1 John 1:5-7 says,...
Today's verses are 1 John 1:5-7 which read,
v.5 - This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
If you are keeping count, this is the fourth time that John has made reference that he and the other disciples were eye witnesses of Jesus. He also repeats that part of the purpose of his life is to proclaim or announce something to his readers.
"God is Light" is a definitive and defining statement. "...in Him there is no darkness at all..." is an exclusive statement. If we play out light and dark in the Bible, light is truth and dark is falsehood. Light is holiness or purity and darkness is sin or wrongdoing. John's message to his readers is the God is truth and holy and pure and that there is no falsehood or sin or wrongdoing in Him "...at all." Why is this fact so important to know?
v.6 - If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
We will start with some very bold statements from John. There is no "gray" area for John in these statements about these subjects and the first is "fellowship" with God. "Fellowship" we spoke of yesterday as a word built on the word "with" and then "common" and then "comrade" and then "association." If you have something in common that changes your status with the one you are with and that status ties you to some bigger group, that is fellowship. The tie is like soldiers fighting side by side in the war. It is a bond that is forged usually because of some cause outside of yourselves.
John is saying that if because of what Jesus Christ has done in your life that puts you in this type of relationship with God but then do or be opposite of what God is, you are lying about that relationship. The fruit of that lie is not practicing holiness and purity but practicing sin and wrongdoing. We cannot have that type of "fellowship" with God and continue to live that way. We are deceiving ourselves. That type of "fellowship" with God transforms us and continues to transform us to be more like Him and less like ourselves.
v.7 - ...but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us for all sin.
John is weeding out the phonies of Christianity in his day. If you have this "fellowship" with God, your life is going to show it by daily walking or living your life in light of who He is. It will result in a greater fellowship that we have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It will also result in the cleansing of sin by the blood of Jesus in our lives because we are walking with Him. When sin appears or happens, He is right there because we are right there with Him to "hand it over."
Tomorrow John will talk more about this sin but for today John has given us the first characteristic of someone who is a genuine Christian. A genuine Christian has a holy association with God that results in a "walking" or living out life in His presence. We see Jesus in the foxhole with us in this battle we call life. He is "with" us and therefore I live my life in relationship to that and also in relationship to what He did so we could be in the foxhole together.
"Lord, I pray today for a greater awareness of this fellowship that I have with you. May that awareness turn into actions that show a following of the light instead of the darkness. If I find myself following the darkness in any area of my life, may I surrender it over to You to be in true fellowship with You. May I not live in deception to who You are. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.5 - This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
If you are keeping count, this is the fourth time that John has made reference that he and the other disciples were eye witnesses of Jesus. He also repeats that part of the purpose of his life is to proclaim or announce something to his readers.
"God is Light" is a definitive and defining statement. "...in Him there is no darkness at all..." is an exclusive statement. If we play out light and dark in the Bible, light is truth and dark is falsehood. Light is holiness or purity and darkness is sin or wrongdoing. John's message to his readers is the God is truth and holy and pure and that there is no falsehood or sin or wrongdoing in Him "...at all." Why is this fact so important to know?
v.6 - If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
We will start with some very bold statements from John. There is no "gray" area for John in these statements about these subjects and the first is "fellowship" with God. "Fellowship" we spoke of yesterday as a word built on the word "with" and then "common" and then "comrade" and then "association." If you have something in common that changes your status with the one you are with and that status ties you to some bigger group, that is fellowship. The tie is like soldiers fighting side by side in the war. It is a bond that is forged usually because of some cause outside of yourselves.
John is saying that if because of what Jesus Christ has done in your life that puts you in this type of relationship with God but then do or be opposite of what God is, you are lying about that relationship. The fruit of that lie is not practicing holiness and purity but practicing sin and wrongdoing. We cannot have that type of "fellowship" with God and continue to live that way. We are deceiving ourselves. That type of "fellowship" with God transforms us and continues to transform us to be more like Him and less like ourselves.
v.7 - ...but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us for all sin.
John is weeding out the phonies of Christianity in his day. If you have this "fellowship" with God, your life is going to show it by daily walking or living your life in light of who He is. It will result in a greater fellowship that we have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It will also result in the cleansing of sin by the blood of Jesus in our lives because we are walking with Him. When sin appears or happens, He is right there because we are right there with Him to "hand it over."
Tomorrow John will talk more about this sin but for today John has given us the first characteristic of someone who is a genuine Christian. A genuine Christian has a holy association with God that results in a "walking" or living out life in His presence. We see Jesus in the foxhole with us in this battle we call life. He is "with" us and therefore I live my life in relationship to that and also in relationship to what He did so we could be in the foxhole together.
"Lord, I pray today for a greater awareness of this fellowship that I have with you. May that awareness turn into actions that show a following of the light instead of the darkness. If I find myself following the darkness in any area of my life, may I surrender it over to You to be in true fellowship with You. May I not live in deception to who You are. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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