1 John 4:17 - Exposition

This verse raises various questions which can scarcely be answered with certainty. Does "herein" ἐν τούτῳ look back to 1 John 4:16 ? or forwards to "that" ἵνα ? or forwards to "because" ὅτι ? Again, does "with us" μεθ ̓ ἡμῶν belong to "is made perfect" τετελείωται ? or to "love" ἡ ἀγάπη ? John 15:8 inclines us to refer "herein" to "that" ἵνα ; and "with us" or "among us" goes better with the verb than with the subject: "Herein has love reached its perfection among us Christians, i.e., in the Church, that we have confidence in the day of judgment." This is the perfection of love to have no fear. The ὅτι , introduces the reason for this confidence: its basis is our likeness to Christ. especially in being united to the Father ( John 17:21 , John 17:23 , John 17:26 ). Compare "even as he is pure" ( 1 John 3:3 ), and "even as he is righteous" ( 1 John 3:7 ): καθὼς ἐκεῖνος in all three cases.