“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”
John now turns to the consequences of intimate fellowship with God (vv. 17-19). He sets this forth in positive terms in verse 17 and negative terms in verse 18.
Boldness at the Judgment Seat of Christ for believers.
No fear or shame before God.
We love because we were first loved.
Love has been perfected among us in this:
God perfects His love among us. Love reaches its intended goal when it engages in active love towards others. God’s love finds fulfillment in reproducing itself in the conduct of His children. We do not reach perfection in our love on earth, but love can reach God’s intended goal for us. This is then the love God produces in the process of abiding in the believer. Through His love, He moves the believer to love others.
PRINCIPLE:
Christians who exercise love from the filling of the Spirit can have confidence at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
APPLICATION:
When God sees His love completed in us by showing love to other Christians, He perceives a likeness to how His Son operated on earth in time. He observes the character of Christ in us. The Father said that He was well pleased with Jesus on earth. God calls on each member of His family to bear His family characteristic. God expects us to love His people.
God’s love can only be consummated in us as He works in company with or associated with us to extend love to others. Fellowship with God causes us to abide in His love. These kinds of Christians will hold nothing back out of shame at the Judgment Seat of Christ. God’s love makes it possible for Christians to have boldness in the day of judgment.
1 Jn 4:9, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”
1 Jn 4:12, “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.”
Jn 13:1, “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
