Light

English Standard Version 1 John 1:1–2:6

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.

Walking in the Light

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.

Christ Our Advocate

2 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.

1). Light Has Shined (1 John 1:1-4; John 1:5)

John charges out of the beginning of his letter giving us truth that is timeless, unchanging, and eternal. He will play off this megatheme of light. God is light, eternal life is light, and light is also righteous living. I can imagine why John adores this metaphor; no matter if you’re reading his gospel, his letter, or his Revelation, you see this imagery in them all! John loves this metaphor because light routes darkness but darkness can’t exist or be defined unless we talk about light. Darkness cannot win. This is suitable in describing the character and victory of God, as well as the victory we share in when we line ourselves up with the righteousness of God.

John is also combating false teaching about Jesus. Some people were teaching that Jesus never was human or that he wasn’t God. He also repeatedly asserts with ascending sensory that he is convinced that Jesus is who he said he was because John is an eyewitnesses. He needs to correct the lies before he can tell us the truth about life with God. Correcting false doctrine is crucial if we will ever have fellowship with other believer and also with God. Christianity isn’t just a religion, it's a relationship. This type of fellowship cultivates joy.

2). God Is Light (1 John 1:5)

Light represents holiness, a type of light that routes darkness (John 1:5) and exposes everything that is hidden (John 3:19-21; Ephesians 5:11).

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12).

Christians are lights in the world (Matthew 5:14).

God makes and gives spiritual & physical light (James 1:17).

God dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:15-16).

3). Walking in Light/Darkness ( 1 John 1:6-7)

Walking in darkness is practicing sin as John will later say (1 John 3:4-6). In contrast, walking in the light is practicing righteousness (1 John 3:7). John is intentionally clear here because false teaching confuses right and wrong (Isaiah 5:20).

What John Wants Us To Know About Light

God is light (1 John 1:5).

Walking in the light puts in fellowship with other Christians (1 John 1:7).

Light outshines darkness (1 John 2:8).

Hating a believer is darkness and hypocrisy (1 John 2:9).

Loving other believers shows we are staying in the light (1 John 2:10).

Darkness: We disobey God (1:6), we deception ourselves (1:8), his word is not in us (1:10), and we lie about God (1:10)

Light: Friendship with other believers (1:7), Clean from the guilt of sin (1:7), & forgiven of sin (1:9).

4). 3 Lies About the Light ( 1 John 1:6-10)

“Some scholars think that the false prophets hold errors like those of some later Gnostics, who denied that any of their behavior was sinful no matter what they did” (Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible).

[Verse 6] Lie #1: We can believe in Jesus and live as a sinner. Jesus is Savior but not Lord. You can live as a Christian and never change. But Christians consider Jesus as both Lord and Savior.

[Verse 8] Lie #2: Humanity does not have a sin problem. The Bible is very clear that sin is a universal problem that affects humanity (Ecc 7:20; Romans 3:10-11). Even nature is affected by it (Rom 8:19-20). The Bible is also clear that Christians wrestle with sin (Rom 7:15-20).

[Verse 10] Lie #3: We are not personally responsible for sin. are good people who don’t need to be saved from anything. (This is self-righteousness or anarchy.) The Bile is very clear that only bad people do bad things (Matthew 7:15-20).

Speech & Conduct

Professing Christians should live like Jesus lived (1 John 2:6).

God lives inside the person who confesses belief in Jesus (1 John 4:15).

You cannot claim to know God when you don’t live like it (1 John 2:4).

You cannot claim to be connected to God without Jesus (1 John 2:23).

You cannot claim to love God when you hate other believers (1 John 4:20).

The essence of antichrists are to deny that Jesus is God (1 John 4:3).

Those who preach that Jesus isn’t God are deceivers (2 John 7).

5). Jesus Helps us Walk in the Light (1 John 2:1-2)

 I like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases the first two verses: “I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s” (verses 1-2, The Message). It is not as though we won’t ever sin again, but the pattern of rebellion in our life should be ever decreasing.

These verses describe the framework of our relationship with God. We shouldn’t sin, but if we do, Jesus pleads our case before the Father and because of his death and resurrection, God sees Jesus as the appropriate propitiation.

“He is the propitiation for our sins” (verse 2). This word is not used much, but this word is important to understand. Other translations say that Jesus is the sacrifice or atoning sacrifice, one version in particular says that Jesus is the expiation for our sins. If you look in English versions that predate the King James, they have said that Jesus is the grace or mercy for our sins. Propitiation includes all these dynamics. See, Jesus expiates sin but that’s not all he does; he also removes God’s wrath from sinners. The main purpose of a propitiation is to remove wrath. That’s our main problem with God. Because God is light, he cannot have any association with darkness. But when the holy Father looks at his holy Son, he looks at us with grace and mercy. That is how we sinners can be forgiven.

6). Application: Walk in the Light (1 John 2:3-6)

Christianity looks bad when people who claim to represent Jesus fail to reflect him correctly to a watching world. I love that John points them out as liars. Some people are verbal liars; others are practical liars. However, obedience is how we show that we love God. The point is simple, the way John would have it: if we call ourselves Christians, live like he did. Walking in the light is how we can have confidence before God (1 John 2:28-29). Do you want assurance with God? Live righteously.