“First John 1:5-10”

Monday, October 09, 2017

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

--- End of Scripture verses---

After countering the encroachment of the Gnostics by ridiculing the idea that Jesus was merely some divine avatar and not One Who came in the flesh, John launches into the first major section of his letter. Having established in the prologue that Jesus was “the fullness of God in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9), John uses this fact to examine the nature of God and its relationship to the activities of those who claim allegiance to Him. The connection between 1:3 and 1:5 should not be missed.

John’s first point is to reestablish Who God actually is in light of the revelation of Jesus. It was precisely because Jesus came in fleshly form, that He alone could reveal the true nature of God (John 1:18). As Jesus revealed this, He committed the ministry of revelation to His Apostles. What qualified them to do this in light of Jesus’ unique ability to do this? Two things: 1) the Apostles experienced His ministry in an intimate and completely unique way; 2) Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to inspire these men to reveal Jesus’ insights into the very nature of God.

One key aspect of the Lord’s nature is the oft-cited similitude between God and light. Perhaps no other analogy is used as often as this in the Bible when discussing the nature of God. Light was the first creation of God (Genesis 1:3), God is clothed in light (Psalms 104:2), and light is a metaphor for life or salvation (Psalms 27:1; 36:9; Isaiah 49:6). John takes this figure and runs with it. Contextually, it is important that we realize the significance of this. Gnostics and other human philosophies were founded in a strict sort of dualism. Terrestrial things were inherently evil and dark; celestial things were inherently good and light. So not only is John picking up on a common biblical motif, he’s also pecking away at the false concepts of the Gnostics. Irenaeus provides record that some Gnostics falsely believed that the divine fullness, or Pleroma, contained both shadow and light (Against Heresies 2.4.2-3). Furthermore, Gnostics clung to the idea of secrecy and hidden knowledge; but light reveals and keeps nothing secret so the very nature of God would disprove this false notion. This idea is so important that it is found prevalently in each of John’s inspired writings including all of his epistles (e.g. 1 John 2:6, 11; 2 John 4; 3 John 3, 4), his Gospel (e.g. 1:4, 9; 3:19-21; 11:9-10; 12:35-36), and Revelation! Jesus is the true light that enlightens every man (John 1:4, 9). Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). In contrast, man loves the darkness rather than the light because his deeds are evil (John 3:19-21).

So even though God came in the flesh, He maintained perfection in the Son. While this was a challenge to those peddling the Gnostic system, this should not be a challenge to those open to God. While He came into flesh (viewed by Gnostics as evil) there was not the slightest chance that doing so defiled Him in any way. He maintained, and maintains, absolute purity and there is no variation or shifting shadows with God (James 1:17).

As God maintains perfect purity and sets the standard, there is a high bar established for His people. Jesus even used this idea in the Sermon on the Mount: “Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). It should be quite obvious that God’s people never meet this ideal, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a mark we should be pressing toward (Philippians 3:12-21). When, not if, we fall short we have advocacy and cleansing (verse 10 and 2:1-2).

Falsehood #1 (verses 6-7) – Believing fellowship with God and darkness can coexist. If we claim allegiance and fellowship with God, and there is no darkness in God, then there has to be an expulsion of darkness from us. Sins create a chasm of darkness between God and us that only the bridge of Christ can cross. To be in fellowship with God, our sins must be forgiven. That means we have to submit to His plan as He has commanded. If He tells us how to have our sins forgiven, then that’s how we cross the bridge of Christ. For those coming out of the world, He has commanded belief, confession of Christ as Son of God, repentance, and immersion to forgive sins (Acts 2:38). For those prodigal Christians, confession of sins and repentance is required (1 John 1:9).

Let’s think more about “walking in the Light” as the prescription for this falsehood. If God is light, and we are to be in fellowship with Him, we must walk in the light. To walk in the light, we must abide in the Word (contrast Isaiah 5:20). “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105). We have to abide in Christ in order to produce fruit for the Lord; if we do not abide in Him, we are barren and fruitless. In fact, it is impossible to bear good fruit if we reside outside of Him (John 15:1-11). The concept of “walking” is a common one in the Scriptures. The word comes from the Greek word “peripateo” and has to do with the manner of conduct in our lives. “Our daily walk” is our habitual endeavors to either abide in Christ or abide in the world, to be friends with God or friends with the world, to be servants of God or servants of Satan. The concept is found extensively in the New Testament and a study of related passages helps flesh out the idea. Here are a few to check out: John 12:35; Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 7:17; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 5:16, 25; 6:16; Ephesians 4-5; et al. If we walk with God, He will walk with us (2 Corinthians 6:16). This will result in us being in fellowship with one another, having access to the cleansing power of Christ’s blood, proper estimation of self, and possession of truth. What a blessed state to be in! Gnostics claimed to see the light; Christians not only see the light, they walk in the light!

Falsehoods #2-3 (verses 8-10) – Believing we are without sin. There is, of course, the danger of self-deception. We can trick ourselves into believing the lies of Satan’s minions and become deceivers ourselves. We can deceive ourselves into believing the lie that there is no sin in us after the manner of the Gnostics and Epicureans or we can avail ourselves of the saving grace of God and have that sin purged from us (Psalms 103:12; Micah 7:18-19; Ephesians 2:8-10). F.F. Bruce makes a wise comment in his commentary with regards to this idea: “If people claim – perhaps on the ground of their possession of the Spirit – to have got beyond good and evil, to have reached a stage of spiritual development where moral principles are no longer relevant, they are self-deceived” (44). Religion without morality is an illusion. We can live in the darkness of deception or we can be transferred into the kingdom of God’s marvelous light. We can walk after the flesh, or after the Spirit. But rest assured one cannot blur the lines and be found truthful. There is no darkness in God and those desirous of a relationship with Him must not be deluded. God has spoken in a perfectly open way and to believe anything other than what He has spoken about His nature, the nature of sin, and the nature of people is to believe a lie and to cast aspersions on God Himself. He is faithful and He is righteous. Let us follow that paradigm by proving our faith with our works (James 2:14-26). Let us walk in the light and abide in fellowship with God!

Please read 1 John 2:1-2 for tomorrow!

Have a truly blessed day walking in the light!

-Eric Parker

Share