms 56, 1898, par. 10–11+1 Following Christ means following His example in clothing divinity with humanity and laying aside glory and kingly honor to reach humanity, to bless humanity with presence and example, and to call humanity to unite with Him in His work and become part of His firm in the great plan of redemption, where no man is independent.Ms 56, 1898, par. 10–11 Loving the brother in this way means being sanctified through the truth, wearing the yoke of Christ, lifting burdens of responsibility, and living in perfect harmony of one mind, one purpose, and consecration to one great object.RCOC 14.1–2

Love to God is proved by love to His children, and religion is practical, not mere human friendship but the love of a repentant sinner redeemed by precious blood who counts it highest honor to work and suffer for his Lord.BS 45.1–3 Love for Jesus leads to loving all for whom Christ died, and glows in the heart for Christ to move to earnest, untiring labor for fellow men, especially for brethren in the Christian church, with life in harmony with teaching.BS 45.1–3+1 This love is shown by seeking others' good and strengthening them, reflecting God's love and leading to happiness through unselfish service.RH Jun 25, 1908 Only the one who has unselfish love for his brother has true love for God, proved by refusing to willingly permit a soul in peril and need to go unwarned, unlabored for, and uncared for.AA 550.2+1 It refuses to hold aloof from the erring, to hold them off with criticism and exacting harshness, or to abandon them to plunge farther into unhappiness and discouragement and to fall on Satan's battleground.AA 550.2+1

Cherishing bitterness against one another in the church disproves profession of love for God and keeps the blessing of God from resting on the church.Ms 26, 1886, par. 8 Envy, jealousy, self-uplifting, criticism, evil surmising, quick offense, coldness, strife, malice, and lack of tenderness and affection drive Jesus from the heart and bring weakness through division.Ms 26, 1886, par. 8+1 Such hatred proves control by the enemy, while those in whose hearts Christ abides prove love by love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, kindness, mercy, compassion, kindly affection, confidence in brethren, and unity in prayer, for in unity there is strength.Ms 26, 1886, par. 8+1 The condition of bitterness must be driven out by meeting together and faithfully showing from the Word the wrong done to the whole church.Ms 26, 1886, par. 8

Criticizing, condemning, and diminishing another breaks God's commandments and proves love for neither God nor fellow beings.ST Feb 25, 1886+1 Dealing with those who are chosen of God and precious according to human prejudices instead of kindness according to the law of God shows lack of the Spirit of God, seen when loud voices decide against them.Lt 15, 1895, par. 33–35 Love for God therefore leads to tenderness and care for fellow believers rather than criticism, malice, or efforts to diminish another.ST Feb 25, 1886 The rubbish of criticism, suspicion, and complaint must be cleared away and touchy feelings that cannot be reasoned with must be laid aside, with true sensitivity about what it means to keep the law of God and whether the law is being kept or broken.Ms 14, 1903, par. 39

Hating a brother, treasuring up false suppositions and accusations against him, and keeping up prejudice, bitterness, and estrangement makes one guilty before God and requires a decided change of spirit to stand acquitted.Lt 391, 1906, par. 15–16 It is displeasing to God, brings present and eternal injury to the hater, and destroys confidence in his good sense and his discernment of what is righteous and what is unrighteous.Lt 391, 1906, par. 15–16 Obeyed among workers and in institutions, love for the brother produces a different state of things, surrounding souls with a healthful atmosphere like a precious odor, a savor of life unto life.Lt 15, 1895, par. 33–35 Where there is unkindness, distrust, discourtesy, and selfish fear of losing supremacy, love for God is wanting, God is offended, His signature cannot rest on the work, and great weakness comes to the church.Lt 15, 1895, par. 33–35+1

Love for others is the work of God's Spirit in the heart; it shapes the character, subdues enmity, governs the passions, and reaches beyond the home to all people.ST Dec 9, 1886+1 Without this love, good qualities and outward respectability do not amount to true goodness, and profession of goodness or honorable qualities without love to God and one another is deficient and unfit for heaven.ST Dec 9, 1886+1 Love to God will just as surely be revealed in tender sympathy and love to one's neighbor, since God created all men equal and is no respecter of persons, and Christ gave His life to purchase man and bring him back to God.Ms 66, 1890, par. 1 Property and title are of no value in God's sight if the heart is corrupt, for love to God must appear as love to the neighbor Christ died to save.Ms 66, 1890, par. 1

The degree of love for God is shown in love for fellow believers and for lost people outside Christ, as fragrance reveals its source.AA 560.2+1 Those who share one faith and belong to one family under the same Father should show a close, tender bond in words and actions that reflects the truths professed and shows a Christlike influence to observers.RH Feb 25, 1904 That fragrance of love is proved in patience in service that brings rest to the soul, lived out through humble, diligent, faithful work that promotes the welfare of Israel, with God upholding and strengthening the one willing to learn Christ's way to bear the divine likeness.Lt 9, 1899, par. 25–27 This self-sacrificing love must first be learned in order to gain the blessing of sanctification, and it is bright evidence of true religion and a daily witness to the world.AA 560.2+1

Walking apart from Christ weakens love for Him and grows cold toward His followers, while coming close to Christ draws believers closer to one another through His sanctifying grace.15MR 88.3 Love for one another in this life is a trial by which God proves whether people can become members of His family in heaven and be prepared to exercise love in the future immortal life.Lt 10, 1892, par. 18–21 Now is fitting-up time to press together and be one as Christ is one with the Father.Lt 10, 1892, par. 18–21