Abiding in Christ, 2, 1 Jn 4:17-21

Abiding in Christ, 2
1 John 4:17-21

Introductory Thoughts

1. Ultimate Confidence—1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

a. Us, we, we—this is something that applies to all believers

b. Perfected love—in the beloved, by the beloved—

(1) the word is a perfect passive—
(2) It is an accomplished fact
(3) We are not the actors, God is.

c. “…in this, that we may have

(1) Have—present tense
(2) May—subjunctive, conditional—why wouldn’t a professing believer have boldness in the day of judgment? If they were not for real!—Mat 7:21-23

d. Boldness—a commonly used word in the New Testament

(1) Used of people of God speaking boldly


Acts 2:29 ""Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day."

Acts 4:13 "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus."

Acts 4:29 ""Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,"

Acts 4:31 "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness."

2 Cor 3:12 "Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech;"

2 Cor 7:4 "Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation."

Eph 6:19 "and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,"



(2) Boldness in Christ

Eph 3:12 "in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him."

Heb 3:6 "but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end."

1 John 3:21 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God."

1 John 5:14 "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

e. In the day of judgment

(1) This is the bottom line
(2) We can go to the throne room anytime now and we can stand boldly before the throne, because of the blood of Jesus!

Heb 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Heb 10:19 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,"

1 John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."


f. Identification and justification in the beloved.

John 1:4 "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."

Eph 1:4 "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,"

Eph 1:6-7 "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"

Eph 1:10-11 "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,"

Phil 3:9 "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;"

Col 2:6-7 "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

Col 2:9-11 "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,"

1 John 3:24 "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."


2. No Fear—1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

a. There is fear, and then there is fear.

(1) Reverent, Respectful fear—as a son for a father

Acts 2:43 "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."

Acts 9:31 "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied."

Rom 11:20 "Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear."

2 Cor 7:1 "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

Eph 5:21 "submitting to one another in the fear of God."

Phil 2:12 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;"

Heb 4:1 "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it."

Heb 11:7 "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

Heb 12:28 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear."

Heb 13:6 "So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?""

1 Pet 1:17 "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;"

1 Pet 2:17 "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king."

1 Pet 3:2 "when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear."

1 Pet 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;"

Jude 1:23 "but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

Rev 11:18 "The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.""

Rev 15:4 "Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.""

Rev 19:5 "Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!""


(2) Craven fear, fear of judgment—the fear of the criminal for a judge or of a slave for a master.

Psa 14:5 "There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous."

Psa 73:19 "Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors."

Isa 2:19 "They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily."

Isa 24:17 "Fear and the pit and the snare Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth."

Isa 33:14 "The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?""

Dan 5:6 "Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other."

John 8:9 "Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst."

Acts 2:37 "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?""

Acts 9:6 "So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.""

Acts 16:29 "Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas."

Acts 24:25 "Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.""

Heb 10:27 "but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries."

Rev 6:12-17 "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""

b. For the mature believer, there is no craven fear, because love has cast it out. Rom 8:14-15

Rom 8:14-15 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father.""

(1) The lost should fear future punishment, but they do not
(2) Some saved people have a craven fear—they should not—but the reasons
(a) Poor teaching
(b) Inconsistent lifestyle
(c) Satanic attack
(3) We received the Spirit of adoption

3. The One Who Invented Love—1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

a. The basic truth of redemption—God is the initiator in salvation—The shepherd seeks the sheep

b. People do not seek God—Rom 3:10-11, Is 64:7

c. God initiates salvation, in spite of our sin
(1) Eph 2:1-5
(2) Rom 5:8-11
(3) 1 John 3:1
(4) Jer 31:3

d. We love God because He loved us first—one of the great Truths of the universe!


4. The Test of Love, again—1 John 4:20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

a. Love—action
b. Brother—any fellow Christian
c. Must—there is no choice, we are commanded to love the brethren.