Antidote means “given against”. For instance, when someone has a snake bite, they are administered an anti-venom, an antidote, which is used to counteract poison produced by snake and other venomous animals.
This antidote acts against the venom in order to reduce its force or neutralise it.
That is what Agape is, an antidote to fear. God wants you to be efficient; He wants you to be confident.
Remember our opening text says, “There is no fear in love” or “there is no room in love for fear”. In other words, love does not contain fear”. It also says …“Perfect love casteth out fear”.
The Greek word translated casteth is “ballō”; it means ‘to throw or flush’. Thus, a literal rendering of this phrase is “…perfect love throws out or flushes out fear”.
Put differently, perfect love expels, banishes or neutralises fear completely. But you might ask: what is perfect love, which in Greek is rendered “Teleios Agape”?
Since I already defined Agape earlier, I will go ahead and let you know what “teleios” connotes.
Teleios is Greek word rendered “perfect”. It infers finished; lacking nothing necessary to completeness; perfect, matured, complete in all its parts, full grown, complete, entire, as opposed to what is partial and limited.
The above definitions infer that there is provision for you to do two things. These two things must be done simultaneously, as one does not supersede the other; they are important in equal measures.
First, you must develop the love of God that has been poured out into your heart.
Secondly, you must understand and have a working revelation of God’s love for you. This assertion is corroborated by J.B. Phillips rendering, “Love contains no fear — indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty”. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected.
You see, the sacrifice of Jesus has put God on your side forever, and there is nothing that can separate you from his love…. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8: 38 -39).
The word rendered separate is the Greek word “chorizo”. It also means to divide, part, put asunder or divorce. Put differently, Paul is saying… “I’m absolutely convinced that nothing — nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable — absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us”. To be Continued !!!
Pastor Emmanuel Asiwe, Joint Heirs International,#441 Cresecent, Brockton MA 02302 : Worship Hours: Sunday 10a.m, Wednesday 7p.m, Saturday 6a.m : Email : info@Jointheirsint.org
