DWJL511
Member
I’ve often wondered how this scripture, “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18), works. I mean, who wouldn’t want to know the secret to living fear-free? Imagine a life in which nothing spooks you. What would you not do and accomplish?
One interpretation of this verse that has helped me understand how it works is that when you know how perfectly God loves you (for “perfect love” can only come from God), fear flees from your life. This is indeed true. A personal revelation of God’s perfect, unconditional love for you will certainly cause you to be more bold and fearless when you face the storms of life.
But when I studied the context of 1 John 4:18 carefully, I saw something else that also helped me a great deal.
The first thing I noticed was that the fear Apostle John spoke of here was tied closely to the “day of judgment” (found in his preceding statement):
I looked up the word “judgment” and found that it is translated from the Greek word “krisis,” which according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon means, first of all, “A SEPARATING” or “SELECTION.” The usual meaning of judgment, as in a sentence given or decision made, is actually secondary.
This “day of judgment” mentioned by John is thus a day or time when a separating takes place, probably of one group from another, followed by sentencing for both groups.
When I saw this, I was reminded of what Jesus said about the judgment of nations:
Matthew 25:31–34, 41
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will SEPARATE them one from another, as a shepherd DIVIDES his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then THE KING WILL SAY to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:...Then HE WILL ALSO SAY to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:’”
Here, we see clearly a day or time of separating, where the righteous “sheep” are separated from the unrighteous “goats,” followed by divine sentencing for each group of people. The former group is told to inherit God’s kingdom, while the latter group is told to depart into everlasting fire.
This day of "krisis" judgment was what the early believers feared. When that day comes, will they pass the selection process and inherit God’s kingdom, or will they fail the selection process and be cast into everlasting fire?
The apostle John assured them that they need not have this fear because of “perfect love.” Those who understood this “perfect love”—those who were “made perfect in love”—would have this fear cast out from their lives.
So what is this “perfect love” that is able to drive out a believer’s fear of the day of judgment? How can the believer be “made perfect in love” so that this fear is flushed out of his heart?
Friend, this “perfect love” is Christ’s SACRIFICIAL LOVE at the cross. And it is understanding and receiving His sacrificial love, WHICH MAKES US PERFECT IN ONENESS WITH CHRIST AND THE FATHER, that drives out the fear of judgment day in our lives.
Why do I say this?
In His high priestly prayer just before His arrest, Jesus said:
As believers, we are PERFECTED by this sacrificial love of Christ that has united us all as ONE in and with Christ and the Father!
And it is precisely because of our PERFECTION IN ONENESS with Christ and the Father that John can (in the same passage) say confidently to us, “as He is, so are we in this world.” It is also because of this PERFECTION IN ONENESS that John can also (in the same passage) say, “we may have boldness in the day of judgment.”
Do you now see how perfect love casts out fear?
Beloved in Christ, understanding our perfection (our being totally forgiven; totally made righteous, spotless and blameless before God through Christ’s sacrificial love), and our oneness in and with Christ and the Father (as He is, so are we), is the secret that casts out our fear of the day of judgment and gives us boldness on that day—and every other day. Hallelujah!
One interpretation of this verse that has helped me understand how it works is that when you know how perfectly God loves you (for “perfect love” can only come from God), fear flees from your life. This is indeed true. A personal revelation of God’s perfect, unconditional love for you will certainly cause you to be more bold and fearless when you face the storms of life.
But when I studied the context of 1 John 4:18 carefully, I saw something else that also helped me a great deal.
The first thing I noticed was that the fear Apostle John spoke of here was tied closely to the “day of judgment” (found in his preceding statement):
1 John 4:17–19
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. There is no fear in love; but PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
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. There is no fear in love; but PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
I looked up the word “judgment” and found that it is translated from the Greek word “krisis,” which according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon means, first of all, “A SEPARATING” or “SELECTION.” The usual meaning of judgment, as in a sentence given or decision made, is actually secondary.
This “day of judgment” mentioned by John is thus a day or time when a separating takes place, probably of one group from another, followed by sentencing for both groups.
When I saw this, I was reminded of what Jesus said about the judgment of nations:
Matthew 25:31–34, 41
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will SEPARATE them one from another, as a shepherd DIVIDES his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then THE KING WILL SAY to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:...Then HE WILL ALSO SAY to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:’”
Here, we see clearly a day or time of separating, where the righteous “sheep” are separated from the unrighteous “goats,” followed by divine sentencing for each group of people. The former group is told to inherit God’s kingdom, while the latter group is told to depart into everlasting fire.
This day of "krisis" judgment was what the early believers feared. When that day comes, will they pass the selection process and inherit God’s kingdom, or will they fail the selection process and be cast into everlasting fire?
The apostle John assured them that they need not have this fear because of “perfect love.” Those who understood this “perfect love”—those who were “made perfect in love”—would have this fear cast out from their lives.
So what is this “perfect love” that is able to drive out a believer’s fear of the day of judgment? How can the believer be “made perfect in love” so that this fear is flushed out of his heart?
Friend, this “perfect love” is Christ’s SACRIFICIAL LOVE at the cross. And it is understanding and receiving His sacrificial love, WHICH MAKES US PERFECT IN ONENESS WITH CHRIST AND THE FATHER, that drives out the fear of judgment day in our lives.
Why do I say this?
In His high priestly prayer just before His arrest, Jesus said:
John 17:22–23
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be ONE just as We are ONE: I IN THEM, AND YOU IN ME; that they may be MADE PERFECT IN ONE, and that the world may know that YOU HAVE SENT ME, and have LOVED THEM as You have loved Me.
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be ONE just as We are ONE: I IN THEM, AND YOU IN ME; that they may be MADE PERFECT IN ONE, and that the world may know that YOU HAVE SENT ME, and have LOVED THEM as You have loved Me.
As believers, we are PERFECTED by this sacrificial love of Christ that has united us all as ONE in and with Christ and the Father!
And it is precisely because of our PERFECTION IN ONENESS with Christ and the Father that John can (in the same passage) say confidently to us, “as He is, so are we in this world.” It is also because of this PERFECTION IN ONENESS that John can also (in the same passage) say, “we may have boldness in the day of judgment.”
Do you now see how perfect love casts out fear?
Beloved in Christ, understanding our perfection (our being totally forgiven; totally made righteous, spotless and blameless before God through Christ’s sacrificial love), and our oneness in and with Christ and the Father (as He is, so are we), is the secret that casts out our fear of the day of judgment and gives us boldness on that day—and every other day. Hallelujah!
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