1 John Chapter 1

Remember John's primary revelation: God is love.  When we are born again, we are born of God or born of Love.  When we recognize Who God is and receive His love, we shall be like Him.  We shall love others.  1 John 3:2, 1 John 4:7-8

Vs. 1-2  "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life--the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us--"  That which was from the beginning is a reference to the book of Genesis.  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  This unknown, unseen God Who created the heavens and the earth, Who is eternal Life and Love, manifested Himself in the body of Jesus.  Jesus personified the life and love of God in a human body.  These verses also dispute the Gnostic idea, referred to in the previous lesson, that Jesus did not have a human body because they taught that matter is evil.  The Gnostics said that Jesus only appeared in spirit form.

Vs. 3  "that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."  Our part or fellowship or sharing in this: now God manifests Himself in us just like He manifested Himself in the person of Jesus.  We have His life.  We understand and demonstrate His love to others.  People should now see God in us.  How can people see God (Who is love) in us if we feel condemned or if we condemn others?  

Vs. 4  "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."  When we truly understand what John meant in this epistle, we will be full of joy.  Joy comes from fellowship with God.  We have  fellowship with God because we are made righteous in His sight by grace. 

Vs. 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."   Notice that this verse is similar to 1 John 3:11, "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.'  So John is talking here about walking in love.  John declares in 1 John 2:8-11 that walking in love is walking in the light; walking in hate is walking in darkness.  So John could have said this: We declare to you that God is love (light) and in Him is no hate or condemnation (darkness) at all.  Why does John not reveal that God is love at this point?  This is one example why I believe this book is a progressive revelation. 

John 8:1-19 Jesus forgives the woman caught in adultery and does not condemn her according to the Law.  John 8:12 "I am the light of the world (grace and love): he who follows me (in not condemning others but offering grace to them) shall not walk in darkness (judging and condemning others for their sins), but shall have the light of life."   The Jews accused and condemned this woman caught in adultery and wanted to have her stoned.  They did not see God's grace and love.  Every teaching I have ever heard on 1 John defines the light as walking in holiness and darkness as walking in sin.  But we must let the gospel of John interpret the epistle of John.  John defines light as grace and darkness as condemning or judging others for their sins in John chapter 8.  This brings a whole new view of 1 John chapter 1.


Vs. 6  "If we say that we have fellowship with Him (share in who God is, or say that we represent Him: He is full of grace and love) and walk in darkness (hate or condemn others for their sins), we lie and do not practice the truth (which is grace)."

Vs. 7 "But if we walk in the light (walk in His grace and love), as He is in the light (He is love), we have fellowship with one another (we are manifesting His life and love through us) and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (we learn to walk in love and stop sinning).  This follows John's revelation in chapter 4 that God is love, we are born of Him, and when we KNOW that He is love, we will then love others.

Vs. 8  "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."  Notice that sin is singular, which refers to the nature of sin.  Gnostics said this; no Christian would say this.  For us to be born again, we must admit that we have sinned or have a nature of sin and need a Savior.  Also notice that it says the truth (His Word of grace) is not in us.

Vs. 9  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  This happened when we were born again.  This can only be a one time confession of sin for us to be born again.  When we are born again, we are made righteous before God.  If we are to continually confess our sins as Christians, then we would have to conclude that we lose our righteousness before God each time we sin and must be cleansed of unrighteousness over and over again.  This is error.  We are made righteous once and for all through the blood of Jesus Christ.   

Notice that there are two types of cleansing mentioned in verse 7 and verse 9.  We are cleansed of unrighteousness before God when we confess our sin and need for a Savior in our Lord Jesus Christ in verse 9.  In verse 7 we are cleansed from all sin, the actions of sin.  We are cleansed of unrighteousness only one time; it is permanent.  We are cleansed from the actions of sin on an ongoing basis.

Vs. 10  "If we say that we have not sinned (actions of sin), we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us."  Notice the phrase "His Word is not in us." It is speaking of His Word of grace to us.  This could not refer to Christians.  1 Peter 1:23  "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible; by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever."  When we are born again by the Word of God, it lives forever in us.  2 John 2 "For the truth's (Word's) sake, which dwells in us, and shall be with us forever."

Keith Oliver