How "Perfect Love Casts Out Fear" (1 John 4:18)

The phrase "perfect love casts out fear" comes from 1 John 4:18, where the Apostle John writes, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." (ESV) 

The preceding verse gives context for this well-known Bible phrase, “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

The “fear” that perfect love casts out is the fear of God’s judgment. We know that Judgment Day is coming, but those in Christ know God's love, which drives away fear of condemnation. The release of the fear of judgment is one of the main functions of God’s love. The person without Christ is under judgment and has much to fear (John 3:18), but once a person is in Christ, the fear of judgment is gone. He is reconciled to God, and “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

To grasp the whole meaning of this phrase, it is essential to understand its context within the broader narrative of 1 John. John addresses believers, urging them to love one another because love is from God. He emphasizes that God is love, and those who live in love live in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16). This mutual indwelling signifies a relationship rooted in divine love, which is perfect, complete, and mature.

Love Overcomes Fear: 1 John 4:16-19

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.

Perfect Love

Perfect love is not merely an ideal to aspire to but a reality made possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is a love that reflects God’s nature—selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional. When believers experience and embrace this love, it transforms their relationship with God and others. As John Piper, a contemporary Christian theologian, explains, "God’s love is perfected in us when it produces in us the same kind of self-sacrificing love that Christ showed."

According to Gotquestions.org, "The Bible says that nothing can separate the believer from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:38-39). God’s love does not wax and wane; it is not a fickle, emotional sensation. God’s love for sinners is why Christ died on the cross. God’s love for those who trust in Christ is why He holds them in His hand and promises never to let them go (John 10:29). That divine love should take away our fear: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

Casting Out Fear

The phrase "casts out" conveys a forceful action. Perfect love actively expels fear, replacing it with confidence and security. Charles Spurgeon beautifully articulated this transformation, saying, "The nearer we come to God in our walk, the less we are troubled by the dark shadows of the world."

This assurance stems from understanding and internalizing the truth of God’s love. As believers grow in their faith, they become more aware of God’s love and less susceptible to fear. They begin to trust in God's promises and rely on His faithfulness. This growth is a process, as John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, noted: "Love is the sum of Christian sanctification, and the nearer we approach it, the nearer we come to the mark of our high calling."

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV). A spirit of fearfulness and cowardice does not come from God. Sometimes, this “spirit of fear” overcomes us; to overcome it, we need to trust in and love God more completely. 

“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” (1 John 4:18). If we, as children of God, still fear His punishment, we have not yet matured in love. Throughout the Bible, God has generously provided encouragement against fear to help us be complete in love.

God tells us not to be afraid of being alone, too weak, not being heard in our prayers, or being impoverished of physical necessities. These admonishments cover many different aspects of the “spirit of fear.”

Bible Verses about Love and Fear

1 John 4:18 ~ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Romans 8:15 ~ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

1 John 1:5 ~ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1 Peter 2:17 ~ Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

1 Peter 1:17 ~ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

Acts 9:31 ~ So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Matthew 10:28 ~ And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Psalm 1:1-2 ~ Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Sources:
Gotquestions.org

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