1 John 4:17-19

1 John 4:17-19. Here enters the second point of 1 John 4:12: ‘His love is perfected in us.' The ‘His' is omitted; herein is love made perfect with us, that is, in all that concerns our estate. Love is once more absolute and without object specified. ‘Herein,' in our living and moving and having our being permanently in love, and in God, is our love ‘made perfect:' before we had ‘perfected,' now ‘made perfect,' afterwards ‘perfect.' This is the design of the indwelling Spirit, in order that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: the same ‘in order that' and the same ‘confidence' as in chap. 1 John 2:29, but ‘His appearing' is now ‘the day of judgment.'

Because as he is, even so are we in this world: this also goes back to chap. 1 John 2:29, and its sequel: from the last day the apostle returns to our life ‘in this world,' not without emphasis on the wonder that we should be made through faith in Him working by love pure ‘as He is,' and righteous ‘as He is,' even in the midst of this present evil world. The next words are doubly linked with the preceding: first, they are the negative perfection of which being like Christ is the positive; and secondly, they refer to the great essential for confidence in the final day.

There is Do fear in love: this is true of the nature of love generally.

But admitting that ‘the heart may accuse' even lovers of God

perfect love casteth out fear. This is the only instance of ‘perfect love,' without any qualification or abatement. And the apostle's condensed argument shows that he is speaking of its present triumph in the economy of grace. Because fear hath punishment: that pain of which it is said that ‘these shall go away into everlasting punishment' is already inherent in fear; and he that feareth hath not been made perfect in love: then he may ‘in this world' be ‘as He is' in holiness, and therefore without the least lingering vestige of fear to meet Him. Observe the change of phrase: as love is perfected in man, so he is perfected in love. The Holy Ghost, ‘working by love,' brings the believer ‘we have known and believed,' chap. 1 John 4:16 to that permanent abode in the atmosphere of love to God and man from which fear is excluded because sin, the cause of fear, is excluded. Going back to ‘in this world,' and remembering that ‘boldness in the day of judgment' means confidence in the expectation of His appearing (chap. 1 John 2:29), and further that it is not said of the heavenly city, ‘there shall be no more sin,' as if only there sin is absent, we are bound to understand St. John's last testimony on this subject for he uses the word no more in its highest meaning.