1 John 1.7a-The Believer Living in the Light is Experiencing Fellowship with God
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday April 6, 2017
First John: 1 John 1:7a-The Believer Living in the Light is Experiencing Fellowship with God
Lesson # 30
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. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (NASB95)
Verse 7 contains another fifth class conditional statement which stands in contrast with the previous one in verse 6, which presents a hypothetical situation which could take place in the Christian community.
“If” is the conditional particle ean (ἐάν), which introduces the protasis of a third class condition which offers a condition, the fulfillment of which is realized in the present time which is also called a fifth class condition.
The protasis is “if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light” and the apodosis is “we have fellowship with one another.”
John is offering no indication about the likelihood of the protasis being fulfilled and there is no hint of uncertainty about this event not occurring nor some eventuality being presented.
Rather, the fifth class condition is expressing an eternal spiritual principle or spiritual axiom with regards to fellowship with God.
Verse 7 is not speaking of any one individual in particular but rather it is referring to an unidentified hypothetical individual in the Christian community since John is communicating an eternal spiritual principle with regards to fellowship with God which is true with regards to each and every believer including John.
The relationship between the protasis and the apodosis is “cause-effect.”
The cause: “if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light.”
The effect: “we have fellowship with one another.”
“We walk” is the verb peripateō (περιπατέω), which means “to live, to conduct one’s life” and is used in a figurative sense.
The first person plural form of this verb is distributive emphasizing no exceptions indicating this spiritual principle in verse 7 applies to everyone in the Christian community including the apostles.
The present tense of the verb peripateō is a gnomic present which expresses the spiritual principle that the believer who “does at any time” live in the light is experiencing fellowship with God.
“In the Light” is composed of the following: (1) preposition en (ἐν), “in” (4) noun phōs (φῶς), “the light.”
In 1 John 1:5, John ascribes the figure of light to represent the holiness of God meaning He has no moral imperfection and He is the absolute perfection of character.
Now, here in 1 John 1:7 the noun phōs is used in the figurative sense or a metaphorical sense for living according to God’s holy standards which are revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God, which is equivalent to experiencing fellowship with God.
This word is the object of the preposition en which is functioning as a marker of sphere indicating that light is the sphere in which one lives.
In metaphorical terms, this prepositional phrase describes experiencing fellowship with God from the perspective that it is living according to God’s holy standards as they are revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God.
“As He Himself is in the Light” is comparing a believer living their life according to the standards of God’s holiness with God’s holy character.
“He Himself” is the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), which refers to God the Father emphasizing the first person of the Trinity as the subject since the last time this word appeared in 1 John 1:6, it was used with reference to the Father.
“Is in the Light” is composed of the following: (1) verb eimi (εἰμί), “is” (2) preposition en (ἐν), “in” (3) noun phōs (φῶς), “the light.”
Once again, we have the noun phōs, which again 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.
It is again, the object of the preposition en.
However, this time the latter is functioning as a marker of a state or condition because this prepositional phrase is not referring to the sphere in which God lives as it did in relation to the believer.
Rather, it is used with reference to God’s character, which is indicated by the fact that the noun was used in verse 5 to make an assertion of God the Father’s character.
The verb eimi means “to possess a particular inherent characteristic” indicating that light is an inherent characteristic of the Father.
“We have fellowship with one another” is composed of the following: (1) noun koinōnia (κοινωνία), “fellowship” (2) verb echō (ἒχω), “we have” (3) preposition meta (μετά), “with” (4) reciprocal pronoun allēlōn (ἀλλήλων), “one another.”
The verb echō is used transitively with the accusative feminine singular noun koinōnia, “fellowship” as its direct object and means, “to experience a particular state or condition.”
The present tense of this verb echō is a gnomic present which expresses the idea that the believer is “as an eternal spiritual truth” experiencing fellowship with the Father, if they live in the light as God is in essence that light.
The noun koinōnia means “fellowship” and refers to the vertical aspect of Christian fellowship, namely communion with the Father.
The reciprocal pronoun allēlōn refers to the Father and all believers and denotes the mutual exchange between the believer and the Father while experiencing fellowship with each other.
This word functions as the object of the preposition meta, which means “with” since it functions as a marker of the experiencer of an event, with the added implication of association.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase denotes the concept of the believer associating with the Father through fellowship with each other.
1 John 1:6 If any of us enters into making the claim that we have been experiencing fellowship with Him yet we have been living in the darkness, then, we are, as an eternal spiritual truth lying to ourselves. Consequently, we are, as an eternal spiritual truth unequivocally not practicing the truth. 7 On the other hand, if any of us does, at any time live in this light as He Himself is, as an eternal spiritual truth in essence existing eternally in the state of being that light, then, we are, as an eternal spiritual truth existing in the state of experiencing fellowship with one another. Consequently, the blood of Jesus, His Son does, as an eternal spiritual truth cause each one of us to be purified from each and every sin. (Author’s translation)
The fifth class conditional statement in 1 John 1:7 expresses another spiritual principle pertaining to experiencing fellowship with the Father.
When John speaks of living in the light, he is referring to experiencing fellowship with God but from the perspective that is living according to God’s holy standards which are revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God.
This interpretation is substantiated by the fact that the figure of light is used by John in 1 John 1:5 to describe the holiness of God.
Therefore, living in the light refers to the believer who is experiencing fellowship with God but from the perspective that they are living according to the standards of God’s holiness, i.e. the absolute perfection of His character.
Living in the light refers to the believer who is obedient to the Father’s will, which is revealed to the believer by the Holy Spirit through the communication of the Word of God.
It refers to the believer whose conduct is consistent with the holiness of God, i.e. character of God.
Living in the light refers to the believer who is living in conformity with the holiness of God, which is equivalent to experiencing fellowship with God.
It refers to the believer’s post-conversion experience, thus it refers to experiential sanctification which is the experience of the believer after being declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son.
It is involves experiencing their identification with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
Experiential sanctification is designed to conform the believer to God’s holy character.
Living in the light is thus synonymous with experiential sanctification.
The believer who appropriates by faith their identification with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father is experiencing fellowship with God and thus experiencing eternal life.
They are living in the light, i.e. in the presence of God by living according to the standards of God the Father’s holiness, which are revealed to the believer by the Holy Spirit through the communication of the Word of God.
They are thus experiencing sanctification.
The apostle John presents two results of living one’s life in the light.
The first is that the believer is experiencing fellowship with the Father which is the vertical aspect of Christian fellowship.
It does not refer to the horizontal aspect of fellowship with other believers but rather the vertical aspect between the believer and the Father since the context speaks of the believer’s conduct in relationship to the holiness of the Father.