What Is Being Addressed In 1 John 1 By Proper Context?
It is important to understand that the context of John’s letter is to thwart a heresy that false teachers were trying to get true believers to accept. This heresy is called –Gnosticism–. This is THE SIN that John is referring too in his letter. Those believing this heresy. John is not talking about all sins.
Gnosticism in incompatible with Biblical Christianity because Gnostics do not believe that a person can be born again IN THE SPIRIT through belief in Christ. They deny that we are saved because Christ died in our place and took on the punishment for our sins but instead rely on extra Biblical ‘secret knowledge’ they say has been imparted to them as if they are special somehow. This was a big heresy in the early church and is being shown as false.
The Gnostic’s teachings were causing fear in some of the believers and had them questioning their faith on Christ alone for Salvation. John is exposing this false heresy to believers who he is addressing.
The Gnostics denied the deity of Jesus as God. They denied that His death on the cross was the remedy for all of our sins. John wasn’t saying that Christians don’t sin; he was saying that those who adhered to the specific sin of Gnosticism were not saved. He was stating that no born again believer could accept Gnosticism, and no one who accepted Gnosticism could be born again in the Spirit. The Gnostics teaching are wrong right to the very core of the Gospel truth about salvation.
It is important to understand that John wrote his letters TO SAVED BELIEVERS. He is addressing people who are ALREADY born again in the Spirit by belief on Christ (John 3) and who are eternally saved through belief on Christ. The key to understanding this passage of Scripture is in the understanding what it means to ‘walk in the light’ and ‘walk in the darkness’. John is giving a comparison here to be sure that the one reading the letter is confident that they are truly saved in opposition to what the Gnostic false teaching was. He uses the contrast of ‘dark verse light’ to achieve this. Let’s move forward in the verses in 1 John.
Context In 1 John Is Refuting The Gnostics False Teaching And The Truth In Opposition About FELLOWSHIP
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have FELLOWSHIP WITH US: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL” (1 John 1:3-4 KJV)
John wants to settle any confusion about the false heresy of the Gnostics and the truth of the Gospel in opposition so that they may not have any fearful questioning in their hearts about the true Gospel. So that their joy may be full. This is the goal of John’s letter. The Gnostics had come in and joined the believing community but they were not believers. They were there to refute the truth about salvation in Christ. John is giving the born again a teaching to encourage them so that their joy may be full. The true Gospel of our salvation ,is what produces such joy and also keeps our faith stable to stand against the enemy lies.
“If we say that we have not sinned, WE MAKE HIM A LIAR, and his word IS NOT IN US.” (1 John 1:10 KJV)
Pretty clear right? We need to remain humble and know the truth. The truth is, we all still have sin. Maybe not ‘really bad ones’, but sin none the less. That is why we needed Christ and His atonement for our sins. No one can save themselves by works and deeds.
“If we say that we have FELLOWSHIP with him, and WALK IN DARKNESS, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we WALK IN THE LIGHT, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6-7 KJV)
John tells us right there that he is not talking about salvation in these following verses, but FELLOWSHIP AFTER our salvation. At the same time, the Gnostics where in community fellowship with other believers but in deceptiveness. So John is talking about both; (i.) The Fellowship of a believer to the Lord. (ii.) a person walking in darkness that was never born again by belief on Christ.
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5 KJV)
First, the Gnostics were spreading lies and stating the opposite to the believing community. And John is going to end any confusions! So many people ignore verse 5 and the context is lost. THAT GOD IS LIGHT and IN HIM is no darkness. Not that the saved cannot walk in darkness and light. Of course, it is better to walk in the truth of God’s light in our life! A believer is eternally saved the moment they believe on Christ (John 3:14-18, 36, John 6:37-40, Eph. 1:13-14, Colossians 2 etc. ). After we are saved, we still have free will to walk in the light of God or do wrong. Of course, we are to strive to do right and avoid sin, absolutely. Sin has consequences in this life and loss of eternal rewards at the judgement seat of Christ. Again, John’s writing in 1 John is about FELLOWSHIP after being saved – not mainly about salvation by John’s own writing in the chapter.
Verse By Verse To See Proper Context
Let’s now look at the passage in whole to see the truth about fellowship, as a born again saved believer, with our Lord an dhow John at the same time is refuting the Gnostics false teachings.
“5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. “
Verse 5: God is LIGHT and God has no darkness in Him. God is perfect. Jesus is God and is perfect. All light. No darkness. Jesus is who we should be imitating in our daily walk in life as believers. Doing so gives strong fellowship with our Lord. We are not to walk in darkness by following any others teaching falsely, who are denying the deity of Christ as the Gnostics were.
“6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
Verse 6: Here John teaches about a believer’s fellowship to the Lord and also refutes any in the community of believers, who are not even in the light. Claiming that you are close to God in fellowship, but then living outwardly in darkness all the time is not good fellowship. It is also not true salvation for some who associate with born again believers but are not really saved and born again. Churches today are filled with such people. They are living in darkness thinking they are saved but they are not. Judas Iscariot is a good example. He lived with Christ during His Earthly ministry to Israel but was never a true believer. In the end, he betrayed Jesus. Here John is explaining both situations about FELLOWSHIP.
A saved person who is walking in darkness needs to restore fellowship with the Lord and ‘walk in the light’. As believers, we are to walk in the light, that is to walk by what Jesus said. We should have good works in love for others. Not that these works saves us. No. We are saved by belief on Christ alone; it is HIS finished work, not ours that saves us.
An unsaved person needs salvation before fellowship will even matter. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:15-23 as well. Having ‘many wonderful works’ does not save anyone. Being born again does (John 3:5-18, John 6:37-40). They are walking in darkness because they are not even born again, nor saved. Again, it is not by their works determining salvation. It is by accepting or rejected Christ.
“7 But if WE walk in the light, as HE IS in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Verse 7: John then shows a true believer that is born again, walking in proper fellowship. This should be our goal as believers. He writes that confessing our sins ‘cleasnses us from ‘unrighteousness’. So that means a born again believer still has sins to contend with doesn’t it? Right there refutes any person who says they never sinned since their conversion. They are making Jesus as a liar and are also deceivig themselves. They are walking in darkness and are far from fellowship with the Lord; they may even not be saved. As a born again believer, Christ removed all our sins and we are now complete in Him in The Spirit (Colossians 2), and were MADE BY GOD the righteousness of God, in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-21). Not that WE MAKE OURSELVES righteous. We need to follow The Lord as believers and this produces a very close fellowship and relationship with the Lord.
In the Greek this was originally written, the tense for the word ‘cleanseth’ is a present and continuous action. Once a person accepts the FREE GIFT of Salvation through Christ’s shed blood on the cross, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on and keeps on cleansing you from every sin! Just like an ocean’s waves on a beach, the Grace of God keeps rolling in to cover all and any sin committed in the life of a believer. Amen!
“8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Verse 8: In 1 John 1:8, John reminds us that we’re all sinners – even as born again believers! Be humble and not boastful over your ‘many good works’ (Matthew 7:15-23, Eph. 2:8-9, Gal. 3, 5:4-5). John is refuting the false Gnostic teachings. As a believer, we will still sin and stumble. Our mind has not yet been made perfect (1 Cor. 15:50). That is why one day we need a bodily resurrection. Only our Spirit has been MADE perfect (2 Cor. 5:21, Colossians 2:10) . The devil and his angels, they are working and scheming against believers (Eph. 6) and sometimes, as a believer, we just ‘blow it’. Acknowledge this. God is certainly NOT SURPRISED! As a believer, I may stumble and fall in sin. Yet, Jesus foreknew about that sin and still died on that cross for us! (Romans 5:8) In fact, later in 1 John 2, John writes that Jesusu paid for all sins of the whole world. Not just believer’s sins (1 John 2:2). Again, context matters. We cannot be SINLESS until our bodily resurrection when our minds will be like Christ’s mind; perfected for ever. But acknowledging our sins and confessing them to God, motivates us to sin less.
“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9-10 KJV)
Verse 9 & 10: In 1 John 1:9-10, John tells us how sinners can remain in fellowship with the Lord. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The indwelling Holy Spirit works to restore you to proper fellowship with the Lord. When we fall into a sin as a believer, confess it to the Lord (He knows about it anyway! He knew you would do it, BEFORE you did it!) Acknowledge your sin to God. Thank Jesus that He already paid fro that sin on the cross for you (1 John 2:2).
Do not run away from God in guilt. Know that that sin was paid in full by Christ. Feel the remorse! But run TO GOD. That is a very health thing to do. Ask Jesus to help you overcome that temptation next time. Think God will not answer that prayer? Yes He Will! It is called truth and growth in faith. Move forward knowing Jesus already paid for that sin you committed (1 John 2:2). This is faith. That is walking in the light as well. It is building a stronger bond relationship between you and your heavenly Father. It is true fellowship with the Lord who wants to help you. He loves you more than you can imagine.
The Gnostics taught that no one has sinned and no one needs to believe in the Christ. They completely denied the deity of Christ. John refutes their false teaching and states clearly that ALL HAVE SIN – even born again believers. If a person does not acknowledge this, then they are not only walking in darkness; they are walking in the boastful sin of pride. Pride is the sin Lucifer (who was the closest to God’s throne in heaven, the top angel) when he wanted to be as God in boastfulness. It is the sin that started this whole mess humankind is in. We need to be HUMBLE before God. All glory to Christ crucified, died and risen (1 Cor. 15:1-4)! It is HIS work to be boastful about – not ours (Eph. 2:8-9). That is true faith. That produces great gratitude in the love and what God has freely given to us! Eternal life. His love for us is what motivates us to help others come to the knowledge of the truth and hopefully to believe and be saved.
“…freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8 KJV)
In the Greek this was originally written, the tense for the word ‘cleanseth’ is a present and continuous action. Once a person accepts the FREE GIFT of Salvation through Christ’s shed blood on the cross, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on and keeps on cleansing you from every sin! Just like an ocean’s waves on a beach, the Grace of God keeps rolling in to cover all and any sin committed in the life of a believer.
By the continuous waves of God’s Grace, born again believers are always in God’s light in regards to salvation. But to remain in close relationship with God, and to live a life for Him and His Kingdom, walking in darkness is in opposition. It causes a drift and a distance which we want to avoid. Why?
“So that your joy may be full!”
We still have sin after Salvation but they were already penalty paid by the power of Jesus’ shed blood. Until we are resurrected with new immortal bodies, without this disease we have called sin and The Flesh, sin will happen in a believers life; though our Newly Created Spirit wars against the Flesh (Romans 7). These two conflicting beliefs IN THE MIND exist within every believer. Renewing these old Spirit thoughts by God’s truth in the Word is the goal (Romans 12, John 17:17). The holy Spirit is within a believer orchestrating this renewal.
Do not misunderstand me. The struggle against sin for a believer is VERY REAL. The Apostle Paul struggled greatly with the fight against the Flesh in Romans 7. Although our sins after Salvation do not separate us from the family of God, sin will affect our fellowship with our God as our Father. That is what John is talking about in 1 John. Thankfully, loss of Salvation and being kicked out of the family of God is not found in the Scriptures. Jesus already paid for all sins of the whole world and anyone who believes this, has had all sins ‘paid in full’ by Christ. He became sin for us and imputed His righteousness to us (2 Cor. 5:21).
When I tell you it affects our fellowship with God, that does not mean God turns away from us when we sin and turns back to us when we repent and change our mind about a sin. No God is within us always. Jesus said that he would never leave us nor forsake us. We are His for ever. It does affects our fellowship because WE FEEL GUILTY and may not turn to God in this guilt. We should do the opposite though and run to God when we sin and confess it and ask Him for help. That is a prayer He will answer!
As an analogy, a son or daughter, leaves home for drugs and partying. This greatly grieves their father. They are still his kids and he loves them move than anything. Didi they stop being the father’s son or daughter? No. But fellowship has been broken. If the son or daughter comes back home and confesses how wrong they were, will the father forgiven them? Well, yes, with great joy! We see this also in the Parable of the Prodigal Son Jesus taught right. Salvation and fellowship are NOT the same thing is my point. By salvation we are born again in unity into the family of God and we become His children. That is when fellowship comes into play. We want a good relationship with God. He has so much love for us!
As believers we are all on a journey and we all have struggles in life and battles with the schemes and temptation of evil in the world (Eph. 6). The struggle is real but we must believe in faith as the Apostle Paul wrote,
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence MIGHT ABOUND. But where sin abounded, GRACE DID MUCH MORE abound:” (Romans 5:20 KJV)
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17 KJV)
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 KJV)
