1 John 1.9d-The Purification From All Unrighteousness
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday April 26, 2017
First John: 1 John 1:9d-The Purification From All Unrighteousness
Lesson # 36
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NASB95)
“And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (2) third person singular aorist active subjunctive form of the verb katharizō (καθαρίζω), “to cleanse” (3) accusative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “us” (4) genitive feminine singular form of the noun adikia (ἀδικία), “unrighteousness.”
The conjunction kai is epexegetical meaning it is introducing a statement which identifies in a different way or perspective the act of the Father forgiving the believer’s their sins when they confess these sins to Him.
This word introduces a statement which asserts that the Father purifies the believer from all unrighteousness.
Therefore, this indicates that the Father forgiving the believer their sins when they confess their sins to Him can also be described as purifying them from all unrighteousness.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that all sin is unrighteousness.
It can also be supported by the fact that when the Father forgives the believer their sins, He is in effect purifying them from the guilt of sin which is described by John as “unrighteousness.”
In 1 John 1:7, we saw that the verb katharizō means “to purify” from sin and the sin nature so that one is acceptable to God who is holy.
Here in 1 John 1:9, the word again means “to purify” but this time sin is identified as unrighteousness.
Therefore, this word in 1 John 1:9 denotes that the Father “purifies” the believer from all unrighteousness when they confess their sins to Him.
The verb katharizō in 1 John 1:9 should not 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 noun adikia means “unrighteousness” and is used to describe the sins of the believer.
The word is antithetical in meaning to the noun dikaiosune, “righteousness,” which is a general term for “virtue” and “integrity” of character, thus, adikia is the state of possessing no virtue or integrity.
Therefore, the noun adikia describes the believer’s sins as thoughts, words or actions that do not adhere to the will of God, and that are not upright, honest, perfectly whole, thus leaving them in an unsound, impaired and in a bad condition.
It describes these thoughts, words and actions as having no virtue in the sense that they have no moral excellence, goodness, and do not conform to the will of God.
This word is modified by the adjective pas which expresses an attributive relation to adikia and is in the first attributive position.
This adjective is used here without the article modifying the noun adikia and is used in the distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
The believer is purified from “each and every” unrighteous thought, word or action that they commit when they confess these sins, i.e. unrighteousness to the Father.
The noun adikia is the object of the preposition apo which is a marker of separation or disassociation indicating that the Father purifies the believer “from” each and every unrighteous thought, word or action when they confess these sins to Him.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase indicates that the Father “separates” the believer from each of their sins and the guilt associated with these sins when they confess them to Him.
1 John 1:9 If any of us does, at any time confess our sins, He is, as an eternal spiritual truth characterized as being faithful as well as just to forgive these sins for the benefit of each one of us, in other words, to purify each one of us from each and every unrighteous thought, word or action. (My translation)
1 John 1:9 ends with John asserting that the Father purifies the believer from all unrighteousness or each and every unrighteous thought, word and action.
This is an explanatory statement which expresses the idea that the Father forgiving the believer their sins when they confess these sins to Him can also be described as purifying them from all unrighteousness.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that all sin is unrighteousness.
It can also be supported by the fact that when the Father forgives the believer their sins, He is in effect purifying them “experientially” from the guilt of sin which is described by John as “unrighteousness.”
They are purified “positionally” and in a “perfective” sense as we have noted earlier.
Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths is the basis for the Father purifying the believer when they confess their sins to Him.
In other words, the Father purifies them when they confess their sins to Him because His Son Jesus Christ’s substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross was the payment for their sins.
They propitiated the Father whose holiness demanded that they be judged for committing these sins against Him.
In 1 John 1:9, the noun adikia means “unrighteousness” and is used to describe the sins of the believer.
The word is antithetical in meaning to the noun dikaiosune, “righteousness,” which is a general term for “virtue” and “integrity” of character, thus, adikia is the state of possessing no virtue or integrity.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines “integrity”: (1) Soundness of and adherence to moral principle and character; uprightness; honesty (2) The state of being whole, entire, or undiminished (3) A sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines “virtue”: (1) Moral excellence; goodness; righteousness (2) Conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness, rectitude.
Therefore, the noun adikia describes the believer’s sins as thoughts, words or actions that do not adhere to the will of God, and that are not upright, honest, perfectly whole, thus leaving them in an unsound, impaired and in a bad condition.
It describes these thoughts, words and actions as having no virtue in the sense that they have no moral excellence, goodness, and do not conform to the will of God.
Not only does the New Testament and 1 John 1:9 teach the importance of confessing one’s sins to God but also the Old Testament does as well (Lev. 16:21-22; Ps. 28:9; 51).
Psalm 32:1 How blessed is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven, whose sin is pardoned! 32:2 How blessed is the one whose wrongdoing the LORD does not punish, in whose spirit there is no deceit. 32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, my whole body wasted away, while I groaned in pain all day long. 32:4 For day and night you tormented me; you tried to destroy me in the intense heat of summer. (Selah) 32:5 Then I confessed my sin; I no longer covered up my wrongdoing. I said, “I will confess my rebellious acts to the LORD.” And then you forgave my sins. (Selah) (NET)
There are many examples in the Old Testament of a believer being restored to fellowship with God as a result of the believer confessing their sin to Him.
There is the example of David (Ps. 32:5; 51; 2 Sam. 12:13), Hezekiah (2 Chron. 32:26), Job (Job 42:6), Ezra (Ezra 9:6-15), Nehemiah (Neh. 1:6), and Daniel (Dan. 9:4, 20).