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WALKING IN THE LIGHT
1 JOHN 1:6-7
(August 25, 2019 – SUN a.m.- MBC baesa)
• This is the first major section of I John. The Apostle John the writer described how to come near and deal with the Son of God which is the Word of Life, whom John proclaims to us so that we might personally experience the same privilege of fellowship with the Father and the Son as the apostles did enjoy.
• The primary basic statement of truth in his epistle is that God is light.
• The next sections of 1 John was dominated by this premise that God is light.
1. God’s Light reveals about Sin (1 John 1:6 to 1 John 2:2)
2. God’s Light reveals what is our Duty (1 John 2:3-6)
3. God’s Light reveals our highest duty which is Love (1 John 2:7-11)
4. God’s Light exposes what the World is (1 John 2:15-17)
5. God’s Light reveals who is the True Christ (1 John 2:18-28)
• Here we begin to study regarding sin revealed by the Light.
• According to John R. Stott, “Christianity is the only religion which, by emphasizing that God is light, first insists on taking sin seriously and then offers a satisfactory moral solution to the problem of sin.”- John R. Stott, The Epistles of John: An Introduction and Commentary, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 19 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964), 73
• Lloyd-Jones said with regards on this particular section: “The doctrine of sin has never been popular. I suppose also that it is true to say that it has been even more unpopular in the last hundred years, and especially perhaps in the last fifty years, than it has ever been, and there are many people who are utterly impatient at the very mention of the word.” - [Lloyd-Jones said this sometime prior to 1981.] - David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Fellowship with God, vol. 1, Life in Christ: Studies in 1 John (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 112.
• The Apostle John has purpose why he started in this section reasonably because John himself strongly counteracting some false teachers in his day which we notice this in chapters 2 and 4.
• There are several “If” statements in verses 6 and 7, we can see in our study section. Probably these are like the sort of things the false teachers might declare. The writer John did not quote them directly but recommending subjects what the false teachers might well have stated.
• In our present section, you should notice several “If…” statements. These seem like the kind of things the false teachers might say. John isn’t directly quoting them, but suggesting propositions the false teachers might well have stated.
• Let us look at the “If” statement in verses 6 and 7.
I- DECEPTION OF THOSE WHO PROFESSED CHRISTIAN (v.6)
1 John 1:6 “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
A. The Inclusion of Subject
1. The Changes of Pronoun
a. The Pronoun “we” in the introduction is the apostles (or just John himself) – v.1-5
b. The Pronoun “you” in the introduction are the hearers whom John wants to address – v.2-5
2. The Coverage of Participants
This time the pronoun “we” included John with his hearers, where hypothetical situation proposed – v.6
B. The Impossible situation
Claiming fellowship with God while walking in darkness.
1. Meaning of “fellowship with him” (God)
a. The Acceptance of John proclamation – v.1-4
b. The partnership, intimacy, subjection with the Light (v.5)
2. Meaning of “walk in darkness”
a. The habituation of life in darkness (“walk in”)
b. The inconsistency of daily life
• This is possible for people who comes to the church but the heart remains dark. The person’s daily life is darkness.
3. Mind of those who walks in darkness – 1 John 2:11
1 John 2:11 "But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."
4. Motivating promise from Jesus, - John 8:12
John 8:12 "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
C. The Iniquitous summary
In John’s conclusion the one who claims fellowship with God but walk in darkness is lies.
1. Assuming commentators says that John describes the sins of disobedient Christians
2. Addressing context of John is a problem with false teachers
a. False teachers claim to know the Christ, the Messiah
b. False teachers’ failure to understand the true gospel that shows they are living outside the gospel.
3. Analyzing John’s “If” statement is hypothetical
John wants to put ourselves as were one of these people but actually we are not.
4. Acknowledging people John described.
a. People who are religious but not really interested in Christian things at all.
1.) They come to church for any reason of their own
2.) They socially know some Christians
3.) They know some languages of Christians
b. People who do all kinds of things that are not “the truth” (they lie for they are not walking in the light)
Note: “Lies are deliberate untruths. It must be self-evident that a walker in darkness has no fellowship with the truth. Any person who maintains that is a liar, and the first person to whom he lies is himself.”
• Here are some description of people who come to church:
→ They attend church occasionally, join in fellowship, but avoid you from knowing their private life and living opposite from genuine Christian testimony.
→ They involve in a church regularly for a long time, but they live secretly with hidden thoughts, which if exposed would truly reveal who they really are: they lie, they aren’t believers.
II- DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE WHO POSSESSED CHRIST (v. 7)
1 John 1:7 “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.”
A. Christian Walks in the Light
• In contrast to verse 6, a real Christian walks in the light “as He is in the light”
1. View of Sinlessness
a. If it is about sinlessness why the verse mention “cleanseth jus from all sin.”
b. If it is not about sinlessness why the verse mention “walk in light, as he is in the light”, while still sinning?
2. View of reflection of God’s perfection
• The ESV Study Bible, 2430 quoted: “Walk in the light means to reflect God’s perfection (see v. 5) in the human sphere and includes both correct doctrine (truth) and moral purity (holiness). The symbolism of light as knowledge (see note on vv. 5–10) also implies that when Christians ‘walk in the light’ their lives will be known, and will not contain hidden sins, falsehoods, or deception.”
a. The problem of this view, consider the man in v.6 as a disobedient Christian but not a false professor.
b. The point of this view is contradict the portrayal of a man in v.6
3. View of the normal Christian life.
a. Explaining the Phrase –“Walk in the light”
1.) “Walk” – this is progression of the road not the end of the road
2.) “in the light” not according to the light.
• Hodges in 1 John in BKCNT, page 885 said: “It is significant that John talked of walking in the light, rather than according to the light. To walk according to the light would require sinless perfection and would make fellowship with God impossible for sinful humans. To walk in it, however, suggests instead openness and responsiveness to the light. John did not think of Christians as sinless, even though they are walking in the light, as is made clear in the last part of this verse.”
b. Exposing the Person –Christian who loves the light
1.) When the lights points out sin, the Christian confesses sin- 1 John 1:9
2.) The Real Christian doesn’t ignore, deny, minimize, cover, tolerate, enjoy, play with or belittle sin.
3.) The Real Christian enjoy walking in God’s light and does not think about the world and how to live in it
B. The Consequences of walking in the light
1. Fellowship one with another
a. There is a suggestion that this means “fellowship with God”
1) But the opposite claim between verse 7 and verse 6
2) But the one who walks in darkness cannot be in fellowship with God – v.6
3) The one who walk in the light, most definitely have mutual fellowship with God – v.7
b. This is scriptural meaning of fellowship with believers
1) The term “one with another” is more natural between believers
2) The term “one with another” is used 7 times in 1 John and 2 John
• Each of the other occurrences have is in connection with human relationships
• John Stott in his Epistles to John, page 75 said: “Since in verse 6 John has declared that to walk in darkness prevents fellowship with God, one would expect him to express the opposite truth that if we walk in the light, we enjoy fellowship with God. This is no doubt true, but characteristically he moves one step further, and states that walking in the light leads to that fellowship with each other which, as he has already said in verse 3, is grounded upon our relationship with the Father and the Son.”
• The interruption of sin in the life of one or the other hinders the relationship between Christians. What does it do to your relationship with God?
2. Cleansing from sin
a. Explaining the Praise Cleansing
• Listen, cleansing from sin is a regular experience of someone walking in the light
b. Emphasizing to Practice continually.
• The verb “cleanseth” are present tense which describes continuous action
1) Continuous Walking
2) Constant fellowship
3) Consistent cleansing
c. Eagerness of Personal cleansing
• The walk in the light makes the believer aware of the need
Hiebert, in his book 1 John 1:5–2:6, 333–34. “One’s walk in the light does not produce the cleansing; it only makes him persistently conscious of his continual need for cleansing.”
d. Effects more than forgiveness
• Interestingly, cleansing is more than forgiveness because in cleansing, God removes the stains of sin.
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