I John 4
==i john 4:1-6:
"The reality of extraordinary and powerful spirits speaking through human beings as their mouth-piece, proclaiming varied and sundry messages, was well known in the pagan world of John’s day." (1 John 4:1-6)
-D Edmond Hiebert
-D Edmond Hiebert
==i john 4:16:
I John 4:17-18:
17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. |
![]() December 22, 2021:
Matt Beard has posted an interesting article about fear on an Australian Web site: Fear is a lazy person’s out. It’s easily stoked because, as Martha Nussbaum argues, it is relatively stupid. Our fear rises in us without our needing to think about what’s worth fearing. This makes it a powerful motivator: if you can make your audience afraid, you can often get them to do what you want them to. The unfortunate reality is that fear sells, and many of us don’t have any awareness of its insidiousness, nor are we necessarily able to resist fear when it is being spoon-fed to us. From fitness companies to political campaigns, people’s fear of COVID-19, of infection, and, in the end, of other people, have been hugely profitable for some but degrading for us all. The reason for this degradation is, as Nussbaum reminds us, fear is a profoundly narcissistic emotion — my fear is mainly about keeping me safe; it does not consider others. “Its view of the world is exceedingly narrow”, she writes, and the result is that fear “threatens or prevents love.” |

As a Believer, the Spirit of God is always at work within you, restoring and renewing you–His Holy Temple. He is Perfect Love and 1 John 4:18 tells us “perfect love casts out fear.” As you are filled with the fullness of God, He leaves no room for fear. His love seals you and changes you.
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
—1 Corinthians 6:19-20
If you are operating in a spirit of fear, you have a fixed mindset that resists restoration and renewing. A fixed mindset pushes back on Spirit-led instruction and transformation. These mindsets enable the spirit of fear by blocking you from receiving the fullness of God’s love. Through bitterness, unbelief, hopelessness, apathy, etc., a fixed mindset aims to shut down your heart to God, robbing you of His healing power. To overcome the spirit of fear, you have to identify the mindset that is blocking your freedom. Operating out of the spirit of fear is a symptom of a hardened heart…
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
‘Today, if you will hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
in the day of trial in the wilderness,
where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
and saw My works forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
and said, “They always go astray in their heart,
and they have not known My ways.”
So I swore in My wrath,
“They shall not enter My rest.”’
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
—Hebrews 3:7-13
But there is good news! You have authority in Jesus to overcome the spirit of fear!
Fear is based on a false belief. Therefore, to overcome the spirit of fear, you cut to the heart of the false belief using the Word of God as your sword.
--Curt Landry; Overcome the Spirit of Fear | Transformed from Lamb to Lion
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
—1 Corinthians 6:19-20
If you are operating in a spirit of fear, you have a fixed mindset that resists restoration and renewing. A fixed mindset pushes back on Spirit-led instruction and transformation. These mindsets enable the spirit of fear by blocking you from receiving the fullness of God’s love. Through bitterness, unbelief, hopelessness, apathy, etc., a fixed mindset aims to shut down your heart to God, robbing you of His healing power. To overcome the spirit of fear, you have to identify the mindset that is blocking your freedom. Operating out of the spirit of fear is a symptom of a hardened heart…
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
‘Today, if you will hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
in the day of trial in the wilderness,
where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
and saw My works forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
and said, “They always go astray in their heart,
and they have not known My ways.”
So I swore in My wrath,
“They shall not enter My rest.”’
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
—Hebrews 3:7-13
But there is good news! You have authority in Jesus to overcome the spirit of fear!
Fear is based on a false belief. Therefore, to overcome the spirit of fear, you cut to the heart of the false belief using the Word of God as your sword.
--Curt Landry; Overcome the Spirit of Fear | Transformed from Lamb to Lion

God has assured us that we are “more than conquerors” and has promised us that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39). Christ defeated the devil, death, and hell at the cross. If we are in Christ, our past is forgiven and our future is secure. If we believe this, then why do we live in fear of men? Why do we shudder at the thought of sharing our faith because of what someone else may think of us?
Maybe we’ve got it all backwards. Perhaps, the world and all the evil and darkness in it should fear us. Jesus told us that we are salt and light. We have received the gospel of grace. The gospel is God’s power unto salvation. Jesus has already overcome the world, and we belong to Him. Fear does not have to dominate our spiritual life. The Bible tells us that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). We must allow God’s love to flow through us so that fear is no longer a factor, paralyzing us into inactivity for Him. When His love becomes the dominant factor, we can clearly see that there should be no “us” and “them” – only a world of people in need of a Savior. -excerpt from A Story of Grace: Beyond the Iron Curtain by Phil Metzger.
Maybe we’ve got it all backwards. Perhaps, the world and all the evil and darkness in it should fear us. Jesus told us that we are salt and light. We have received the gospel of grace. The gospel is God’s power unto salvation. Jesus has already overcome the world, and we belong to Him. Fear does not have to dominate our spiritual life. The Bible tells us that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). We must allow God’s love to flow through us so that fear is no longer a factor, paralyzing us into inactivity for Him. When His love becomes the dominant factor, we can clearly see that there should be no “us” and “them” – only a world of people in need of a Savior. -excerpt from A Story of Grace: Beyond the Iron Curtain by Phil Metzger.

Most people in evangelicalism/fundamentalism have a fear-based faith. They have a fear of falling away, losing one’s salvation, going to hell, not being “biblical,” not remaining orthodox, being influenced by demons, being gay, losing their Christian friends, becoming a heretic, not having a church covering, losing their Christian job, ruining their religious career, or any manner of other fears. “Perfect love casts out fear” and “Anyone who fears has not been perfected in love,” says the New Testament book of I John. People with a fear-based religion have not experienced true, unconditional love. The love they “know” is conditioned on measuring up to please a transactional and two-faced god who demands something in return and is unprincipled in meting out love and forgiveness. People need to break out of this cycle of fear.
--Michael Camp; The Spiritual Brewpub; How Faith Deconstruction Workshops Can Help You Reclaim More Historical and Beautiful Beliefs 8.18.23
--Michael Camp; The Spiritual Brewpub; How Faith Deconstruction Workshops Can Help You Reclaim More Historical and Beautiful Beliefs 8.18.23

Beyond voting, citizens can seek to understand the attractiveness of Christian nationalism to some of their fellow citizens. Christian nationalism promises a return to a time when their comfort and certainty were privileged. This promise appeals to a fear that cannot be overcome by shame. It must be overcome by love.
Christian people, all across the political spectrum, need to remember the words of Scripture, "Perfect love drives out fear." --Doug Pagitt (w/Chris Jones); Newsweek; 9.822
Christian people, all across the political spectrum, need to remember the words of Scripture, "Perfect love drives out fear." --Doug Pagitt (w/Chris Jones); Newsweek; 9.822

The reasons for fearing God are found in the different meanings of the “fear of the Lord,” as described above. Although there are different types of fear, part of our respect and awe is in the knowledge of his wrath and power. It’s all connected.
- We should be in awe of Him because of His matchless power as the Creator of all things and all people (Ps 33:6-9; 96:4-5; Jnh 1:9).
- In addition, the amazing power that He continues to exercise over his creation–including humankind–is cause for fearing God (Ex 20:18-20; Ecc 3:14; Jnh 1:11-16; Mk 4:39-41).
- When we truly realize God’s holiness (i.e., His purity, perfection and separation from evil), the normal response of the human spirit is to fear Him (Rev 15:4).
- Anyone who sees or experiences a manifestation (i.e., a visible or physical sign or demonstration) of God’s glory cannot help but become afraid (Mt 17:1-8).
- The continual blessings we receive from God, especially the forgiveness of our sins (Ps 130:4), should lead us to fear and love Him (1Sa 12:24; Ps 34:9; 67:7).
- Above all, the fact that the Lord is a God of justice who will judge the entire human race should be reason enough to produce a godly fear (Dt 17:12-13; Isa 59:18-19; Mal 3:5; Heb 10:26-31). It is a sobering and absolute truth that God is constantly aware of our actions and motives, both good and bad, and that we will be held accountable for those actions, both now and on the day of our personal judgment -The Olive Tree
Christians should not ignore politics—God has established the government for their good and for the good of their community—but the curious calm that characterizes our political engagement should constantly puzzle and confound our unbelieving neighbors. Each election cycle, all of us should expect incredulous friends to ask us, “Don’t you even care?”
Of course, this is likely to smack of otherworldly idealism, a kind of disengagement from our world and nation that’s at odds with the service God has called us to. After all, isn’t fear the flip side of love? No one will reproach me for reacting in fear if my daughter is in the path of a speeding car; I fear because I love her. If I love my nation, will I not rightly fear if I see it going down the tubes? Should I not fear the harm done by bad policies? This is a very sensible objection, and yet John answers it categorically: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18) -Brad Littlejohn; Gospel Coalition
Of course, this is likely to smack of otherworldly idealism, a kind of disengagement from our world and nation that’s at odds with the service God has called us to. After all, isn’t fear the flip side of love? No one will reproach me for reacting in fear if my daughter is in the path of a speeding car; I fear because I love her. If I love my nation, will I not rightly fear if I see it going down the tubes? Should I not fear the harm done by bad policies? This is a very sensible objection, and yet John answers it categorically: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18) -Brad Littlejohn; Gospel Coalition

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature by Arndt and Gingrich gives an excellent explanation of the use of phobos in verse 18. In the specific context of the verse, the meaning is “slavish fear … which is not to characterize the Christian’s relation to God.”
The same shade of meaning is applied to the word fear in Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
Though we are to voluntarily yield ourselves as bond servants or slaves to God, He is not an abusive, cruel slave driver who terrorizes and torments us, which is the point of this verse.
Some misunderstand and think that love casts out not only fear but law. However, John explains that God’s laws actually define God’s love:
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). This connection between God’s love and His 10 Commandments is also made clear in Paul’s writings and the Gospels (Romans 13:9-10; Matthew 22:37-40). -Love, Hope and Fear
The same shade of meaning is applied to the word fear in Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
Though we are to voluntarily yield ourselves as bond servants or slaves to God, He is not an abusive, cruel slave driver who terrorizes and torments us, which is the point of this verse.
Some misunderstand and think that love casts out not only fear but law. However, John explains that God’s laws actually define God’s love:
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). This connection between God’s love and His 10 Commandments is also made clear in Paul’s writings and the Gospels (Romans 13:9-10; Matthew 22:37-40). -Love, Hope and Fear
==i john 4:20:
“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen”
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And while it is always a sin to hate people, it is actually a good thing to hate corrupt policies and practices that harm babies, children, teenagers, or adults. And it is also good to hate harmful ideas, be they theological, ideological, or political. But it is a sin to hate people with whom you disagree politically, ideologically, or theologically. -Dan Detzell
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