Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

Topic: Love, Compassion, & Kindness

Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.

No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he 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 he who loves God should love his brother also.

Apostle John

John the Apostle, born around 6 AD and living until approximately 100 AD, held a singular place among the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Referred to as Ἰωάννης in the New Testament, he was often recognized as the youngest of the group. Born to Zebedee and either Salome or Joanna, John grew up in a family familiar with the rigors of life, as his father was a fisherman. His upbringing was shared with his brother James, who would also become one of the Twelve Apostles, illustrating that the call to divine love often runs deep in the soil of family connections.

John's spiritual narrative is deeply woven into the Christian tradition through the Book of John in the New Testament. Unlike the other Gospels, which often focus on external events and actions, John's Gospel dives into the deep waters of spiritual insight, capturing the essence of Jesus' teachings on love, unity, and divine-human relationship. This is the Gospel that gives us the intimate conversations between Jesus and his followers, as well as monumental statements about love such as John 3:16. His account exudes a nuanced understanding of Jesus' message, inviting us to consider not just the surface of the events but the underlying currents of love and interconnectedness that tie them all together.

Yet, John's influence extends beyond the Gospel attributed to him. Tradition tells us that he lived a long life, outlasting all the other Apostles, and spent his later years in Ephesus. During this period, he is believed to have penned the three epistles of John and the Book of Revelation, writings that continue to inspire and challenge believers to this day. In these texts, John remains consistent in his focus on love as the central axis of human and divine interaction. His life and works stand as a testament to the enduring power of love to sustain, to enlighten, and to bring us into communion with the divine mystery.

(c. AD 6-100) Christianity
The First Letter of John

Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture - a Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. Paragon House, 1991, pp. 159-160 [Bible, 1 John 4.7-8, 12-13, 18-21].

Apostle John

1 John 4.7-8, 12-13, 18-21

The ideal of love described in this section [True Love] is rare in the world. Such love requires the foundation of integrity, truthfulness, and unity with the Absolute… Several well-known passages describe human love as grounded in divine love: 1 John 4 and 1 Corinthians 13 of the Christian Bible, from the Bhagavad Gita, and the Buddhist Metta Sutta.

— World Scripture – a Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. Paragon House, 1991, p. 159.

True Love

When the individual realizes Truth and fulfills God’s purpose for his life, he comes to embody universal love. He delights in the well-being of others and selflessly works for their benefit. Love or Compassion, being the core of Ultimate Reality, is expressed in the love of the saint who can rise above self-centered attachments and desires. It is true love, love that is totally committed to the welfare of the other. It is love that is universal, overcoming the ordinary tendency to self-centeredness or favoritism for one’s own.

—World Scripture – a Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. Paragon House, 1991, p. 159.

Additional Bible Quotes About Overcoming Fear

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

—2 Timothy 1:7.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

—Joshua 1:9.

“Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.”

—John 14:27.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

—Matthew 6:34.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

—Psalm 23:4.

“For [the LORD] will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence… You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday… Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your habitation, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For he will give his angels charge of you to guide you in all your ways.”

—World Scripture – a Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. Paragon House, 1991 [Psalm 91.1-13 (excerpts)], pp. 398-399.

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

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