“Inseparable: love God in others and others in God”
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Download marked passage: 1 John 4:12-5:4 Reminders
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John is nearing the end of his first letter. What does he do to impress his beloved “little children” with the importance of what he has written? How does he fit together the various threads interwoven throughout his message?
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Our discussion started (as most good inductive Bible studies do) with observation. In this particular case the observation focused on repetition. However, the emphasis was not on repetition of certain words within the text. Instead, the goal was to note themes or topics mentioned in this passage which were discussed earlier in the letter. Our group noted numerous examples. (The references to previous passages in 1 John were added later, and these are not exhaustive. In many cases, John mentions or discusses an idea several times at different locations in his writing.)
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- Perfected love (4:12) – 2:5 whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected; cf. 4:17,18
- Father has sent the Son (4:14) – 4:9 God has sent His only begotten Son
- Savior of the World (4:14b) – 2:2 the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world; cf.4:10
- Confesses that Jesus is the Son of God (4:15) – 4:2 confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
- God is love (4:16) – 4:8 one who does not love does not know God, for God is love
- So that we may have confidence (4:17) – 2:28 when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him; cf. 3:21
These are only a few themes that John refers to in this passage. (Additional examples are in “1 John 4:12-5:4 Reminders”. Neither is that list necessarily complete!).
Next, we thought about why John would use this repetition (an interpretation question based on observation). Why give only a brief mention of ideas that were key issues earlier in his letter? And why present them as what one member described as “jumbled” together? He doesn’t exactly summarize the letter. He doesn’t present each point in the same order as earlier references.
Several suggestions made sense.
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- He does offer a summary of sorts by mentioning the variety of topics.
- He repeats key ideas but uses different wording to provide another perspective.
- He wants to address the widest possible audience, and he knows that different people understand and learn in different ways.
These comments are consistent with an observation made in the introduction to 1 John describing the letter as
“composed of a series of connected paragraphs whose relation to each other is governed by association of ideas rather than by a logical plan.”[1]
This is not to suggest that John is disorganized. John’s writing has a very definite purpose, to explain his teaching, especially from the gospel he authored. The entire letter is
“for the benefit of heterodox members of John’s community who were also indebted to the teaching of the Gospel, but who were understanding it differently and, indeed, erroneously.”[2]
Anyone who has been misunderstood recognizes the powerful desire to explain again, but “better.” Teachers are (or should be) passionate about communicating important information accurately to their students.
Clearly some members of John’s audience were familiar with the message in the Gospel according to John. Seven times John quotes or paraphrases their claims, “If we say…” or “The one who says…” (1:6, 8, 10; 2:4, 6, 9; 4:20). All of these allude to what he had written earlier in the gospel. In every case, he corrects a misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Interestingly, most of those references are in the first twenty percent of the letter. John was writing primarily to orthodox believers to warn of deception (2:26, 3:7), but he begins by defining his “audience within the audience,” those who have misconstrued or misrepresented the gospel.
If most of this passage consists of repetition of John’s earlier ideas, a natural question would be, “Is there anything new here?”
Anything New?
After marking the familiar topics on a handout, we examined what was left to see if John adds any new ideas. A few verses added new perspectives.
No Fear
This section contains the first time John mentions fear in this letter.
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.
(1 John 4:18)
Someone asked if there is anything unusual or different about the word John uses for “fear.” Is this fright, or respect, or one of the other possible uses of φόβος (phobos, “fear, terror; respect, reverence, awe”[3])? The context would tend to indicate “no.” Some of those substitutes are actually positive (if uncomfortable) conditions, such as respect, reverence, or awe. John seems simply to be describing being afraid. In fact, the only other times John uses the word in the gospel account all refer to “fear of the Jews” (John 7:13, 19:38, 20:19), clearly fear of death or persecution or other very negative consequences.
Then the next question: Fear of what?
Someone pointed out that the context quickly answers this question. John is describing fear of “punishment,” and he is even more specific. In the previous sentence he affirms confidence at the final judgment of God.
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.
(1 John 4:17)
His emphasis is not on the fear, but rather the absence of fear resulting in our confidence in the finished work of Jesus. Our advocate and our propitiation, acting as our substitute means that “as He is, so also are we in this world.” He took our sin and provided for us His righteousness. No fear there!
Yet John still recognizes the possibility of fear, but only in those “not perfected in love.” This will be discussed later in this essay.
Loving God, Loving Children
John makes a statement relating the love of God and the love of His children, our Christian brothers and sisters (τέκνα, tekna, “children,” is a neuter noun, possibly to indicate including both genders).
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
(1 John 5:2)
That phrase sounds familiar, but it is slightly different from all his earlier references.
The thought with which the [verse] opens is unexpected. Instead of concluding that those who belong to God the Father must love their fellow-believers, John appears to maintain that we know we love God’s children when we love God and carry out his orders.[4]
That unexpected difference becomes clearer if we look at the related statements earlier in his letter.
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- By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
(1 John 3:10) - We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.
(1 John 3:14) - But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him
(1 John 3:17-19) - 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. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
(1 John 4:20-21)
- By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
In each example, the explanation is reversed from 5:2. In all the previous statements, love of brethren (assumed to be the same as God’s children) is cited as evidence of love for God that is genuine and true. Three of the four (3:10, 17-19, 4:20-21) are negative tests: those who don’t love brothers don’t love God. The remaining test (3:14) provides indirect evidence. It uses different language for loving God, i.e., “passed out of death into life,” which is the result of genuine love for God. Those variations do not affect the apparent “circularity.”
A circular argument uses one fact to support another, then uses the second fact to support the first. As a generic example,
We know that B is true because of A, and
we know that A is true because of B.
Applied to the current question, that generic illustration becomes,
One tests love for God by love for brothers (4:20 – 21) and then tests love for brothers by love for God[5]
Logic and careful thinking are essential for effective and thorough inductive Bible study. However, those systematic tools have their limitations. When we encounter those boundaries, our first reading of a Scriptural passage seems not to make sense. Then we can be motivated to think more deeply about God’s Word. In addition, we can follow the helpful thoughts of others. For example, John Calvin thought more deeply on this passage.
[John] briefly shows in these words what true love is, even that which is towards God. He has hitherto taught us that there is never a true love to God, except when our brethren are also loved; for this is ever its effect. But he now teaches us that men are rightly and duly loved, when God holds the primacy. And it is a necessary definition; for it often happens, that we love men apart from God, as unholy and carnal friendships regard only private advantages or some other vanishing objects. As, then, he had referred first to the effect, so he now refers to the cause; for his purpose is to shew that mutual love ought to be in such a way cultivated that God may be honored.[6]
Calvin’s description that “love of men apart from God” is motivated by “private advantages” sounds like the sixteenth-century version of self obsession. “Vanishing objects” is a good description of second things.
As with many other topics, God’s perspective is considerably more complicated than our attempts to simplify the logic. Love of God and love of the brothers are not two actions or attitudes in a satisfying sequential order.
The two loves are inseparable (4:12); we are to love others in God, and God in others. Moreover, when we love God truly we shall want to obey his orders, which are in any case summed up in the command to love other people (3: 11; 4:7, 21).[7]
That inseparable, intertwined love of God and love of other believers reflects the eternally intertwined and inseparable love among the Trinity.
Finally, Bede, the eight-century monk often referred to as The Venerable Bede, expressed it most briefly.
Only someone who is on fire with the love of his Maker can be said to love his fellow humans in the right way.[8]
Perfect Love
An earlier question deserves special attention. What does John mean by “perfected love”? He mentions that quality three times in his letter.
John’s first mention of “perfected love” connects it with obedience, i.e., keeping His Word.
But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.
(1 John 2:5)
Obedience, keeping God’s Word (present tense) is the ongoing result of love that has been perfected and continues to affect behavior (perfect tense). Loving God, drawing near to Him (Hebrews 4:16, 7:19, 7:25, 10:1, James 4:8), grows our obedience. The emphasis is not on trying harder (“I need to do better”) but on seeing more of God’s character and His grace, our motivation to be more like Him.
Later in his letter, John is more specific about that obedience.
No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
(1 John 4:12)
The invisible, relational, Three-Personal God[9] provides his most accessible manifestation in the love among His people. The same pattern of verb tenses we saw above is used here. The ongoing love of one another and God’s abiding closeness demonstrate the continuing results of God’s past action: His love perfected in us.
Obedience to God’s commands and keeping His Word are broad topics (filling sixty-six books!). That overwhelming obligation tends to produce rigid legalism concentrating on personal behavior, as evidenced by first-century Pharisees (and not a few modern Christians). On the other hand, loving one another is very specific. The love modeled by God (4:10) takes the initiative and is self-sacrificing in costly, practical ways. Every failure in obedience ultimately results in a failure to love others. Loving others is the practical result of keeping His Word. Relational holiness expresses perfected love.
Now John is ready to address the problem of fear. He surrounds the issue of fear with repeated references to God’s love for us.
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. 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. 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. We love, because He first loved us.
(1 John 4:16-19, emphasis added)
Perfected love “has come to know and has believed” in God’s love. Both verbs, “know” and “believe,” are in the perfect tense – accomplished in the past with continuing results now in the present. Perfected love is not about us trying harder to be loving. It grows out of our increasing appreciation of God’s initiative, that He first loved us. A member of our group made the comment that God’s initiative in loving us enables us to take risks in loving others. God’s love perfected in us means that regardless of risks in loving others, there is a constant, unwavering confidence in our salvation – our accomplished justification, our ongoing sanctification, our assured future glorification.
BUT… why don’t we always experience that confidence. Why do we doubt? Why do we struggle to obey? Why do we fear?
John gives a straightforward answer.
the one who fears is not perfected in love.
(1 John 4:18b, emphasis added)
To understand the antidote to fear we need a closer look at what John means by “perfect.”
Perfect?
The Greek verb τελειόω (teleioō)[10] has a much broader range of meanings than the English word “perfect.” The English word usually communicates absolute concepts such as “ideal” or “flawless.”[11] Ultimately, the goal is the absolute perfection implied in English, to be “perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
Yet we are all in the process of growing toward that ultimate goal. The reality of progressive sanctification means that we are not perfect. Even though God’s love is perfect, we don’t always consistently “know and believe the love God has for us” (1 John 4:16a). How can we follow John’s admonition (4:18b) to avoid fear by being “perfected in love”? How can God’s love be perfected in us (2:5, 4:12, 17)?
The wider connotation of teleioō is helpful in understanding and applying John’s meaning. For example, the adjective form of the word shows the difference between children and adults in 1 Corinthians 14:20.
Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. [NASB1995]
Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. [NIV]
Like children growing into adults, sanctification is a process of maturing. To increase in maturity means “to overcome an imperfect state of things” and “to bring to full measure.”[12] Perfect love, mature love, grows toward the goal of being fully developed, being brought to “know and believe” the full measure of God’s love for us.
Maturity is the process of moving toward perfection. The apostle Paul recognizes the distinction between perfection as a finished accomplishment (Philippians 3:12a) and maturity as a growing process (Philippians 3:15a). He uses different forms of the same word in both places, so the distinction is in the context. “I am pressing on … I am reaching forward … I am pressing on….” (Philippians 3:12b-14a).
That passionate pursuit is the connection between “not yet having become perfect” (“that place of absolute spiritual maturity beyond which there is no progress”[13]) and being a mature (or maturing) Christian.
This is the concept of perfection in the New Testament reality of progressive sanctification. This is the pattern of “God’s love perfected in us” (1 John 4:12, 17) that John desires for his audience. We are to continually “press on” and “reach forward” to know God’s love for us in His Word and with His people. The growing confidence in His love as it is increasingly perfected in us fortifies us against fear.
Pressing on is the mark of increasing maturity. Complacency or coasting (or worse, drifting) in the Christian life is the attitude of “the one not perfected in love,” not pursuing God with a passion to love Him more. That complacency makes us vulnerable to fear. Knowing and believing the love which God has for us, even (and especially) in the face of our failures, continuously perfects that love in us and fortifies us against fear.
[1] Robert L. Plummer, E. Roderick Elledge, 1-3 John, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: B&H Academic, 2024), xl.
[2] Stephen S. Smalley, 1,2,3 John, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, 1984), xxvii.
[3] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/phobos
[4] Stephen S. Smalley, 1,2,3 John, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, 1984), 267, emphasis added.
[5] Raymond Brown, Epistles of John, quoted by Karen H. Jobes, 1, 2, and 3 John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2014), 210.
[6] John Calvin, quoted by Karen H. Jobes, 1, 2, and 3 John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2014), 210;
cf. https://calvin.edu/sites/default/files/migrated/centers-institutes-meeter-center-files-john-calvins-works-in-english-Commentary-20045—Catholic-Epistles.pdf, 257, emphasis added..
[7] Stephen S. Smalley, 1,2,3 John, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, 1984), 268.
[8] Robert W. Yarbrough, 1-3 John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008), 273;
cf https://learn.ligonier.org/podcasts/5-minutes-in-church-history-with-stephen-nichols/236-two-kinds-of-righteousness .
[9] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis Signature Classics (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2021) Kindle Edition location 2025, page 160.
[10] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/teleios ,
https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/teleioo
[11] E.g., https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perfect
[12] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 996, (1), (2)b.
[13] Kenneth S. Wuest, The New Testament: An Expanded Translation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Willam B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1961), 466.