
Text -- 1 John 4:16-21 (NET)




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collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Robertson: 1Jo 4:16 - -- We know ( egnōkamen ).
Perfect active indicative, "we have come to know and still know"as in Joh 6:9, only there order is changed (pepisteukamen ...
We know (
Perfect active indicative, "we have come to know and still know"as in Joh 6:9, only there order is changed (

Robertson: 1Jo 4:16 - -- God is love ( ho theos agapē estin ).
Repeated from 1Jo 4:8. So he gathers up the whole argument that one who is abiding in love is abiding in God ...
God is love (
Repeated from 1Jo 4:8. So he gathers up the whole argument that one who is abiding in love is abiding in God and shows that God is abiding in him. Thoroughly Johannine style.

Robertson: 1Jo 4:17 - -- Herein ( en toutōi ).
It is not clear whether the hina clause (sub-final use) is in apposition with en toutōi as in Joh 15:8 or the hoti cl...
Herein (
It is not clear whether the

Robertson: 1Jo 4:17 - -- With us ( meth' hēmōn ).
Construed with the verb teteleiōtai (is perfected). In contrast to en hēmin (1Jo 4:12, 1Jo 4:16), emphasising co...
With us (
Construed with the verb

Robertson: 1Jo 4:17 - -- As he is ( kathōs ekeinos estin ).
That is Christ as in 1Jo 2:6; 1Jo 3:3, 1Jo 3:5, 1Jo 3:7, 1Jo 3:16. Same tense (present) as in 1Jo 3:7. "Love is ...

Robertson: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Fear ( phobos ).
Like a bond-slave (Rom 8:15), not the reverence of a son (eulabeia , Heb 5:7.) or the obedience to a father (en phobōi , 1Pe 1:17)...

Robertson: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Perfect love ( hē teleia agapē ).
There is such a thing, perfect because it has been perfected (1Jo 4:12, 1Jo 4:17). Cf. Jam 1:4.

Robertson: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Casteth out fear ( exō ballei ton phobon ).
"Drives fear out"so that it does not exist in real love. See ekballō exō in Joh 6:37; Joh 9:34.; ...
Casteth out fear (
"Drives fear out"so that it does not exist in real love. See

Robertson: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Hath punishment ( kolasin echei ).
Old word, in N.T. only here and Mat 25:46. Timōria has only the idea of penalty, kolasis has also that of di...
Hath punishment (
Old word, in N.T. only here and Mat 25:46.

Robertson: 1Jo 4:19 - -- He first ( autos prōtos ).
Note prōtos (nominative), not prōton , as in Joh 20:4, Joh 20:8. God loved us before we loved him (Joh 3:16). Ou...
He first (
Note

Robertson: 1Jo 4:20 - -- If a man say ( ean tis eipēi ).
Condition of third class with ean and second aorist active subjunctive. Suppose one say. Cf. 1Jo 1:6.
If a man say (
Condition of third class with

Robertson: 1Jo 4:20 - -- I love God ( Agapō ton theon ).
Quoting an imaginary disputant as in 1Jo 2:4.
I love God (
Quoting an imaginary disputant as in 1Jo 2:4.

Robertson: 1Jo 4:20 - -- And hateth ( kai misei ).
Continuation of the same condition with ean and the present active subjunctive, "and keep on hating."See 1Jo 2:9; 1Jo 3:1...

Robertson: 1Jo 4:20 - -- That loveth not ( ho mē agapōn ).
"The one who does not keep on loving"(present active negative articular participle).
That loveth not (
"The one who does not keep on loving"(present active negative articular participle).

Robertson: 1Jo 4:20 - -- Hath seen ( heōraken ).
Perfect active indicative of horaō , the form in Joh 1:18 used of seeing God.
Hath seen (
Perfect active indicative of

Robertson: 1Jo 4:20 - -- Cannot love ( ou dunatai agapāin ).
"Is not able to go on loving,"with which compare 1Jo 2:9, ou dunatai hamartanein (is not able to go on sinnin...
Cannot love (
"Is not able to go on loving,"with which compare 1Jo 2:9,

Robertson: 1Jo 4:21 - -- That ( hina ).
Sub-final object clause in apposition with entolēn as in Joh 13:34; Joh 15:13.

Robertson: 1Jo 4:21 - -- From him ( ap' autou ).
Either God or Christ. See Mar 12:29-31 for this old commandment (1Jo 2:7.).
From him (
Either God or Christ. See Mar 12:29-31 for this old commandment (1Jo 2:7.).
Vincent: 1Jo 4:16 - -- The love which God hath
On this use of ἔχειν to have , see on Joh 16:22. Compare Joh 8:35.

To us (
Rev., in us. Compare God abideth in Him .


Vincent: 1Jo 4:17 - -- Herein ( ἐν τούτῳ )
To what does this refer? Two explanations are given. (1.) To the following that we may have boldness . ...
Herein (
To what does this refer? Two explanations are given. (1.) To the following that we may have boldness . So Huther, who argues thus on the ground that 1Jo 4:18 shows that the drift of the writer's thought is toward the fearlessness of love . According to this, therefore, love has its fulfillment in freeing us from fear, and inspiring us with boldness even in view of the final judgment. (2.) To what precedes, viz., our dwelling in God and He in us . So Westcott: " The fellowship of God with man and of man with God, carries with it the consummation of love." I prefer the latter, principally on the ground that in such phrases as

Vincent: 1Jo 4:17 - -- Our love ( ἡ ἀγάπη μεθ ' ἡμῶν )
The A.V. construes μεθ ' ἡμῶν with us , with love , making with us equi...
Our love (
The A.V. construes

Vincent: 1Jo 4:17 - -- The day of judgment ( τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως )
Lit., the day of judgment . The exact phrase occurs here only....
The day of judgment (
Lit., the day of judgment . The exact phrase occurs here only.

Because
Likeness to Christ is the ground of boldness.

Vincent: 1Jo 4:17 - -- As ( καθὼς )
Not absolutely, but according to our measure, as men in this world .
As (
Not absolutely, but according to our measure, as men in this world .

Vincent: 1Jo 4:17 - -- He is
The present tense is very significant. Compare 1Jo 3:7, " is righteous even as He is righteous." The essence of out being as He is lies ...

Vincent: 1Jo 4:17 - -- In this world
This present economy, physical and moral. The phrase limits the conception of likeness.
In this world
This present economy, physical and moral. The phrase limits the conception of likeness.

Vincent: 1Jo 4:18 - -- There is no fear in love ( φόβος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ )
Lit., fear is not . It has no existence. ...

Vincent: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Perfect ( τελεία )
Not perfected , as 1Jo 4:17 but perfect as the result of having been perfected. Compare Heb 5:14; Jam 1:4; Jam 3:2.

Vincent: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Casteth out ( ἔξω βάλλει )
A strong expression: turneth out of doors . Fear is cast out of the sphere of the fellowship of ...

Vincent: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Hath torment ( κόλασιν ἔχει )
Torment is a faulty translation. The word means punishment , penalty . It occurs in the New Te...
Hath torment (
Torment is a faulty translation. The word means punishment , penalty . It occurs in the New Testament only here and Mat 25:46. The kindred verb,

Vincent: 1Jo 4:18 - -- He that feareth
The A.V. omits and (δὲ ), which is important as closely connecting this clause with there is no fear in love , e...
He that feareth
The A.V. omits and (

Vincent: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Is not made perfect
" Men's condition is varied; without fear and love; with fear without love; with fear and love; without fear with love" (Ben...
Is not made perfect
" Men's condition is varied; without fear and love; with fear without love; with fear and love; without fear with love" (Bengel).

Vincent: 1Jo 4:19 - -- We love Him ( ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτὸν )
The best texts omit Him . Some render let us love , as 1Jo 4:7. The stat...
We love Him (
The best texts omit Him . Some render let us love , as 1Jo 4:7. The statement is general, relating to the entire operation of the principle of love. All human love is preceded and generated by the love of God.

Vincent: 1Jo 4:20 - -- He that loveth not his brother, etc.
Note the striking inversion of the clauses: He that loveth not his brother whom he hath s...
He that loveth not his brother, etc.
Note the striking inversion of the clauses: He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen , God whom he hath not seen cannot love .

How
The best tests omit, and give the direct statement cannot love . So Rev.

Vincent: 1Jo 4:21 - -- That ( ἵνα )
Not defining the contents of the commandment, but expressing intent . Compare Joh 13:34, and see on Joh 15:13.

Vincent: 1Jo 4:21 - -- His brother
" To the persecutor Saul, Christ said, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? I have ascended into heaven, yet still I lie upon earth....
His brother
" To the persecutor Saul, Christ said, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? I have ascended into heaven, yet still I lie upon earth. Here I sit at the right hand of the Father; there I still hunger, thirst, and am a stranger'" (Augustine).
By the same Spirit, the love that God hath to us.

Wesley: 1Jo 4:17 - -- That is, so that we shall have boldness in the day of judgment - When all the stout - hearted shall tremble.
That is, so that we shall have boldness in the day of judgment - When all the stout - hearted shall tremble.

Who are fathers in Christ, even in this world.

Wesley: 1Jo 4:18 - -- No slavish fear can be where love reigns. But perfect, adult love casteth out slavish fear: because such fear hath torment - And so is inconsistent wi...
No slavish fear can be where love reigns. But perfect, adult love casteth out slavish fear: because such fear hath torment - And so is inconsistent with the happiness of love. A natural man has neither fear nor love; one that is awakened, fear without love; a babe in Christ, love and fear; a father in Christ, love without fear.

Wesley: 1Jo 4:19 - -- This is the sum of all religion, the genuine model of Christianity. None can say more: why should any one say less, or less intelligibly?
This is the sum of all religion, the genuine model of Christianity. None can say more: why should any one say less, or less intelligibly?

Wesley: 1Jo 4:20 - -- Who is daily presented to his senses, to raise his esteem, and move his kindness or compassion toward him.
Who is daily presented to his senses, to raise his esteem, and move his kindness or compassion toward him.

Wesley: 1Jo 4:21 - -- Every one, whatever his opinions or mode of worship be, purely because he is the child, and bears the image, of God. Bigotry is properly the want of t...
Every one, whatever his opinions or mode of worship be, purely because he is the child, and bears the image, of God. Bigotry is properly the want of this pure and universal love. A bigot only loves those who embrace his opinions, and receive his way of worship; and he loves them for that, and not for Christ's sake.
JFB -> 1Jo 4:16; 1Jo 4:16; 1Jo 4:16; 1Jo 4:16; 1Jo 4:17-18; 1Jo 4:17-18; 1Jo 4:17-18; 1Jo 4:17-18; 1Jo 4:18; 1Jo 4:18; 1Jo 4:18; 1Jo 4:19; 1Jo 4:20; 1Jo 4:20; 1Jo 4:21; 1Jo 4:21
John and his readers (not as 1Jo 4:14, the apostles only).

JFB: 1Jo 4:16 - -- True faith, according to John, is a faith of knowledge and experience: true knowledge is a knowledge of faith [LUECKE].
True faith, according to John, is a faith of knowledge and experience: true knowledge is a knowledge of faith [LUECKE].

JFB: 1Jo 4:17-18 - -- Rather as the Greek, "LOVE (in the abstract, the principle of love [ALFORD]) is made perfect (in its relations) with us." Love dwelling in us advances...
Rather as the Greek, "LOVE (in the abstract, the principle of love [ALFORD]) is made perfect (in its relations) with us." Love dwelling in us advances to its consummation "with us" that is, as it is concerned with us: so Greek. Luk 1:58, "showed mercy upon (literally, 'with') her": 2Jo 1:2, the truth "shall be with us for ever."

JFB: 1Jo 4:17-18 - -- "confidence": the same Greek as 1Jo 3:21, to which this passage is parallel. The opposite of "fear," 1Jo 4:18. Herein is our love perfected, namely, i...
"confidence": the same Greek as 1Jo 3:21, to which this passage is parallel. The opposite of "fear," 1Jo 4:18. Herein is our love perfected, namely, in God dwelling in us, and our dwelling in God (1Jo 4:16), involving as its result "that we can have confidence (or boldness) in the day of judgment" (so terrible to all other men, Act 24:25; Rom 2:16).

JFB: 1Jo 4:17-18 - -- The ground of our "confidence" is, "because even as He (Christ) is, we also are in this world" (and He will not, in that day, condemn those who are li...
The ground of our "confidence" is, "because even as He (Christ) is, we also are in this world" (and He will not, in that day, condemn those who are like Himself), that is, we are righteous as He is righteous, especially in respect to that which is the sum of righteousness, love (1Jo 3:14). Christ IS righteous, and love itself, in heaven: so are we, His members, who are still "in this world." Our oneness with Him even now in His exalted position above (Eph 2:6), so that all that belongs to Him of righteousness, &c., belongs to us also by perfect imputation and progressive impartation, is the ground of our love being perfected so that we can have confidence in the day of judgment. We are in, not of, this world.

JFB: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Fear has no place in love. Bold confidence (1Jo 4:17), based on love, cannot coexist with fear. Love, which, when perfected, gives bold confidence, ca...
Fear has no place in love. Bold confidence (1Jo 4:17), based on love, cannot coexist with fear. Love, which, when perfected, gives bold confidence, casts out fear (compare Heb 2:14-15). The design of Christ's propitiatory death was to deliver from this bondage of fear.

JFB: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Greek, "punishment." Fear is always revolving in the mind the punishment deserved [ESTIUS]. Fear, by anticipating punishment (through consciousness of...
Greek, "punishment." Fear is always revolving in the mind the punishment deserved [ESTIUS]. Fear, by anticipating punishment (through consciousness of deserving it), has it even now, that is, the foretaste of it. Perfect love is incompatible with such a self-punishing fear. Godly fear of offending God is quite distinct from slavish fear of consciously deserved punishment. The latter fear is natural to us all until love casts it out. "Men's states vary: one is without fear and love; another, with fear without love; another, with fear and love; another, without fear with love" [BENGEL].

JFB: 1Jo 4:19 - -- Omitted in the oldest manuscripts. Translate, We (emphatical: WE on our part) love (in general: love alike Him, and the brethren, and our fellow men),...
Omitted in the oldest manuscripts. Translate, We (emphatical: WE on our part) love (in general: love alike Him, and the brethren, and our fellow men), because He (emphatical: answering to "we"; because it was He who) first loved us in sending His Son (Greek aorist of a definite act at a point of time). He was the first to love us: this thought ought to create in us love casting out fear (1Jo 4:18).

JFB: 1Jo 4:20 - -- It is easier for us, influenced as we are here by sense, to direct love towards one within the range of our senses than towards One unseen, appreciabl...
It is easier for us, influenced as we are here by sense, to direct love towards one within the range of our senses than towards One unseen, appreciable only by faith. "Nature is prior to grace; and we by nature love things seen, before we love things unseen" [ESTIUS]. The eyes are our leaders in love. "Seeing is an incentive to love" [œCUMENIUS]. If we do not love the brethren, the visible representatives of God, how can we love God, the invisible One, whose children they are? The true ideal of man, lost in Adam, is realized in Christ, in whom God is revealed as He is, and man as he ought to be. Thus, by faith in Christ, we learn to love both the true God, and the true man, and so to love the brethren as bearing His image.

JFB: 1Jo 4:21 - -- Besides the argument (1Jo 4:20) from the common feeling of men, he here adds a stronger one from God's express commandment (Mat 22:39). He who loves, ...

He who wishes to be regarded by God as loving Him.
Clarke: 1Jo 4:16 - -- God is love - See on 1Jo 4:8 (note). He that dwelleth in love - he who is full of love to God and man is full of God, for God is love; and where suc...
God is love - See on 1Jo 4:8 (note). He that dwelleth in love - he who is full of love to God and man is full of God, for God is love; and where such love is, there is God, for he is the fountain and maintainer of it.

Clarke: 1Jo 4:17 - -- Herein is our love made perfect - By God dwelling in us, and we in him; having cast out all the carnal mind that was enmity against himself, and fil...
Herein is our love made perfect - By God dwelling in us, and we in him; having cast out all the carnal mind that was enmity against himself, and filled the whole heart with the spirit of love and purity. Thus the love is made perfect; when it thus fills the heart it has all its degrees; it is all in all; and all in every power, passion, and faculty of the soul

Clarke: 1Jo 4:17 - -- May have boldness in the day of judgment - Παρῥησιαν· Freedom of speech, and liberty of access; seeing in the person of our Judge, him...
May have boldness in the day of judgment -

Clarke: 1Jo 4:17 - -- As he is - Pure, holy, and loving; so are we in this world; being saved from our sins, and made like to himself in righteousness and true holiness. ...
As he is - Pure, holy, and loving; so are we in this world; being saved from our sins, and made like to himself in righteousness and true holiness. No man can contemplate the day of judgment with any comfort or satisfaction but on this ground, that the blood of Christ hath cleansed him from all sin, and that he is kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation. This will give him boldness in the day of judgment.

Clarke: 1Jo 4:18 - -- There is no fear in love - The man who feels that he loves God with all his heart can never dread him as his Judge. As he is now made a partaker of ...
There is no fear in love - The man who feels that he loves God with all his heart can never dread him as his Judge. As he is now made a partaker of his Spirit, and carries a sense of the Divine approbation in his conscience, he has nothing of that fear that produces terror or brings torment. The perfect love - that fullness of love, which he has received, casteth out fear - removes all terror relative to this day of judgment, for it is of this that the apostle particularly speaks. And as it is inconsistent with the gracious design of God to have his followers miserable, and as he cannot be unhappy whose heart is full of the love of his God, this love must necessarily exclude this fear or terror; because that brings torment, and hence is inconsistent with that happiness which a man must have who continually enjoys the approbation of his God

Clarke: 1Jo 4:18 - -- He that feareth - He who is still uncertain concerning his interest in Christ; who, although he has many heavenly drawings, and often sits with Chri...
He that feareth - He who is still uncertain concerning his interest in Christ; who, although he has many heavenly drawings, and often sits with Christ some moments on a throne of love, yet feels from the evils of his heart a dread of the day of judgment; is not made perfect in love - has not yet received the abiding witness of the Spirit that he is begotten of God; nor that fullness of love to God and man which excludes the enmity of the carnal mind, and which it is his privilege to receive. But is the case of such a man desperate? No: it is neither desperate nor deplorable; he is in the way of salvation, and not far from the kingdom of heaven. Let such earnestly seek, and fervently believe on the Son of God; and he will soon give them another baptism of his Spirit, will purge out all the old leaven, and fill their whole souls with that love which is the fulfilling of the law. He who is not yet perfect in love may speedily become so, because God can say in a moment, I will, be thou clean; and immediately his leprosy will depart. Among men we find some that have neither love nor fear; others that have fear without love; others that have love and fear; and others that have love without fear
1. Profligates, and worldly men in general, have neither the fear nor love of God
2. Deeply awakened and distressed penitents have the fear or terror of God without his love
3. Babes in Christ, or young converts, have often distressing fear mixed with their love
4. Adult Christians have love without this fear; because fear hath torment, and they are ever happy, being filled with God. See Mr. Wesley’ s note on this place
1. We must not suppose that the love of God shed abroad in the heart is ever imperfect in itself; it is only so in degree. There may be a less or greater degree of what is perfect in itself; so it is with respect to the love which the followers of God have; they may have measures or degrees of perfect love without its fullness. There is nothing imperfect in the love of God, whether it be considered as existing in himself, or as communicated to his followers
2. We are not to suppose that the love of God casts out every kind of fear from the soul; it only casts out that which has torment
1. A filial fear is consistent with the highest degrees of love; and even necessary to the preservation of that grace. This is properly its guardian; and, without this, love would soon degenerate into listlessness, or presumptive boldness
2. Nor does it cast out that fear which is so necessary to the preservation of life; that fear which leads a man to flee from danger lest his life should be destroyed
3. Nor does it cast out that fear which may be engendered by sudden alarm. All these are necessary to our well-being. But it destroys
1. The fear of want
2. The fear of death; an
3. The fear or terror of judgment. All these fears bring torment, and are inconsistent with this perfect love.

Clarke: 1Jo 4:19 - -- We love him because he first loved us - This is the foundation of our love to God
1. We love him because we find he has loved us
2...
We love him because he first loved us - This is the foundation of our love to God
1. We love him because we find he has loved us
2. We love him from a sense of obligation and gratitude
3. We love him from the influence of his own love; from his love shed abroad in our hearts, our love to him proceeds. It is the seed whence our love springs
The verse might be rendered, Let us therefore love him, because he first loved us: thus the Syriac and Vulgate.

Clarke: 1Jo 4:20 - -- If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother - This, as well as many other parts of this epistle, seems levelled against the Jews, who pretended...
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother - This, as well as many other parts of this epistle, seems levelled against the Jews, who pretended much love to God while they hated the Gentiles; and even some of them who were brought into the Christian Church brought this leaven with them. It required a miracle to redeem St. Peter’ s mind from the influence of this principle. See Acts 10

Clarke: 1Jo 4:20 - -- Whom he hath seen - We may have our love excited towards our brother
1. By a consideration of his excellences or amiable qualities...
Whom he hath seen - We may have our love excited towards our brother
1. By a consideration of his excellences or amiable qualities
2. By a view of his miseries and distresses
The first will excite a love of complacency and delight; the second, a love of compassion and pity

Clarke: 1Jo 4:20 - -- Whom he hath not seen? - If he love not his brother, it is a proof that the love of God is not in him; and if he have not the love of God, he cannot...
Whom he hath not seen? - If he love not his brother, it is a proof that the love of God is not in him; and if he have not the love of God, he cannot love God, for God can be loved only through the influence of his own love. See on 1Jo 4:19 (note). The man who hates his fellow does not love God. He who does not love God has not the love of God in him, and he who has not the love of God in him can neither love God nor man.

Clarke: 1Jo 4:21 - -- This commandment have we - We should love one another, and love our neighbor as ourselves. The love of God and the love of man can never be separate...
This commandment have we - We should love one another, and love our neighbor as ourselves. The love of God and the love of man can never be separated; he who loves God will love his brother; he who loves his brother gives this proof that he loves God, because he loves with a measure of that love which, in its infinitude, dwells in God.
Calvin: 1Jo 4:16 - -- 16.And we have known and believed It is the same as though he had said, “We have known by believing;” for such knowledge is not attained but by f...
16.And we have known and believed It is the same as though he had said, “We have known by believing;” for such knowledge is not attained but by faith. But we hence learn how different, is an uncertain or doubtful opinion from faith. Besides, though he meant here, as I have already said, to accommodate the last sentence to his readers, yet he defines faith in various ways. He had said before, that it is to confess that Jesus is the Son of God; but, he now says, We know by faith God’s love towards us. It hence appears, that the paternal love of God is found in Christ, and that nothing certain is known of Christ, except by those who know themselves to be the children of God by his grace. For the Father sets his own Son daily before us for this end, that he may adopt us in him.
God is love This is as it were the minor proposition in an argument; for from faith to love he reasons in this way: By faith God dwells in us, and God is love; then, wherever God abides, love ought to be there. Hence it follows that love is necessarily connected with faith.

Calvin: 1Jo 4:17 - -- 17.Herein is our love made perfect There are two clauses in this passage, — that we are then partakers of divine adoption, when we resemble God as ...
17.Herein is our love made perfect There are two clauses in this passage, — that we are then partakers of divine adoption, when we resemble God as children their father; and, secondly, that this confidence is invaluable, for without it we must be most miserable.
Then in the first place, he shews to what purpose God has in love embraced us, and how we enjoy that grace manifested to us in Christ. Then, God’s love to us is what is to be understood here. He says it is perfected, because it is abundantly poured forth and really given, that it appears to be complete. But he asserts that no others are partakers of this blessing; but those who, by being conformed to God, prove themselves to be his children. It is, then, an argument taken from what is an inseparable condition.
That we may have boldness He now begins to shew the fruit of divine love towards us, though he afterwards shews it more clearly from the contrary effect. It is, however, an invaluable benefit, that we can dare boldly to stand before God. By nature, indeed, we dread the presence of God, and that justly; for, as he is the Judge of the world, and our sins hold us guilty, death and hell must come to our minds whenever we think of God. Hence is that dread which I have mentioned, which makes men shun God as much as they can. But John says that the faithful do not fear, when mention is made to them of the last judgment, but that on the contrary they go to God’s tribunal confidently and cheerfully, because they are assured of his paternal love. Every one, then, has made so much proficiency in faith, as he is well prepared in his mind to look forward to the day of judgment.
As he is By these words, as it has been already said, he meant that it is required of us at our turn to resemble the image of God. What God then in heaven is, such he bids us to be in this world, in order that we may be deemed his children; for the image of God, when it appears in us, is as it were the seal of his adoption.
But he seems thus to place a part of our confidence on works. Hence the Papists raise their crests here, as though John denied that we, relying on God’s grace alone, can have a sure confidence as to salvation without the help of works. But in this they are deceived, because they do not consider that the Apostle here does not refer to the cause of salvation, but to what is added to it. And we readily allow that no one is reconciled to God through Christ, except he is also renewed after God’s image, and that the one cannot be disjoined from the other. Right then is what is done by the Apostle, who excludes from the confidence of grace all those in whom no image of God is seen; for it is certain that such are wholly aliens to the Spirit of God and to Christ. Nor do we deny that newness of life, as it is the effect of divine adoption, serves to confirm confidence, as a prop, so to speak, of the second order; but in the meantime we ought to have our foundation on grace alone. 87 Nor indeed does the doctrine of John appear otherwise consistent with itself; for experience proves, and even Papists are forced to confess, that as to works they always give an occasion for trembling. Therefore no one can come with a tranquil mind to God’s tribunal, except he believes that he is freely loved.
But that none of these things please the Papists, there is no reason for any one to wonder, since being miserable they know no faith except that which is entangled with doubts. Besides, hypocrisy brings darkness over them, so that they do not seriously consider how formidable is God’s judgment when Christ the Mediator is not present, and some of them regard the resurrection as fabulous. But that we may cheerfully and joyfully go forth to meet Christ, we must have our faith fixed on his grace alone.

Calvin: 1Jo 4:18 - -- 18.There is no fear He now commends the excellency of this blessing by stating the contrary effect, for he says that we are continually tormented unt...
18.There is no fear He now commends the excellency of this blessing by stating the contrary effect, for he says that we are continually tormented until God delivers us from misery and anguish by the remedy of his own love towards us. The meaning is, that as there is nothing more miserable than to be harassed by continual inquietude, we obtain by knowing God’s love towards us the benefit of a peaceful calmness beyond the reach of fear. It hence appears what a singular gift of God it is to be favored with his love. Moreover from this doctrine, he will presently draw an exhortation; but before he exhorts us to duty, he commends to us this gift of God, which by faith removes our fear.
This passage, I know, is explained otherwise by many; but I regard what the Apostle means, not what others think. They say that there is no fear in love, because, when we voluntarily love God, we are not constrained by force and fear to serve him. Then according to them, servile fear is here set in opposition to voluntary reverence; and hence has arisen the distinction between servile and filial fear. I indeed allow it to be true, that when we willingly love God as a Father, we are no longer constrained by the fear of punishment; but this doctrine has nothing in common with this passage, for the Apostle only teaches us, that when the love of God is by us seen and known by faith, peace is given to our consciences, so that they no longer tremble and fear.
It may, however, be asked, when does perfect love expel fear, for since we are endued with some taste only of divine love towards us, we can never be wholly freed from fear? To this I answer, that, though fear is not wholly shaken off, yet when we flee to God as to a quiet harbor, safe and free from all danger of shipwreck and of tempests, fear is really expelled, for it gives way to faith. Then fear is not so expelled, but that it assails our minds, but it is so expelled that it does not torment us nor impede that peace which we obtain by faith.
Fear hath torment Here the Apostle amplifies still further the greatness of that grace of which he speaks; for as it is a most miserable condition to suffer continual torments, there is nothing more to be wished than to present ourselves before God with a quiet conscience and a calm mind. What some say, that servants fear, because they have before their eyes punishment and the rod, and that they do not their duty except when forced, has nothing to do, as it has been already stated, with what the Apostle says here. So in the next clause, the exposition given, that he who fears is not perfect in love, because he submits not willingly to God, but would rather free himself from his service, does not comport at all with the context. For the Apostle, on the contrary, reminds us, that it is owing to unbelief when any one fears, that is, has a disturbed mind; for the love of God, really known, tranquilizes the heart. 88

Calvin: 1Jo 4:19 - -- 19.We love him The verb ἀγαπῶμεν may be either in the indicative or imperative mood; but the former is the more suitable here, for the Apos...
19.We love him The verb

Calvin: 1Jo 4:20 - -- But this love cannot exist, except it generates brotherly love. Hence he says, that they are liars who boast that they love God, when they hate their...
But this love cannot exist, except it generates brotherly love. Hence he says, that they are liars who boast that they love God, when they hate their brethren.
But the reason he subjoins seems not sufficiently valid, for it is a comparison between the less and the greater: If, he says, we love not our brethren whom we see, much less can we love God who is invisible. Now there are obviously two exceptions; for the love which God has to us is from faith and does not flow from sight, as we find in 1Pe 1:8; and secondly, far different is the love of God from the love of men; for while God leads his people to love him through his infinite goodness, men are often worthy of hatred. To this I answer, that the Apostle takes here as granted what ought no doubt to appear evident to us, that God offers himself to us in those men who bear his image, and that he requires the duties, which he does not want himself, to be performed to them, according to Psa 16:2, where we read,
“My goodness reaches not to thee, O Lord;
towards the saints who are on the earth is my love.”
And surely the participation of the same nature, the need of so many things, and mutual intercourse, must allure us to mutual love, except; we are harder than iron. But John meant another thing: he meant to shew how fallacious is the boast of every one who says that he loves God, and yet loves not God’s image which is before his eyes.

Calvin: 1Jo 4:21 - -- 21.And this commandment This is a stronger argument, drawn from the authority and doctrine of Christ; for he not only gave a commandment respecting t...
21.And this commandment This is a stronger argument, drawn from the authority and doctrine of Christ; for he not only gave a commandment respecting the love of God, but bade us also to love our brethren. We must therefore so begin with God, as that there may be at the same time a transition made to men.
Defender -> 1Jo 4:18
Defender: 1Jo 4:18 - -- "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2Ti 1:7). The denial of God and rejection of Christ becaus...
"God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2Ti 1:7). The denial of God and rejection of Christ because of the fear of men will, indeed, lead to torment, because "the fearful ... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" (Rev 21:8)."
TSK: 1Jo 4:16 - -- we : 1Jo 4:9, 1Jo 4:10, 1Jo 3:1, 1Jo 3:16; Psa 18:1-3, Psa 31:19, Psa 36:7-9; Isa 64:4; 1Co 2:9
God is love : 1Jo 4:8, 1Jo 4:12, 1Jo 4:13
and he : 1Jo...

TSK: 1Jo 4:17 - -- our love : Gr. love with us
made : 1Jo 4:12, 1Jo 2:5; Jam 2:22
we may : 1Jo 2:28, 1Jo 3:19-21; Jam 2:13
the day : Mat 10:15, Mat 11:22, Mat 11:24, Mat...

TSK: 1Jo 4:18 - -- is no : Luk 1:74, Luk 1:75; Rom 8:15; 2Ti 1:7; Heb 12:28
fear hath : Job 15:21; Psa 73:19, Psa 88:15, Psa 88:16, Psa 119:120; Jam 2:19
He that : 1Jo 4...

TSK: 1Jo 4:19 - -- 1Jo 4:10; Luk 7:47; Joh 3:16, Joh 15:16; 2Co 5:14, 2Co 5:15; Gal 5:22; Eph 2:3-5; Tit 3:3-5


TSK: 1Jo 4:21 - -- 1Jo 4:11, 1Jo 3:11, 1Jo 3:14, 1Jo 3:18, 1Jo 3:23; Lev 19:18; Mat 22:37-39; Mar 12:29-33; Luk 10:37; Joh 13:34, Joh 13:35, Joh 15:12; Rom 12:9, Rom 12:...

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes: 1Jo 4:16 - -- And we have known and believed ... - We all have assurance that God has loved us, and the fullest belief in the great fact of redemption by whi...
And we have known and believed ... - We all have assurance that God has loved us, and the fullest belief in the great fact of redemption by which he has manifested his love to us.
God is love - Notes, 1Jo 4:8. It is not uncommon for John to repeat an important truth. He delights to dwell on such a truth as that which is here expressed; and who should not? What truth is there on which the mind can dwell with more pleasure; what is there that is better fitted to win the heart to holiness; what that will do more to sustain the soul in the sorrows and trials of this life? In our trials; in the darkness which is around us; in the perplexities which meet and embarrass us in regard to the divine administration; in all that seems to us incomprehensible in this world, and in the prospect of the next, let us learn to repeat this declaration of the favored disciple, ""God is love.""What trials may we not bear, if we feel assured of that! What dark cloud that seems to hang over our way, and to involve all things in gloom, will not be bright, if from the depths of our souls we can always say, "God is love!"
And he that dwelleth in love ... - Religion is all love. God is love; he has loved us; we are to love him; we are to love one another; we are to love the whole world. Heaven is filled with love, and there is nothing else there. The earth is filled with love just as far as religion prevails, and would be entirely if it should prevail everywhere. Love would remove all the corrupt passions, the crimes, the jealousies, the wars on the earth, and would diffuse around the globe the bliss of heaven. If a man, therefore, is actuated by this, he has the spirit of the heavenly world reigning in his soul, and lives in an atmosphere of love.

Barnes: 1Jo 4:17 - -- Herein is our love made perfect - Margin, "love with us."The margin accords with the Greek - μεθ ̓ ἡμῶν meth' hēmōn . Th...
Herein is our love made perfect - Margin, "love with us."The margin accords with the Greek -
That we may have boldness in the day of judgment - By the influence of love in delivering us from the fear of the wrath to come, 1Jo 4:18. The idea is, that he who has true love to God will have nothing to fear in the day of judgment, and may even approach the awful tribunal where he is to receive the sentence which shall determine his everlasting destiny without alarm.
Because as he is, so are we in this world - That is, we have the same traits of character which the Saviour had, and, resembling him, we need not be alarmed at the prospect of meeting him.

Barnes: 1Jo 4:18 - -- There is no fear in love - Love is not an affection which produces fear. In the love which we have for a parent, a child, a friend, there is no...
There is no fear in love - Love is not an affection which produces fear. In the love which we have for a parent, a child, a friend, there is no fear. If a man had perfect love to God, he would have no fear of anything - for what would he have to dread? He would have no fear of death, for he would have nothing to dread beyond the grave. It is guilt that makes people fear what is to come; but he whose sins are pardoned, and whose heart is filled with the love of God, has nothing to dread in this world or the world to come. The angels in heaven, who have always loved God and one another, have no fear, for they have nothing to dread in the future; the redeemed in heaven, rescued from all danger, and filled with the love of God, have nothing to dread; and as far as that same loves operates on earth, it delivers the soul now from all apprehension of what is to come.
But perfect love casteth out fear - That is, love that is complete, or that is allowed to exert its proper influence on the soul. As far as it exists, its tendency is to deliver the mind from alarms. If it should exist in any soul in an absolutely perfect state, that soul would be entirely free from all dread in regard to the future.
Because fear hath torment - It is a painful and distressing emotion. Thus men suffer from the fear of poverty, of losses, of bereavement, of sickness, of death, and of future woe. From all these distressing apprehensions, that love of God which furnishes an evidence of true piety delivers us.
He that feareth, is not made perfect in love - He about whose mind there lingers the apprehension of future wrath, shows that love in his soul has not accomplished its full work. Perhaps it never will on any soul until we reach the heavenly world, though there are many minds so full of love to God, as to be prevailingly delivered from fear.

Barnes: 1Jo 4:19 - -- We love him, because he first loved us - This passage is susceptible of two explanations; either. (1)\caps1 t\caps0 hat the...
We love him, because he first loved us - This passage is susceptible of two explanations; either.
(1)\caps1 t\caps0 hat the fact that he first loved us is the "ground"or "reason"why we love him, or.
(2)\caps1 t\caps0 hat as a matter of fact we have been brought to love him in consequence of the love which he has manifested toward us, though the real ground of our love may be the excellency of his own character.
If the former be the meaning, and if that were the only ground of love, then it would be mere selfishness, (compare Mat 5:46-47); and it cannot be believed that John meant to teach that that is the "only"reason of our love to God. It is true, indeed, that that is a proper ground of love, or that we are bound to love God in proportion to the benefits which we have received from his Hand; but still genuine love to God is something which cannot be explained by the mere fact that we have received favors from Him. The true, the original ground of love to God, is the "excellence of His own character,"apart from the question whether we are to be benefited or not. There is that in the divine nature which a holy being will love, apart from the benefits which he is to receive, and from any thought even of his own destiny. It seems to me, therefore, that John must have meant here, in accordance with the second interpretation suggested above, that the fact that we love God is to be traced to the means which he has used to bring us to himself, but without saying that this is the sole or even the main reason why we love him. It was His love manifested to us by sending His Son to redeem us which will explain the fact that we now love Him; but still the real ground or reason why we love Him is the infinite excellence of His own character. It should be added here, that many suppose that the Greek words rendered "we love"(

Barnes: 1Jo 4:20 - -- If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother - His Christian brother; or, in a larger sense, any man. The sense is, that no man, whatever m...
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother - His Christian brother; or, in a larger sense, any man. The sense is, that no man, whatever may be his professions and pretensions, can have any true love to God, unless he loves his brethren.
He is a liar - Compare the notes at 1Jo 1:6. It is not necessary, in order to a proper interpretation of this passage, to suppose that he "intentionally"deceives. The sense is, that this must be a false profession.
For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen ... - It is more reasonable to expect that we should love one whom we have seen and known personally, than that we should love one whom we have not seen. The apostle is arguing from human nature as it is, and everyone feels that we are more likely to love one with whom we are familiar than one who is a stranger. If a professed Christian, therefore, does not love one who bears the divine image, whom he sees and knows, how can he love that God whose image he bears, whom he has not seen? Compare the notes at 1Jo 3:17.

Barnes: 1Jo 4:21 - -- And this commandment have we from him - That is, the command to love a brother is as obligatory as that to love God. If one is obeyed, the othe...
And this commandment have we from him - That is, the command to love a brother is as obligatory as that to love God. If one is obeyed, the other ought to be also; if a man feels that one is binding on him, he should feel that the other is also; and he can never have evidence that he is a true Christian, unless he manifests love to his brethren as well as love to God. See the notes at Jam 2:10.
That he who loveth God love his brother also - See the notes at Joh 13:34-35. Compare Joh 15:12, Joh 15:17.
Poole: 1Jo 4:16 - -- Inasmuch as the transformative efficacy of God’ s love upon us depends upon our certain apprehension of it, he doubles the expression of that c...
Inasmuch as the transformative efficacy of God’ s love upon us depends upon our certain apprehension of it, he doubles the expression of that certainty:
We have known and believed i.e. we are assured of it, both by experimented effects, and by faith; implying, that by having this conception of God thoroughly settled in our souls, that he is love, ( as was also said, 1Jo 4:8 ), we shall be so thoroughly changed into his very nature and image, as to
dwell in love as in our own element, or a thing now become wholly con-natural to us. Which will indeed be (by consequence) to be so intimately united with God, that he and we may truly (though in a sense most remote from identification, or being made the same, a horrid notion! Not only not inferred by what is here said, but inconsistent with it and refused by it, for things united are thereby implied to be distinct) be said to indwell one another.

Poole: 1Jo 4:17 - -- And by this means (viz. of our inwardness with God) doth our love grow to that perfection, that we shall have the most fearless freedom and liberty ...
And by this means (viz. of our inwardness with God) doth our love grow to that perfection, that we shall have the most fearless freedom and liberty of spirit in the judgment day; our hearts no way misgiving to appear before him as a Judge, whose very image we find upon ourselves, he having beforehand, made us such even in this world, though in an infinitely inferior degree, as he is, compositions of love and goodness. Or, if
the day of judgment should mean, as some conceive, of our appearance before human tribunals for his sake, such a temper of spirit must give us the same boldness in that case also.

Poole: 1Jo 4:18 - -- That he proveth from the contrary natures of fear and love. The fear which is of the baser kind, viz. that is servile, and depresses the spirit, hat...
That he proveth from the contrary natures of fear and love. The fear which is of the baser kind, viz. that is servile, and depresses the spirit, hath no place with love, but is excluded by it, by the same degrees by which that love grows up to perfection, and shall be quite excluded by that love fully perfected: inasmuch as love is a pleasant, fear a tormenting, passion, which, as such, while it remains, shows the imperfection of love.

Poole: 1Jo 4:19 - -- His is the fountain love, ours but the stream: his love the inducement, the pattern, and the effective cause of ours. He that is first in love, love...
His is the fountain love, ours but the stream: his love the inducement, the pattern, and the effective cause of ours. He that is first in love, loves freely; the other therefore loves under obligation.

Poole: 1Jo 4:20 - -- The greater difficulty here is implied, through our present dependence upon sense, of loving the invisible God, than men that we daily see and conve...
The greater difficulty here is implied, through our present dependence upon sense, of loving the invisible God, than men that we daily see and converse familiarly with. Hence, considering the comprehensiveness of these two things, the love of God, and of our brother, that they are the roots of all that duty we owe to God and man, the fulfilling of the whole law, Mat 22:37-39 , he lets us see the falsehood and absurdity of their pretence to eminent piety and sanctity, who neglect the duties of the second table.

Both ought to be conjoined, being required both by the same authority.
Haydock: 1Jo 4:17 - -- The charity of God (which may either signify the love by which we love God, or by which God loves us) perfected with us, or in us, and so possesset...
The charity of God (which may either signify the love by which we love God, or by which God loves us) perfected with us, or in us, and so possesseth our souls, as to give us an humble confidence of our salvation, when we shall appear before his tribunal at the day of judgment: because as he is, we also are in this world. These words are differently expounded. They may signify, that as this world by his grace are always loving him and our neighbour, and increasing in this love, which gives us a confidence of our salvation. Or they may bear this sense, that as Jesus Christ was suffering in this world for us, so we are suffering for his sake. (Witham)

Haydock: 1Jo 4:18 - -- Fear is not in charity, &c. By the fear, which a perfect charity and love of God excludes, we may understand a fear of temporal losses in this wor...
Fear is not in charity, &c. By the fear, which a perfect charity and love of God excludes, we may understand a fear of temporal losses in this world, of the loss of goods, of banishment, of torments, of death itself, which the love of God made so many glorious martyrs contemn; or an anxious servile fear of punishment in the next world, for the more perfect charity and the love of God is, so much the more doth it banish this imperfect and servile fear; but as perfect charity does not exclude a love, and constant desire of loving God as our last end, for whose enjoyment we were created, so it does not exclude a fear of displeasing, offending, and losing him by sin. (Witham) ---
Perfect charity, or love, banisheth human fear, that is, the fear of men; as also all perplexing fear, which makes men mistrust or despair of God's mercy; and that kind of servile fear, which makes them fear the punishment of sin more than the offence offered to God. But it no way excludes the wholesome fear of God's judgments, so often recommended in holy writ, nor that fear and trembling with which we are told to work out our salvation. (Philippians ii. 12.) (Challoner)

Haydock: 1Jo 4:20 - -- He that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not? By this is signified, that it is more easy and natural to lov...
He that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not? By this is signified, that it is more easy and natural to love the things that we see, and that enter by the senses. Pretend not then to love the invisible God, whose perfections are hidden from you in this life, unless you love your brother whom you see. But he adds another reason to prove that no man can love God unless he love his brother; because saith he, (ver. 21.) this is God's express command, that he who loveth God love also his brother: so that a man cannot love God unless he also love his neighbour. (Witham)
Gill: 1Jo 4:16 - -- And we have known and believed,.... Or have a full assurance and knowledge of, and faith in,
the love that God hath to us; shown as in many instanc...
And we have known and believed,.... Or have a full assurance and knowledge of, and faith in,
the love that God hath to us; shown as in many instances, so more especially in sending his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, to be the Saviour of us, and that we might live through him.
God is love; See Gill on 1Jo 4:8,
and he that dwelleth in love; who dwells by faith upon the love of God as displayed in Christ, and abides in the exercise of love to God and to the saints:
dwelleth in God, and God in him; See Gill on 1Jo 4:13; the last clause, "and God in him", is left out in the Syriac version.

Gill: 1Jo 4:17 - -- Herein is our love made perfect,.... Or love with us; which some understand of the love of God towards his people, and which is shed abroad in them: t...
Herein is our love made perfect,.... Or love with us; which some understand of the love of God towards his people, and which is shed abroad in them: this indeed removes all fear of an awful judgment, and renders that amiable and desirable; and such who are interested in it, shall stand in that day with intrepidity and boldness; and this sense may seem to be favoured by the Syriac version, which reads, "his love with us"; and especially by the Vulgate Latin version, which renders it, "the love of God with us"; but it is best to understand it agreeably to the context, of our love to God, which is with and in our hearts; and which is made, or made to appear to be perfect, true, and genuine, by our love to the brethren; since the love of God to us does not admit of degrees, nor does it, or the reality and sincerity of it, depend upon our love to the saints; See Gill on 1Jo 4:12;
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; not of men's judgment, when brought before judges, governors, and kings, for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, and stand at their bar, where saints, who have true love to God and Christ and the brethren, have stood with great courage and intrepidity, and shown much boldness, and used great freedom of speech; nor of judgment in this life, which sometimes begins at the house of God, though the saints often have great boldness and presence of mind, and freedom of expression both to God and man in a day of affliction, as Job had; but of the future judgment, which, though it will be very awful and solemn, Christ the Judge will appear with great majesty and glory, and all men will stand before him, and the books will be opened, and the judgment will proceed with great strictness and justice, and will issue in the everlasting perdition of devils and wicked men, yet the saints will have boldness in it: while evil men and devils tremble at the thoughts of it now, they rejoice and are glad; they love it, look for it, long for it, and hasten to it; and will stand fearless, and without the least dread, while others will flee to the rocks, and into the holes of the earth; and they will use freedom of speech with Christ, as the word here signifies; they will sing his new song, and ascribe the glory of their salvation to him, and express their praises of him, and love to him, then and to all eternity: and this boldness the saints may be said to arrive at through a perfect, or sincere, and genuine love of the brethren; for by this they know they are born again, and are born to an inheritance incorruptible, which they have both a meetness for, and a right unto; and knowing hereby that they are passed from death to life, they justly conclude they shall not enter into condemnation, and therefore are not afraid of the awful judgment: hereby they know that their faith is right, and that therefore they are manifestly the children of God; and if children, then heirs, and so shall be saved, and have everlasting life:
because as he is, so are we in this world; which may be understood either of God, to whom the saints are like; for such who are born again, as those who love the brethren are, they are partakers of the divine nature, and bear a resemblance to God, even in this present state of things; and as it becomes them to be holy in all manner of conversation, as he is holy, and to be merciful to wicked men, as he is merciful, so to love the saints as he does, and to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgive one another, as he for Christ's sake has forgiven them; for as God is love, they should be all love likewise; or of Christ, see 1Jo 3:3; and that with respect to God; as he is the Son of God, so are they the sons of God; he by nature, they by grace and adoption; as he is loved by God with an everlasting and unchangeable love, with a love of complacency and delight, so are they loved by him with the same kind of love, even while they are in this world; and as he is the chosen of God, and precious, so they are chosen in him, and unto salvation by him. The Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, render it, "as he was": and the sense may be, as he was in this world, so are they; and which may regard not so much likeness in nature, though there is an agreement in that, excepting sin, but the sameness of state and condition; as he was a man of sorrows, attended with afflictions, loaded with reproaches, and followed with the persecutions of men, so are they; nor need they wonder that they are the objects of the world's hatred and contempt, since he was also; as he was tempted by Satan, forsaken by his friends, and deserted by his God, so sometimes are they in this world; and as he went through a variety of sufferings, and death itself, to glory, so through many tribulations do they enter the kingdom: moreover, as he now is in heaven, so are they in this world; even as he is in heaven, so are they representatively in him, while in this world; and as he is righteous, being justified and acquitted from all the charge of sin he took upon him, and therefore will appear a second time without sin, so they are completely righteous in him: and once more, as he is, so they are, or should be in this world; they should be holy as he is holy, and be humble, meek, and patient, as he is, and walk as he walked; and particularly love the saints and one another, as he does; and which seems to be greatly intended here, and must be understood not of an equality, but of a likeness. The Arabic version reads the words conditionally, and as depending on the preceding clause, "if as he was, we are in this world"; and then the sense is, that the saints shall have boldness in the day of judgment, provided they are in this world as Christ was.

Gill: 1Jo 4:18 - -- There is no fear in love,.... In the love of the brethren; where that is, there is no fear: so far as that prevails and gains ground, fear removes; no...
There is no fear in love,.... In the love of the brethren; where that is, there is no fear: so far as that prevails and gains ground, fear removes; not the filial fear of God, the new covenant grace of fear, which is the beginning of wisdom, and is consistent with faith, hope, love, and spiritual joy; but either the fear of men, which brings a snare: those that truly love Christ, his Gospel, and his people, they are not afraid of men; the spirit of power, love, and of a sound mind, is opposite to a spirit of fear, nor can they stand together; and such strength there is sometimes in brotherly love, that the saints are not afraid of death itself, but freely lay down their lives for one another; see 1Jo 3:16; or it may be rather, that they are not afraid of the day of judgment, and of hell and damnation; where hatred of the brethren has place, there is a fear and dread of these things, as were in Cain; but those that love the brethren, they know they are passed from death to life, and shall not enter into condemnation, and therefore are in no fear of any of these things:
but perfect love casteth out fear; when love to the brethren appears to be perfect, that is, genuine and sincere, and a man knows that from the bottom of his heart he sincerely loves the saints, he concludes from hence, as he may, the truth of his faith, which works in this way; and this frees him from the fears of men and devils, and of the future judgment and wrath to come. The Jews have a saying w,
"worthy is his portion that rules over the place of fear, for lo, there is nothing that rules over the degree of "fear" but "love".''
Because fear hath torment: it distresses a man, fills him with anguish, and makes him restless and uneasy, and keeps him in servitude; through the fear of men, of the devil, death, judgment, and hell, he is all his lifetime, or as long as this fear lasts, subject to bondage: or "fear has punishment", as it may be rendered, and is by the Vulgate Latin version; it is a punishment itself to a man; and its being criminal deserves punishment, and is punishable; see Rev 21:8;
he that feareth is not made perfect in love; or "by love"; that is, he that is possessed, and under the power of a servile fear of punishment, is one who is not, by the love to the brethren, made to appear to himself to be a sincere lover of God, and true believer in Christ; for was he, he would not be in fear of destruction and death, since whoever truly loves God, and believes in Christ, shall certainly be saved; though such persons, at times, may not be without their doubts and fears.

Gill: 1Jo 4:19 - -- We love him, because he first loved us. Lest love to God, and so to one another, should be thought to be of ourselves, and too much be ascribed unto i...
We love him, because he first loved us. Lest love to God, and so to one another, should be thought to be of ourselves, and too much be ascribed unto it, the apostle observes, that God's love to us is prior to our love to him; his love is from everlasting, as well as to everlasting; for he loves his people as he does his Son, and he loved him before the foundation of the world; his choosing them in Christ as early, and blessing them then with all spiritual blessings, the covenant of grace made with Christ from all eternity, the gift of grace to them in him before the world began, and the promise of eternal life to them so soon, show the antiquity and priority of his love: his love shown in the mission and gift of his Son was before theirs, and when they had none to him; and his love in regeneration and conversion is previous to theirs, and is the cause of it; his grace in regeneration brings faith and love with it, and produces them in the heart; and his love shed abroad there is the moving cause of it, or what draws it first into act and exercise; and the larger the discoveries and applications of the love of God be, the more does love to him increase and abound; and nothing more animates and inflames our love to God, than the consideration of the earliness of his love to us, of its being before ours; which shows that it is free, sovereign, distinguishing, and unmerited. Some read the words as an exhortation, "let us love him"; and others as in the subjunctive mood, "we should love him", because, &c. some copies read, "we love God", and so the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, and the Alexandrian copy, read, "because God first loved us": and so some others.

Gill: 1Jo 4:20 - -- If a man say I love God, and hateth his brother,.... Than which profession nothing can be more contradictory, not black and white, or hot and cold in ...
If a man say I love God, and hateth his brother,.... Than which profession nothing can be more contradictory, not black and white, or hot and cold in the same degree:
he is a liar; it is not truth he speaks, it is a contradiction, and a thing impossible:
for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen; his person, which might have drawn out his affection to him; and something valuable and worthy in him, which might have commanded respect; or his wants and distresses, which should have moved his pity and compassion:
how can he love God whom he hath not seen? it cannot be thought he should; the thing is not reasonable to suppose; it is not possible he should; See Gill on 1Jo 4:12.

Gill: 1Jo 4:21 - -- And this commandment have we from him,.... Either "from God", as the Alexandrian copy and the Vulgate Latin version read; and that to love the brethre...
And this commandment have we from him,.... Either "from God", as the Alexandrian copy and the Vulgate Latin version read; and that to love the brethren is a commandment of God, is clear from 1Jo 3:23; or from Christ, for it is also a command of his, even his new commandment, which he has given, and his people have received from him:
that he who loveth God, love his brother also; see Joh 13:34; which is an argument persuading to attend to the one as well as to the other; for the same command that requires the one, requires the other: and he that transgresses it in one case, is a transgressor of it, as well as in the other.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes: 1Jo 4:16 Once again μένω (menw) in its three occurrences in 4:16 looks at the mutual state of believers and God. No change of status or pos...

NET Notes: 1Jo 4:17 Grk “that one” (a reference to Jesus is indicated in the context). Once more the author uses the pronoun ἐκεῖν&...


NET Notes: 1Jo 4:19 No object is supplied for the verb love (the author with his propensity for obscurity has left it to the readers to supply the object). The obvious ob...

NET Notes: 1Jo 4:20 In 4:20 the author again describes the opponents, who claim to love God. Their failure to show love for their fellow Christians proves their claim to ...

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. ( 12 ) God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
( 12 )...

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 4:17 ( 13 ) Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because ( i ) as he is, so are we in this world.
( 13 ) Aga...

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 4:18 There is no ( k ) fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
( k ) If w...

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 4:19 ( 14 ) We love him, because he first loved us.
( 14 ) Lest any man should think that that peace of conscience proceeds from our love as the cause, he...

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 4:20 ( 15 ) If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: ( 16 ) for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love Go...

Geneva Bible: 1Jo 4:21 ( 17 ) And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
( 17 ) A second reason, why God cannot be hated and our n...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> 1Jo 4:1-21
TSK Synopsis: 1Jo 4:1-21 - --1 He warns them not to believe all who boast of the Spirit;7 and exhorts to brotherly love.
Maclaren: 1Jo 4:17 - --The Servant As His Lord
"
As He is, so are we in this world.'--1 John 4:17.
LARGE truths may be spoken in little words. Profundity is often sup...

Maclaren: 1Jo 4:18 - --Love And Fear
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.' -...

Maclaren: 1Jo 4:19 - --The Ray And The Reflection
"We love Him, because He first loved us.'--1 John 4:19.
Very simple words! but they go down into the depths of God, liftin...
MHCC -> 1Jo 4:14-21
MHCC: 1Jo 4:14-21 - --The Father sent the Son, he willed his coming into this world. The apostle attests this. And whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God...
Matthew Henry -> 1Jo 4:14-16; 1Jo 4:17-21
Matthew Henry: 1Jo 4:14-16 - -- Since faith in Christ works love to God, and love to God must kindle love to the brethren, the apostle here confirms the prime article of the Christ...

Matthew Henry: 1Jo 4:17-21 - -- The apostle, having thus excited and enforced sacred love from the great pattern and motive of it, the love that is and dwells in God himself, proce...
Barclay: 1Jo 4:7-21 - --This passage is so closely interwoven that we are better to read it as a whole and then bit by bit to draw out its teaching. First of all, then, le...

Barclay: 1Jo 4:7-21 - --In this passage there occurs what is probably the greatest single statement about God in the whole Bible, that God is love. It is amazing how many d...

Barclay: 1Jo 4:7-21 - --Before we leave this passage we must note that it has also great things to say about Jesus Christ.
(i) It tells us that Jesus is the bringer of life. ...
Constable: 1Jo 3:1--5:14 - --III. Living as children of God 3:1--5:13
"In the second division of this document (3:1-5:13) John concentrates o...

Constable: 1Jo 3:4--5:14 - --B. Conditions for Living as God's Children 3:4-5:13
Having stated the theme of this section of the epist...

Constable: 1Jo 4:7--5:5 - --4. Practicing love 4:7-5:4
"By inserting this condition, John interrupts the symmetry which exis...

Constable: 1Jo 4:11-16 - --The inspiration of love 4:11-16
4:11 That demonstration of love by God is our model for showing love to others. As God manifested love in (among) us t...

Constable: 1Jo 4:17-20 - --The practice of love 4:17-20
4:17 Our love becomes complete in the sense that we can now have confidence as we anticipate our day of judgment (i.e., t...
