1 John 1.7b-The Blood of Jesus Purifies the Believer From Sin When They Live in the Light
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday April 11, 2017
First John: 1 John 1:7b-The Blood of Jesus Purifies the Believer From Sin When They Live in the Light
Lesson # 31
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)
“And the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin another” presents the second result of the believer living in the light.
“The blood of Jesus His Son” is composed of the following: (1) noun haima (αἷμα), “the blood” (2) proper noun Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), “Jesus” (3) noun huios (υἱός), “the Son” (4) intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “His.”
The noun haima means “blood” but is used in a figurative sense as part of a representative analogy between the physical death of the animal sacrifice in the Mosaic Law and the spiritual and physical deaths of Jesus Christ on the cross.
The proper name Iēsous refers to the human nature of the incarnate Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth and the noun huios is a title for the deity of Christ describing the relationship between the Father and Jesus Christ implying that they share the same nature.
“Cleanses us” is composed of the following: (1) verb katharizō (καθαρίζω), “cleanses” (2) personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “us.”
The verb katharizō means “to purify” from sin and the sin nature so that one is acceptable to God who is holy.
It should not be translated “cleanse” since the English word “cleanse” has the connotation of being clean in the sense of certain parts of the body, whereas “purify” has the connotation of the body being clean all over.
Of course, John is referring to the soul, which is not “cleansed” from personal sin but “purified” meaning totally and completely.
The first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego means “each of us” referring to each and every believer in Jesus Christ and is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
“From all sin another” is composed of the following: (1) preposition apo (ἀπό), “from” (2) adjective pas (πᾶς), “all” (3) noun hamartia (ἁμαρτία), “of sins.”
The noun hamartia is used with reference to mental, verbal and overt acts of personal sin from the perspective that these acts miss the mark of the absolute perfection of God’s character, i.e. His holiness.
This word is the object of the preposition apo, which is functioning as a marker of separation expressing the idea that each believer is purified “from” each and every personal sin because of the blood of Jesus Christ.
This noun is modified by the adjective pas, which means “each and every” since the word is used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions and denotes totality.
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 second result of living in the light is that the blood of Jesus, the Father’s Son does, as an eternal spiritual truth cause the believer to be purified from each and every sin.
Therefore, verse 7 is teaching the Christian community that the blood of Jesus will cause them to be purified from each and every sin when they are experiencing fellowship with God by living their lives according to the standards of God’s holiness which is described by John as walking in the light.
In other words, it is teaching that the believer will experience the forgiveness of their sins when they are experiencing fellowship with God by living their lives according to God’s holy standards which John describes as walking or living in the light.
The expression “blood of Jesus” does not refer to the literal blood of Christ but is a “representative” analogy between the physical death of the animal sacrifice in the Mosaic Law and the spiritual and physical deaths of Christ on the cross.
This expression is used in a figurative sense as a representative analogy between the physical death of the animal sacrifice in the Mosaic Law and the spiritual and physical deaths of Jesus Christ on the cross.
The reference to the purification from each and every sin means that Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths purified sinners who have been declared justified by the Father through faith in Him.
These sacrificial deaths made these sinners acceptable to God so that they could have a relationship and fellowship with Himself and the other two members of the Trinity.
Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross have made pure the sinner justified through faith in Himself.
They have freed the justified sinner from the old sin nature and the lies of the cosmic system of Satan, which contaminate, debase, pollute and adulterate the soul of the sinner.
Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross freed the justified sinner from cosmic viewpoint, which is foreign and objectionable to God.
They have been freed from guilt and evil and have been cleared and purged of their guilt and evil from committing sin.
They have been made clean and pure so that they might serve the Lord exclusively and do His will.
The sins mentioned here in 1 John 1:7 refers to every sin they would commit in their lifetime-past, present and future.
This interpretation is supported by the fact that any sin the believer has committed in the past or is committing in the present or will commit in the future will prevent them from experiencing fellowship with God who is holy.
At the moment of justification, the sinner who has been declared justified by the Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ receives the forgiveness of their sins in a positional sense meaning that God views their sins forgiven-past, present and future.
It also means that this is what God has done for their problem with their sins through His Son’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.
It also means that they also receive the guarantee of the forgiveness of all their sins-past, present and future in a perfective sense at the rapture or resurrection of the church when they receive their resurrection body which will be minus a sin nature.
It also sets up the potential for them to experience the forgiveness of sins after justification when they experience fellowship with God while experiencing their sanctification and salvation.
The believer experiences the forgiveness of their sins initially at the moment of justification but after justification the believer sins.
They can experience the forgiveness of their sins once again and experience fellowship with God and their sanctification by confessing their sins according to 1 John 1:9.
Confession restores them to fellowship and maintaining that fellowship is through obedience to the Word of God, which results in the believer experiencing their sanctification and salvation once again.
Consequently, they are living in the light and experiencing fellowship with God.
It is for this reason that John asserts in 1 John 1:7 that the blood of Jesus will cause the believer to be purified from each and every sin when they are experiencing fellowship with God by living their lives according to the standards of God’s holiness which is described by John as walking in the light.
In other words, the believer will experience the forgiveness of their sins when they are experiencing fellowship with God by living their lives according to God’s holy standards which John describes as walking or living in the light.
They appropriate the forgiveness of sins by living in the light and experiencing fellowship with God.
If they are out of fellowship, they will not experience the forgiveness of sins provided by Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross.
When the believer appropriates what Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross provided them by confessing any known personal sin to the Father, they are restored to fellowship with the Father.
This restoration is based upon the merits the merits of Jesus Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross of the impeccable.
Therefore, the confession of sin restores the believer to fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and so consequently, failure to confess one’s sins prevents the believer from enjoying and experiencing fellowship with God (cf. Ps. 66:18).
If the believer remains out of fellowship for any extended period of time, they will be under divine discipline, which is designed to get them to confess their sins so that they can be restored to fellowship with the Trinity (cf. Heb. 12:4-13).
Therefore, when John asserts in 1 John 1:7 that the blood of Jesus, God’s Son purifies the believer from each and every sin when they are living in the light and are thus experiencing fellowship with the Father, he is implying that the believer is experiencing the forgiveness of their sins.
To live according to God’s holy standards and experience fellowship with Him requires that the believer confess their sins to be restored to fellowship with Him and this fellowship is maintained by obedience to the Word of God.