1 John 1.5a-God is Light
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday March 29, 2017
First John: 1 John 1:5a-God is Light
Lesson # 26
1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. (NASB95)
“From Him” is composed of the following: (1) preposition apo (ἀπό), “from” (2) genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “Him.”
The intensive personal pronoun autos means “Him” and refers to Jesus Christ since the last third person pronoun reference prior to this one is found at the end of 1 John 1:3 in the prepositional phrase meta tou huiou autou Iēsou Christou (μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), “with His Son, who is Jesus who is the Christ.”
It is the object of the preposition apo which functions as a marker of source indicating that Jesus Christ is the source of the message that God is light which John was communicating in writing to the recipients of this epistle.
“And announce to you” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (2) first person plural present active indicative form of the verb anangellō (ἀναγγέλλω), “announce” (3) dative second person plural form of the personal pronoun su (σύ), “to you.”
The conjunction kai is a marker of result meaning it is introducing an assertion, which presents the result of the previous assertion that the message God is light was communicated to John and others by the Lord.
The verb anangellō means, “to impart” since John is talking about imparting information or sharing information with the recipients of this epistle, which was communicated to him and the other disciples by the Lord Jesus Christ that God is light.
The plural form of the personal pronoun su means “all of you” referring to the recipients of this epistle as a corporate unit and is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions and specifically, it is referring to each and every member of the Christian community in the Roman province of Asia.
“God is Light” is composed of the following: (1) articular nominative masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός), “of God” (3) nominative neuter singular form of the noun phōs (φῶς), “light” (4) third person singular present active indicative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί), “is.”
The noun theos refers to the Father which is indicated by the word’s articular construction which in the New Testament commonly signifies the first member of the Trinity unless otherwise indicated by the context.
The verb eimi means “to possess a particular inherent characteristic” indicating that light is an inherent characteristic of God the Father.
The present tense of the verb eimi is a gnomic present used to make a statement of a general, timeless fact expressing the idea that light is as an eternal spiritual truth an inherent characteristic of the Father or we could say that God is characterized by light.
The noun phōs is used in a figurative sense and means “light” referring to the holiness of the Father, which refers to the absolute perfection of His character.
First John 1:5 Now, this is the message, which we have heard from Him so that we are now imparting to each of you, namely that God (the Father) is, as an eternal spiritual truth existing eternally in the state of being light. Indeed, in Him, there is, as an eternal spiritual truth absolutely no darkness, none whatsoever. (My translation)
1 John 1:5 marks a transition from the prologue to John’s first new major topic of discussion which ends in 1 John 2:2 and deals with the requirements or conditions that the believer must meet in order to experience and enjoy fellowship with a God who is perfect in character.
Here in verse 5, the apostle John informs the recipients of this epistle that he and his fellow disciples of Jesus Christ received a message from the Lord Jesus Christ and were now communicating it in writing to them.
The content of this message is that God the Father is, an eternal spiritual truth existing eternally in the state of being light.
This precise statement regarding the fact that God is light is not found in the recorded words of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels, but the author was an apostle who heard much more than was “written down” (cf. Jn. 21:25).
There is no reason to think that John did not mean just what he said.
This is an eternal truth that he learned from the Lord Himself.
John stating here that he heard the Lord teach the fact that God is light.
This assertion indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ had firsthand knowledge of God since He is the Son of God.
He has experienced perfect intimate fellowship with God for all of eternity.
The apostles and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were therefore, getting first-hand information and not from a second party.
“Light” is used in a figurative sense referring to the holiness of the Father, which refers to the absolute perfection of His character.
The emphasis with this word is not upon physical light whose source is the manifestation of the glory and presence of God but rather the holiness (i.e. absolute perfect character) of God.
God is not physical light but rather He chooses to manifest His glory and presence through physical light (cf. Ps. 104:2).
Light has two categorical usages in the Scriptures: (1) Literal (2) Figurative or metaphorical.
It is associated with the following: (1) Heavenly bodies (Ps. 136:7; Jer. 4:23). (2) Lightning (Ps. 77:18). (3) Dawn (1 S. 14:36). (4) A lamp (Ex. 27:20). (5) Pillar of Fire (Ex. 13:21).
In Scripture, light has two usages when used in relation to God: (1) Physical light as related to the manifestation of God’s glory and presence. (2) Spiritual light as related to His perfect holiness or character.
In 1 John 1:5, John ascribes the figure of light to God because light reveals.
This verse begins a section that deals with maintaining fellowship with God and is concluded in 1 John 2:2.
As physical light reveals so the absolute perfection of God’s character reveals the imperfections of men, i.e. sin.
In the context of 1 John 1:5 John employs this figure of light in order to convey to his readers that the absolute perfection of God’s character reveals sin in the lives of believers.
As physical light reveals what is in the darkness so the absolute perfection of God’s character reveals sin the life of the believer.
John is saying here that because of the absolute perfection of God’s character, He won’t tolerate sin in the life of the believer meaning that He will not have fellowship with the believer who is harboring any known sin in his stream of consciousness.
Thus, John employs the figure of light to communicate to his readers that you cannot hide sin because God’s holiness, i.e. His absolute perfection of character will reveal it.
The absolute perfection of God’s character will not tolerate sin in the life of the believer, therefore the believer as we will note in 1 John 1:9 must confess sin to the Father in order to be restored to fellowship with the Father.
So, in 1 John 1:5, the apostle John employs the figurative usage of light to describe the holiness of the Father.
The holiness of God is a term which refers to the aggregate of perfect features or attributes and traits that form the nature of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the term “holiness” refers to the absolute perfection of the character of God, expressing His purity of character or moral perfection and excellence, thus making God totally separate from sin and sinners.
He is totally separate from sin and sinners unless a way can be found to constitute them holy and that way has been provided based upon the merits of the impeccable Person and Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross.
The presence of evil, sin and injustice is totally absent in the character of God, thus God does not tolerate evil or sin because it is contrary to His character, i.e. His inherent moral qualities, ethical standards and principles.
Holiness is used often to describe the Person of God (cf. Lev. 22:2; 1 Chron. 16:10; Ps. 30:4; 97:12; 1 Pet. 1:14-16).
This absolute perfection of God’s character is celebrated throughout the Scriptures (cf. Is. 6:3; Rev. 4:8).
The apostle John’s teaching in 1 John 1:5 regarding the absolute perfection of the Father’s character or holiness along with his statements in 1 John 1:6-2:2 are directly related to the sanctification of the Christian community in the Roman province of Asia.
Specifically, his teaching in these verses is addressing the subject of experiential sanctification.
He wants them to continue to experience their sanctification.
In fact, all of 1 John is addressing the subject of fellowship with God and believers and thus experiential sanctification.
The term “experiential sanctification” speaks of the Christian’s fellowship with God but from the perspective that it is the experience of being set apart to serve God exclusively or we can say that is living according to God’s holy standards so as to experience His holiness.
Sanctification deals with conforming the believer to the holiness of God and reproducing it in the believer.