In our last post, we talked about the words of Jesus that you will find your life if you lose it for his sake. We are continuing by talking about the perfect love that casts out all fear.

What Would It Look Like To Be Totally Free From Fear?

1 John 4: 15-21 (NRSV) God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

Imagine what it would be like to live totally free from any and every kind of fear! How often do we take this scripture seriously? Our hearts sometimes get hardened and dulled to Gods promises because of dissapointment or what we havent experienced. Often we fail to lay hold of and experience Gods promises because of what we dont yet understand, or because we deceive ourselves by hearing God`s word but not putting it into practice. I like to do a little evaluation and when I read a scripture, ask myself “Am I really acting like this scripture is true?” 

What Is Perfect Love?

The context of 1 John 1:18 often gets missed. Of course, God`s love is perfect, so many people think “receiving God`s love sets us free from all fear.” However, that`s missing what 1 John is saying perfect love is in context. This is even easier to miss in some translations because some like the NIV say “In this God`s love is completed” and then talk about perfect love casting out all fear. It`s clearer in a translation like the NRSV. Before saying that perfect love casts out all fear, it talks about knowing and believing the love God has for us, and then it says “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.”

“As he is, so are we in this world.” In this love is perfected. It starts with receiving God`s love, but it is perfected when we become love as he is love. 

Ephesians 3:16-19 (NRSV) I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Genesis 4:1 (NRSV) Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.”

Ephesians is talking about a participatory knowledge of Gods love. When scripture says Adam knew his wife, it is talking about a participatory, experiential knowledge. The kind of knowing Gods love that Ephesians is talking about looks like a human being filled with all the fullness of God! To fully know Gods love is to participate in it. We love because God loved us. It starts with receiving Gods love but is perfected in us when we love as God loves.

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NRSV) His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 

Will You Decide To Lay Down Your Life?

John 15:9-13, 17 (NRSV) As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends…I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Jesus laid down his life for us. The Only Begotten Son of God has loved us with the same love the Father has for him! And he commands us to love each other as he has loves us. He commands us to lay down our lives for each other. This is the perfect love that casts out all fear, his love perfected in us! You can know God loves you but continue living for yourself and you will always be afraid of what people can do to you or what might happen to you, but when you lay down your life for Christ you will find it, and that is what will fully deliver you from fear.

We must share in Christ`s death if we are going to share in his ressurrection. We consider ourselves dead to the old self-centered life and we lay down our lives for others. Our joy now comes from loving others and since our joy no longer is about our own situation nothing can take it from us. When we live with this attitude, we can live a completely fear-free life. There is no fear of what can happen to us, no fear of what people might do to us, because our joy and life spring from love and nothing can every take it from us. You can kill me but I will rise again in victory! We have heavenly treasure that is worth far more than gold and nothing can take it away!

If you like this post and havent picked up Present Access To Heaven yet, you may want to check it out. Im sure the scriptural truth in this book will challenge you and the testimonies will encourage you!