1 John 1.9-The Results of the Believer Confessing Their Sins
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday May 3, 2017
First John: 1 John 1:9-The Results of the Believer Confessing Their Sins
Lesson # 39
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)
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)
The confession of sin by the believer not only enables the believer to experience fellowship with God but also it enables them to experience their salvation.
To experience fellowship with God is to experience salvation.
They are one in the same.
Experiencing salvation is describing fellowship from the perspective that it is a deliverance from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death, personal sin, and enslavement from the sin nature and Satan and his cosmic system.
The Christian’s salvation, i.e. their deliverance is also accomplished in three stages: (1) positional (2) experiential (3) perfective or ultimate.
(1) Positional: At the moment the believer exercised faith alone in Christ alone, they were delivered “positionally” from spiritual death and eternal condemnation, the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature through the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 19:9; John 4:22; Acts 4:12; 13:26, 47; 16:17; Romans 1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Ephesians 1:13; Philippians 1:28; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:10; 5:9; 6:9; 1 Peter 1:9-10; 2 Peter 3:15; Jude 3; Revelation 7:10).
By “positionally,” I mean that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ, which was accomplished at the moment of conversion through the baptism of the Spirit when the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit placed the believer in an eternal union with Christ.
In other words, the “positional” aspect of the believer’s salvation refers to the past action of God saving us from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation when we trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior.
The believer’s deliverance positionally sets up the “potential” for them to experience this deliverance in time since this deliverance can only be experienced after conversion through obedience to the teaching of the Word of God.
It also guarantees the believer’s ultimate deliverance at the rapture, which is based upon the sovereign decision of God rather than the volition of the believer.
(2) Experiential: After justification, the believer can “experience” deliverance from the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that they have been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
This constitutes the believer’s spiritual life after being delivered from spiritual death (2 Corinthians 1:6; 7:10; Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Philippians 2:12; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17; 2 Timothy 2:10; 3:15; Hebrews 2:3, 10; 1 Peter 2:2).
In other words, the “experiential” aspect of salvation is used of the believer’s deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system in the present moment (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Cor. 1:18; 1 Tim. 4:16).
(3) Perfective: At the resurrection, the believer will be delivered “in a perfective sense” and permanently from the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature when they receive their resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which is imminent (Romans 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9; Hebrews 1:14; 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5).
In other words, the “perfective” aspect of salvation is used of the believer’s future deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system (Philippians 3:20-21).
The confession of sin by the believer not only enables the believer to experience fellowship with God and their salvation but also their sanctification.
Experiencing sanctification is describing experiencing fellowship with God from the perspective that it is experiencing being set apart to serve God exclusively.
“Sanctification” is a technical theological term for the believer who has been set apart through the baptism of the Spirit at the moment of conversion in order to serve God exclusively and is accomplished in three stages: (1) Positional (2) Experiential (3) Perfective.
The baptism of the Spirit results in positional sanctification and the potential to experience sanctification in time and the guarantee of perfective sanctification at the resurrection of the church.
By positional, I mean that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ since at the moment of conversion, the Holy Spirit placed the believer in union with Christ, identifying them with Christ’s crucifixion (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), His death (Romans 6:2, 7-8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3), His burial (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12), His resurrection (Romans 6:5; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:10-11; Colossians 2:12; 3:1) and His session (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1).
“Positional sanctification” is the believer’s “entrance” into the plan of God for the church age resulting in eternal security as well as two categories of positional truth (1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 5:26-27; Hebrews 2:11; 10:10; Acts 20:32; 26:18; Romans 6:3, 8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13).
“Retroactive” positional truth is the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His death and burial (Romans 6:3-11; Colossians 2:12) or in other words, when Christ, died God considers the believer to have died with Him.
“Current” positional truth is the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His resurrection, ascension and session (See Ephesians 2:4-6; Colossians 3:1-4) or in other words, when Christ was raised and seated at the right hand of the Father, the Father considers the believer to have been raised and seated with Christ as well.
“Positional sanctification”: (1) What God has done for the church age believer. (2) His viewpoint of the church age believer. (3) Sets up the potential to experience sanctification in time. (4) Provides the believer with the guarantee of receiving a resurrection body.
“Experiential sanctification” is the function of the church age believer’s spiritual life in time through obedience to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of God (John 17:17; Romans 6:19, 22; 2 Timothy 2:21; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, 7; 1 Timothy 2:15).
“Experiential sanctification” is the post-justification experience of the believer who is in fellowship with God by confessing any known sin to the Father when necessary followed by obedience to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the Word of God.
Experiential sanctification is only a potential since it is contingent upon the church age believer responding to what God has done for him at the moment of conversion, therefore, only believers who are obedient to the Word of God will experience sanctification in time.
“Perfective sanctification” is the perfection of the church age believer’s spiritual life at the rapture, i.e. resurrection of the church, which is the completion of the plan of God for the church age believer (1 Corinthians 15:53-54; Galatians 6:8; 1 Peter 5:10; John 6:40).
It is the guarantee of a resurrection body and will be experienced by every believer regardless of their response in time to what God has done for them at justification.
All three stages of sanctification refer to the process of conforming the believer into the image of Jesus Christ, which is the Father’s plan from eternity past (Romans 8:28-30).
The confession of sin by the believer not only enables the believer to experience fellowship with God, their salvation and sanctification but also eternal life.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (NASB95)
Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (NASB95)
In His Great High Priestly Prayer recorded in John 17, the Lord states that eternal life is knowing the Father experientially.
Eternal life is appropriated after conversion by the believer who obeys the Spirit of life who reveals the will of the Father of life through the communication of the Word of life.
The believer who exercises faith in the teaching of the Word of God that they have been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ will experience eternal life in time.
The confession of sin by the believer not only enables the believer to experience fellowship with God, their salvation, sanctification and eternal life but also the filling of the Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:5-6).
Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. (NASB95)
Ephesians 5:18 And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit. (Author’s translation)
The filling of the Spirit takes place when the believer is obeying the voice of the Spirit, which is heard through prayerful study of the Word of God.
It is not an emotion (though it will result in emotions such as joy) but rather is the mental state of the believer who does not have any unconfessed sins in their stream of consciousness and is applying the Word to their thought process.
The filling of the Spirit takes place in the soul of the believer when they allow God the Holy Spirit to influence their soul, which He does through the Word of God.
The failure to confess one’s sins as a believer will hinder the prayer life of the believer.
Prayer is one of the means that God has given the believer in order that he might enjoy and experience fellowship with Him.
There are seven essential elements that should be included in every prayer offered to God: (1) confession, (2) Filling of the Spirit, (3) faith, (4) worship, (5) thanksgiving, (6) intercession, and (7) petition.