1 John Series

Chapter 1

The first of the 3 letters of John focuses on a few key points. Our responsibility to live in accord with Christ’s example (turning from sin), How sin can complicate our fellowship with God (not our justification), Our responsibility to love and the certainty of our witness. John manages to cover these topics in just 5 chapters. Matthew Henry stated the purpose of 1 John is:

“This epistle is a discourse upon the principles of Christianity, in doctrine and practice. The design appears to be, to refute and guard against erroneous and unholy tenets, principles, and practices, especially such as would lower the Godhead of Christ, and the reality and power of his sufferings and death, as an atoning sacrifice; and against the assertion that believers being saved by grace, are not required to obey the commandments. This epistle also stirs up all who profess to know God, to have communion with him, and to believe in him, and that they walk in holiness, not in sin, showing that a mere outward profession is nothing, without the evidence of a holy life and conduct. It also helps forward and excites real Christians to communion with God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to constancy in the true faith, and to purity of life.”

Matthew Henry and Thomas Scott, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), 1 Jn 1:1.

Read 1 John 1:1–4 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

In Spurgeon’s commentary he likens the way in which John opens his Gospel (John 1:1) with how he opens this letter “from the beginning”. While it may be happenstance it also may point toward a defense of any belief that Christ was not God and not eternal. But the weight of this is greater when we take verses 2 as John declares the physical nature of Christ. Spurgeon states:

“declaring that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who in His eternity was from the beginning, was really a substantial man” Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John, ed. Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 1 Jn 1:1.

Which is a very important point especially concerning the emergence of gnostic beliefs that Jesus was just Spirit and was not in a earthly body.

Verses 3 and 4 John defends the gospel he shares as it is from personal experience. He is in a sense saying “ why are you believing the rumors when I was the one there”. It also correlates that verse 1 and 2 may be a defense against any heresy that may have been taught while also conveying that only thru the true gospel can one be made “Full” (1 John 1:4)

Read 1 John 1:5–10 “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just 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.”

John makes a claim (God is Light) and then immediately defends the claims (and there is no darkness in him) Light here refers to the perfect nature of God. Jesus attributes this to himself in (John 8:12) Psalms 27:1 likens light and salvation. Both Isaiah and John share that God in and of Himself is an everlasting light that has no comparisons (Isaiah 60:19-20 & Revelation 21:23). John goes on to say not walk in darkness as this breaks our fellowship with Christ (Severity of this is based on your soteriology. But at the minimum it fractures and hinders your relationship with God and prevents you from fulfilling your calling and purpose in Christ.) John urges us to walk in light. Jesus’s calls us out of darkness to become sons of light (John 12:35-36) Jesus also teaches that we should not hide this light and should let it shine in the world before man to glorify God ( Matthew 5:14-16), Paul goes on to tell the church of Ephesus that we come out of darkness (through salvation) and should thus walk in light and in the Fruit of the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:8-14) Paul further teaches that we should “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness”. John now in 1 John 1:7 it is through walking in light that we can have fellowship not only with God but with one another.

Now we see John refuting the ideas that anyone is sinless on their own. John confirms scriptures such as (Romans 3:23, Eccles 7:20, Isaiah 53:6, Psalms 14:3, Romans 5:12) that show we are all sinners. Yet John says for those that believe they are “good” or “sinless” have deceived themselves. Spurgeon says on deceiving's one’s self:

“To deceive another requires a measure of cunning, but to deceive yourself requires far more. Our deceitful heart reveals an almost satanic shrewdness in self-deception. It readily enough makes the worse appear the better reason, and it states a lie so that it wears the fashion of truth. If you say you have no sin, you have achieved a fearful success: you have put out your own eyes and perverted your own reason! You have fed on falsehood until it has entered into your very being and rendered you incapable of truth. I know you claim to be very sincere in your belief of your own rightness, and it would be very hard to persuade you out of your fond notions. But this is all the worse, for you have completely deceived yourself so much the more. Now that you call darkness light and boast that your blindness is true sight, we mourn over you as all but hopeless, and we fear that the Lord should leave you to perish because you cling so tightly to a lie.” Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John, ed. Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 1 Jn 1:8.

In the context of 1 John alone we see that the purpose is to be in fellowship with God and part of being in the light as it expose our faults. If we are in the light we become more aware of our own failures on a daily basis. Proverbs 24:16 points to even “righteous men fall”. Paul in Gal 5:17 points that their is a war in ourselves between the Spirit and our flesh. Paul elaborates in greater detail in Romans 7:15-23. James in James 4:17 hammers home that inaction to God’s will and commands is also sin. If we take this consistency in the new testament and we can see John’s point that we all sin. Notice that John includes himself “if we confess our sin”, John is not taking about salvation to believers. He is speaking of fellowship (the context of the passage to this point) John states that we as believers must be aware and confess our errors before God to avoid disfellowship (our justification is sealed but continued fellowship is not)or falling into the error where we view ourselves “perfect”. This is why John goes back to this point in verse 10. This is not to fill us with guilt rather hope, verse 9 says Jesus is “faithful and just to forgive” believers are to understand sanctification will not be complete while we are in the flesh, yet if we walk in light God will illuminate the dark corners of our life that we should repent and turn from.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of 1 John is one of the most clear passages for teaching us not to rely on chapter numbers. Verse 1 is a clear continuation from the thoughts of chapter 1 and we must read chapter 2 in that sense as it is paramount as we carry the foundation of chapter 1 into chapter 2 and through the rest of the letter.

Read 1 John 2:1–2 “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

John states his purpose in writing is that the readers (church) does not sin, yet follows this up with the assurance that if we sin we have an advocate (Jesus) pleading our sins before the father. John then reminds the reader of Christ righteous sacrifice and how it covered all sins. Stott makes note of the balanced view John takes on sin:

“It is important to hold these two statements in balance. It is possible to be either too lenient or too severe towards sin. Too great a lenience almost encourages sin in the Christian by stressing God’s provision for the sinner. An exaggerated severity, on the other hand, either denies the possibility of a Christian sinning or refuses him forgiveness and restoration if he falls. Both extreme positions are contradicted by John.” John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 84.

This is not to say we keep sinning. Paul speaks to the idea of cheap grace view in Romans 6:1-4. Paul goes on in the same chapter to potentially further define his point in Romans 6:12-14 where Paul states that we should not let sin “reign” in our mortal bodies. That is to say living in sin. Spurgeon on 1 John 2:1 view on sin matches both that of Paul and Stotts quote:

“The Christian no longer loves sin: it is the object of his sternest horror; he no longer regards it as a mere trifle, plays with it, or talks of it with unconcern. He looks upon it as a deadly serpent, whose very shadow is to be avoided. He would no more venture voluntarily to put its cup to his lip than a man would drink poison who had once almost lost his life through it. Sin is dejected in the Christian’s heart, though it is not ejected. Sin may enter the heart, and fight for dominion, but it cannot sit upon the throne.” Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon Commentary: 1 John, ed. Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 1 Jn 2:1.

We must not see sin as something we can live in or play with. Scripture points us to hate sin (Ps 119:104, 128, Ps 101:3, Amos5:15, Romans 12:9, Heb 1:9,) Yet we must not either believe that we can be without sin (John stated this in 1 John 1:8-10) nor allow our sins to keep us defeated and in guilt or shame because even though we may break our fellowship with God when we sin, we do not lose our advocate (1 John 2:2) Nor do we lose our justification. (Again this is a view that some may argue depending on your soteriology and belief or disbelief in Once Saved always Saved) Scriptures such as (John 5:24, Romans 8:1, 33-34) point to a principle that once salivation is received it can not be lost which if we view 1 John in this light we get the principle of broken fellowship and not a loss of justification. Stott on the principal states:

“Once the sinner has been justified by God his Judge, he has entered the family of God and become related to God as his Father. If he should sin, he does not need another justification from the divine Judge. He is a child of God; he needs the Father’s forgiveness. This is assured to him through the advocacy of Jesus Christ, the Righteous One,” John R. W. Stott, The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 19, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 85.

Scripture teaches that salvation grants us entry into God’s family (2 Cor 6:18, John 1:12-13, Gal 3:26, Gal 4:5-7, Rom 8:15-17) This means our relationship changes in a sense. Hebrews 12 speaks to this relationship we now have with God as He is our Father. Hebrews 12:3-11 in particular as it teaches about how God will chasten us and that He only chastens His Children (Verse 7) because those that do not experience punishment and correction are not sons and are illegitimate (not saved). Scripture in both the Old and New Testament point to this principle (Prov 3:11-12, 1 Cor 11:32, Deut 8:5, Rev 3:19) Chastening in the practical sense only occurs when we have strayed from the correct way (Prov 3:11-12, Prov 19:18, Prov 22:15, Prov 23:13-14, Prov 29:15, Ps 118:18 Job 5:17) We can see that our sin is held in a different sense after salvation. When we sin we do not need re-justification, rather we need the forgiveness of our Father. (we see this in the Lord’s prayer (Matt 6:9-13 In the Gospel of Luke it uses “forgive us our sins” Luke 11:2-4). This relationship dynamic with the Father comes with Correction. God forgives us but does not free us from consequence with the intentions of preparing us to be “Partakers of His Holiness” (Hebrews 12:10-11)