What Does 1 John 4:17 Mean?
In this, love has been made complete with us, so that we may have open speech in the day of judgment, for as he is, so are we in this world.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.THE KEY
Love reaches its goal in us now: the likeness that gives us boldness before judgment is already present in this world.
THE MEANING
Our love reaches its intended completion in us now, giving us boldness when the day of judgment comes. Its ground is the shared present the verse names: as he is, so are we in this world.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Likeness to him belongs only to a future hope; this verse places it in this world now.
THE ROOT
τετελείωται
teteleiōtai
GROWS FROM
τελ- (tel-, the word family of τέλος / telos)
τέλος (telos) means end, goal, or intended outcome.
“has been made complete” in this verse is teteleiōtai. The verb carries the sense of love being brought to its goal, not merely being without flaw. The verse locates that completion in a present likeness, “as he is, so are we in this world”, and connects it to boldness before judgment.
ALSO GROWS
teleios: complete, mature, having reached its goal
τέλειος
It shares the idea of reaching a full measure, illuminating what “made perfect” means here.
epiteleō: bring to completion, carry through
ἐπιτελέω
This verb makes the movement toward an intended end explicit, echoing love reaching its goal in us.
κρίσεως
kriseōs
GROWS FROM
κριν- (krin-, from κρίνω / krinō)
κρίνω (krinō) means to distinguish, decide, or judge.
Judgment carries the sense of discernment and decision. The verse does not erase that reckoning; it places love’s completion and the confidence it brings within its horizon.
ALSO GROWS
krinō: distinguish, decide, judge
κρίνω
The verb reveals the action behind the noun: judgment involves making a distinction or decision.
krima: decision, verdict
κρίμα
This word names the outcome of judging, keeping the verse’s “day of judgment” in view.
kritēs: judge
κριτής
This word names the one who makes a decision, clarifying the relational setting in which boldness appears.
THE PATTERN
When love reaches its goal, presence with God yields openness rather than shame or fear.
They gaze upon him and flow with light, and their faces are never exposed.Let us therefore draw near, with open speech, to the throne of favor, that we may receive compassion, and find favor to help in the right moment.But we all, with uncovered faces, mirror the weight of the LORD, and are being reshaped into the same image, ever increasing in weight, even as from the breath of the LORD.THE THREAD
There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws out fear, for fear has torment. The one who fears has not been made complete in love.“Perfect” in this verse and “made perfect” in 1 John 4:17 come from the same Greek word family of completion. The next verse names fear as what love’s completion casts out, opening the boldness of this verse as love’s present result.
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