Taking Advice from the Beloved Disciple – 1John 1:5-10 (10 min)

What is it about us that wants to hide or diminish our faults? Have you ever considered that when we do so, we are lying to God and deceiving ourselves? There may be momentary comfort in cloaking your sin, but it is a sign of discord from God. Pride, deceit, fear and selfishness are part of the old way of life that we are free from.

Jesus said, … “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.” (Luke 9:23NLT) Shouldn’t we be more concerned with telling the truth before God? “The one who loves his life eventually loses it through death, but the one who hates his life in this world and is concerned with pleasing God will keep it for life eternal. (John 12:25 AMP)

This is the 3rd study post in this series.

• This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)

Did you notice that only 1 of the identified keywords in 1 John was mentioned in these verses?  The word ‘sin’ now appears 5 times within 4 verses. Remember, the Apostle John wrote this letter to us who believe in the name of the Son of God so that we may know that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13). So if sin is a big focus here, and sin separates us from God, what are we to make of this?

Main Point This Segment

1 John 1:5-10 directly moves to the heart of the entire letter. The remainder of the letter provides evidence of a believer’s salvation. The main point of the passage we are reviewing is:

This concept acknowledges that:

• There cannot be communion with God if we practice sinful ways;
• We will sin from time to time;
• Continual cleansing from Him is required to have intimacy with God;
• The way to be washed is through confession to God (admission of fault and turning away from it)
• God is faithful to see Christ’s sufficient blood atonement for sin and restore intimacy when we put our confidence and solidarity in Christ.

God’s grace elects and shines His unmerited illuminating favour into our lives birthing faith in His Son, Jesus Christ the promised Messiah, through Whom God is righteous in granting a full pardon of sin eternally. (Romans 3:22-26, Romans 5:21, Romans 8:1, 29-30).

Therefore justification does not guarantee an active close relationship with God but it does make it available. Without justification, there will be no friendship with God. Let’s talk about it.

Verse by Verse Highlights

• Verse 5: The Apostle John passed on the message he heard directly from Jesus when He contrasted the Godhead’s lumination with darkness. God, the Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit) are One; He is holy, His message is truthful, and He is perfect in righteousness. There is no darkness, no sin, no wickedness, and no imperfection within God. This is what John heard Jesus teach:
  • … “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” … “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:12, 31-32)
  • “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. “I and My Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

• Verse 6: Anyone who says that they have fellowship/‘koinōnia‘ (a partnership and intimacy) with God but lives as though they have no spiritual illumination (lives in spiritual darkness, and as such, practices wrong thinking and actions) is lying. These individuals are not practicing the truth. Jesus said:
  • “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
  • “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. (John 12:46)

• Verse 7: This verse is a direct contrast to verse 6. A God-justified person lives each day conforming to God’s light (found in His Word) which brings true, unbroken fellowship with Him and Him with each believer (and therefore, consequentially all believers with each other). God abides in a state of supreme sanctity, with all truth, knowledge, spiritual purity and absolute righteousness. To be in communion with Him, we must progressively yield to His ways as we grow in the knowledge of Him. Through our obedience, God freely manifests His presence in our lives because He sees the spotless blood of Jesus Christ that continues to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• Verse 8: Jesus gave this parable about self-deception and humility:
  • “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14)
  • Here are some cross-references – Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 53:6; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:23; Galatians 6:3; 2 Timothy 3:13; James 1:22.

• Verse 9: This is truly a verse that every believer ought to memorize and repeat to the accuser he tries to condemn us. It is a verse of faith acknowledging the faithfulness and sufficiency of our Saviour. It is also an instruction that we need to adhere to:

• Since we have God’s light, we are not self-deceived. We (like the tax collector parable in Luke 18:10-14) call our wrong behaviours what it is; they are sins. We admit our weaknesses and failures, and we agree that we do not measure up to God’s holiness. We call out the specific transgressions to our Heavenly Father asking Him to be merciful (which He is), to be gracious to us (which He is), and to change us (which He is committed to). He already knows everything we have done and will do. He wants us to agree with Him which is the opposite behaviour of His enemies.
• The word ‘confess’ in verse 9 is the Greek word (Strong’s G3670) homologeó which means ‘to agree with’ what the Word of God says. This means that we admit to God that:
  • He is holy, loving, full of grace, faithful, righteous and merciful (Worship);
  • Christ’s finished work on the cross that paid the price for ALL our sins (Thankfulness);
  • We are guilty of the things we did or failed to do which was contrary to Scripture. We do not minimize it or make excuses for it (Truth).
• Verse 10: God says all people sin. To disagree with Him accuses Him of being a liar which is evidence that God’s Word is not resident with you.

Summation:

To have uninterrupted fellowship with the Godhead, you should

• Search your heart daily using the Word of God as the light that illuminates the areas of your heart and life that need to come into agreement with God. This means reading and knowing the Word.
• Live in a state of repentance knowing you are not perfected yet, but are willing to yield your thoughts and actions to the teachings of Christ. This means humbling yourself.
• Bring your heart before the Lord in prayer to ask for forgiveness and the grace (strength and Divine favour) to continue to conform you to the likeness of Christ. This means communion with God (speaking and listening).

What must you do to improve your fellowship with Christ and His body?

What Can You Do? 

• Please read 1st John 2:1-11
• Remember to pray first; ask God to speak to you through His Word. Chew on these verses for one week.   
• Consider what evidence of your new birth (regeneration, justification) you have given this passage. What is your understanding of grace, love and works?

What I Will Do 

• Within the next post of this ‘lite’ series called “Taking advice from the Beloved Disciple – 1^st John“, we will start reviewing the evidence of salvation starting from 1st John Chapter 2. While sin will be mentioned, the emphasis will shift away from it.
• Every effort will be made to present practical application along with brief insights that the Lord brings to me while I pray for Him to continue to transform my life (and readers) from glory to glory.

What are the Series Objectives?

• Understand the evidence of eternal salvation with its instructions and warnings. 
• Celebrate the assurance we have in Christ; deepen our fellowship with the Father and His family.
• Identify and take any corrective actions.

Thank you for taking the time to read and invest in your eternity! 

All Scripture in this blog is from the New King James Version unless otherwise specified.