Fear is a Spirit -- But Not Yours!

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 1 John 4: 18 :

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4: 18)

If we fear for any reason, it is because we are apprehensive about punishment in our lives, and that's why fear has torment.

Yet for the believer, we have no reason to fear punishment:

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8: 1, New American Standard Bible )

In fact, God has already exhausted all of his wrath against our sin upon His Son:

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2: 2)

and later

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 10)

So, then why do we still "feel" fear? The element of feeling is the part we must respond to. Every human being is spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5: 23).

In our spirit, we are resurrected, brought back from the dead. Paul prayed that the Ephesians believers would receive a greater revelation of this truth:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

"And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

"Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places," (Ephesians 1: 17-20)

We need to accept that we are not our feelings, and we are certainly far more than the negative thoughts which hit our minds from time to time:

Now, fear is a spirit, andone which God has not given us:

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1: 7)

If fear is a spirit, and not from God, then we must respond with spirit, with God's Word (John 6: 63). Because we are called to let the Word of God richly dwell in us (Colossians 3: 16).

More importantly, God has given -- already has given us! -- a spirit of power and love! We already have God's perfect love in us!