March 9th, 2022
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” – 1 John 4:18
This well-known Scripture is a simple and powerful weapon against fear in the life of a believer. See, fear is one of the main tactics of the enemy, but it’s bred in lies, so when we know the truth, the truth will set us free (John 8:32)! This verse has long been one of my favorite scriptures, but this week I saw something about it I’d never seen before, and I want to share that with you.
First of all, I want to ask you, what exactly is perfect love? Have you ever taken the time to think about it? My answer to that question, before this week, would have simply been “God’s love.” We know that the love of God is the only perfect love, so it makes sense that this verse is simply saying that “God’s love casts out fear.” However, there is more to it than that!
The word perfect here was translated from a word that means mature, full-grown, or complete in all its parts. Reading that challenged my understanding of this verse because God can’t change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). There is no shadow of turning or change in Him (Jam. 1:17). God’s love cannot become any more perfect or complete than it already is! So, what exactly is this verse saying when it says perfect love?
To answer that question, I want to look at a couple of other scriptures, also found in 1 John:
1 John 2:4-5 says,
“Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.”
1 John 4:13 says,
“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
1 John 3:18 says,
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
From these verses, we can understand a couple of things. First of all, while God’s love is perfect and complete, because it’s part of who He is, God’s love is not perfect in us the moment we become saved. God’s love being perfected in us is a process. We see from the scriptures above that His love is perfected in us by obeying His word—by doing what the word says, not just believing it’s true. He even goes so far to say that if you say you love God and abide in Him, but hate your brother, you’re a liar! (1 John 4:20) Part of loving God is loving the people He loves, in what we do, not just what we say!
So, if God’s love can be perfected in us, it stands to reason that it can also be imperfect in us. In Ephesians 3:18-19, Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus that they would “have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
From this verse, we see that the love of God “surpasses knowledge,” so there is always more! It is this love being perfected, completed, in the heart of a human being that casts out fear. This is what John was talking about in 1 John 4:18. It is His love, brought to maturity in our hearts, that sets us free.
When I really encountered the presence of God for the first time and knew He loved me, it birthed hope and love so strongly in my heart that I was uncontainable for several days. I could hardly sleep I was so excited. However, that initial encounter, that first love that comes into the heart of a new believer, is only the start of the process! In order for that love to be mature and perfected in someone’s heart, there has to be a relationship cultivated in His presence and His word. I was so excited when I encountered God, but it was as an immature love. I didn’t really know Him. I had received just a taste of His love—an invitation to come deeper. I didn’t know anything that His Word said about who He is or what He’s like. I had no history with Him. I quickly realized as a new believer that I needed more than that one encounter with His love! The Bible says the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5) and we’re supposed to be continually filled with His Spirit (Eph. 5:18)! In order for love to be perfected, it takes time and intimacy, and that’s a continual and lifelong process. That’s why Paul prayed for the church to know the depth and height of God’s love that he then said is beyond knowledge! We get to spend our life knowing something we can never exhaust. We will never find the end of God’s love, as long as we know Him. There is always more.
In Revelation 2:4, Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, the same church Paul prayed in the verse above,
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.”
The same church that Paul prayed would know God’s love was rebuked by Jesus for abandoning it. Jesus issued a rebuke and an invitation, longing to draw them back to Himself. Correction is a hard thing for anyone, but it’s a necessary part of receiving God’s love. Proverbs 3:11-12 says,
“My son, do not despise the LORD'S discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Allowing love to be perfected in us means receiving the discipline of God, as a son or daughter. He only corrects His children because He loves us! All the good things the church in Ephesus had done weren’t enough, because they abandoned their first love. See, first love has nothing to do with how long you’ve been walking with God. It is something you can have fifty years after you meet Jesus. First love is about loving Him first, with the same passion you had the moment you met Him. First love is passion that aches for His presence. It’s love that makes Him your first thought in the morning and your last thought before you sleep. First love does not mean immature love and we all need it! The church in Ephesus had fallen in love with Jesus at one time, but they didn’t let that love mature and deepen. They didn’t continue on and allow God to perfect His love in them. They started to do all the things that Christians do, even being persecuted for His name, but there was a lack of intimacy. The mark of a true Christian is love. It’s the love of God being perfected in us and poured out on the people around us. We can’t perfect it in ourselves, and we can’t receive it all at once. God’s love is absolutely complete on its own, but we are earthen vessels that have to continually receive that love!
When John said, “Perfect love casts out fear,” he didn’t mean God’s love casts out fear. His love in and of itself does not cast out fear, or there would be no fear in the world! God’s love, made mature and complete in the heart of a believer, is what casts out fear. This only happens through relationship—by walking with God, keeping His word, receiving His correction and His healing, and knowing Him, not just knowing about Him.
I want to encourage you today, no matter where you are in your walk with God, to take time to allow God to perfect His love in your heart! There is always more. If there is any area that you struggle with fear, it’s because God’s love has not been perfected in that area, by His word and His presence. Perfect love will cast out fear. God’s love brought to maturity in our hearts, as we continually receive it, will set us free from every bondage. The Bible tells us that God’s love surpasses our understanding (Eph. 3:20), so there is always more to receive!
“Hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:5)
First of all, I want to ask you, what exactly is perfect love? Have you ever taken the time to think about it? My answer to that question, before this week, would have simply been “God’s love.” We know that the love of God is the only perfect love, so it makes sense that this verse is simply saying that “God’s love casts out fear.” However, there is more to it than that!
The word perfect here was translated from a word that means mature, full-grown, or complete in all its parts. Reading that challenged my understanding of this verse because God can’t change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). There is no shadow of turning or change in Him (Jam. 1:17). God’s love cannot become any more perfect or complete than it already is! So, what exactly is this verse saying when it says perfect love?
To answer that question, I want to look at a couple of other scriptures, also found in 1 John:
1 John 2:4-5 says,
“Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.”
1 John 4:13 says,
“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
1 John 3:18 says,
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
From these verses, we can understand a couple of things. First of all, while God’s love is perfect and complete, because it’s part of who He is, God’s love is not perfect in us the moment we become saved. God’s love being perfected in us is a process. We see from the scriptures above that His love is perfected in us by obeying His word—by doing what the word says, not just believing it’s true. He even goes so far to say that if you say you love God and abide in Him, but hate your brother, you’re a liar! (1 John 4:20) Part of loving God is loving the people He loves, in what we do, not just what we say!
So, if God’s love can be perfected in us, it stands to reason that it can also be imperfect in us. In Ephesians 3:18-19, Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus that they would “have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
From this verse, we see that the love of God “surpasses knowledge,” so there is always more! It is this love being perfected, completed, in the heart of a human being that casts out fear. This is what John was talking about in 1 John 4:18. It is His love, brought to maturity in our hearts, that sets us free.
When I really encountered the presence of God for the first time and knew He loved me, it birthed hope and love so strongly in my heart that I was uncontainable for several days. I could hardly sleep I was so excited. However, that initial encounter, that first love that comes into the heart of a new believer, is only the start of the process! In order for that love to be mature and perfected in someone’s heart, there has to be a relationship cultivated in His presence and His word. I was so excited when I encountered God, but it was as an immature love. I didn’t really know Him. I had received just a taste of His love—an invitation to come deeper. I didn’t know anything that His Word said about who He is or what He’s like. I had no history with Him. I quickly realized as a new believer that I needed more than that one encounter with His love! The Bible says the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5) and we’re supposed to be continually filled with His Spirit (Eph. 5:18)! In order for love to be perfected, it takes time and intimacy, and that’s a continual and lifelong process. That’s why Paul prayed for the church to know the depth and height of God’s love that he then said is beyond knowledge! We get to spend our life knowing something we can never exhaust. We will never find the end of God’s love, as long as we know Him. There is always more.
In Revelation 2:4, Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, the same church Paul prayed in the verse above,
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.”
The same church that Paul prayed would know God’s love was rebuked by Jesus for abandoning it. Jesus issued a rebuke and an invitation, longing to draw them back to Himself. Correction is a hard thing for anyone, but it’s a necessary part of receiving God’s love. Proverbs 3:11-12 says,
“My son, do not despise the LORD'S discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Allowing love to be perfected in us means receiving the discipline of God, as a son or daughter. He only corrects His children because He loves us! All the good things the church in Ephesus had done weren’t enough, because they abandoned their first love. See, first love has nothing to do with how long you’ve been walking with God. It is something you can have fifty years after you meet Jesus. First love is about loving Him first, with the same passion you had the moment you met Him. First love is passion that aches for His presence. It’s love that makes Him your first thought in the morning and your last thought before you sleep. First love does not mean immature love and we all need it! The church in Ephesus had fallen in love with Jesus at one time, but they didn’t let that love mature and deepen. They didn’t continue on and allow God to perfect His love in them. They started to do all the things that Christians do, even being persecuted for His name, but there was a lack of intimacy. The mark of a true Christian is love. It’s the love of God being perfected in us and poured out on the people around us. We can’t perfect it in ourselves, and we can’t receive it all at once. God’s love is absolutely complete on its own, but we are earthen vessels that have to continually receive that love!
When John said, “Perfect love casts out fear,” he didn’t mean God’s love casts out fear. His love in and of itself does not cast out fear, or there would be no fear in the world! God’s love, made mature and complete in the heart of a believer, is what casts out fear. This only happens through relationship—by walking with God, keeping His word, receiving His correction and His healing, and knowing Him, not just knowing about Him.
I want to encourage you today, no matter where you are in your walk with God, to take time to allow God to perfect His love in your heart! There is always more. If there is any area that you struggle with fear, it’s because God’s love has not been perfected in that area, by His word and His presence. Perfect love will cast out fear. God’s love brought to maturity in our hearts, as we continually receive it, will set us free from every bondage. The Bible tells us that God’s love surpasses our understanding (Eph. 3:20), so there is always more to receive!
“Hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:5)
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