Walking in the Light

1 John 1:1–2:2 ESV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 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. 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. 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

As Christians, particularly Wesleyan Christians, the community is central to working out our salvation with fear and trembling. John Wesley once said, “There is no holiness but social holiness.” Many have misinterpreted this phrase as a rallying cry for social justice. I have heard it used more often than I can count in 27 years of ministry.

‌What it means is that Christians cannot be Christians in isolation. Christians are called to unite and grow in faith together. We are to be accountable to one another and help build one another up in the faith. The church is not a political movement. We are a place where we focus on discipleship and mission to our community. We are to be different people who do not look to the world to define us but to Christ alone.

‌Because of that, we are called to live a different kind of life that reflects who Christ is. We are to work together as the body of Christ to spur one another on in our faith and to hold one another accountable for growth and discipleship lovingly.

‌In 1 John, the apostle outlines what it means to be the church in a pagan world. He helps us see what it means to be different in our relationships with one another as they are defined by Christ. This reflection of the resurrected life is a reminder that the resurrection matters not just in eternity but here and now. Today, we are going to begin this journey through 1 John so that we can learn how to be peculiar people.

1. We have joyful fellowship with God and one another. (vs. 1-4)

John begins his letter with a long sentence that spans the first three verses. A series of clauses is summed up in verse 3 when he declares that what has been witnessed by the apostle is central to having true fellowship with God and one another. This becomes an overarching theme throughout the epistle and one we will focus on throughout this sermon series. The fellowship attained by those who are part of the body of Christ includes a proper fellowship with God in whom we find eternal life in Christ and in one another with whom we experience the fullness of joy found in Christ. This joy, this deep sense of fulfillment, is what we strive for in our fellowship.

‌The Greek word John used to describe this fellowship is “koinonia.” This word was not used for the wider society but only for the church. It signifies a unique and special binding relationship that implies responsibility, accountability, intimacy, and generosity. Our mutual encounter with Christ is at the root of our relationship with God, which impacts our relationship with others, and our relationship with others impacts our relationship with God. In other words, our relationship with God is demonstrated in how we love one another. This 'koinonia' relationship is what makes our church community so special and valuable.

‌In 1 Corinthians 1:9, Paul tells us, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” In the context of how the community is where God dispenses his gifts and calls us to a life of grace, it is a call for us to live above sin both as individuals and as a community. We are to be different people who are peculiar to the world. We are to live reflecting the eternal life we have been given in Christ.

This eternal life has, at its end, joy. Joy revolves around our relationship with Christ and our relationships with others, especially those in Christ. This joy is made complete or perfected because the body of Christ aims to be in perfect pleasure with Christ when he returns. The church becomes a microcosm of the fullness of joy in our relationships that are rooted and grounded in Christ.

2. We seek a life of holiness by acknowledging and dealing with sin. (vs. 5-10)

God’s nature is light. This is the first of three expressions of God’s nature. The purity of God is so great that darkness cannot exist within him. He is pure holiness. It is God’s holiness and purity that determines sin. Sin is not determined by what we define sin as. It is only defined within the context of who God is. Sin includes the thoughts, words, and deeds that conflict with moral light and rightness; sin opposes what love does. Sin pollutes our spirits. We walk in darkness until Jesus cleanses us from all our sins. It is only then that we can truly walk in the light of God.

‌We are naturally comfortable in the darkness and away from God. We even prefer it because then we pursue a life based on our desires and our emotions rather than on God. In sin, we define holiness and purity based on what we feel and experience personally. We exclude anything outside of ourselves because that would require us to leave behind what we most earnestly desire.

‌However, to truly walk in the light of God, we must acknowledge and deal with sin. We must see it as seriously as it is. Because of our comfort with sin, our confession can lack sincerity. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful in forgiving us. We must admit our sins. We cannot hide them from God. We must face them. In facing sin, God removes them from us.

‌David says in Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” In confessing and acknowledging sin, we can live joyfully with God and the faith community. When we are in true fellowship with God, the Holy Spirit identifies the sin in us so we can confess it and move into a life of holiness. But if we declare that we do not sin, we cannot say we are in fellowship with him. We are still walking in darkness and have not turned to the light. But with confession and acknowledgment, we face sin through the power of the Holy Spirit so that we might overcome these things because the power that raised Christ from the dead is now in us.

3. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, the power of sin has been broken. (vs. 1-2)

After calling out the community for being comfortable in the darkness at times, the apostle pastorally calls them to a life of holiness marked by an abstinence from sin. This is not to say that they are incapable of sinning. It means that sin does not have the power of us that it once had. Because of the work of Christ on the cross and the resurrection, we cannot sin through the Holy Spirit.

‌The Wesleyan understanding is that because of the cleansing work of Christ’s blood, we have been liberated from the habit of sinning and transformed in our inclinations toward sinning. The apostle does not hold to the notion that Christians will inevitably sin every day. But even if we do fail in thought, word, or deed, we have a God who will forgive us of our sins. Jesus is the atoning sacrifice or propitiation for our sins. He pays the price for our sins on our behalf. Colossians 1:20 tells us, “And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Christ has made peace with God through his blood and reconciled or made right relationship between us and God. It is not us who defeats sin. Christ has defeated sin, and when we believe and trust in Christ, we benefit from this action.

‌The power of sin is broken so that we are not bound by our sin but set free to live in the fullness of God's promises—to have our joy made complete in him. This empowers us to walk in the light of Christ and build fellowship and relationships with God and one another as reconciled and forgiven people.

‌When we approach our relationships with the mindset of reconciliation and forgiveness, it changes how we care for and love one another. We become the peculiar community that we are called to be. We are to be strange and weird to the rest of the world. They are to look at us to ask questions. We are not to respond to life in the same way. We react as those who serve a risen Savior. We live a holy and righteous life individually and corporately. All we do is build fellowship and create and grow disciples. Our worship, programs, bible studies, and ministries must be organized to show what it means to be a people who display social holiness and bring glory to God.