Perfect Love

Whenever I suggest that we ought to "fear God" I seem to get an argument ... from Christians. What they'll tell me most often is "Perfect love casts out all fear." Oh, yes, and it's even a quote from Scripture, you see, so it's true. If I ask what they understand that to mean, they tell me, "God loves us perfectly, so we have no need to fear Him."

I'm having trouble lining this up. God told Israel, "Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see; who have ears but do not hear. Do you not fear Me? Do you not tremble in My presence?" (Jer 5:21-22) David wrote, "Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord." (Psa 34:11) Solomon wrote, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." (Prov 1:7) Paul, in his lengthy diatribe of the sin condition of Man, included this accusation: "There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Rom 3:18) The fear of God is in the Old and New Testaments. It is commanded and is an indictment against Man for failing to do so. Over and over and over. But here we have a verse that tells us that God's perfect love casts out fear and instantly we're able to delete an entire biblical theme. How can that be?

I think it's a mistake. I think we're misunderstanding. Here, let's look at the actual text.

¹⁶ We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. ¹⁹ We love, because He first loved us. ²⁰ If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹ And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. (1 John 4:16-21)

The text is about perfected love. In what way is love perfected with us? It is done by abiding in Christ. Now, wait. Are we talking here about God's love for us? Is God's love for us perfected by our abiding in Him? Isn't that wrong? Yes, it is. The text isn't talking about God's love for us. It's talking about our love for God. Our love for God is perfected by abiding in Him.

How do we know this? Well, first, God's love is not conditioned on our perfect abiding. Second, notice what else it says. "Fear involves punishment." If this was talking about God's love for us, then we have a biblical contradiction. In Hebrews we read, "The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives." (Heb 12:6) And, look, don't we all know that love does not exclude punishment? This makes no sense if the text is about God's love for us. No, what it's talking about is our love for God. At what point do we no longer need to fear the chastisement of God? That is when we cease to fail to obey. And what is it that causes us to obey? Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15) Loving God perfectly produces perfect obedience. Perfect obedience means no fear of chastisement.

Does God, then, want us in constant, paralyzing fear? No. It should be there in reasonable amounts. Paul warned us to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil 2:12) The idea that is often offered is "reverential awe", but that's a problem today because we have missed the original intent of "awe". In its obsolete form, it meant "fear or dread".  In its archaic form, it meant "the power to inspire fear." That awe. More modern use includes "overwhelming wonder", to be sure, but also "with dread". That awe. It is the rational and real recognition of the peril that comes from violating the Cosmic King's commands. If you're not afraid of that, you aren't sane.

It is true, then. Perfect love casts out fear. That perfect love in view, however, is our love for God. When we arrive at that perfect love, we arrive at the absence of fear. I have not yet arrived. Have you?