7. Essentials of the Faith Pt 6: The Message Explained

1 John 1:5 The Message Explained

1Jn 1:5-2:6 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. 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. (3) And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. (4) Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, (5) but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: (6) whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

In our Bible we have each letter separated by chapter and verse. When these letters were written there was no such division. There are times when it is easy to laser focus on a verse to the exclusion of context. And when we do so there is a danger of missing the point of the verse altogether. John’s letter is a pastoral letter. The immediate context is all about having fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and John closes verse 4 with so that our joy may be made full. How can our joy be made full? It is made full when we are in fellowship with God and fully assured of our right standing with Him. John writes near the end of the letter - (1Jn 5:13) I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. Through out this letter is a series of if/then or conditional statements:

1Jn_1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1Jn_1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1Jn_2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn_2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

There are many more, but this illustrates for us that the lines of assurance and our joy are black and white. There is no grey. John simply and powerfully lays out that for our hearts to assured there are objective benchmarks of faith that must be present. Verse 5 stands as the thesis statement of the entire letter. It is such a simple statement of fact and yet once you set your mind to ponder it, we cannot begin to fathom the height, depth, or breadth of it. In 4 verses John says ‘God is’. There are two in the gospel of John and two in 1 John.

Joh 3:33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

Joh 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

1Jn 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 1:5 This message that the Apostles received from Jesus and proclaim to you, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

John positively proclaims God is light and the antecedent, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

These statements are made as absolutes.

1. Definition of Light

Light is difficult for non-scientists to define. We can describe the effects but the nature of light. And what I mean about nature of light is it’s essential qualities. The light we see emanates from a primary or secondary source like the sun which would be primary and the moon which is secondary. It illuminates and reveals. It warms and promotes life. In plants it is required for photosynthesis. In humans we need sun light for the production of vitamin D as well as for our mental well-being. When there is an electrical outage and there are no lights, we light candles or a kerosene lamp and gather around it. When we are camping, we make a fire. It gives us a sense of security. It shines a light in the dark revealing obstacles in our path and keeping would be predators at bay. Light as defined by Webster as: That ethereal agent or matter which makes objects perceptible to the sense of seeing, but the particles of which are separately invisible. It is now generally believed that light is a fluid, or real matter, existing independent of other substances, with properties peculiar to itself. Its velocity is astonishing, as it passes through a space of nearly twelve millions of miles in a minute. Light, when decomposed, is found to consist of rays differently colored; as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The sun is the principal source of light in the solar system; but light is also emitted from bodies ignited, or in combustion, and is reflected from enlightened bodies, as the moon. Light is also emitted from certain putrefying substances. It is usually united with heat, but it exists also independent of it.” That is the scientific definition.

2. Origin of Light

We have often said that when we speak of the attributes of God or descriptions of Him, the words we use do not define Him rather He defines the words. They find their fullest, perfect expression in Him. When we say God is love we mean that love finds its perfect expression. Love is defined in our God, it does not define Him. The same is of light. Light does not exist apart from its fullest expression in God. Spurgeon said of Psa 104:2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. "The concept is sublime: but it makes us feel how altogether inconceivable the personal glory of the Lord must be: if light itself is but His garment and veil, what must be the blazing splendor of His own essential being?

Light was the first of God’s creation. Gen 1:1-4 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (2) The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (3) And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (4) And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.

3. Properties of Light

Just as light has physical properties, spiritual light has spiritual properties. God’s light is indicative of God’s holiness, truth, and revelation, and illumination. There are more but these are found in the immediate context of the verses we just read.

Light as Holiness

When we think of the holiness of God we know He is wholly other. Completely separate and distinct from His creation. Holy is also moral purity.

Hab 1:13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.

Psa 24:3-5 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? (4) He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. (5) He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Isa 6:3-5 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" (4) And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."

Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Psa 119:105-106 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (106) I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.

1Jn 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Pe 1:15-16 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, (16) since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Light as Truth

1Jn 1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

Eph 5:8-9 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (9) (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),

Joh 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Light as Revelation

Revelation in that Jesus who is the exact imprint of the Father (Heb. 1:3) has spoken to us in these last days by His Son. Yes, creation reveals aspects of God. Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, but it cannot make us to know God. The prophets through the Old Testament revealed individually in part who God is and pointed to the One who ultimately be the fullest, absolute expression of God.

Joh 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

Joh 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John said, That which we have received from Him and now delivered to you. That is revelation, Jesus did fully what all other prophets could only do in part.

What is the point of this? The point is that if we want to have fellowship with the Father then we must come to Him as He is and not how we want Him to be, but we come to Him in all of His holiness, truth, and revelation. We must come to Him as He is revealed in Jesus. Everything He says is absolute truth and we must accept it as absolute truth. If we want fellowship with the Father then we approach Him in all of His holiness. First, We must see ourselves in the light of His truth that we are sinners, that we must confess our sin and that we must accept God’s remedy for sin. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. Second to have fellowship with the Father we must keep His commands. 1Jn 2:3-6 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. (4) Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, (5) but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: (6) whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Application: Are you drawn to the light of God? Is it in Him you find your greatest joy or do you find yourself shrinking back from spiritual conversations. Do you rejoice when your sin is exposed in the light of God’s truth or do you scurry for the cover of darkness because you cannot have it exposed. Is there joy in the want of keeping His commandments though often times failing or do you love the darkness more than the light. Do we embrace the light of His truth in our church in its leadership and management? in our marriages, in the raising of our children, in our work? We will never appreciate God is love until we understand God is light. When we see the holiness of God, His hatred of sin, His just condemnation of sinners that He has chosen some from those justly condemned to be vessels of mercy we fall in humility before Him.