1 John 4:7-21
Lesson Focus
In exploring the concept of perfect love as the antidote to fear, 1 John emphasizes the transformative power of divine love in shaping believers' attitudes and actions towards themselves, others, and the world.
Learning Outcomes
Through this lesson, students should:
Understand that fear dissipates in the face of perfect love, enabling believers to approach life with boldness and trust.
Be encouraged to embrace vulnerability through love.
Understand God's nature as love, which empowers Christians to extend grace, generosity, and compassion without fear of repercussions.
The sky is Falling
No, the sky is not falling. Many Christians, upon hearing the slightest bad news about the church or the moral decline of society, or what have you, begin to run around like Chicken Little and the townspeople of Oakey Oaks.
I suppose it’s easier to spread bad news these days, especially because of social media. It just takes one person standing in the bell tower, wringing the bell while yelling, “The sky is falling!” In fear, everyone begins to panic, and when panic happens, chaos begins to break loose, and damage is needlessly done.
It seems to me, as I’ve watched the Christian landscape that Christians seem to be dominated by fear, just like Chicken Little. So what’s behind all this fear, and what are we afraid of?
We’re not very good at trusting that God’s got the whole thing and that he’s taking it in a good direction. Because of that…
I think that Christians are often afraid of sin and those who sin. This is a natural tendency of anyone who is trying to be free of something. We don’t want to get caught up in it, so like a disease that might cause us great distress, we fear it and avoid it at all costs. To be sure, we shouldn’t get too cozy with sin. But when our fear of sin causes us to be afraid of those who we think are sinners, then we’re no better than the Pharisees. But, if, as we’ve said over the past few weeks, we’re constantly breathing in the spirit of God, then we need not fear those who sin. A friend of mine has a habit of saying that holiness is always more contagious than sin. As we said last week, greater is he who is in us than the one who is in the world.
I think Christians are often afraid that others will find out we’re sinners. Seriously, we’re all sinners. We’re selfish folks; that’s just who we are at the root of things. It just happens to be that because of God’s grace and his Spirit working in us, we’re in the process of becoming free from sin. We need not fear being labeled as sinners because everyone already knows that we are. When we pretend that we weren’t once completely dominated by sin, we only do damage to the cause of Christ. Don’t flaunt your sin, though. But don’t be scared of it either.
I think Christians are often afraid to love because love means vulnerability. We are afraid of getting hurt. No one likes being open and vulnerable and having someone else take advantage of that. But that’s precisely what God in Jesus Christ did, both through creation and incarnation; God opened himself up in hopes that we would love him back, and we constantly and consistently have rejected that love. Yet, that love persists. God wants us to be the same way with the world that he is with the world. It might not seem this way, but love ultimately wins the day.
I think that Christians are often afraid of losing ground (the decline of the church in America). As a group, Christians used to have a lot of power and influence in America. We don’t so much anymore and that scares us. It causes us to overreact every time something threatens us. Like chicken little, we get to the highest point possible and begin to yell at the top of our lungs, “The sky is falling!” But as we said at the beginning, the sky is not falling. God has not abandoned us. God has not abandoned the church. God has not abandoned the world. God will not abandon us either. Why? Because God is love.
God is Love
At the beginning of our passage, John makes this rather stark comment: “God is love.” Now, this isn’t necessarily stark to us, especially since we’ve been talking about love for the last several weeks. No, we’re used to hearing that God is love, maybe anyway. But when you get down to it, it’s a startling claim. It’s a claim that has to do with the very nature of God’s being. Of course, last week, we reviewed part of God’s nature, or what the church has confessed about God over the centuries. God, in Jesus, is both fully human and fully divine. Our faith is an embodied faith; it cares for bodies as much as it does souls. It’s because of that that we need to spend time caring for our brothers and sisters in the faith. Indeed, we care for our brothers and sisters in the faith…it’s practice for our ability to care for our neighbors all around us. As Christ has loved us, so should we love others.
It’s an action; it’s a verb. Love is a verb, as we were reminded by the 90s Christian pop music group DC Talk. But what do we mean when we say that God is love? We’re not saying that God loves. We’ve already said that. We’re saying that God’s nature, his true being, and his essence are love. If God were an onion, and we spent time peeling back layer after layer of God to discern what was at the center, each layer would be love. If we remember back to the very beginning of our study of 1 John, we used an analogy to talk about God as the Trinity. Perichoresis, or the circle dance. We said that Father, Son, and Spirit exist in a flow of mutuality, deference, and…you guessed it, love. God exists as a loving relationship. Now, some will suppose that there are other characteristics that describe the nature of God. Some will say that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, sovereign, unchangeable, just or righteous, or whatever.
They wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but those things aren’t who God is. God is only one thing. God is love. We know this not because we have loved God but because, John says, he has loved us. God has loved us so much that he’s “sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him.” Yes, God gave himself up for us, in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, so that we might be free from sin and abide or remain in God. God, John confesses, lives in those who confess that Jesus is the son of God. Really, it’s a beautiful picture of God and God’s love for us. It’s good, it’s heartwarming. And yet, in the middle of all this love, there still seems to be a good amount of fear in and among Christian circles.
No Fear Here
By the time John gets around to verse 16, he makes his confession again: God is love. We abide, we live, and remain in this God whose nature is love, and he lives and remains in us. Then John says, “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so we are in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”
Now there’s a lot going on in this statement. Let’s unpack it for a bit. First, John uses the word “Perfect.” We use this word to mean that something can’t get any better than it already is. And we use this word to describe things that are not actually perfect. You may say of your husband, “He’s just perfect.” Well, you and I, and everyone else, know he is not.
What John is not saying is that you and I have become perfect in our love for God. Rather, John is saying that God is working with and through us so that our nature might be completely love as well. God’s perfect love is shaping us to be like he is. God’s perfecting us in love so that we need not fear the day of judgment or anything else. But this love, God’s love, is working its way through me, forgiving me and empowering me to love better so that I need not fear judgment. No, John says, the love with which God is loving us drives out fear. Perfect love casts out fear. No one has to fear judgment because God is love; God is perfect love. If God wanted fear to be the primary motivator for salvation while Jesus was on the cross, he wouldn’t have said, “Father, forgive them…” He would have said, “Take note. If you don’t follow my commands, then you’ll end up this way, too.” But that’s not what Jesus does. God wants love to be the motivator for our relationship with him and with the world. If we don’t need to fear the final judgment, then we don’t need to fear anything else, either. All of those fears we mentioned at the beginning, and even ones we didn’t mention, need not be feared. God’s love, a truly perfect love that isn’t afraid of anything, is working its power in us. God is love, and therefore, we should be love, too. That means that at our very core, there should be love as well.
So What…?
This means for us that we don’t get afraid of being taken advantage of. This love that is being perfected in us makes us generous way beyond our means. This means that we don’t get afraid when we’re surrounded by sin or sinners. Because as we’re connected to the Spirit and God’s love is working in us, our love, God’s love, will begin to rub off on them. Their sin won’t rub off on us. This means that we don’t need to fear when culture seems to be spinning out of control. God’s love work is at work in the world even when we can’t see it, constantly calling us to love him back. And it’s that same posture that we need to take, one of open love for the world, not one of fear that screams from the bell tower, “The Sky is falling!”
Discussion Questions
Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly. Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.
How does fear manifest itself in the Christian community today, and what are its underlying causes?
Reflecting on personal experiences, when have you found it challenging to trust in God's perfect love in the face of fear or uncertainty?
What practical steps can Christians take to cultivate a deeper understanding and experience of God's love in their lives?
Discuss instances where fear has hindered your ability to love others genuinely. How can embracing vulnerability lead to greater authenticity in relationships?
How does the concept of God's perfect love challenge traditional views of judgment and punishment within Christianity?
In what ways can Christians balance discernment of sin with a posture of love and acceptance towards those who may be perceived as sinners?
Share examples of how fear of societal change or cultural decline has influenced Christian attitudes and responses. How can a focus on God's unchanging love shift this perspective?
Reflect on instances where fear has driven your actions or decisions within your faith community. How might embracing God's perfect love have led to different outcomes?
How can Christians actively combat the spread of fear within their communities and instead promote a culture of love and trust?
Discuss practical ways in which individuals and churches can embody the truth that "God is love" in their interactions with others, both within and outside the faith community.