SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:17
¶ En esto es hecho perfecto la caridad con nosotros, para que tengamos confianza en el día del juicio, que cual l es, tales somos nosotros en este mundo.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 John 4:17
Verse 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 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. May have boldness in the day of judgment] parrhsian? Freedom of speech, and liberty of access; seeing in the person of our Judge, him who has died for us, regenerated our hearts, and who himself fills them.
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.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 17. Herein is our love made perfect , &c.] 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 John 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 1 John 3:3,7); 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.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 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 So of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. This confession include faith in the heart as the foundation; makes acknowledgment with the mouth to the glory of God and Christ, and profession in the life an conduct, against the flatteries and frowns of the world. There must be a day of universal judgment. Happy those who shall have holy boldnes before the Judge at that day; knowing he is their Friend and Advocate Happy those who have holy boldness in the prospect of that day, wh look and wait for it, and for the Judge's appearance! True love to God assures believers of God's love to them. Love teaches us to suffer for him and with him; therefore we may trust that we shall also be glorified with him, 2Ti 2:12. We must distinguish between the fear of God and being afraid of him; the fear of God imports high regard an veneration for God. Obedience and good works, done from the principl of love, are not like the servile toil of one who unwillingly labour from dread of a master's anger. They are like that of a dutiful child who does services to a beloved father, which benefit his brethren, an are done willingly. It is a sign that our love is far from perfect when our doubts, fears, and apprehensions of God, are many. Let heave and earth stand amazed at his love. He sent his word to invite sinner to partake of this great salvation. Let them take the comfort of the happy change wrought in them, while they give him the glory. The love of God in Christ, in the hearts of Christians from the Spirit of adoption, is the great proof of conversion. This must be tried by it effects on their temper, and their conduct to their brethren. If a ma professes to love God, and yet indulges anger or revenge, or shows selfish disposition, he gives his profession the lie. But if it is plain that our natural enmity is changed into affection and gratitude let us bless the name of our God for this seal and earnest of eterna happiness. Then we differ from the false professors, who pretend to love God, whom they have not seen, yet hate their brethren, whom the have seen __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
εν 1722 τουτω 5129 τετελειωται 5048 5769 η 3588 αγαπη 26 μεθ 3326 ημων 2257 ινα 2443 παρρησιαν 3954 εχωμεν 2192 5725 εν 1722 τη 3588 ημερα 2250 της 3588 κρισεως 2920 οτι 3754 καθως 2531 εκεινος 1565 εστιν 2076 5748 και 2532 ημεις 2249 εσμεν 2070 5748 εν 1722 τω 3588 κοσμω 2889 τουτω 5129
Vincent's NT Word Studies
17. Herein (en toutw). 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 ver. 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 ejn toutw in this, dia touto on this account, therefore, the pronoun usually refers to something preceding, though more fully developed in what follows. See John v. 16, 18; vi. 65; viii. 47; x. 17; xii. 18; xvi. 15. Our love (h agaph meq hmwn). The A.V. construes meq' hJmwn with us, with love, making with us equivalent to our. In that case it might mean either the love which is between Christians, or the love which is between God and Christians. The Rev. construes with us with the verb: love is made perfect with us. The latter is preferable. I do not think it would be easy to point out a parallel in the New Testament to the expression ajgaph meq' love that with us = our love. The true idea is that love is perfected in fellowship. The love of God is perfected with us, in communion with us, through our abiding in Him and He in us. "Love is not simply perfected in man, but in fulfilling this issue God works with man" (Westcott). Compare 2 John 3, "grace shall be with us" (true reading); and Acts xxv. 4, "what things God had done with them." See also Matt. i. 23; 1 Corinthians xxvi. 24; Gal. vi. 18. Meta with, is used constantly in the New Testament of ethical relations. See Matt. xx. 2; ii. 3; Luke xxiii. 12; Acts vii. 9; Rom. xii. 15; 1 John i. 6.
Boldness (parrhsian). See on ii. 28.
The day of judgment (th hmera thv krisewv). Lit., the day of judgment. The exact phrase occurs here only. Hmera krisewv day of judgment, without the articles, is found Matt. x. 15; xi. 22, 24; xii. 36; 2 Pet. ii. 9; iii. 7. The day is called the great day of their wrath (Revelation vi. 17); the day of wrath and of revelation of the righteous judgement of God (Rom. ii. 5); the day of visitation (1 Pet. ii. 12); the last day (John vi. 39, 40, 44, 54); that day (Matt. vii. 22; Luke vi. 23; x. 12). The judgment is found Matt. xii. 41, 42; Luke x. 14; xi. 31, 32.
Because. Likeness to Christ is the ground of boldness.
As (kaqwv). Not absolutely, but according to our measure, as men in this world.
He is. The present tense is very significant. Compare iii. 7, "is righteous even as He is righteous." The essence of out being as He is lies in perfected love; and Christ is eternally love. "He that abideth in love abideth in God and God in him." Compare iii. 2.
In this world. This present economy, physical and moral. The phrase limits the conception of likeness.
