Casting Out Fear

The Origin of Fear

Before the fall of man in the garden of Eden, there was no fear. God walked with Adam and Eve. Sin had not entered the world. There was no fear. But we see fear when Adam hid from God. He was afraid because he was naked. He was ashamed. He was fearful because he had sinned and he was now separated from God. The relationship had been broken. He did not know how God would react. They had not experienced this before.

Genesis 3:6–10 NLT

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. 8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

Adam’s fear was generated by the guilt of sin and the shame that came with it. He was ashamed of his nakedness which before now had not been a problem.

Adam explains that he hid out of fear because he realized his nakedness (3:10). Actually his fear was his response to the presence of God in the garden; he did not want to appear before God in his nakedness.

Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 240). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Here that shame is explained as the consequence of the guilt of sin. Before human disobedience there was no shame (2:25), but with sin the man’s self-consciousness had changed. His sense of humiliation impacts his covering up before the woman as well as before God. By this Adam admits his sense of shame, which has been motivated by his guilt.

Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 241). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

The Characteristics of Fear

The commentators are implying that fear and love are opposites and where one resides the other does not. So whatever love is, fear is the opposite. Fear separates. Fear causes shame. Fear damages relationships. Fear drives apart. It causes us to hide and run.

The Results of Fear

Linked closely with fear is shame. Adam was afraid because he was naked. He was ashamed of what he had done and ashamed of God seeing him…really seeing him. Separation. Once fear comes in to the picture, you are separated from the one you are afraid of. You don’t trust them. If you say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, there will be retaliation.

The New American Commentary: 1, 2, 3 John (2) Love Others Because God Lives in You (4:11–21)

It is this latter type of fear to which he is referring. There should be no dread in the life of the one in whom God dwells. In fact the claim here is that love and fear are mutually exclusive. This is made even more evident by the use of the strong adversative alla, “but.” There is a drastic disparity between the two entities. They cannot coexist because perfect love “drives out fear.” Robertson calls this phrase a powerful metaphor and notes that this can mean “to turn out-of-doors.” The evil of fear is cast out of those in whom God’s love is being perfected. This is because fear “has to do with punishment.” John’s use of kolasin (“punishment”) in this context clearly is a reference to eternal punishment. The fear of this punishment is already being felt by the one whom John is describing. This individual is deficient in love, which would cast out the fear. This deficiency of love causes one to dread the day of judgment for fear of permanent departure from the presence of God. Therefore if one fears this day, he is not being perfected in love.

How Does Fear Effect Marriages

From here, we will turn the focus to safety. Fear causes one or both members of the marriage to feel unsafe.

Definition of Safety

“The condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury or loss.”

“To protect against failure, breakage or accident.” (Merriam Webster On-line Dictionary)

Are You Safe for Your Spouse?

1 John 4:13–18 NLT

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 NLT

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.