Love made perfect, fear cast out
The same epistle that defines God as love describes what love does in the believer when it reaches maturity:
"In this, love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so we are in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love." — 1 John 4:17–18
Two claims, both load-bearing.
Perfected love produces boldness at the judgment. The Greek for boldness is parrhēsia — frank speech, openness, freedom-to-speak-without-shame. The same word Paul uses for the apostolic preaching posture (Acts 4:13, 4:29; 2 Corinthians 3:12). And the operating verse is the second half: as he is, so are we in this world. Christ-conformity now produces parrhēsia then. The believer in whom love has actually been formed will not stand at the judgment in dread, because what the judgment measures (love demonstrated through behavior, Matthew 25:31–46) is exactly what the indwelling Spirit has been forming the whole time. The audit (2 Corinthians 13:5, §13) does not produce anxiety in the mature believer; it produces boldness, because the assayed metal is real.
Perfect love casts out fear. The Greek for casts out is ekballei — throws out, expels, drives forth — the same verb the Gospels use when Jesus casts out demons. Love does not soften fear or balance fear or manage fear. Love expels fear. The two cannot occupy the same space at full strength. And the diagnostic runs the other direction too: who fears is not made perfect in love. Fear that brings torment (Greek kolasin — punishment, the same word used in Matthew 25:46 for the punishment of the goats) is the symptom that points to incomplete love-formation. Fear-with-torment is not a problem to be managed by adding more fear-management; it is a symptom that love has not yet been perfected. The corrective for fear is deeper love-formation, not more vigilance.
This is consistent across the rest of scripture:
"For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”!" — Romans 8:15
"For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control." — 2 Timothy 1:7
"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
The Spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15) is precisely the Spirit who undoes the spirit of bondage to fear — adoption-into-the-family (§12) is itself the fear-casting mechanism, because the adopted child stands in love, not in trial. "for you are with me." (Psalm 23:4) is the operative phrase: presence dissolves the fear of the valley.
For the believer in the carrier-position (§5) — where the temptation is anxious vigilance, am I striking when I should be speaking? am I drifting? am I sure I am still on the chain? — this verse is the corrective. The audit is real; the audit is meant to produce boldness, not torment. If the audit produces torment, the next move is not more audit; it is more love-formation. Sit in the Father's love until the fear gets expelled. We love him, because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). The receiving of love is the substrate from which boldness rises.
See: 1 John 4:7–21; Matthew 25:31–46; Romans 8:14–17; 2 Timothy 1:7; Psalm 23; John 14:27 ("not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful."); Hebrews 4:14–16 ("draw near with boldness to the throne of grace,").