Because "as He is," with that vivid idealising sense, frequent in St. John when he uses it of our Lord-"as He is," delineated in the fourth Gospel, seen by "the eye of the heart" [Ephesians 1:18] with constant reverence in the soul, with adoring wonder in heaven, perfectly true, pure, and righteous-"even so" (not, of course, with any equality in degree to that consummate ideal, but with a likeness ever growing, an aspiration ever advancing)-"so {Cf. See Jn 5:16, 18; 6:65; 8:47; 10:17; 12:18; 16:15. also 1 John 4:18 : ἡ τελεία ἀγάπη. ; Erdmann, who explains ΄ετά = ἐν), or to ἀγάπη: “the love which exists (prevails) in us is,” etc. Lust is self-centered and destructive. John 4 is the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Moreover, each article of our creed is a revelation of the Divine attributes, which meet together in unity. “Love is an official heavenly visitor who stays with us and claims our loyalty. John 15:12, 17; Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:2, 32; Colossians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11-12; 2 John 5. Thus, as regards eternal punishment, in one century ghastly exaggerations were prevalent. 1 John 4:17, 18 "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is so are we in this world. The law of God is love; and all would have been perfectly happy, had all obeyed it. As Vincent says "The essence of our being as He is lies in perfected love; and Christ is eternally love.". 17 In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him. In this regard, he is saying essentially the same thing as he said in 1Jn 3:14 (note), “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.” The presence of God’s love in your life, not just in words, but in deeds, is evidence that His life is in you and that you are in Him. Comp. How, then, can we ever be afraid? 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. John … Stott summarizes this last section (1Jn 4:17-21) - In 1Jn 4:12 John declared that if we love each other, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. The major part of this chapter recalls Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well Text. But, if there’s no evidence that the fruit is growing, we need to examine the root to find out if the whole tree is bad. It was assumed that the vast majority of mankind "are destined to everlasting punishment"; that "the floor of hell is crawled over by hosts of babies a span long." But if anyone does sin, y we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. As Jesus said (Mt. From beginning to end, the Bible is clear that there is a coming day of judgment. There is another verse in our passage, along the same lines - "No man hath seen God at any time. 1:1, 2 we have seen and testify that # See John 3:17 the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of # See ch. A calm assurance that our judge is our friend, and that for us there is no condemnation. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. What does "this" refer to? The fact that Christians love one another is evidence of their fellowship with God and their sonship from God, and it is also evidence that they know God. We read that "as He is, so are we in this world" (1Jn 4:17). An invertebrate creed; punishment either annihilated or mitigated; judgment, changed from a solemn and universal assize, a bar at which every soul must stand, to a splendid, and-for all who can say I am saved-a triumphant pageant in which they have no anxious concern; these are the readiest instruments, the most powerful leverage, with which to work extensively upon masses of men at the present time. Meta, with, is used constantly in the NT of ethical relations. When something, like a trip or an assignment, attains its goal, it is said to be "perfected." The Fear of Death. A calm assurance that our judge is our friend, and that for us there is no condemnation. 41 Note the word “every,” used twice in this verse, so that “every” unfruitful branch is removed, just as “every” fruitful branch is cleansed or pruned. Every one, then, has made so much proficiency in faith, as he is well prepared in his mind to look forward to the day of judgment. The comparison ( καθώς) does not refer to εἶναι ἐν τῷ κόσ΄ῳ τούτῳ, so that the sense would be: “as Christ is in this world, so are we also in this world,” for (1) Christ is no longer in this world (comp. (272) This interpretation, however, has the context against it, for in 1 John 4:16 : ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, as well as in 1 John 4:18 : ὁ φόβος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ, by ἀγάπη is meant the love of man, the love that dwells in us; comp. Bold shall I stand in that grand day, The hunger of a soul is felt, though the attention be distracted from its existence. serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; — Fearlessness. Boldness - `confidence' [ parreesian (Greek #3954)]: parallel to 1 John 3:21; opposite to "fear," 1 John 4:18. "By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. In the love which we have for a parent, a child, a friend, there is no fear. We stand in the righteousness of Christ. At the beginning, of course, we have a very great concern about forgiveness; we are very concerned about certain particular sins which may have been evident in our lives before our conversion. Scripture: 1 John 4:20. It was so beyond me I could hardly believe that it was in the Bible. As there is that which with terrible emphasis is marked off as "the Judgment," "the Parousia," so there are other judgments or advents of a preparatory character. Christ IS righteous, and love itself, in heaven: so are we, His members still "in this world." The Women at the Well, John 4:7-42 describes when Jesus Christ meets a Samaritan women at a well and convinces her He is the Messiah. (1Jn 4:17-note) God clearly demonstrates His love for the world in these passages, sending His Son as Savior, giving us His Son's life and leaving us on earth so that others might see Him in us (1Jn 4:17)! It’s easy to sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus,” while at the same time our homes are a battle zone. chap. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. That such as are in the world, as Christ was in the world, shall have boldness when Christ comes to judgment, and need not fear the condemnation of that dreadful day; Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; the reason of this freedom from the fear of wrath is added, There is no fear in love; 1 John 4:18 that is, no slavish or distrustful fear, whereby we question the favour of God, but only a filial and reverential fear, whereby we stand in awe of offending him as a father; But perfect love casteth out fear; that is, either the actings of our perfect love to God, or the apprehensions of God's perfect love towards us, do cast out all that fear which has torment in it. They do not form a hotchpot of credenda. The latter is preferable. It is much the same thing as we have in a previous section of the epistle (1Jn 3:19–21-note), our assuring our hearts before God; our having confidence toward God. His love is not perfected in us." Answer: The Bible says that “love is of God” and “God is love” (1 John 4:7–8); in other words, love is a fundamental characteristic of who God is. His Commandments Are Not Burdensome. We must seek to lead upon earth a life laid on the lines of Christ’s. The meaning will then be, that by our dwelling in love, and thus in God and he in us, our love is made perfect; and the words following, "that we may have boldness," etc., will express the end towards which that love is directed. Since John tells us how to have confidence on that coming day, we all should pay close attention… John knows that in the matter of loving others, it’s easy to be hypocrites. 1 JOHN 4:17. 1 John 4:18. Let us look at them. "In this is love perfected with us." By this - By what? That can be accomplished only by manifesting that unselfish love that was first shown by the Lord for us. Henry Alford on as He is in the world - this is the reason or ground of our confidence: that we, as we now are in the world, are like Christ: and in the background lies the thought, He will not, in that day, condemn those who are like Himself. In this paragraph (1 John 4:12-16), the indwelling God is mentioned three times, and the reciprocal nature of it (he in us, we in him) is stressed twice. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” boldness. Oct 18, 2015. 14:33 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. Here, then, we learn something of the calls and claims resting upon the members of the Fellowship, on account of their social position, as residing "in this world." But against one somewhat widely spread way of blotting the Day of the Judgment from the calendar of the future-so far as believers are concerned-we should be on our guard. 1 John 4:17, 18 "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is so are we in this world. The original text was written in Koine Greek. Service is the outflow of our fellowship with the Saviour, our relationship to Him. Jun 2, 1985. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful ( John 14:27). When it reaches perfection with us, a proper relationship to God exists, namely, no fear. The infinite sweetness of our Father’s heart-the conclusions, illogically but effectively drawn from this, of an Infinite good nature, with its easy going pardon, reconciliation all round, and exemption from all that is unpleasant-these, and such as these, are the only available materials for creating a great volume of emotion. 17 . The first is spiritual, a present awakening of dead souls, (John 5:21) in those with whom the Son of Man is brought into contact in His earthly ministry. The following words: ὅτι καθὼς … τούτῳ, serve to establish the foregoing thought. John Piper ... You listen to John Piper. Vincent on to what by this refers - To what does this refer? I shall be an assessor in the judgment. Let others see Jesus in you. Everything God does is impelled and influenced by His love. John, in his gospel and epistles, deals with the deepest realities, and with all things in their eternal aspects, but his vocabulary is … All right then - "consider Him", Hebrews 12:3, and act accordingly. 1 Peter 4:17–18 December 15, 2016. John 13:1-17 . “As He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). St. John in our text declares that fear has a conqueror's power; it can inflict torment. 1 John 3:18. ἐν τούτῳ does not refer to the preceding, nor to dwelling in love, nor to fellowship with God, but to what follows; not, however, to ὅτι, as Beza,(275) Grotius, etc., assuming an attraction, think, but to ἵνα παῤῥησίαν ἔχωμεν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως. Meanwhile, it is to be remembered that the world is a field of infection - "that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil". 17.Love’ perfect—It is carried to its proper completion. We put on our spiritual masks at church, but in our hearts we harbor bitterness toward a fellow Christian who has wronged us. chap. Polls show that at least 60 percent of Americans believe in hell, but only four percent think there’s a good chance that they will go there. Lead upon earth a life devoted entirely to the parent hath seen God at any time cast out another! With other women in town wanted nothing to do with punishment … τούτῳ, serve establish! 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