GET REAL
Part 10
Chapter 12
“Throwing Out Fear”
“By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit.”—1 John 4:13,
“Of his Spirit” literally reads, “out of his Spirit.” Paul’s words to the Corinthians can help us understand this:
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”—1 Corinthians 12:4–11, NKJV
“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.”—1 John 4:14, KJV
In this verse as before, “seen” means “to steadfastly and deliberately contemplate.” This tells us that the act of viewing was not a mere momentary glance, but that they looked steadfastly at him and contemplated what they saw, and it continues to affect them.
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God.”—1 John 4:15, NASB
We know that “confesses” comes from a word meaning “to agree with someone about a certain thing.” So the confession here is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and, indeed, God the Son, affirming that He is truly God in every sense.
In this instance, the verb “confesses” is in the aorist tense, making the act of confession both definite and for a lifetime, representing a sustained attitude of the heart.
“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”—1 John 4:16, NKJV
“Known” and “believed” are both in the perfect verb tense, meaning that in the past, they had known and believed that God’s nature is love and that this truth was still impacting them.
“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”—1 John 4:17, KJV
The phrase translated “our love” literally means “the love with us.” It refers to the love of God in his nature that is produced in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that he was leaving us with one commandment:
“Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”—John 15:12, NLT
The love John is talking about is the maturing of God in us. He says that this love has “been perfected,” which is in the perfect tense, meaning it has already been made perfect or complete and now exists in its finished or fully matured state.
And the phrase “Boldness in the day of judgment” here means “freedom of speech, free and fearless confidence, with nothing to hide or be ashamed of.”
The saints who have had God’s love brought to its full capacity of maturity in their lives by the Holy Spirit will be fearless and unashamed at the judgment. While living on earth, their lives were fully devoted to the Lord Jesus.
“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.”—1 John 4:18, KJV
The phrase “no fear in love” here does not speak of a godly or holy fear of displeasing the Father by sin but refers to the fear a slave would have had for a harsh master or of a criminal who stands before a judge.
Torment means “correction, punishment, or penalty” and brings with it the thought of punishment. Thus, the saint who has experienced the fullness of God’s divine love in his earthly life will have no fear of correction or penalty when standing at the judgment seat of Christ!
“We love him, because He first loved us. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”—1 John 4:19-20, NASB
Here we must note that the word “him” does not appear in the best Greek texts. This text would better read, “As for us, let us be loving, because He Himself first loved us.”
The idea is that God’s amazing love in Christ inspires the love that stirs in our hearts for His people. The love of God for us awakens in us an answering love—a grateful love for him which manifests itself in love for our brethren. A direct translation of this powerful verse would read:
“If anyone says, ‘I am constantly loving God with a divine love,’ and his brother is as constantly hating, he is a liar. For the one who is not constantly loving with a divine love his brother whom he has seen and has still within the range of his vision, God whom he has not seen and does not have within the range of his vision, he is not able to be loving.”—1 John 4:20, Wuest
Consistent with other passages in this letter, love here is agape, divine love, which is self-sacrificial in its essence. The one who is constantly loving God should also be constantly loving his brother.
“And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.”—1 John 4:21, NASB