Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson CXIV) 07/18/22

^4:18         Where God’s love is, there is no fear because God’s perfect love drives it away. On the contrary, it is His punishment that makes a person afraid.

In the First Covenant, Job’s friend Eliphaz was not hesitant to express his view on the subject, “They say that an evil man suffers all his life. A cruel man suffers all his numbered years. Every noise scares him. His enemy will attack him when he thinks he is safe. An evil man has no hope of escaping the darkness. There is a sword somewhere waiting to kill him. So, he wanders from place to place, looking for food. But he knows a dark day is coming, which he brought on himself. So, he lives in fear, with worry and suffering threatening him like a king ready to attack.”[1]

A mistake Christians can make is consoling the sinner and telling them there is nothing to worry about.  God is kind and gracious; He wants them to repent, and everything will be fine. So, they need not hurry because God’s patience is long, and He has such compassion for them that no one can believe He will punish them in the end, and somehow, He’ll find a way to let them in. 

Psalmist Asaph did not see it that way in his Song of Praise for God’s understanding when he lost his way in trusting Him, “One day I went into Your sanctuary to meditate and thought about the future evil men face.  What a slippery path they are on; without God, they will be sent sliding over the cliff edge and down to their destruction instantly, ending all their happiness, and they must then face an eternity full of terror.”[2] This is not what God wants, and it will only happen if the sinner insists on going down his chosen path instead of God’s way.

By expanding on his concept in verse twelve of how love is made complete by the fact that God is in us, and we are in Him, John explains that when God dwells in us and we in Him, there is no room for apprehension because true love dissolves anxiety.  The question is not “what is fear,” but “what is feared.”  In this case, it refers to the coming day of judgment when sin will be punished.  If there is no sin, there will be no despair.  So how do we make sure there is no sin? by filling our hearts, minds, and souls with God’s influence. 

And how do we do that?  Let the Holy Spirit take charge of our conscience, heart, and mind and control our ethics, virtues, and morals.  And how do we allow the Holy Spirit to take charge?  By completely surrendering to the will and ways of the Father so that Jesus can become Lord of our lives.  I don’t mind telling anyone that sin was defeated in my life, and I am now under occupation forces, the forces of the Father, Son, and Spirit.  I have completely surrendered my all to Him.  Not waiting for a peace treaty, but for the rest of my life.

Furthermore, verse eighteen gives proof of verse seventeen. We have boldness at the Judgment Seat of the Anointed One because God brings His agápē full circle in us. John now examines love from an opposing viewpoint. Love accomplishes something new. The Christian does not look to the Judgment Seat of the Anointed One with anxiety because He understands God’s agápē. Not only does love look forward to meeting the Lord, but it presently drives out fear; love gives freedom from dismay.

Repulsion and love are as contrary to each other as oil and water. Panic and love can coexist, but perfect love and misgivings cannot exist together. Fright, to various degrees, exists in every believer’s life. It would not be the case if God’s perfect love gripped their soul. There is no room for apprehensiveness in God’s economy of love. We cannot simultaneously approach God in love and hide from Him in suspicion. We overcome hiding out of uneasiness about God’s displeasure by an understanding of His perfect love for us. Love is the most important manifestation of fellowship with the Lord. 

“Perfected love” is God’s agápē, not ours. Only God possesses perfect love because He IS love.[3] This is the ideal love we find in verse seventeen. However, God extends agápē to believers in fellowship. Since God’s agápē begins with Him, He’s the one who initiates the love affair with believers in fellowship. Christians in love with the Lord show the love that the Anointed One has for them to others. “Perfect” here does not mean “without flaws” but “completion.” The reference is to love that reaches a stage of accomplishment; it is mature love. A mature understanding of God’s agápē drives out fear. Acceptance of God’s perfect love does God’s work. It is love reaching for fulfillment. It is complete because it followed through to the production of loving. This agápē completed its intended course of reaching out rather than dying within the soul. 

Dread is a self-centered function. Misery has no home in love because love is oriented toward others.  Perfect love casts away, throws out, and ejects mistrust.  Love and misgivings are mutually exclusive.  Where there is one, the other is not.  Love always banishes uncertainty.  The presence of being unsure is an indication that love has not yet arrived. God’s agápē nourished in our soul indicates there can be no peaceful coexistence of love and confusion.

The perfected love in the believer is a love that resides in God’s agápē, in mutual fellowship with the Lord. In other words, this agápē cannot operate in us unless we work in union with God. That’s why love harbors no fear outside its sphere of influence. Skepticism is conflicting and contrary to God’s agápē. Hesitancy has its retribution. Being scared is an unsettling passion that tortures itself. Love drives out this distrust. When God’s agápē develops in us, it expels misgivings about God’s immediate prohibition or reprisal. Unloving Christians experience self-induced misery because they know they must face their sinful tendencies at the Judgment Seat of the Anointed One. The believer who loves other Christians has no nervousness about meeting the Lord.

The Greek concept of “torment” (kolasis) that John uses here in verse eighteen is literally “correct, punish, penalize.” The English word for “torment” is too strong for the Greek word. Webster’s Dictionary defines extreme pain, anguish, vexation, and infliction of torture as on a torture rack. The fear in verse twenty is a state in the believer’s life that is at variance with God’s agápē and thus subject to corrective discipline, unlike American prisoners of war in Japan and Vietnam. The one habitually characterized by submissive cowardice is the opposite of the one applying God’s agápē to their life so that they become mature in owning God’s agápē. The mere absence of fright proves nothing. Some people operate in bold defiance, irredeemable ignorance, presumptuous unbelief, and inexcusable indifference.  This is not divine love. Love displaces mistrust. 

The love that erects confidence[4] also expels fears. God’s agápē is amiable toward the believer because of the Anointed One.  The believer’s love should be amicable toward fellow Christians because of their filial relation to the Anointed One.  Other Christians are worthy of being loved because of the Anointed One. If a person dreads the thought of judgment day, their life remains unmarked by God’s perfected agápē that expresses itself in concrete action. In other words, he has no basis for assurance concerning his welfare when the Judgment Seat of the Anointed One comes. “Love” here also has the additional thought of “acceptance.” 

So, we can say that love implies attraction and repulsion; therefore, fear does not exist in love. Love here means the principle of love in general; it must not be limited to God’s love for us, our love for God, or our brothers and sisters. Love and anxiety only coexist where love is unperfected. Perfect love will exclude alarm as surely as complete union excludes all separation. Self-interested love worries: pure and unselfish love has no despair. Yet nothing but pure love will drive out dread. Otherwise, this text might become an excuse for taking the most unjustifiable liberties with Almighty God.

As such, ceasing to be uneasy without attaining perfect love is irreverent and presumptuous. Hence John is once more pointing out an ideal to which Christians must aspire but to which no one attains in this life. There is distress, as Bede the Venerable points out, which prepares the way for love, and which comes only to depart again when its work is done.[5] That’s because they are afraid of sin’s punishment. Such discipline should not be rendered with indefinite “suffering” or “torment.”[6] But “it has” does not mean “deserves” or “will receive sanctions,” but quite literally “has it.” ” It is the day of judgment and horror in reference to that day that is under consideration, and the panic of retribution is anticipated chastisement. Note the conjunction “but” introducing a contrary and then a contrast: “Terror is not in love, but perfect love does get rid of dread, because the apprehensiveness is tortuous, and he who is fainthearted has not been made perfect in love.”[7] The dread of suffering a penalty may deter someone from sinning, but it cannot lead them to righteousness. For that, we need either a sense of duty or a feeling of love.

So, we can see that verse eighteen offers proof of what the Apostle John says in verse seventeen. We have boldness at the Anointed One’s Judgment Seat of Christ because God completes His love in us.  John now looks at love from a negative viewpoint. Love accomplishes something now. The Christian does not look forward to the Judgment Seat of Christ with nervousness because He understands God’s love.  Not only does love look joyfully to meeting the Lord, but it presently casts out terror; love gives freedom from anxiety. Being alarmed and love are as contrary to each other as oil, water, and love can coexist, but perfect love and despair cannot coexist. Being scared, in varying degrees, exists in every believer’s life. This would not be the case if God’s perfect love gripped his soul. There is no room for cowardness in God’s economy of love.  We cannot simultaneously approach God in love and hide from Him in dismay.  We overcome the trembling misgivings about God by understanding His perfect love for us. Love is the most important manifestation of fellowship with the Lord. 

When Christians manifest a Spirit-filled life by loving other believers, they have no distress when anticipating the Judgment Seat of Christ.  He knows that the Spirit is the controlling influence over their life.  A believer, out of fellowship, torments their soul because they learn they are out of harmony with God. Anxiety intimidates their soul with thoughts of meeting the Lord. But, on the other hand, the Christian in fellowship anticipates meeting the Lord at the Rapture. Most people are scared of judgment. They are also alarmed about accountability to God. Non-Christians will face the Great White Throne judgment for rejecting the Anointed One as their Savior. That will be a dreadful day.[8]

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[1] Job 15:20-24

[2] Psalm 73:17-19

[3] 1 John 4:8

[4] 1 John 4:17

[5] Bede the Venerable: Gerald Bray, ed., James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, op. cit., p. 228

[6] See Matthew 25:46; Ezekiel 43:11, Wisdom of Solomon 11:14; 2 Maccabees 4:38

[7] 1 John 4:18 – Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)

[8] Hebrews 9:27-28; 2:14

CYNICS may ask, why don’t people follow the advice of numerous proverbs and maxims of forethought available for centuries? Instead, they conclude that these are only used after some rightful venture has gone “horribly wrong.” When, for instance, a person gambles and loses all they have, including their house, why didn’t they remember the old Scottish proverb which declares “willful waste leads to woeful want?” But if the gambler knew this well-worn saying, what good might have been done. So, are the maxims of morality useless because people disregard them? For Christians and Jews, the Book of Proverbs is a great example. Yet, what about other religions and philosophers?

We know that Christianity was born among Jewish converts by an acclaimed Jewish Rabbi named Jesus of Nazareth, whose disciples believed Him to be the Messiah, the Son of God. So, it would not be surprising that many of our Lord’s teachings were based on the early Jewish writings of Moses, the Prophets, and Psalms. Later we see these same truths in the Jewish commentary called the Talmud. So, here is one to consider:

Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel (10 BC – 70 AD) said, “All my life I have been raised among the wise, and I have found nothing better for the body than silence. The essential thing is not studying but deed. And one who speaks excessively brings on sin.”[1]

This Rabbi who lived during the time of Jesus knew what King Solomon said, “A person who talks too much gets into trouble. A wise person learns to be quiet.”[2] Rabbi Gamliel may also have heard what Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Beware you, Pharisees, and you other religious leaders – hypocrites! For you tithe down to the last mint leaf in your garden but ignore the important things – justice, mercy, and faith. Yes, you should tithe, but you shouldn’t leave the more important things undone.”[3]

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[1] (Pirke Avot) Ethics of the Fathers 1:17

[2] Proverbs 10:19 – Easy to Read Version (ERV)

[3] Matthew 23:23 – Living Bible (LB)

In times of trial, difficulty, and suffering, sincere Christians will not hesitate to lay a comforting hand on the shoulder of those they love and assure them that God will never give them more than they can handle. It is meant to be a pep talk. But what they’re really saying at that moment is: “You can do this!” or “You’ve got this!” or “Just keep on keeping on!” So, while offering some encouragement to someone going through a hard time is a good and noble thing to do, if you have ever used the phrase “God will never give you more than you can handle” to offer that encouragement, take a moment to say a quick prayer of better understanding!

The saying that God will never give you more than you can handle isn’t from the Bible. And yet, its origin is in the Bible. The Apostle Paul wrote, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so you can endure.”[1]

Careful readers of scripture will note that Paul IS NOT saying we can handle every situation and circumstance thrown our way. Instead, he says there are no overwhelming trials or traps designed to prove our faith in Him and that God will allow without providing a way for us to overcome it victoriously. However, Paul doesn’t go any further than that. When we take Paul’s words about trials and traps and apply them to suffering more generally, we arrive at the idea that “God will never give you more than you can handle.” Although well-intended, this is a misreading of the Bible’s teaching. The Message Translation puts it this way, “ No test or trap set in your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; He’ll always be there to help you come through it.”

Just imagine this scene adapted from Genesis: God looks down at the world and is upset by humankind’s wickedness. So, God determines the best course of action is to start over. Noah and his family are deemed righteous by God and so are given instructions to build an ark. They do just as God commands. After Noah assembles all those animals he’s famously pictured with, the heavens open, and the rain starts pouring down. Finally, Noah and his family enter the ark, closing the door behind them. The waters rise and rise and rise.

So, let us imagine, several days into their voyage, Noah looks over the edge of the ark, where he sees a lone man standing on what used to be a mountaintop. At this point, however, all but the man’s head are submerged in water. The man cries out for Noah to save him. Noah replies, “Don’t worry, God will never give you more than you can handle.” Then the man disappears beneath the flood waters. While this is an imaginary example, the truth is that the Bible is full of stories about people who are faced with circumstances that they cannot handle and, in some cases, are overcome by them.

The Bible brings together two seemingly incompatible ideas: God’s unwavering love for us that works all things for good on the one hand.[2] And on the other hand, bad things do happen to us – sometimes beyond our capacity to deal with them. This tension is perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in the inspiring words in the book of Romans, in which the Apostle Paul boldly proclaims that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus while at the same time pointing to circumstances that will cause us to question that love.[3]

In some cases, when we experience hardship, we can see how some good came out of it. Perhaps we were prideful. We were vain. We were hard of heart. We had deluded ourselves into believing we could do it all on our own. And now, on the other side of that hardship, that pride, that hardness of heart, that pretense of self-reliance has been stripped away. Maybe we found a reservoir of strength within us that we didn’t know was there. But most of the time, we have no idea how any good is brought about through the hardship and suffering we endure. We experience trauma, get a frightful diagnosis, our relationships crumble, and people we love die. And we cannot see, imagine, or even begin to fathom how any good can come of it.

In those moments, we are like the disciples, standing at the foot of the cross looking up at the Savior’s dead and bloody body, unable to believe that Jesus could possibly recover from this situation. But the courageous faith of the Bible is a faith that says if God can redeem us through Jesus’s death on the cross, if God pulls life and light and salvation from an instrument of torture and execution, then there is no situation or circumstance on earth that God cannot redeem even if we can’t see how.

And the beautiful thing about that kind of faith is that it sets us free. It frees us so that when we see a loved one going through a hard time, we don’t have to pretend to see a silver cloud in their suffering. We don’t have to pretend we have God’s view of the situation and assure them they can fully handle the burden pressing them down. Quite frankly, it’s possible they can’t. Rather, a trusting faith like this frees us just to say, “Wow, that must be hard. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. But can I sit with you in that hard place? Can I help pray you through this? May I accompany you through this dark valley until we reach the other side together?” Not just me, but also Jesus will walk with us. May it be so!

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[1] 1 Corinthians 10:13 – New Living Translation (NLT)

[2] Romans 8:28

[3] Ibid. 8:31-39

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson CXIII) 07/15/22

^4:17                If God’s agápē is made perfect in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world.  We will be without fear because we are like Jesus in this world.

Ian Howard Marshall (1934-215) feels that the NIV translation of the Greek preposition en toutō (Translated as “in, by, with”), and (“pronouns: “thing” or “one”), with “This is how,” as does the NASB’s “By this” conceals “Herein,” which indicates how love is made complete among us. I agree with Marshall when you stop and think that the Apostle John might be answering a question on “How is love made perfect among us?” Here in verse seventeen, it is likely that the love of which John is speaking is the relationship that involves both God’s agápē to us and our love for Him. This experience of mutual love is fully realized when we can have confidence on the day of judgment. John will explain more fully how this is the case in the next verse concerning the Judge involved and our relationship with Him. But before reaching this principle, he comments that this confidence is possible because “in this world, we conduct ourselves as He did.”[1]

John Painter (1935) asks, what is meant by “love has been perfected?” From the comparative statement in verse twelve, it is clear that “His (God’s) love” is in view. The discussion has been to identify God as the source and example of love, so this is a natural conclusion to draw. But how can God’s love be perfected? The Greek verb telos denotes the “end” or “goal.” Therefore, it indicates the conditions under which God’s love reaches its goal. John’s emphasis has been on love, which originates with God, expressed by God sending His Son to be the world’s Savior and propitiation of our sins so that we may be spiritually alive through Him. Furthermore, we express the life He gave us by loving one another. Thus, God’s love reaches its goal when that love is known/recognized and believed/accepted.[2] Therefore, belief is the basis for love because operating in God’s love involves loving others.[3]

For Muncia Walls (1937), the boldness given to God’s children is the incredible awareness that wages of sin have been paid through the blood of Jesus the Anointed One. Because of the new birth, we can stand before God cleansed and justified by His Spirit, knowing that being a child of God gives a comforting feeling of blessed assurance that it is well with their soul. So, if they are called before the Judge at any time, they would stand there justified because of the witness who lives within their heart.[4]

Michael Eaton (1942-2017) is convinced that verse seventeen should be joined with the first part of verse eighteen to read this way: “And as we live in God, our love grows to perfection, so we will not be afraid on Judgment Day, but we can face Him with confidence because we live as Jesus did in this world. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear.” Perfected love throws without fear because fear holds on to punishment, and those who continue to fear are not perfected in love. Why are we unloving? John says it is because we fear ourselves, our security, our pleasure, our reputation, and our future. We are unloving because we are defensive and self-protective. We are afraid of discipline from God now and retribution later on Judgment Day. We fear abuse from other people that they will reject us, oppose us, or criticize us. The root of being unloving is always fear of retribution.[5] While this may be true of our critics and persecutors, it is not true of God. He who is our Savior is also our Judge.

William Loader (1944) notes that verse seventeen’s pronoun “He” means the Anointed One. But how are we like Him in this world? To begin with, the Anointed One is not physically in this world; He is exalted in the heavenly world. Yet we share with Him a typical father-child relationship. Since the Anointed One is God’s Son, we are God’s sons and daughters. Why does this give us confidence in facing future judgment? Because we are in Him, we, too, share the same love God the Father shows to the Son. Even though the Anointed One is in the heavenly world, we are in this world. Possibly John is also thinking of the protection in such a relationship with our heavenly Father, enabling the believer not to fall and so be found lacking in future judgment.[6]

To illustrate this from everyday life, imagine that the Anointed One gave His bride – the church – an engagement ring, but when the bride shows up for the marriage supper of the Lamb,[7] the ring is missing. What else can she offer to show that she is His true bride? It can be illustrated by an ancient Anglo-Saxon custom where the future groom gives his finance engagement gifts, also known as a dowry. The complete dowry had to be returned if she was found unfaithful. It reminds us of the custom back in Jesus’ day. A groom would give his intended bride love gifts, including a necklace made of gold coins while he was away, earning his wealth to support her and their expected children. When he returned, if she still had the necklace just like he gave it to her, he took that as a sign of her faithfulness. Likewise, the lady in Jesus’ parable of the lost coin[8] knew that if she did not find it when her fiancée returned, he would take away those love gifts and give them to someone else. That’s why she was so frantically looking for that lost coin[9] and why she rejoiced with her friends when she found it. So, what gifts did Jesus give us before He went away to prepare a place for us so that when He returned, He would take us to live with Him?[10] It was simply His agápē in the form of the fruit of the spirit.

Duncan Heaster (1967) tells us that the connection here connects with what Jesus taught[12] that through the gift of the Holy Comforter, we could be with the Lord “that you also may be where I am,” in His relationship with the Father. And this is in effect by the gift of the Comforter.[13] As the Apostle John explained in verse twelve, the work of the Spirit is too perfect or develops our characters towards an ever-deeper love, approximating progressively closer to the love of the Lord for us on the cross. By the end of our lives, we will have reached the maturity of love intended for us, and thereby we will be confident in the day of judgment. We shall know that we have the spirit of the Anointed One, which in simplest essence is love like His love. In this sense, we will have received eternal life, the nature of living as He lived. We can confidently expect to resume living that eternal life through resurrection and glorification.[14]

Karen H. Jobes (1968) admits that it is difficult to see at first glance how “just as that One is, we also are in this world” can logically function. The demonstrative pronoun translated “that One” is used often in the Apostle John’s writings where one might expect a personal pronoun, and it usually refers to God or Jesus. Here it almost certainly refers to Jesus because the phrase “in the world” suggests the human presence of the Son on earth.[15] John is presenting an analogy between “we are in this world” and “that One is,” perhaps with the prepositional phrase “in the world” to be understood. The reading here reflects a possible amendment that considers this an analogy between how Jesus “was in the world blameless and pure” and how “we” are to be in this world. By this understanding, the analogy is the method of being like Him.[16]

Most commentators reject the idea that John is referring to Christians being able to heal the sick, raise the dead, and open the eyes of the blind, as Jesus did. But when we consider that it was by the Holy Spirit, and with the Spirit being in us, these things were done, it would not be out of the question for some of those same miracles to occur today. However, I would rule out transfiguration, turning water into wine, multiplying bread and fish, or walking on water. Those belong exclusively to the Son of God.

So, when the world looks at us, what do they see? asks David Legge (1969). Do they see the Anointed One? Do they see God? John implies that just as the Anointed One dying on the cross over 2000 years ago and rising again was the answer to humanity’s needs, the solution is that same agápē displayed through Christian lives – the Anointed One’s-ones! We are predestined to be the answer to mankind’s needs, not in and of ourselves, but because the love of God is meant to be displayed in our lives. The world is supposed to see His love perfected in us, but they only see us biting and devouring one another; they see backbiting and hear on radio and TV Christians chastising one another over secondary doctrines which are essential to God’s people but mean nothing to a soul that is lost and on its way to hell.[17]

4:18     Where God’s agápē is, there is no fear because God’s perfect love takes away such anxiety.  It is His punishment that makes a person afraid.  So, His agápē has not been made perfect in the one who has such dread.

EXPOSITION

In Jewish writings, we find an interesting interaction between love and fear.  It talks about the natural love a father has for his son and the love his son has for his father.  It says: “This reciprocal desire gives rise to fear in both their hearts: the father is afraid that the son may hate him (even a little), and the son fears the same.”[18]  So John wants all of God’s children to know that they should never fear that God will decide not to love them any longer just because they make a mistake.  After all, if He was willing to send His Son before they were even part of His family, why would they think that God would think twice about it after their election and adoption.

So, His love is not made perfect in the one who has fear. Now John introduces a concept considered spiritually incorrect in today’s Christian world.  He contrasts God’s agápē with God’s punishment.  It is alright for some ministers to speak about God’s agápē, grace, mercy, and kindness. Still, they avoid mentioning His punishment, discipline, judgment, and condemnation, fearing they will scare sinners away.

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[1] Marshall, Ian Howard. The Epistles of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., p. 223

[2] 1 John 4:16

[3] Painter, John. Sacra Pagina: 1, 2, and 3 John: Vol. 18, loc. cit.

[4] Walls, Muncia: Epistles of John & Jude: op. cit., p. 78

[5] Eaton, Michael: Focus on the Bible, 1,2,3 John, op. cit., p. 166

[6] 1 John 5:18

[7] Revelation 19:6-9

[8] Luke 15:8-10

[9] Cf. Revelation 2:4; the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) reads: “You have abandoned the love you had.”

[10] John 14:3

[11] Galatians 5:22-23

[12] John 14:2-3

[13] See Ibid. 14-16

[14] Heaster, Duncan: New European Commentary, op. cit., 1 John, pp. 34-35

[15] Cf. 1 John 2:6; 3:5, 16; John 1:18

[16] Jobes, Karen H., 1, 2, and 3 John (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Book 18), p. 204

[17] Legge, David: 1,2,3 John, Preach the Word, op. cit., “Christian Love: Its Source and Sign,” Part 13

[18] The Zohar: by Rav (a rabbi with advanced raining) Michael Laitman, Laitman Kabbalah Publishers, The Second Commandment, 2007, p. 389

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson CXII) 07/14/22

^4:17                If God’s agápē is made perfect in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world.  We will be without fear because we are like Jesus in this world.

Paul W. Hoon (1910-2000) notes that the Apostle John’s expectation of a literal, imminent judgment was not during his lifetime. However, his valid conception of human life as temporary, constantly exposed to divine judgment, and ultimately confronted with the final decision, is timeless.[1] All the apostles expected Jesus to return on any day at any hour; through the ages, every generation of Christians has anticipated the same. That’s why, since the promise of His return never grows old or expires, the Day of Judgment will remain an open date. The idea is not to keep trying to find out what year, month, or day. He is coming back. John is telling us to be ready when it does. And the best way to take our anxiety while waiting for His second coming is to ensure that God’s agápē is perfected in us. As John says, in this world, we are to conduct ourselves like Jesus but love others more than we love ourselves.

Rudolf Schnackenburg (1914-2002) hears the Apostle John arguing that while we are here on earth, we are in an incomplete state of salvation, still under the threat of future judgment. In this situation, love demonstrates its true glory and power by removing the fear of the heavenly Judge and giving us confidence in our salvation. The phrase “love has been perfected among us” [2] does not focus on demonstrating God’s agápē toward us. That has already been described.[3] The Greek verb teleiousthai, “to be perfected,” refers not so much to the degree as to the interior nature of perfection. The Greek pronoun hēmon (“us, we, our,”) has the Greek preposition en (“in, by, with, among, at, on, through”). Therefore, the key is to select the preposition that most clearly shows where our perfection came from.

The KJV translators used the English word “in” 1,902 times, “by” 163 times, and “with” 140 times. In his lexicon, James Strong (1822-1894) defines the Greek preposition en in verse twelve as: “that in which any person or thing is fixed, implanted, or with which it is intimately connected.” Furthermore, says Strong, it is “of the whole in which a part dwells or abides.” So, any perfection of love a believer experiences is only a tiny part. It is supernaturally implanted in the new birth by the Holy Spirit.[4] Therefore, the subject of the statement is Love as a divine attribute expressing itself to perfection in giving us confidence in the future. Schnackenburg prefers “with us” to show that such love is a reflection of God being with us as we love one another, and through this loving other, it is perfected – made complete like a circle back to God.

Donald W. Burdick (1917-1996) finds this statement here in verse seventeen as positive. A literal translation of the first clause of this verse would read: “In this is love perfected with us.”[5] It is best to refer “in this” to verse sixteen. It is in the experience of dwelling in God and He in us that “the love’’ (the Godlike love which John has described) has been perfected with us. This is not to say our love reaches perfection in this life. Instead, God’s agápē reaches its goal as it finds expression in and through us to others.[6] The Greek meth hemon (“with us”) suggests that we are active in the expression of love. Even though love is from God and is, in reality, loving others through us, we are not mere passive channels through which His agápē flows.[7] God indwelling us produces His agápē, but we also actively participate in the exercise of love. Like any healing lotion or balm, God is the producer and provider; we are the ones spreading it around to those who are sick in sin.

John Phillips (1927-2010) tells an interesting story about a wealthy Christian lady who saw a street kid gazing into a shoe store window. She stopped and asked him, “What are you looking at?” The boy turned around in amazement since most people did not speak that kindly to him. “I was just praying that God would let me have some shoes like that and pointed to a pair of boots.” The lady asked if he’d like to go inside and look at them closer. Once inside, she asked the store clerk if he had something so she could clean the boy’s dirty feet. They brought her some water; she washed the little fellow’s feet and then went to find some warm socks. Then she asked if he would like to try on the boots he wanted. With a big smile on his face, he pulled on this pair of strong, comfortable boots. The lady then paid for the boots and told the boy he could go now. In amazement, he looked at the kind woman’s face and said, “Please, ma’am, are You Jesus’ wife?” That’s how, says Phillips, we will have boldness on judgment day.[8]

Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) says that the sense of what the Apostle John says here in verse seventeen, “This is how love is made perfect in us,” is excellent and agrees precisely with what John said previously in the second half of verse sixteen, and the first half of verse seventeen “If we love one another, God abides in us; and His agápē has reached perfection with us.” But the excellent sense is only found when this clause in verse seventeen relates to what John says in verse twelve. Some would reject this interpretation on the incorrect grounds that “herein” (KJV) in verse seventeen refers only to the judgment which follows. But this is indefensible when we compare “by this” (KJV); “this makes” (NIV); “from this” (NLT) in John 16:30; and “In this” KJV; “this is how” (NIV); and “now we can tell” (NLT) in 1 John 3:10.[9] Nowhere in any of these is Judgment Day mentioned.[10] Unless we feel the same way about Jesus, John says God’s agápē does not abide in us. Therefore, each day we should tell our Master, “Jesus, I live this day for You.”

David E. Hiebert (1928-1995) says that the comparison of “as He is” and “we also are” marks a likeness in character which is true of believers already “in this world.” Varied views have been expressed as to the nature of this likeness. Here are some that Donald Burdick (1917-1996) offers: (1) The Anointed One has perfect confidence before God, and the believer may also be confident both now and at the judgment. (2) Those experiencing the mutual indwelling are involved in a fellowship with God that is, to some extent, similar to the Anointed One’s present perfect fellowship with God. (3) Christians are like the Anointed One, not in one attribute but in His character. (4) Believers are like the Anointed One ideally or positionally in what is called “prophetic reality.” (5) Christians are like the Anointed One in that they love as He loves.[11] The context suggests that it is a likeness in love. Love is the theme in this section,[12] and in the next verse, John explicitly singled out love as the antidote to “fear” in a believer’s life. Clearly, John believed in a God-given Love that works redemptively in its recipients in this world and prepares them for the future.[13]

Simon J. Kistemaker (1930-2017) says that our confidence in life as a Christian is due to our conformity to the Anointed One, our perfect model. That’s why the Apostle John says here in verse seventeen, “in this world we are like Jesus.” A more literal translation is, “Because as He is, we also are in this world.”[14] As the Anointed One demonstrated His agápē, so should we show our love to one another in the world in which we live. In the context of this epistle, God’s agápē in His Son is predominant. Also, we must show love for one another and thus fulfill God’s command.[15] When we duplicate the love of Jesus, we need not fear the coming Day of Judgment.[16]

Stephen S. Smalley (1941-2018) finds that another tone in understanding this passage may be detected. In his Gospel,[17] the Apostle John explains more fully the relationship between the exalted Anointed One and His followers on earth, which John expresses more succinctly. also refers to the state of believers “in the world.”[18] Since Jesus indwelled them, and they do not belong to the world,[19] they are protected by the power of the divine name, Jesus, from the evil one – Satan. That means Christians who are in union with God can overcome the evil one[20] and may have “confidence” on earth as well as in heaven. This thought also helps to explain the seeming difficulty in the statement that Christians “are” as Jesus “is in the world.” No conflict is involved if this is understood as the statement of a spiritual ideal, which to some extent can become a reality even on earth. It should be characteristic for every believer to reflect the abiding fellowship and love between the Son and the Father; insofar as this is achieved, a complete likeness to the Anointed One in the future is foreshadowed.[21] Meanwhile, an injunction to imitate Jesus is present but not articulated. We are to become as He is,[22] both in His nature of agápē and in His obedient behavior.[23] [24]

Zane C. Hodges (1932-2008) comments that verse seventeen might be rendered, “In this respect, love is made complete with us, namely, that we should have boldness on judgment day.” The Apostle John was not referring here to a final judgment in which the eternal destiny of each believer hangs in the balance. There is no such judgment for a believer.[25] A believer’s life will be assessed at the judgment seat of the Anointed One.[26] Yet even on that solemn occasion, a believer may have confidence[27] that God will approve the quality of their life if, through love, that believer, while in this world, becomes like Him. An unloving Christian is unlike his Lord and may anticipate rebuke and loss of reward at the judgment seat. But a loving believer is one in whom the work of God’s agápē has been completed,[28] and the fruit of that is boldness before the One who will judge them. In this way, they achieve the goal of confidence and have no shame when facing Him.[29] [30]

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[1] Hoon, Paul W., The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., 1 John, Exegesis, p. 285

[2] 1 John 4:12

[3] Ibid. 4:9-10

[4] Romans 5:5

[5] Revised Standard Version – (RSV)

[6] 1 John 4:12

[7] Burdick, Donald W., The Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 78

[8] Phillips, John: Exploring the First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 152

[9] See also 1 John 3:19

[10] Brown, Raymond E., The Anchor Bible, op. cit., Vol. 30, p.527

[11] Burdick, Donald W., The Letters of John the Apostle: An In-Depth Commentary, Moody Press, Chicago, 1985, p. 335

[12] 1 John 4:7; 5:5

[13] Hiebert, David E., Bibliotheca Sacra, op. cit., January-March 1990, p. 85

[14] New American Standard Bible Version (NASB)

[15] 1 John 3:23

[16] Kistemaker, Simon J., New Testament Commentary, op. cit., p. 339

[17] John 17:1-10

[18] Ibid. 17:11, 15, 18

[19] Ibid. 17:16

[20] Ibid. 2:13-14; 5:19

[21] Ibid. 3:2

[22] Ibid. 2:6

[23] Ibid. 2:29; 3:3, 16

[24] Smalley, Stephen S., Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 51, op. cit., p. 259

[25] John 5:24

[26] 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10

[27] Cf. 1 John 2:28; 3:21; 5:14

[28] Cf. the same words in 1 John 2:5; 4:12

[29] See 1 John 2:28

[30] Hodges, Zane C., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, op. cit., loc. cit.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson CXI) 07/13/22

^4:17                If God’s agápē is made perfect in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world.  We will be without fear because we are like Jesus in this world.

William E. Shepard (1862-1930) says how sad it is to think that what God intended for light should now be extinguished for darkness; that what He designed for help should be turned into a hindrance; that what He meant to bless should be made a curse; and that what He meant for a life of holiness should be construed to indicate a life without sanctification! O, the disappointment that must be to the Anointed One! What regret will fill their souls! What an awful wail will be heard on that last great day!

The Apostle John explains, argues Shepard, that if God’s agápē is made perfect in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world. We will be without worry because we are like Jesus in this world. On the other hand, if we fail in receiving this agápē or forfeit the same, we may expect to not succeed on the day of judgment. God bless those who believe in holiness. God bless the faithful witnesses of holy living. God help the Christians seeking the Light. God pity those turning out their Light in the darkness and expelling His truth from their souls, causing their destruction. Let us be faithful to God, dedicated to His Word, devoted to each other, and honest with ourselves. We will soon be through with this world; let us have the experience and live the life we wish we had when we face the stern realities of the other world. Amen.[1]

David Smith (1866-1932) notes that the Apostle John lets us know that when we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God in us. This way, love has the run of the house, feels at home, and matures in us so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day – our standing in the world is identical to that of the Anointed One.[2] That’s because Love is a heavenly visitor journeying with us and requires observance of His guidelines. Love has been “carried to its end” when we are like Jesus, His visible representatives.[3]  Jesus is in the world unseen, and our office is to make Him visible. We are to Him what He was to the Father in the days of His flesh.[4] [5]

Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) shares his testimony about struggling with the idea of “perfect love.” I confess to you, says Ironside, that there were years in my Christian life when I was confused about what these words, perfect love, really meant. Yet today, I know of no other passage of Scripture that gives me greater joy or seems more apparent than this verse that puzzled me for so long. Shortly after I converted, I stared at it and said, “I don’t understand.” But, of course, I was misinformed by the KJV reading. I kept reading the words, “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.” I said, “If boldness in the day of judgment depends upon my love being perfect, how can I ever be sure that everything will be right with me?”

You could say that I was looking at myself and within my heart for perfect love, confesses Ironside, and as I searched my heart, I always found something contrary to ideal love, and I would say to myself, “Am I ever going to be perfect in love? I cannot have boldness on judgment day until my love is perfect.” I would go to God and earnestly pray for understanding. I sought to make a complete surrender. I would ask Him to make me perfect in love and then get up, look within, and say, “Let me see; is it alright now? Do I love everybody perfectly?” Then I would go out among people again and find I did not like this person and that one, and sometimes little twinges of jealousy would spring up. I knew I should never be jealous or envious of anyone I loved. I would end up saying, “I am just as bad as ever; how am I ever going to stand with confidence on the day of judgment?” Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I remember how glorious my conversion was that when I was born again, God showed me that perfect love did exist in another Man, the One I had been looking up to for six and a half years after my conversion. That’s when I turned away from looking at myself and said, “Look up there!” By faith, I saw another Man, Jesus the Anointed One, seated in highest glory at the Father’s right hand. Then God told me, “There, perfect love is displayed in the Anointed One.” It finally struck me; it was manifest in this world through God’s agápē. God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. So, this perfect love is not that we loved God first, but that He loved us and sent His Son to cover our sins with His blood. “Oh,” I said, “I see it at last. Perfect love led the Anointed One to come from Godhead’s immeasurable glory down to Calvary’s rugged hill of shame and suffering. It was perfect love that led Jesus to look upon a lost, ruined, guilty world, take all their sins upon Him, and die on their behalf on a cross meant for criminals.” So, I want to return the feeling this perfect love gave me back to the One who sent His Son to die on my behalf; like Him, I must be willing to give that same kind of love to others.[6]

Charles H. Dodd (1884-1973) states that the conformity of the Christian life with the divine character as revealed in the Anointed One is an idea never far from the Apostle John’s mind. Sometimes it is expressed precisely in De Imitatione Christi (1418-1427),[7] where the sequence of thought may be compared with verse seventeen. The context shows that John is appealing to the example of the Anointed One as the One of whom it can be said, without qualification, that He remains in love, and love is complete in Him. In John’s Gospel, we learn that the Anointed One is in perfect union with the Father, Father, and Son, dwelling mutually in one another;[8] and this union with God by mutual indwelling is held up as the archetype, or ideal, of the communion of the Christian with God.[9] All this is in John’s mind when he says, “in this world, we are conducting ourselves as He did.” [10]

Greville P. Lewis (1891-1976) asserts that if constant judging is continuous, it follows that the final judgment at the end of history will not be an investigation into our fate; it will be the finalization of divine conclusions which have already been made on each individual and each nation or civilization in the world.[11] In other words, for the unconverted, they will be getting what they deserve – everlasting separation from God, while believers get what they didn’t deserve – an eternal presence with God.

Amos N. Wilder (1895-1993) sees two lines from our abiding in God’s agápē now being drawn, one concerning anxiety in the face of the Judgment, the other with anxiousness in general in the past. In that case: The perfection of the divine love is achieved among us in the twofold abiding; so great is this agápē, for example, that even on Judgment Day, we will be boldly confident. This, however, probably looks forward. Our glad boldness on the day of judgment (now upon us) is a supreme instance of the full realization of the divine love in our midst. The anguish of the great tribulation with the judge intimidated the hearts of these Christians the Apostle John is writing.[12] But, since the Antichrist was at work, the coming of the Lord was imminent. Therefore, confidence at His appearing is assured in 1 John 2:28 to those who abide in Him. Those who have a kinship with the Judge have no reason to fear Him.[13]

Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) The whole of our life must always be present in our minds, and we must always be doing everything in the light of its eternal consequences. Cause always produces an effect; we cannot divide these things into compartments and categories. That general principle covers the three arguments the Apostle John makes. Three things are inevitable consequences of dwelling in love, of abiding in love.

Here is the first: To dwell in love is the final proof that God lives in us and that we are in God. We could never stay in love and love one another were it not that we dwell in God and God in us. This is a sheer impossibility to the human mind controlled by hatred and malice. The Bible is full of that teaching; it does not paint a rosy picture of human nature. I have often said that if we had no other reason for believing the Bible to be God’s Word, this would be sufficient for us: the stark honesty and truthfulness of the Bible, which tells the truth about humanity, is the only book that does it.

The second conclusion that we draw is that this is the demonstration of the fact that love has been perfected in us. The KJV reads, “Herein is our love made perfect.” But it is generally agreed that the better translation is, “Herein is love made perfect in us.” It gives ample proof that God’s agápē is in us. What does that mean? It means that God’s ultimate purpose in salvation and in all He has done for us in His Son, our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, is that we might become such people. This, says John, is the perfecting of God’s agápē, the perfect carrying out of God’s purpose of love.

And that brings us to the third and last conclusion in this graphic and striking form by the Apostle John: “Herein is our love made Perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment.”  Of course, this is one of the greatest and mightiest matters confronting us in the Scriptures – the doctrine of judgment, a theme taught in the Bible from beginning to end. So, what does John mean when he makes that statement? Let’s read it like this: The Day of Judgment is not merely a figurative expression of what happens to us when we die. Death, of course, is judgment because once we die, our fate is forever determined, but it is not death that determines our fate. On the contrary, death puts us in a position where we can do nothing. There is no second chance in the Bible.

It’s always one thing or the other that decides our destiny in the world of time. So, death is a serious matter; but it is not everything. The Day of Judgment is not death. Rather, it is a great event that, according to Scripture, will take place at the end of the world, at the end of time. The only question that needs to be answered between then and now is this: “Are we ready for Judgment Day?” The Apostle John says, “Yes!” Because as we live in union with the Anointed One, our love grows more perfect and complete.[14]

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[1] Shepard, William E., Wrested Scriptures Made Plain, op. cit., p. 95

[2] 1 John 4:17; Cf. 4:12

[3] Ibid. 4:10

[4] John 12:49

[5] Smith, David: Expositor’s Greek Testament, op. cit., p. 192

[6] Ironside, Harry A., The Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., pp. 161-164

[7] Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), De Imitatione Christi (The Image of the Anointed One), Bk. 2, Chap. 6; Bk. 3, Chap. 3; See also Bk. 1, Chap. 7 and Bk. 2, Chap. 29

[8] John 14:10-11

[9] Ibid. 15:9-10; 17:21-23

[10] Dodd, Charles H., The Moffatt Commentary, Johannian Epistles, op. cit., pp. 119-120

[11] Lewis, Greville P., The Epworth Commentary, The Johannine Epistles, op. cit., p.108

[12] 1 John 2:28-29; 3:19-20

[13] Wilder, Amos N., The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., 1 John, Exposition, p. 285

[14] Lloyd-Jones, Martyn: Life in the Anointed One, op. cit., pp. 528-532

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson CX) 07/12/22

^4:17                If God’s agápē is made perfect in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world.  We will be without fear because we are like Jesus in this world.

Vincent says that the second term is our love. The KJV takes the Greek preposition meta (“with”) and the pronoun hēmōn (“us”), making it equivalent to “our.” In that case, it might mean the love between Christians or God and Christians. The Revised Version renders it “with us:” Love is made perfect “with us.” This is preferable. Finding a parallel to the expression “our love” in the Final Covenant would not be easy. The basic idea is that love is perfected through fellowship. God’s agápē is perfected with us, in communion, through our abiding in Him and He in us.[1]

And the third term is boldness. In other words, notes Vincent, we may have confidence.[2]  It is the opposite of being ashamed. It corresponds to what King Solomon said, “The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves.[3] The idea of free, open speech stands as the fundamental truth of coming before God’s judgment bar with nothing to hide.  The thought is embodied in the general confession of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer: “That we should not dissemble nor cloak them before the face of Almighty God our Heavenly Father but confess them.” Vincent sees this same thought expressed in an old hymn,[4]

Jesus, your blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
Mid flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

Bold shall I stand in that great day;
Who can a word against me say?
Fully absolved through these I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.[5]

Evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) agrees with other commentators that if a person really listens to the words of Jesus and believes with their heart in God who sent His Son to be the world’s Savior, and lays hold of and appropriates this great salvation, there is no fear of future judgment. They will not be looking forward with dread to the White Throne judgment.[6] If we believe, there is no condemnation, that is, sin’s penalty of eternal spiritual separation from God. That is behind us and long gone; we will have the confidence for everlasting life on Judgment Day.[7]

Eric Haupt (1841-1910) says that we should observe how passionately verse seventeen concurs and coincides with 3:1-4. There, the entire conformity to the Anointed One, which we saw in the idea of family, lays before us as the issue of judgment. However, in order to attain it, we must have achieved another kind of likeness or equality to Him – we must have become very much like Him. Then the following exposition showed that this purity consists of righteousness and love, which on their part depended on the infusion of the Divine Spirit. Comprehending all in one, we must abide in God and He in us. Now the Apostle John returns to the beginning: this fellowship with God and perfected love in us is the likeness to the Anointed One, necessary on judgment day. By virtue of this, we pass through the terrors of the judgment untouched and then press onward to higher things to the beautiful status of perfect equality with the Anointed One. If we have entered through the Day of Judgment into eternity, further development will not be found unpaid when it is revealed what we are.[8]

The Homilist was a Baptist Magazine by English clergymen. Published in (1852) and went on to produce forty volumes. There is no name attached to the author of the sermon, but he is describing spiritual attainment. He says there is no doubt that living as the Son of God is in this world is the only possible perfection and the only ground of “boldness in the day of judgment.” To begin with, the Apostle John’s words mention our attainment of affection for God. God wins our hearts by His agápē; we then love Him more and more.

Then, John expands on evidence of complete affection for God. In this asserted perfection of our love, there is a clear recognition of the supremacy of our agápē. That’s “because,” John says, we live like Jesus here in this world. This clause seems to belong to our being made perfect in love and our boldness on the day of judgment. First, the humility of the Anointed One is reproduced in His followers. Secondly, the endurance of the Anointed One characterizes a Christian. Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at Him. Think about Him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.[9] Thirdly. Witnessing the truth of the Anointed One is seen in His disciples.[10]

John concludes this section by concentrating on the divine design in our evidenced attainment in the Anointed One-like love. That is, we now have “boldness.” etc. First: This is not (1) the boldness of evil;[11] it is not (2) the boldness of ignorance, nor (3) the boldness of self-sufficiency; neither (4) the boldness of iniquity; nor (5) the boldness of presumption.  Secondly, (1) This is a holy boldness.[12] It is (2) The boldness of fearlessness. “Perfect love drives out fear.”[13] It also qualifies as (3) the boldness of approving conscience. “It is God that justifies.”[14] The Apostle Paul was bold in prison chains because the Divine Judge approved him.[15] Furthermore, it is (4) the boldness of perfect sympathy and unity with the Judge. “He that confesseth Me.”[16]

The American Bible Union (1854) sees the connection of thought, on which depends the translation and punctuation of verse seventeen, is this: “As the end of faith,”[17] and “the satisfaction of hope,”[18] so likewise the completion of Love, the divine element in which the Christian community lives, moves, and has its being.[19] It can only be found in a fearless, joyful meeting with that Savior at His coming, whom we love although we have not seen Him, and, in loving, are even now changed into the same image, this being the only evidence that we are His, and sure ground of our confidence. Therein we can see the perfecting of our mutual love, that we (or then is our love perfected, when we) can have confidence in the day of judgment,[20] where we walk in the world, as the Anointed One walked. Thus: “Love proceeds from God,” manifested in the mission of the Anointed One, taken up into the communion of the faithful, trained after the pattern of the Anointed One, has then reached its mark when, as confiding children to their father, we draw close to Him without any fear.[21]

Reuben A. Torrey (1856-1928) says that when the disciples were baptized with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they were not only gifted with ministering power, but they entered into the experience of sonship. Then they knew as they could not have known before that through the heaven-descended Spirit, the children of God are forever united with the heaven-ascended, glorified Son of God. Since Jesus was born by the Spirit, so were they. He is not of the world as to origin and nature, and neither were they. He is loved of the Father, so were they, and with the same love was sanctified and sent into the world to bear witness to the truth, so likewise He sent them.

Furthermore, notes Torrey, as He received the Spirit as God’s seal of His Sonship, so were they sealed. He was anointed with power and wisdom to serve, so they received the unction from Him. As He began to minister, the Spirit confirmed the testimony of the Father, so they began to serve when the Spirit of the Son, the Witness, was sent into their hearts, saying Abba, Father. Then, after His service and suffering, He was received into glory, so will they obtain His glory when He comes again to receive them unto Himself. This is John’s message in verse seventeen, “And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So, we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can confidently face Him because we live like Jesus here in this world.”[22] [23]

Alonzo R. Cocke (1858-1901) says that this secure and exalted assurance is stated here in verse seventeen: “Because as He is, so are we in this world.” The ground of confidence is not the believer’s worthiness but God’s wondrous agápē, which places the believer in a position of oneness with the Anointed One. The Anointed One may be in heaven and we on earth, yet we stand in the same relationship to God as the Anointed One. Belonging to the Anointed One as a member of His body, we can no more be separated from God than the Anointed One, for in Him, we have become objects of the divine love and care. In the Anointed One’s relationship to God, we have our pledge.

Jesus wishes us to have everything that He possesses: “My peace I give to you,”[24] “that you might have My joy fulfilled in you;”[25] we are “joint-heirs with the Anointed One.”[26] That’s why “In this world, we are like Jesus” are marvelous words! We have the same legal standing and acceptance as the Anointed One, and by the communication of the life in Him, we are brought into the same relationship with Him in God’s family. Moreover, the same infinite inheritance comes to us that comes to Him because we are in Him. What a vivid contrast between those who realize that God’s agápē has placed them in this safe, perfect place and those who do not and, consequently, have their hearts terrorized with fear.[27]

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[1] Cf. Acts of the Apostles 25:4; 2 John 1:3

[2] See John 7:13; Acts of the Apostles 2:29; 1 John 3:21; 4:17; 5:14; Hebrews 3:6; 10:19; Philemon 1:8

[3] Proverbs 13:5; cf. Philippians 1:20; 2 Corinthians 3:12

[4] Vincent, Marvin R., Word Studies in the New Testament, op. cit., pp. 359-360, 341

[5] The Lord our Righteousness by Nicolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf (1739), translation by John Wesley

[6] Revelation 20:11

[7] Moody, Dwight L., The Way to God and How to Find it, op. cit., Ch. III, p. 48

[8] Haupt, Erich: The First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 273

[9] Hebrews 12:3

[10] Cf. John 14:6

[11] Ecclesiastes 8:1

[12] Hebrews 10:19

[13] 1 John 4:18

[14] Romans 4:5

[15] Philippians 1:12-26

[16] Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8

[17] See 1 Peter 1:9

[18] Titus 2:13

[19] Acts of the Apostles 17:28

[20] Cf 1 John 3:9, especially 3:14

[21] American Bible Union, First Epistle of John, op. cit., p. 47

[22] See John 10:36; 17:1-26; Romans 5:5

[23] Torrey, Reuben A., The Fundamentals – A Testimony to the Truth, Vol. 2, p. 290

[24] John 14:27

[25] Ibid 15:11; 17:13

[26] Romans 8:17

[27] Cocke, Alonzo R., Studies in the Epistles of John, op. cit., loc. cit., Logos

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson CIX) 07/11/22

^4:17                If God’s agápē is made perfect in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world.  We will be without fear because we are like Jesus in this world.

William Kelly (1822-1888) explains that if we show love to one another, it proves by faith that God lives in us, not anything we’ve done, leading to the great truth of the Spirit – God lives in us. But this is not all the Apostle John says. He adds, “God perfects His agápē is in us.”[1] To follow His word indicates the highest and deepest character of obedience. We must not be satisfied with keeping His commands in detail but maintain His Word as a whole. That’s how God perfects His agápē in us. But, of course, this does not mean we can replace it with our interpretation of perfection. Our fleshly passions are never eradicated while we live. Still, God dealt with it in the Anointed One on the cross, and we, having our spiritual life from the indwelling Anointed One, crucify our fleshly passions to the same cross.

However, notes Kelly, those sinful tendencies are still in us, although we do not participate in them. Our evil impulses do not mysteriously become spiritual aspirations; both will continue to exist while we are in the body. It’s by grace and faith in the power of the Anointed One’s death we plan never to let our bodily passions carry out their desires. That way, God’s agápē is perfected by keeping His Word and loving one another. We are pilgrims in His Word and walk together in love despite all difficulties. Thus, God perfects His agápē in us; it is expressed according to God’s will. We have nothing to boast about, but we heartily obey and love through the power of His agápē toward us and in us. Undoubtedly it supposes that habitually we have been looking to God and that He has answered our prayers, so His agápē is perfected. Obedience is carried out and love perfected according to His mind, not ours.[2]

Kelly also suggests we keep in mind, that we dwell in God and He in us, but that He has given to us of His Spirit, and by this agápē is being perfected with us, so we may have boldness on Judgment Day; because as He is, so are we in this world. It is not a state given to us on the day of judgment; we are blessed with it now. Therefore, it provides boldness even with the thought of standing before our Heavenly Judge. How could it be otherwise? If I believe and am sure that God made me be like the Anointed One, what can the effect of the day of judgment be but to display the perfections, not only of the Anointed One’s influence on me but what I am by and in the Anointed One our Lord? That is how it is supposed to be now. That means, when we stand before God on Judgment Day, our presentation to Him is not anything we are in the Anointed One but what He is in us.

Kelly also notes that the ensuing verses show the immense importance of what we have gained in verse seventeen. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.” Oh, how these words of God speak to the heart! It is not mere sentiment, but the God of Light and Love help His children against all doubt so that they might enjoy what He has promised with all openness and assurance. The fear spoken of here is inconsistent with love. Some advocate the standard error that God will judge His children, but only the elect (those predestined) will get through. What tormenting anxiety this creates for godly souls cannot be measured. They hide the gleam of comfort under their impenetrable secret of the elect instead of the true light shining brightly and steadily for all that come to God through Him. I don’t doubt, says Kelly, any more than the Calvinist that those that come are the elect, but the way he put it is apt to strand souls on a hopeless reef. The truth of Christianity always points the sinner’s needy soul to the Anointed One who can and will reveal salvation to them and give them rest through faith in Him.[3] [4]

Irish pastor Philip Bennett Power (1822-1899) tells us that Love operates on many levels. However, it is the same in principle at its beginning and end. The difference is not in the quality but the quantity. We must always keep in mind that we are dealing with inquiring and awakened souls. God’s young and growing children should be disappointed if they still feel immature in agápē. That means their love is not growing.

Power suggests that while Love may exist in different degrees, it is still capable of high attainment. Can anyone among us produce a reason why we should not be enabled to love as much as Peter, Paul, or John? Can anyone show us anything so corrupt in their natural disposition, or so supremely good in that of these apostles, that it is a moral impossibility that they can ever love as Jesus’ disciples did? Can anyone prove that the gifts of the Spirit are more limited in our case than theirs and that extra powers given to them by God’s decrees are withheld from us?

We can observe further, says Power, that even the least robust love can produce a great result. The songs of poets, the stories of real-life, and history’s records are full of love’s triumphs. As frail as we may be, love has won more victories than all else combined. When love is true, it is invincible to assault, irresistible in attack, and indestructible by time. Its efforts do not weaken its awareness nor make it grow weary. It remains tight in its grasp yet tender in its touch; that which it lays hold of cannot escape. Its grip is tight but without injury. Love is not just a watcher but a warrior – love is not only a servant but also a sovereign. True love in spiritual and temporal things is omnipotent; those who love most will believe most, and their faith and love will reach the highest goal – perfection.

Daniel Steele (1824-1914) points out that some expositors say that it is God’s agápē described here, but we agree with Henry Alford (1810-1871) that “the whole context forbids this.”[5] God’s agápē is always perfect, but humanity’s love for God poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit,[6] meeting various obstacles, limitations, and resentments,[7] is feeble and imperfect initially. But when the flesh is crucified, the Spirit of inspiration says that love fills the soul’s total capacity to begin perfection. Again, “God’s agápē” in this Epistle commonly means our love for Him and others.[8] If it means the love which He implanted in us, He and others are the direct object of that love, and we are the responsible subjects.[9] It is best to interpret “herein” at the beginning of this verse as referring to what precedes; our abiding in God and God in us. The Greek strongly expresses the purpose for which our love is made perfect by the mutual indwelling with God’s agápē.[10]

Brooke F. Westcott (1825-1901) states that St. Jerome has a strange inversion of the sense of the passage here.[11] The context in which this is written, says Westcott, is a unique form of expression and appears to have been chosen instead of the simple “has been perfected in us” in order to place the perfection clearly in the realized fellowship of God and humanity. Love is simply not perfected in humans by an act of divine power, but in fulfilling this issue, God works with His chosen. Something of the same thought of cooperation appeared when the Apostle Paul arrived in Jerusalem from Antioch.[12] In other words, the completion of God’s agápē goes into and out of us to our fellow believers and then back to Him. It doesn’t wait until the day of Judgment to be finalized.

Henry A. Sawtelle (1832-1913) agrees with a lot of other scholars that verse seventeen in the English Revised Version (1855), “Herein is love made perfect with us,” is more correct than the Authorized (KJV) Version (1611), “Herein is our love made perfect.” It is because love has been perfected, matured, and fulfilled, not in itself but in our souls’ conscious life and fruit-bearing.[13]

John James Lias (1834-1923) says that the doctrine of a Christian’s blessed assurance is amplified in verse seventeen. If we want confidence as a consequence of such a guarantee that we are in the Anointed One, we will find it in the fact that we have been conformed to a spirit of love. Of course, the Apostle means that the boldness with which we may present ourselves at the tribunal on the last day is ours now, so far as in our conduct we realize that which alone can give us this boldness. The Apostle John bids everyone to look forward to a time when they can throw aside all that leads them to be fearful of God. There is a natural bitterness between love and fear. Fear disappears as soon as love takes entire possession of the heart. Does anyone imagine a contradiction between what John says here and in his Gospel?[14] They will also find these doctrines harmonize with the Apostle Paul’s view.[15] [16]

Therefore, says Lias, salvation through the Anointed One is no arbitrary act of God’s power or will but circumstances that affect a believer’s moral or ethical development. We are delivered from wrath because we are translated into a realm of love. Love surrounds us on every side; we are bathed in an atmosphere of love; we breathe it into us, and it becomes part of us. And this agápē is God Himself. We dwell in Him, and He in us. And so do all Christians. Therefore, the mutual love that exists among Christians is perfected when God lives in them and possesses them. The more complete the indwelling, the more comprehensive the occupancy, and the more perfect the result of that dominion, the mutual love of those thus captured by love.[17] With this in mind, says the Apostle John, why would we fear standing in judgment before the One who loves and owns us?

Marvin R. Vincent (1834-1922) has several important things to say about the three terms used in verse seventeen. First the word Herein. To what does this refer? Two explanations are given for “That we may have boldness.” (1) Because verse eighteen shows the Apostle John’s thought is toward Love’s fearlessness. According to this, love has its fulfillment in freeing us from fear and inspiring us with boldness even in view of the final judgment. (2) Others say it is to what was already said, namely, our dwelling in God and He in us. Vincent tells us that Brooke F. Westcott (1825-1901) states: “The fellowship of God with mankind and mankind with God carries with it the consummation of love.” Vincent prefers this one, principally because in phrases such as “in this” or “on this account,” the pronoun usually refers to something preceding, which will be more fully developed in what follows.[18]

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[1] See 1 John 2:5

[2] Kelly, William: An Exposition of the Epistles of John the Apostle, op. cit., Logos, loc. cit.

[3] See Matthew 11:28

[4] Kelly, William: Lectures on the Catholic Epistles of John, op. cit. pp 329-330

[5] Alford, Henry: The Greek Testament, Vol. IV, op. cit., pp. 493-494

[6] Romans 5:5

[7] Galatians 5:5; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

[8] 1 John 2:5; 3:17; 5:3

[9] Deuteronomy 6:4-7; Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27

[10] Steele, Daniel: Half-Hour, op. cit., pp. 115-116

[11] Jerome: The Principal Works, Philip Schaff Ed., Christian Classic Ethereal Library, Grand Rapids, 1892, Against Jovinianus, Bk. I, p. 610

[12] Acts of the Apostles 15:4; cf. 2 John 1:3

[13] Sawtelle, Henry A., An American Commentary, Alvah Hovey Ed., op. cit., p. 52

[14] See John 3:18; 5:24

[15] See Galatians 5:6

[16] The First Epistle of St. John, Exposition, op. cit., pp. 336-337

[17] Ibid. with Homiletical Treatment, op. cit., pp. 335-336

[18] See John 5:16, 18; 6:65; 8:47; 10:17; 12:18; 16:15

Some of you may have seen ads on TV concerning beer or liquor products with the warning, “Drink in moderation.” But a word like moderation is interpreted on many levels and under multitudes of circumstances. It may be generally determined but ends up being judged by situation ethics. In other words, it may be alright for you but not for me. If we parse the word as mode-ration, it may suggest that it has to do with how we ration something.

But why is moderation so important? Psychologists tell us that going to the extreme can trigger stress. Working more, overthinking, strenuous exercise, overeating, strained relationships, and fad diets can trigger stress. Living in moderation can be remarkably helpful in minimizing stress as well as fighting against various stress-related health issues.

With a Master’s Degree in social work and a Licensed Social Worker at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Rajvi Desai tells us that the phrase “Everything in moderation” is something most of us have heard at some point in our lives, probably advised as a caution against going overboard with an activity, such as eating, shopping, working out, or spending time watching TV. But some people find it hard to do anything in moderation, no matter how insistent the advice is. Working out once a week feels useless; one night a week out with friends seems pointless; going shopping to buy one article of clothing seems like too much effort. For some people, moderation takes on the negative connotation associated with restraint and low output. They’re more the all-or-nothing kind.

We know both the ‘all’ and ‘nothing’ mindsets are harmful to people, but moderation doesn’t come easy either. Research shows that human bodies are built on healthy or unhealthy habits. In order to break them, empty words that advise moderation — even if it’s the correct change to make — don’t work as long as people are still operating from their psychological need to go all or nothing. Like any behaviors that have a basis in mental health, tackling root causes goes a long way in fixing superficial behaviors in a more moderating, healthy manner.

Then, Jeremy Godwin, a podcaster from Australia and author of “Let’s Talk About Mental Health,” says he has talked about moderation and balance for ages and does so because it helps to lay a solid foundation for mental and emotional wellbeing. Having or experiencing more and more in your life is not necessarily better; it’s just more, and it comes with its set of problems. This isn’t a new idea; the Stoics of Ancient Greece talked about four virtues: “moderation, courage, justice, and wisdom. The idea of moderation has been a core part of Buddhism for thousands of years. In fact, they teach what is called the “Middle Way” as a principle in their belief system, and it’s both a philosophical idea and a practical one in terms of how you approach your day-to-day life.

Godwin says he knows a lot of people who cringe when they hear the word moderation because it seems so incredibly dull. Moderation means avoiding excess or extremes, especially when it comes to the way you behave. Moderation is the opposite of extremism … whether we’re talking about behavior, politics, spiritual matters, or fad diets.

One chief factor in learning moderation is the effects of what psychologists call “toxicity” moderation. They are directly related to their degree of exposure to harmful content. This is true regardless of whether people are known as “content moderators” who work inside companies or outsourcing companies. For example, in-house moderators enjoy larger compensation packages, a more pleasant work environment, a more flexible schedule, and comprehensive mental health benefits like private psychotherapy and psychiatric care. In contrast, according to recent investigations, paid counselors working for contractors may face unpleasant working conditions, demanding volume and accuracy targets, restrictive schedules, rigid rules, and unflagging pressure to perform (or be fired). However, given enough exposure to toxic content, both in-house and outsourced counselors experience similar mental health consequences. These include:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – symptoms include mood disturbances, reduced productivity, nightmares/flashbacks, sleeplessness, fatigue, avoidance of certain situations, anger, fear/paranoia, and sadness. 
• Panic attacks – for example, some report panic attacks in the presence of children and animals because they fear that serious harm will come to them. 
• Anxiety – this can be severe enough to disrupt daily life, as fears and sensitivities can cause normal activities and relationships to become untenable. 
• Depression – prolonged exposure to disturbing content can lead counselors to withdraw from loved ones and feel overwhelmed by sadness, apathy, and suicidal thoughts. 
• Self-destructive habits include abusing alcohol and drugs and engaging in indiscriminate sexual contact. Such behaviors have been reported in the workplace as an emotional escape from toxic content. 
• Inappropriate (dark and disturbing) humor and language – for example, jokes about cruelty, graphic violence, or sexual assault. 
• Adopting fringe views may include conspiracy theories and fringe views like the flat-Earth theory. Repeated exposure to such material without alternate viewpoints can become persuasive. 

But what does God’s Word say about moderation? King Solomon had some excellent advice. For instance, he said, don’t make friends with people who drink too much wine and overeat. Those who eat and drink too much become poor. They sleep too much and end up wearing rags.[1] Solomon also stated that you would get sick if some things are like honey, but don’t eat too much of it.[2] Then he says that it is even harmful to eat too much honey![3]

Our Lord Jesus put it this way: ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them![4] The Apostle Paul added that the right thing to do is to quit eating meat or drinking or doing anything else that tempts your brother or sister and makes them go against their conscience.[5] Then he explained that he could do anything he wanted to, but not all things were good. He will not let anything control him like a slave.[6] Even athletes exercise moderation in all things. They do this so that they can win a prize – one that doesn’t last. But our prize is one that will last forever.[7] Then Paul clarifies: My brothers and sisters, God chose you to be free. But don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your immoderate tendencies. Instead, in love, do what is suitable for others, not just yourselves.[8] Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do in moderation.[9]

Paul also advised that the Anointed One made us free from the powers that influence this world. So why act as if we still belong to the world? I mean, says Paul, why do you follow these rules: “Don’t eat this,” “Don’t taste that,” “Don’t touch that?” These rules talk about earthly things that are gone after they are used. They are only human commands and teachings. These rules may seem wise as part of a made-up religion in which people pretend to be humble and punish their bodies. But they don’t help people moderate what their undisciplined selves want to do.[10] So be careful, says Paul, for the love of getting more is the first step toward all kinds of wrongdoing. Some people have even turned away from God because of their passion for it, resulting in many sorrows.[11] That will allow you to show yourself in all respects to be a model of moderation, integrity, and dignity.[12]

Finally, the Apostle Peter urges us to do things in moderation. Remember, the devil is your enemy, who goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to catch.[13] So we can see that moderation is necessary for our life’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual areas. We must stop thinking about how we will feel and start considering how others feel that look to us as an example.

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[1] Proverbs 23:20-21

[2] Proverbs 25:16

[3] Ibid. 25:27

[4] Luke 6:31

[5] Romans 14:21

[6] 1 Corinthians 6:12

[7] Ibid. 9:25

[8] Galatians 5:13

[9] Philippians 4:5

[10] Colossians 2:20-23

[11] 1 Timothy 6:10

[12] Titus 2:7

[13] 1 Peter 5:8

I heard the following sermon preached at Hillsdale Community Church by Pastor Jeff Smith on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant found in Matthew 18:23-34.

Pastor Jeff asked, Why is forgiveness so powerful? It shouldn’t be a complicated question. At a basic level, forgiveness is essential to giving and receiving love. But in this crazy demanding world of ours, it’s easy to forget how to forgive when somebody wrongs us. We quickly allow our feelings of indignation to get in the way. Of course, resentment may feel like it’s working its magic for a while. By withholding forgiveness from the person who did us wrong, we experience (if only temporarily) a sense of power. But does this approach resolve matters for what’s good?

Jesus was clear about the better path to take: he warned against withholding forgiveness from others. Because how can we justifiably embrace anger when we have already been forgiven far more than we deserve? The truth is that God has forgiven each of us more than we will ever know. So, with that knowledge, the only proper response from us is to forgive those who have done us wrong. But what happens if we don’t forgive? Does God’s love for us depend on whether or not we extend forgiveness to others?

Here’s the amazing thing: the love of God is given to us as a GIFT regardless of our thoughts and actions it’s not something we earn because of our good deeds; it’s not something we deserve because we’re just that incredibly awesome it’s simply a gift that we’re given. And this undeserved, unearned, unmerited gift of love is the embodiment of GRACE.

I think that’s what Jesus is getting at. Whether or not we forgive other people is a pretty good indicator of whether or not that grace from God is having an impact on our life. It’s a good indicator of whether or not we’ve accepted God’s love for us. Because the more we receive God’s love, the more we allow it a foothold in our hearts – which, in turn, strengthens our capacity for forgiveness. And the more forgiving we become, the more able we are to extend that love to others. So it’s a virtual circle.

Of course, developing the gift of forgiveness takes time and practice. It’s not about perfection but instead about steady progress. Are we more forgiving – less angry – this year than we were last? Are we cultivating the practice of forgiveness over time?

Friends, standing in the unearned love and undeserved forgiveness of God, standing in God’s grace, how dare we do anything but extend that same love and forgiveness to others. The simple truth of the matter is it’s not ours to withhold!