Chapter 2
1 John 1:5-10
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
John introduced us to the subject of this chapter in verse one as, “the Word of Life.” In verse two he called Him, the “Eternal Life” that was made known and in verse three John testified that he saw, heard, and touched Him. John of course is clearly identifying Jesus as the subject. In verse five, John now refers to a message that Jesus proclaimed to John and the other apostles. If we are not careful we might miss what John is about to say. The message is not necessarily the gospel, although the gospel message is a component of it, nor is it a reference to an all-inclusive summary like what we find in 1 John 5:20. The message that John is referring to is a very simple (but highly insightful) statement that simply says that God is light.
In the gospel account that John wrote he stated God is a Spirit (see John 4:24), and later in this epistle John will write that God is love (see 1 John 4:8). So what does John now mean when he says God is light? Throughout the Bible God is described by His many attributes sometimes indirectly (fortress, shield, refiner, etc.) and other times, like this one, He is described, or given a title based on some attribute (such as everlasting, counselor, shepherd, etc.) When we read that God is light this reveals another aspect of His nature that sould be explored.
David in the Psalms said, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalms 27:1a, ESV) and an unknown Psalmist (which could also be David) wrote, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalms 119:105, ESV) From the beginning, when God said “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3b, ESV) where God separated the light from the darkness, to the last references to light in Revelation: “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there…And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 21:22-25 and 22:5 ESV), the term ‘light’ in the Bible describes purity (no corruption or sin), divine guidance, and perfect wisdom (see also Proverbs 6:23; Exodus 13:21-22; Matthew 5:14-16; John 1:1-13; 3:21; 8:12; Ephesians 5:8-10; Philippians 2:15; Colossians 1:12-13; 1 Timothy 6:16 and 1 Peter 2:9 for a few examples, also note how Jesus calls us to be light as God’s light should be shining through us for others to see).
John further states that in Jesus there is no darkness at all, none! Light leads to life and darkness leads to death. Light represents the truth of God, which reveals the path of righteousness for salvation. We often think that darkness is equivalent to sin, but John makes a distinction here in the following verses.
1 John 1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
John will use a series of conditional statements (using five ‘ifs’) to make a point regarding potential errors in understanding sin. In these statements he will address three common issues (or three ways) to improperly handle the subject of sin. He first addresses the potential error, and then offers a way to correct that error. As Christians we need to understand the seriousness of sin. This is what would have kept us away from God if we did not accept His plan of salvation, and we know that sin can still separate us from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2, ESV)
We often think since we have accepted Jesus for our salvation our sin is insignificant and will be forgiven. Our sins will indeed be forgiven, however, sin can continue to keep us from having a close relationship with Jesus and we will not be in fellowship with Him if we continue to treat sin like it is nothing important.
The first potential problem or misconception is by ignoring our sin or rationalize it in some way. If we say we are Christians, or state we have fellowship with Jesus while following the path that is in, or leads to, darkness, we are deliberately deceiving ourselves. John is pointing out in this case that even though one may know God’s Word, they are not living (applying) God’s Word. We see people today trying to minimize, or in some cases, redefine sin. I am sure we all know someone who is quick to blame someone else when something goes wrong, or perhaps if it is a personal issue, they find some form of disorder preventing them to accept any responsibility. These people rationalize their own shortcomings and sin, not willing to accept any fault at all. The author D.R. Anderson, in his commentary on 1 John, presented some of his favorite rationalizations, here is that list:
Is having fellowship with Jesus important to you? As discussed in the last chapter, Christianity is best described as a relationship with Jesus rather then a religion of protocols and ritual. If you don’t want to damage or change that relationship, then we need to accept responsibility for our sin. The solution that John offers for this is that we need to recognize that Jesus’ blood has cleansed us from all of our sin (see also Exodus 12:5; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19; Ephesians 1:7; Acts 20:28: Revelation 5:9-10; 7:14; 12:11) and that we walk with Him in the light. To profess one thing and then live in contradiction to it, we are lying to ourselves and not practicing what we know to be true. James would remind us, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25, ESV)
The second potential problem in handling sin is to say you have no sin. Interestingly many today still believe this to be the case, we need to admit to our sins (read Romans 3:10-23; Job 15:14 and Jeremiah 2:35). John says the truth is not in us if we say we have no sin. The word John uses here that is translated as ‘deceive’ is different than the word that is translated as ‘lie’ in verse six, it goes beyond the idea of deliberate deception, it clearly states that the person has been fooled or lead astray from the truth. John’s answer to this error is to confess our sins. Martin Luther said: “For although we have become a new creature, nevertheless the remnants of sin always remain in us. We still have sin, and the poison is still in us; and that sin incites us to the fruits of sin, as in the case of David, to whom inherent, encompassing, and indwelling sin said: “Slay Uriah”. David consented and sinned.”[2] The truth is that we are still sinners and we need to confess our sins before God. John says God is faithful and just (the Greek word here means that He will always act without failure) to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The third problem in our potential mishandling of sin is to believe that we never sin. This would make us defiant to God calling Him a liar. If that is truly in our heart, John is saying that God’s Word is not in us. Jesus on a number of occasions told us that we need to abide in Him and He in us (see John 5:38; 8:37 for examples). In this case by denying our sins, John says “the Word of Life” is not in us.
Darkness and light are not compatible, just as God and sin are not compatible. We are to acknowledge that we are sinners and that sin prevents us from having fellowship with Jesus. Plus, we are not to rationalize or ignore our sins, to say we have no sin nor say there is no sin. We need to read the Bible and treat His Word as truth by being compliant to the Word and we are to believe that we, and all of humanity, have and continue to sin requiring us to regularly confess our sins. Remember that Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins (past, present and future) by accepting Jesus as our personal Savior we know we are saved (just as John clearly stated in John 20:30-31). Our confession of sins is necessary for our continued fellowship with Him, not for our salvation. Luther also wrote: “Therefore a Christian man is a just, saintly, righteous, and blessed person and a child of God, namely, according to the spirit. According to the flesh, however, he still has sin. Nevertheless, because he is reborn through the Spirit and believes, sin is not imputed to him.”[3]
There is no way for us to remember all of our sins, nor is it possible to even know all the ways we sin against Him. But when we approach God for forgiveness, He knows our heart (see Romans 8:26) and will forgive our sins, even those we may not have listed in our prayers. In this epistle, John will continue to stress the importance of having fellowship with Jesus and will also continue to point out how we can remain in that relationship.
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[1] Anderson, D. R. (2013). Maximum Joy: 1 John—Relationship or Fellowship? (pp. 41–42). Grace Theology Press.
[2] Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 30: The Catholic Epistles. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 30, pp. 228–229). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
[3] Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 30: The Catholic Epistles. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 30, p. 233). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.