.jpg "Church in the middle of nowhere.")
1 John – A Letter for Friends
Note. Not a letter but probably a homily written by the aging apostle John to be read to his much loved congregation in Ephesus. Note the use and form. There is no dear Ephesians or any introduction as we see in Paul. Much more intimate.
1JN 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.1 The reader is clearly pointed back to Jn 1:1–”In the beginning was the Word”–and from there to Ge 1:1–”In the beginning God”–with this difference: The Gospel deals with the “personal word” of God’s eternity and his entrance into time. This homily centers on the life heard and in turn). This message is from the beginning because it is of God. It precedes creation, time, and history. But in God the message of life also draws near to humanity and finds its culmination in Jesus. In him the Word of life becomes incarnated, manifested, and hence can be seen, touched, and even handled. The use of the pronoun “we” assures the reader that the message is being proclaimed by those who had heard the Gospel with their own ears and who had touched him with their own hands (perhaps a reference to the Resurrection appearances– Lk 24:39; Jn 20:24-29). The use of the term we indicates that this is the apostolic message – the same from all the apostles. Or even perhaps we meaning I say it but it is the truth about Jesus.Already the writer is mounting his polemic against the heretics who denied that Christ had a human body. At the end of John’s life there had already risen a number of heretical groups within Christianity and the Gnostics had begun to refute some of the main aspects of orthodoxy.2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.2 Because this is the nub of John’s argument, he takes pains to restate it: The life to which he bears witness, the life that was with the Father, is precisely the life manifested in the historical person of Jesus. That is why John can say he has seen it, can bear personal witness to it, and can make an apostolic declaration concerning it. The use of the three verbs “seen,” “testify,” and “proclaim” present personal experience, responsible affirmation, and authoritative announcement. The phrase “eternal life” underscores the divine character of the life described, not its length. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.3 This verse introduces the purpose of the letter: “that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” The Greek word rendered “fellowship” (koinonia; GK G3126) occurs here and in v. 6. It is not easy to translate. Suggestions are “fellowship,” “communion,” “participation,” “sharing of a common life,” and “partnership.” The Greeks used this word group to describe partners in business, joint owners of a piece of property, or shareholders in a common enterprise. In the NT it refers to Christians who share a common faith (Phm 6), who share possessions (Ac 2:44; 4:32), or who are partners in the Gospel (Php 1:5). Koinonia and other words in that word group occur over sixty times in the NT in reference to the supernatural life that we as Christians share. It is about being in this life together un ited by our relationship to Jesus. Oneness of God and with God is what causes the oneness of faith. That the words “fellowship with us” precede in the text the words “fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” may be significant because it is our fellowship we participate. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 4 Their obedience within this fellowship will result in the completion of “joy” (GK G5915) in John, and therefore also in them and in the whole fellowship. This joy is mentioned in his gospel: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (Jn 15:11; ) How does someone else’s obedience bring joy? Hang on a minute, can we actually sense that. When others are growing in their relationship with Jesus can we experience a joy – a happiness – a pride even for them or do we get caught up in the competitive nature of our culture? If we can’t experience the joy of other people’s success in the fellowship then we have a problem. If we have jealously for someone else’s spiritually success, hang on maybe success is not a word that makes us comfortable here – try spiritual growth or maybe movement along the Christian journey, if we cant be happy for them then there is something wrong with us – not them. Clearly this joy is inseparable from the salvation that is presented by Jesus. Joy is a gift of the Father, even as the Son is a gift of the Father; it is present wherever the fellowship both with fellow Christians and with God, truly appears. The present joy in the fellowship is a token of the ultimate expression of joy, which depends on the final revelation of the Son.
V5-7 – About God – a description of God – light.
Also a description of our response to Him. – demonstrated in lifestyle. Fellowship with each other and sins forgiven. (purified here means to have the bad bits taken out. Refer silver and gold) 1JN 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If the readers are to have fellowship with the Father and with the Son (v. 3), they must understand what makes this possible. They must know who God is in himself and, consequently, who they are in themselves as creatures of God. So the author first describes the moral character of God in terms of light (v. 5) Light emphasizes especially the splendor and glory of God, the truthfulness of God, and his purity. The message that “God is light” needs to be compared with declarations elsewhere by John that “God is spirit” (Jn 4:24) and “God is love” (1Jn 4:8). All three stress the immateriality of God and the “Godness” of God–i.e., God in his essence. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.6. John then goes on to deny a number of claims made by those who falsely boast of their knowledge and fellowship with God: (1) that moral behavior is a matter of indifference in one’s relationship to God (v. 6); This particular point possibly reacts to the teachings of Gnostics, a breakaway pseudo christian group who claimed sinlessness and deny Jesus bodily existence. In other words how you live does not affect you.(2) that immoral conduct does not issue in sin for one who knows God (v. 8); Sin is not sin to the Christian – Your kidding right – but people believed it – and probably still do.(3) that the knowledge of God removes sin as even a possibility in the life of the believer (v. 10). Sinless perfection – when you become a christian it is impossible to sin. Here we have some really weird consequential theology or maybe we see a lack of consequences in their theology. Just as an aside – I believe that our theology affects the way we live. What we believe about one part of scripture affects how we interpret other parts of scripture and that impacts our living but more about that throughout the year. True evidences for fellowship with God or walking in the light are:(1) fellowship with one another (v. 7), followed by cleansing in the blood of Christ; (2) confession of sin, (v. 9) which brings both forgiveness and cleansing; and(3) confidence that if we sin we have Jesus Christ as an advocate and sacrifice for our sins (2:2). In the greek to “walk in the darkness” is the same as “abiding” in darkness or “living in darkness”–i.e. not just being there in the darkness but allowing darkness to define one’s life. In the final part of the verse, the author indicates that the test of truth is not one’s belief–though that is not excluded–but one’s action, deeds, and conduct. Speaking the truth is only one part of doing the truth, and not the most important part 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.7 The positive test of knowing God is to live (the greek lit. trans is “walk”; GK) in the light as he himself is in the light. John thus reiterates the fact that light is God’s sphere. It is his nature, and he wills that it should become ours. One of the consequences of obeying the command to walk in the light is having fellowship with one another. The author is combating the heresy that boasts of knowledge of and communion with God but neglects fellowship with other Christians. True fellowship with God comes through other people; fellowship with them is the proof of fellowship with God. A second consequence of walking in the light is that the blood of Jesus keeps on cleansing us from every defilement due to sin. The greek infers a continual cleansing not a once off. Without Christ’s ongoing cleansing, enduring fellowship would be impossible, for the guilt resulting from sin destroys fellowship. The results of that cleansing are forgiveness, restoration, and the reestablishment of love. If we cant forgive – then we need to look at our walk with Jesus!!! John’s use of the singular “sin” reminds us that the emphasis is not on specific sinful acts but on the work of God in Christ that meets and deals with the sin principle itself.
V8-10
Dealing with sin. Jesus can – we cant!!
1JN 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
8 The second false claim by John’s opponents is that a Christian has no sin. The opponents probably did not claim that they had never committed wrongful acts, but they denied that the sin principle had lasting power over them or even had a presence in them, at least in those who had attained superior spiritual enlightenment. They were, after all, already perfect and free from guilt. It is not surprising that Gnostics, whether Christian or otherwise, should have denied sin.
Others in John’s community may have argued, like some in Corinth, that sin was a matter of the flesh and had nothing to do with the spirit, or that since they possessed the spirit, they were beyond the categories of good and evil and therefore moral principles no longer applied to them. You might think that this is just for a bunch of ancient people. But let’s be realistic. Often, we live as if there is no consequence of sin. It is as much a contemporary issue as an ancient one. That is one of the things about the bible – it is appropriate now. God’s word to us now. My theory is: If God has us all here today together then He wants us to hear this message. What is it saying to me, you, us!!!!!
Whatever the shape of the argument, and regardless of whether it is an affirmation from the ancient world or a modern restatement, it remains true that whenever the principle of sin is denied as an ongoing reality, there follows a denial of responsibility for individual actions. Gossip, defiling of persons, hatred of fellow Christians, jealousy, and boasting become sanctioned as non-sins; or at least lesser sins, lower grade sins with less consequence. Furthermore, when the sin principle is denied, truth as a principle of life cannot exist in us. As a result, in God’s name, we make his presence and power an impossibility. Ooo, that is a bit tough, but hey, totally biblical!
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
9 John now confronts us with our second definite test of obedience. Walking in the light is demonstrated not by the denial of sin but by confessing it and abandoning it. This action links us to God’s mercy. Those who confess their sins and condemn them are linked to God. And we can confess our “sins” to God and before other people fearlessly and in confidence because God is both faithful and just.
Mate this is hugely uncomfortable. Do I want to tell you all my bad bits? Tell you my sins?
Everywhere he promises forgiveness to his children (e.g., Jer 31:34; Mic 7:19-20). And in keeping this promise, God reveals his faithfulness and justice.One thing we as God’s community need to facilitate is a continuing of forgiveness. Forgiving what God has already forgiven. This is confronting. At times, I have been hurt by something’s people here have said – I have to forgive – this passage confronts me. At times you have been hurt by something I have said or done – you have to forgive me. It is the same in each situation, forgiveness is a Christian characteristic – continue God’s grace by practicing forgiveness. As a Nike official once said – just do it! The force of God’s being “just” (GK G1465) points to the Cross, to the covenant, to God’s rule over us, and to the attributes of God from which forgiveness flows. And certainly God’s mercy must not be set against his justice. The phrase “he is faithful and just” includes all those things. It is a corollary of the fact that God is light and love.A couple of meanings here: The verb used for “forgive” (GK G918) has at its roots the idea of the “cancellation of debts” or the “dismissal of charges.” The verb used for “purifies” (GK G2751) pictures an act of cleansing from the pollution of sin so that a new life of holiness may begin. Sinners are perceived as cleansed from moral imperfections and from the injustices that separate them from God. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 10 This verse gives the third and final false claim: “If we claim we have not sinned.” But is this a different assertion from the one in v. 8 or just a restatement of the same issue with an even more dramatic conclusion: “We make him [God] out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives”? In favor of the former possibility is the change in the verbal construction from “we have no sin” to “we have not sinned.” The latter statement is more inclusive. The persons involved could be saying, “Whatever is true about the sin principle in others, we as Gnostic believers have transcended it all. We do not sin! We have not sinned! Sin has gained no foothold in us.” Probably both statements had their adherents among the Gnostic believers. Some may have said it one way, some the other. Some may have claimed that through their “knowledge” derived from the Christian proclamation they were removed from the possibility of sin. Others may have boasted that they had entered a sinless state through “knowledge” before the Gospel had even come to them. This latter statement, in other words, is far more blatant and defiant. It makes a mockery of the Gospel. It states that the reason God acted in grace and mercy toward us for the sake of our sins is false, that God first deceived us about ourselves and then becomes himself the Deceiver. The statement “his word has no place in our lives” means that the word proclaimed, the
What is this all telling us? Be careful how you treat sin. Let God deal with it. Don’t get a big head about how good we are, because sin is part of our lives. If we want fellowship with God and each other – then let God deal with the sin – yeh, confess it – let others help you with it.
Entries (RSS)