1 John 4:18 (DBY)

Passage

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has torment, and he that fears has not been made perfect in love.

Nearby Context

1 John 4:16 And *we* have known and have believed the love which God has to us. God is love, and he that abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:17 Herein has love been perfected with us that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that even as *he* is, *we* also are in this world.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has torment, and he that fears has not been made perfect in love.

1 John 4:19 *We* love because *he* has first loved us.

1 John 4:20 If any one say, I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fear", "love", "perfect", "casts", and "torment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fear" and "love", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Herein has love been perfected with us..." into verse 19's "We love because he has first loved...", so "fear" and "love" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "fear" and "love" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.