Knowable Word

Perhaps you’ve heard that perfect love casts out fear. Maybe you’ve been told that Christians shouldn’t be scared of anything, no matter how large or small. Or maybe you’ve doubted your standing with God because of an anxiety that grips you.

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible carefully—instead of picking out verses and phrases—we will see that some familiar passages mean much less than we thought.

The Context of 1 John 4

Let’s read this phrase “perfect love casts out fear” in its immediate context.

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. (1 John 4:16–18)

John explains what “fear” means in this passage. Fear has to do with punishment (verse 18), and perfect love pushes this fear away. When love is perfected in us, we can have confidence (instead of fear) for the day of judgment (verse 17).

The matter of understanding “perfect love” remains, but we also learn this through context. Love is perfected in those who abide in God and in whom God abides (1 John 4:16). “We know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13). There is tangible evidence of God abiding in us—we love one another (1 John 4:12) and we confess that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 4:15). The love of God is the basis and motivation for our love for one another (1 John 4:11).

For those who experience the richness of abiding in God, and God abiding in them, this love will clear away all fear of judgment and punishment. Beyond a short phrase, this is a beautiful, glorious truth!

The Book of 1 John

John tells us why he wrote this epistle, so we can understand how the phrase “perfect love casts out fear” fits with his purpose.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

John wanted his readers to be assured of their salvation. He returns to this theme throughout his letter, answering the question, “How can we know we have eternal life?”

• Those who have come to know God keep his commandments (1 John 2:3–6).
• Whoever confesses the Son has the Father (1 John 2:23). Confessing Jesus as the Son is evidence of God abiding in him (1 John 4:15).
• The one who is righteous practices righteousness. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning. (See 1 John 3:7–10.)
• Those who have passed out of death into life love the brothers (1 John 3:14, 1 John 4:7–8).

There is a clear contrast in 1 John between those who belong to God and those who don’t, between those inside and outside of the community of faith.

Why then is it important to discuss love and fear? There should be no fear of judgment for those who belong to God. Those who abide in God (and he in them) will find this fear receding into the distance. As we get to know the Father, through his Spirit, and as we meditate on the love of and work of the Son for us, as we experience thorough forgiveness, we have no remaining fear of punishment. We are beloved children of God, and the punishment we deserve has already been given to Jesus.

No Fear

When John writes that “perfect love casts out fear,” he’s not referring to a fear of snakes, nor of heights, nor of scoring poorly on an exam. This verse is not a blanket to throw over all concerns and dreads.

The Bible is not silent on these matters, of course! This passage has implications for all other fears, but that is an issue for a different article.

John has a specific focus in his first epistle—to assure believers of their salvation. As we experience the love of God and develop that assurance, we lose the fear of punishment and hell.

Context matters.

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For more examples of why context matters, click here.