Perfected Love - 1 John 4:17-21

1 John 4:17–21 ESV

17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Introduction

John continues with his declaration of the power and effectiveness of God’s love toward us. His love is perfect and that love is made perfect in us

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1. God is Love v17

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1 John 4:17 ESV

17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

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a. Love Made Complete

1 John 4:17 ESV

17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

What is the meaning of love that is made complete? Explains James Montgomery Boice, “[Made complete] means ‘whole’ or ‘mature,’ and it refers to that state of mind and activity in which the Christian is to find himself when the love of God within him … has accomplished that which God fully intends it to accomplish.” Kistemaker, S

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b. Confidence

1 John 4:17 ESV

17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

When we have fellowship with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ (1:3), when we remain in the Son and Father (2:24), when God lives in us and we in him (3:24; 4:12, 13, 15), then we are confident that we will not be condemned in the day of judgment. We are confident before God now (2:21) and will be confident when Christ appears in the day of judgment (2:28). Kistemaker, S

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Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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1 John 4:12–13 ESV

12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

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c. Imitating Christ

1 John 4:17 ESV

17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

The reason for our confidence is our conformity to Christ. Says John, “Because in this world we are like him.” A more literal translation is, “Because as [Christ] is, so also are we in this world” (NASB). As Christ has shown us his love, so we show our love to one another in the world in which we live. In the context of this epistle, the love of God in sending his Son is predominant. Also, we are obliged to show love for one another and thus fulfill God’s command (3:23). When we imitate the love of Jesus, we need not fear the coming judgment. Kistemaker, S

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Philippians 3:8–11 (ESV) — 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

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2. Love Expels Fear v18

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1 John 4:18 ESV

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

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a. There is no Fear in Love

1 John 4:18 ESV

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

As faith and doubt cannot exist together in the heart of the believer, so love and fear have nothing in common. Christians who, in fulfillment of God’s command, demonstrate their love for God and their neighbour have no fear. Kistemaker, S

The word fear has two meanings: it can mean “alarm, fright” or it can signify “reverence, respect.” The latter meaning, of course, does not apply to this text. The believer loves and respects God, but he is not afraid of him (Rom. 8:15). Because of his love for God and the fellowship he enjoys with him, the Christian is not afraid of the day of judgment. Instead, he lives his life on earth “in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17; also see Phil. 2:12). Kistemaker,

Romans 8:15 ESV

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Philippians 2:12 ESV

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

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b. Perfect Love Drives Out fear

1 John 4:18 ESV

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

But perfect love drives out fear.” What is the meaning of the term perfect love? “It is not flawless love; only God has that.” Rather it is the love that is complete because it instills within us the desire to keep God’s p 341 commands. When love comes to expression in the act of loving God and our neighbour, then fear in the sense of fright has no place in our hearts. Kistemaker,

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c. Fear Has to do With Punishment

1 John 4:18 ESV

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

The reason that fear and love are mutually exclusive is because fear relates to punishment. In perfect love the idea of punishment is absent. But when there is disobedience, there is fear. And fear of impending punishment already is a penalty. Kistemaker,

Every human being will have to appear before the judgment throne of Christ. Feelings of guilt and remorse will fill the hearts of all those who have refused to obey God’s commands, to believe his Word, and to accept Christ as Savior. Their hearts will be filled with fear (Rev. 6:15–17), for they realize that the Judge will sentence them because of their sin. They who have lived in fellowship with the Father and the Son have nothing to fear. Their hearts are filled with joy and love. And they will hear the word acquitted from the lips of Jesus. He will say to the Father, “I have paid it all.” Kistemaker, S

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Revelation 6:15–17 ESV

15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

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3. Love God and Your Neighbour v19-21

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1 John 4:19–21 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

a. He First Loved Us v19

1 John 4:19 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us.

We love because he first loved us. Man can never claim that his love for God was prior to God’s love for him. God always comes first in loving us, and we respond by loving him. ...God created man in his own image and likeness. He requires us to love man because we are made in that image. Kistemaker,

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b. God’s Commandment v20-21

1 John 4:20–21 ESV

20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Love and not hate your brother - 18 times in this letter

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Matthew 22:37–40 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Conclusion

1 John 2:28–29 ESV

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.