Walking In The Light Of God

JULY 22, 2020 STUDY NOTES 1 JOHN 1:6-7 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES WALKING IN THE LIGHT OF GOD INTRODUCTION In the previous verse John presented the contrast between light and darkness God is light and sin is darkness and there is no darkness in God Beginning with verse 6 we find another contrast, the contrast between “saying” and “doing” The Christian life is more than a talk, it is a daily walk, Christians must walk the talk We must determine whether John is speaking to the Christian or to those who are lost In-order to do that we must consider the context of the passage You must always study verses of scripture in their context Study what has already been said in previous verses with what follows The verse you are studying must be interpreted within the context of those verses That is certainly true in 1 John, it is a must in 1 John chapter one If you pull one verse out of a chapter or one phrase out of a verse, it is easy to misinterpret When that is done the teaching from 1 John goes in many different directions Some conclusions are Biblical, especially those in-reference to those who are lost But what John says could also apply to Christians who are walking in a path of sin So, John’s main point can be missed, we can miss the truth of what John is teaching us There is a great need in our Christian society of today to hear the truth of what John has to say John is writing to Christians, but many take what John says and apply it to the lost Saying that John speaks of a “professor” of Christ and not a “possessor” of Christ John tells us who he is writing too, 1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: John identifies Christians as a spiritual family, pay attention to what he says to each one: 1Jn 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. 1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. What John says to each one can only apply to one who is saved Those who are lost do not know or cannot know the “truth,” 1Jn 2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Many tell us that John is saying that the lost must be saved in-order to fellowship with God And John would totally agree with that, but he is not writing to the lost about fellowship He is showing us that the Christian can lose fellowship with God (often seen today) The truth is the power of sin can operate in the life of a Christian (often seen today) That is a great problem in our day, too many Christians are living in unconfessed sin John tells us that fellowship with God will keep us from sin And sin will keep us from fellowship with God He also shows us that Christian fellowship is a result of fellowship with God, 1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. John writes to the Christian in order that we may experience “full joy,” 1Jn 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. Basically John says to the Christian, live like a Christian, 1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. He writes to the saved so that we know that we are saved and know how to live like we are saved He writes it in black and white, he leaves no “gray” areas, it is clear and plain You cannot take some Bible and some sin and mix it together and call it Christian lifestyle We must hear what John says and apply it to our daily life as a Christian AN UNTRUTHFUL WALK 1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: Verse 6 a logical conclusion to verse 5 Remember what fellowship means, we have something in common, there is like characteristics True fellowship is based upon the truth of likeness, sharing something we have in common Verse 6 begins with “If” and presents a distinction or a condition The question is, is there really the condition of fellowship or not? “If” implies a condition that must be determined by personal experience And whether it is a present experience or an experience in the future, the point is the same “If we say,” so, who is the person that John talking about?? Who is identified as “we?” Is he speaking to the lost or saved? When John says “we” he is including himself The person in view is a believer, a Christian, the lost have no possibility of fellowship with God He is not saying that they have no fellowship because they are lost But that they have lost fellowship because they are living in sin (possible for a Christian to do) Notice that 3 verses in this chapter begin with the claim, “If we say” (Verses six, eight, and ten) Each time it introduces a false claim, something that it not true John answers each false claim with the truth, he corrects each of them The word “say,” calls attention to the mouth more than to the mind What comes out of the mouth is not always true, even from the mouth of a Christian What we “say” must be examined first by scripture, what does the Bible “say?” Then by the experience of daily life, what does your life “say,” what is your life telling others? What the Bible is saying and what we are saying by the way we live should be one and the same The proof of fellowship with God is in our walk more than in our talk If you are in true fellowship with God you don’t have to “say so,” your life will “show so” that we have fellowship with him, John first spoke of “fellowship” in, 1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. He speaks of our fellowship with one another and our fellowship with God and Jesus Christ Fellowship with God should be the normal life of a Christian We should be in daily fellowship with God In verse 6, he speaks of someone who claims that they are walking in fellowship with God A very-common claim among church goers today whether they regularly attend church or not Indicating that they have a continuing fellowship with God, an on-going fellowship They are saying that their daily life is being lived in fellowship with God They want to believe it and they want others to believe it Sometimes people who make this claim may even believe it themselves Through acts of religious duty, they actually-think they do have fellowship with God: They read a Bible verse every night, they say a prayer every night They go to church Sunday if they don’t have anything else to do If they have any money left on Sunday, they will put a few dollars in the plate They try to convince themselves that “all” is right with God But there is a test to the truth of the statement, are you walking in darkness?? If so, the truth is, you lie and do not the truth and walk in darkness, “Walk” is a figure of speech used to describe the daily path of life Here it is the voluntary choice of a sinful lifestyle, what a person has decided to do Referring to the one who has decided to walk in sin, a path that is opposed to God’s will “Walk” does not describe the “way” of salvation, we do not “walk” in-order to be saved “Walk” is the result of salvation, the way we “walk” because we are saved The true Christian walk is a “Spirit-filled” walk, a walk that leads to spiritual maturity The Christian who walks in darkness is on the wrong spiritual path of life The one who walks in darkness will not grow spiritually, “darkness” represents spiritual darkness Darkness represents living in a known sin and refusing to obey God’s Word Living in the darkness is living a life out of the will of God Walking outside of the Word of God, the will of God, and the way of God We all live in a realm of darkness because we live in this world that is opposed to God Our world is characterized by darkness But there should be a heavenly spotlight upon the life of the Christian that shines in the darkness Christians have a spiritual light showing us how to live in the darkness of the world When we walk in that light, we reveal to others how the Christian life should be lived We tell the truth about the Christian way of life John tells us that you cannot walk in darkness and be in fellowship with God You cannot be in fellowship with God and live in a known sin You cannot claim to have fellowship with God while you live a sinful lifestyle For a Christian to live in a known sin does not mean a loss of salvation, but a loss of fellowship John is telling us that sin does make a difference, a big difference in the experience of daily life A Christian cannot share a sinful life of darkness with God who is “Light” Walking in darkness is in-contrast to growing spiritually John says that anytime we walk in darkness, whether it is now or sometime in the future--we lie, and do not the truth: “We lie” corresponds to “if we say” The lie is the opposite of truth, “we lie” means we speak falsely, means we are being deceitful The lie is what we are saying, when we say that we have fellowship with God The lie is that you can continue to live in a known sin and have continual fellowship with God Something that John says cannot be true You lie by what you say and by the way you are living your daily life There is no basis for the claim of fellowship “Do not the truth” corresponds to “walk in darkness” That means one who does not practice the truth in daily life The truth is, you cannot have fellowship with God and walk in darkness You are not practicing the truth, you are lying, you are being a hypocrite in the way you live Your actions reveal the truth, the truth is, you are not in fellowship with God It is impossible to be in God’s fellowship while living in spiritual darkness “Truth” is more than what one says, it is also what one does Truth is that which is according to God and consistent with His character Walking in “truth” is an expression of the character of God The “Truth” of the Christian Life is living according to Bible Truth “Truth Living” is living what Christ taught us by His life Truth living is what John saw and heard from the Word of Life Truth living is to live according to God’s light found in His Son Jesus Christ Truth is a personality, a lifestyle, a daily walk with the Lord “Truth” is more than that which is believed, it is that which is lived and practiced in daily life John does not mean that a Christian will live a sinless life John is going to fully discuss the subject of sin in the life of a Christian His point is not a sinless life but a life of spiritual progress in Biblical Truth The Truth is Christians can grow in Godliness and Spirituality You grow when you continue to practice spiritual living instead of practicing sin Walking in darkness is living under the power of Satan and sin Fellowship with God is living under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word Christians pay a tremendous price when they continue to live in sin They are still in the family of God, but they lose fellowship with God and the family of God The loss of fellowship is only one of the major expenses for living in spiritual darkness There is no common ground for fellowship in a life of spiritual darkness The life cannot contradict the lips, the practice cannot contradict the profession Our words and works must go together Verse six presented an “Untruthful Walk,” verse seven presents a “Truthful Walk” A TRUTHFUL WALK 1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. “If we,” the very same ones identified in verse six But there is now a difference, the difference is in the “walk” Again the “walk” represents the daily path of life, this daily path of life is lived “in the light” “Light” represents the life that Christians have received because they are saved Before we received Christ, our life was nothing but darkness, Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: Because we are now “children of light” we can now “walk in the light” “In the light” you see things the way God sees them, and you will make right decisions for life Peter said that we have been called into his marvelous light, 1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: We have been “called out of darkness,” the opposite of living in darkness is living in the light To walk in darkness is to live the life of a carnal Christian, a worldly Christian, to be backslidden The darkness is the power of sin over your life, darkness is where sin will take you The consequence of living in sin is living in darkness apart from fellowship with God There can be no perfect fellowship with God in darkness, it never can be, it never will be To “walk in the light” is to be obedient to God’s will for your life When you determine to live your daily life for Christ, a genuine continual pursuit of holiness “Walking in the light” is a true Christian living like a true Christian The only way to live in fellowship with God is to walk in the Light To walk in the light means you are subject to the light and influenced by the light There is knowledge of God “in the light,” the understanding of God and life In the light you are living what you have learned to be the truths of Christ and His Life In the light there is peace and joy, there is strength for the sorrows of life In the light there will be victory over the trials of life In the light you continue to grow and mature spiritually in fellowship with God as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, Jesus is the “Light,” Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. To follow Jesus means that your mind, heart, and will is set upon Christ Walking in the light is a living desire to be obedient to the teaching of Christ When we walk in the light two things take place: 1. We have fellowship one with another 2. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin “One with another” means the Family of God Having fellowship with other believers who are in fellowship with God Fellowship with one another demonstrates and is proof of fellowship with God You can recognize one another in the Light, Light attracts, generates, and unites Divisions among Christians never occur in the light, they only come from darkness It is darkness that blinds, divides, and causes misunderstanding In the light there is unity, harmony, and understanding, Light does not divide Fellowship with God does not separate believers If there is a separation of believers, someone is out of fellowship with God The great need in the church of today is to see the need of fellowship among believers Church members need to know the importance of the church family Christians must also see the importance of the blood of Jesus and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. “The blood” refers to the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross The truth and the importance of the death of Jesus is taught in many-different ways in scripture Peter called it the “precious blood,” 1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: The value is based upon who He was, the price He paid, and that which He purchased It is “Precious” because of what it cost God no greater price has ever been paid Precious because of what it purchased there is nothing of greater value than eternal life Therefore, the value cannot be estimated, the accomplishment is beyond comprehension We have been “justified by his blood,” Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. We have “redemption through his blood,” Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; We are sanctified through his blood, Heb 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin “Cleanseth” refers to spiritual purification from sin, sin of any and every description “Us,” each of us, even my sin, even your sin, even “all sin” The cleansing of sin encourages fellowship with God, Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? HYMN #132 “THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD”