1 John 4:17

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 4:17-18

Love's boldness in the day of judgment. Connecting link: The apostle had been speaking of God's love being perfected in us. He now glances forward to the outlook of believers, as bounded by the παρουσία and the κρίσις , and in so doing he shows that, as love attains its perfection, all dread which might otherwise attend on the prospect is removed; so that the believer may have παῤῥησία even on the judgment-day. As, however, in these verses there is some room for differences... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 4:17-18

The victory of love over fear. "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, etc. Our text authorizes the following observations. I. THAT A GREAT DAY OF JUDGMENT AWAITS US IN THE FUTURE . St. John speaks of "the day of judgment." The evidence for the coming of such a day is various and strong. 1. The administration of moral government in this world requires it. In this present state the distribution of good and evil,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 John 4:17

Herein is our love made perfect - Margin, “love with us.” The margin accords with the Greek - μεθ ̓ ἡμῶν meth' hēmōn. The meaning is, “the love that is within us, or in us, is made perfect.” The expression is unusual; but the general idea is, that love is rendered complete or entire in the manner in which the apostle specifies. In this way love becomes what it should be, and will prepare us to appear with confidence before the judgment-seat. Compare the notes at 1 John 4:12.That we may have... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 John 4:15-17

1 John 4:15-17. Whosoever shall From a principle of loving faith, openly confess In the face of all opposition and danger, maintaining this profession with resolution and zeal, and acting in conformity to it; that Jesus is the Son of God The Christ, the Saviour of the world; God abideth in him, and he in God There is a blessed union between God and his soul, so that it is, in the language of Scripture, the habitation of God; who, as it were, lives and walks in him, Eph 2:22 ; 1... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 John 4:7-21

The character of Christian love (4:7-5:5)It is God’s nature to love. Love in human nature has been spoiled by sin, but when people are born again by the work of God, they learn to love as God loves (7-8). The character of God’s love is seen in his act of giving his Son to die for those who have rebelled against him. They are worthy of death, but Jesus died to bear the judgment of sin on their behalf. As a result they can now have life (9-10). People cannot see God, but they can see that he... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 John 4:17

our love = love with ( App-104 .) us. made perfect . App-125 . boldness . Greek. parrhresia. See 1 John 2:28 . judgment . App-177 . as He is . See 1 John 2:6 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 John 4:17

Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world.Have boldness ... One grand dividend received from a love-oriented and love-motivated life is a dramatic diminution of fear, both with reference to earthly fears and those regarding the ultimate summons of all people to the judgment of God.In the day of judgment ... John, like the Lord Jesus, did not speak of many judgments, but only one. There are literally... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 1 John 4:17

1 John 4:17. Herein is our love made perfect,— Herein is love perfected in us (so it should be rendered), even by our thus dwelling in love, and thereby dwelling in God: and having this plain token of God's love to us, wemay assuredly hope to appear with humble confidence before him in the awful day of judgment: because as he is all love to us, so we in resemblance of him, and in consideration of his love, are filled with a supreme love to him, and with a sincere and ardent love to the brethren... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 John 4:17

17, 18. (Compare :-.) our love—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. :-, "showed mercy upon (literally, 'with') her": :-, the truth "shall be with us for ever." boldness—"confidence": the same Greek as 1 John 3:21, to which this passage is parallel. The opposite of "fear," 1 John 4:18. Herein is our love... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 John 4:17

Our love becomes complete in the sense that we can now have confidence as we anticipate our day of judgment (i.e., the evaluation of our works at Christ’s judgment seat; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12). The characteristic of God and Christians in view here is our love. We do not need to fear the judgment seat of Christ if we have demonstrated love to others. By loving we become like Jesus Christ our Judge. Therefore to give love is to gain boldness (confidence).Here... read more

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