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1 John 4:17

Listen to 1 John 4:17
17 This is how love is made perfect in us: that we can be without fear on the day God judges us, because in this world we are like him.

1 John 4:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 John 4:17

Herein is our love made perfect
Or love with us; which some understand of the love of God towards his people, and which is shed abroad in them: this indeed removes all fear of an awful judgment, and renders that amiable and desirable; and such who are interested in it, shall stand in that day with intrepidity and boldness; and this sense may seem to be favoured by the Syriac version, which reads, "his love with us"; and especially by the Vulgate Latin version, which renders it, "the love of God with us"; but it is best to understand it agreeably to the context, of our love to God, which is with and in our hearts; and which is made, or made to appear to be perfect, true, and genuine, by our love to the brethren; since the love of God to us does not admit of degrees, nor does it, or the reality and sincerity of it, depend upon our love to the saints; (See Gill on 1 John 4:12);

that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;
not of men's judgment, when brought before judges, governors, and kings, for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, and stand at their bar, where saints, who have true love to God and Christ and the brethren, have stood with great courage and intrepidity, and shown much boldness, and used great freedom of speech; nor of judgment in this life, which sometimes begins at the house of God, though the saints often have great boldness and presence of mind, and freedom of expression both to God and man in a day of affliction, as Job had; but of the future judgment, which, though it will be very awful and solemn, Christ the Judge will appear with great majesty and glory, and all men will stand before him, and the books will be opened, and the judgment will proceed with great strictness and justice, and will issue in the everlasting perdition of devils and wicked men, yet the saints will have boldness in it: while evil men and devils tremble at the thoughts of it now, they rejoice and are glad; they love it, look for it, long for it, and hasten to it; and will stand fearless, and without the least dread, while others will flee to the rocks, and into the holes of the earth; and they will use freedom of speech with Christ, as the word here signifies; they will sing his new song, and ascribe the glory of their salvation to him, and express their praises of him, and love to him, then and to all eternity: and this boldness the saints may be said to arrive at through a perfect, or sincere, and genuine love of the brethren; for by this they know they are born again, and are born to an inheritance incorruptible, which they have both a meetness for, and a right unto; and knowing hereby that they are passed from death to life, they justly conclude they shall not enter into condemnation, and therefore are not afraid of the awful judgment: hereby they know that their faith is right, and that therefore they are manifestly the children of God; and if children, then heirs, and so shall be saved, and have everlasting life:

because as he is, so are we in this world;
which may be understood either of God, to whom the saints are like; for such who are born again, as those who love the brethren are, they are partakers of the divine nature, and bear a resemblance to God, even in this present state of things; and as it becomes them to be holy in all manner of conversation, as he is holy, and to be merciful to wicked men, as he is merciful, so to love the saints as he does, and to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgive one another, as he for Christ's sake has forgiven them; for as God is love, they should be all love likewise; or of Christ, see ( 1 John 3:3 1 John 3:7 ) ; and that with respect to God; as he is the Son of God, so are they the sons of God; he by nature, they by grace and adoption; as he is loved by God with an everlasting and unchangeable love, with a love of complacency and delight, so are they loved by him with the same kind of love, even while they are in this world; and as he is the chosen of God, and precious, so they are chosen in him, and unto salvation by him. The Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, render it, "as he was": and the sense may be, as he was in this world, so are they; and which may regard not so much likeness in nature, though there is an agreement in that, excepting sin, but the sameness of state and condition; as he was a man of sorrows, attended with afflictions, loaded with reproaches, and followed with the persecutions of men, so are they; nor need they wonder that they are the objects of the world's hatred and contempt, since he was also; as he was tempted by Satan, forsaken by his friends, and deserted by his God, so sometimes are they in this world; and as he went through a variety of sufferings, and death itself, to glory, so through many tribulations do they enter the kingdom: moreover, as he now is in heaven, so are they in this world; even as he is in heaven, so are they representatively in him, while in this world; and as he is righteous, being justified and acquitted from all the charge of sin he took upon him, and therefore will appear a second time without sin, so they are completely righteous in him: and once more, as he is, so they are, or should be in this world; they should be holy as he is holy, and be humble, meek, and patient, as he is, and walk as he walked; and particularly love the saints and one another, as he does; and which seems to be greatly intended here, and must be understood not of an equality, but of a likeness. The Arabic version reads the words conditionally, and as depending on the preceding clause, "if as he was, we are in this world"; and then the sense is, that the saints shall have boldness in the day of judgment, provided they are in this world as Christ was.

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1 John 4:17 Study Resources

Sermons

Special Season Casting Conference: Living In The Unseen
Special Season Casting Conference: Living In The Unseen
Dr. Robyn Kassas and Dr. Nathan Kassas

In this special episode of First Love, Dr. Robyn and Dr. Nathan Kassas dive deep into the unseen realities of the Cross — where heaven meets earth and love births transformation.They reveal how the Cross, with its vertical and horizontal beams, represents both our relationship with God and our relationships with others — and that nothing horizontally will ever align until our vertical connection is made right.Listeners are invited to explore the layers of divine love:First, the relationship between God and me.Then, the relationship between me and myself.And finally, the relationship between me and others.To live in the unseen is to see the Cross in a new light — understanding that Jesus birthed His Church from His heart at the intersection of these beams. This is the place where love flows vertically from God and horizontally through us to others.We are challenged to adopt a new belief system — one that believes God’s love is true, steadfast, and personal. When we grasp that He loved and chose us first, our relationships, families, and identities begin to transform.Through powerful insight and prophetic revelation, they unpack how:We can’t love our children (or anyone) securely until we’ve received God’s love for ourselves.Living from love is far greater than looking for love.Fear is faith in reverse, and we were never created to live in it.Believing God’s truth takes the same energy as unbelief — but brings life, peace, and freedom.This episode calls you to give God the chance to show you who He really is — and to live anchored in His unshakable love.

1 John 4:17 In-Context

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God has God living inside, and that person lives in God.
16 And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
17 This is how love is made perfect in us: that we can be without fear on the day God judges us, because in this world we are like him.
18 Where God's love is, there is no fear, because God's perfect love drives out fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears.
19 We love because God first loved us.

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