what does this verse MEAN?!
1 John 4:18
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. (NLT)
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (NIV)
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. (The message with verse 17)
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love [a]turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear [b]brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection]. (Amplified)
I do NOT understand how fear and love are connected. Maybe it's my brain... but I want to apply this principle in my life so badly, and yet have NO IDEA what it's actually saying!
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I think the key is what "love" is referring to. I haven't looked up anything about it, but I think that the "perfect love" refers to Christ and his sacrifice. We have no fear of condemnation in light of his perfect love. Don't know if that makes sense or if it is in lone with commentaries, but that is what I think of when reading about fear and love.
ReplyDeleteThanks for throwing this out there Steph. Gave me occasion to revisit my best buddy John. I feel a special affinity for him:)
ReplyDeleteTo me the scripture you highlighted should be kept in context of the message of the entire book. Fear and love are not connected as far as I can determine...fear is in total opposition to God's kind of love. John repeats himself quite a lot in this book. And this morning I realized that most of the book is just a treatise on what Jesus called the greatest commandment & the 2nd greatest, which is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength....and your neighbor as yourself." Seems like two of the points he makes is that if we say we love God, then we will first of all come to Him through the door of His Son and then as a result of His abiding Spirit within us, demonstrate that love by turning away from knowingly and habitually practicing a lifestyle that is not in agreement with the way of righteousness revealed in His word and focus on walking in obedience to His revealed will for His children (note in 2:1 he gives the remedy when we fail). And if we say we love our neighbor (here he refers repeatedly to our brethren in the Body of Christ), then we should demonstrate that love by our works (chapter 3 does a good job of laying that out).
Concerning the verse that is giving you pause in chapter 4, it seems to me that he has laid a foundation beforehand in chapter 3 concerning conviction for sin (when our hearts condemn us...a sign of the conviction of the Holy Spirit for revealed sin/shortcomings in our life). He says that God is greater than our hearts, which I have finally come to understand means that first God knows and then through the channel of His Spirit, our hearts come to know. Of course when this happens we have the remedy given t us in 2:1....turn in repentence to Jesus the Righteous, our advocate with the Father. If this is our habitual way of life, then the love of God is progressively being made perfect in us. As we have sincerely and habitually lived a life of continally abiding in Him, living a lifestyle of repentence and going from glory to glory with Holy Spirit as our guide to perfecting this love in us, then in the judgment we will not have to fear punishment, for we have been faithful to walk in the light that we are so graciously given throughout our sojourn here on earth.
God has given me a revelation over the past months concerning intimacy with Him and how fear and shame can be conquered in our lives through developing a lifestyle of intimacy with Him. In the beginning in the garden Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed. When they began to cooperate with the sin nature, they became aware of their nakedness in such a way that it brought shame, which caused them to hide from God and which they tried to cover up with their own methods (the fig leaves). Like Susan pointed out and of course we all know, since Jesus came bringing/showing/manifesting/demonstrating God's perfect love (John says it over and over) the way has been made back into His presence for us if we choose to walk in that way. So as I practice a lifestyle of habitually drawing nearer to Him in intimacy and trust I finally reach that place that I know that I know that I know that nothing is hidden from His sight and yet because I am His, He still welcomes me. And I can live in His presence in my nakedness without shame. As in the beginning with Adam. Full circle. Yaay!
Thanks again for throwing this out. And in closing please refer to chapter 2, verse 21 ;)
Love you!
I just realized that shame and fear (of punishment especially) walk hand and hand.
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