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BEING IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD:
1 JOHN CHAPTER 1
OBSERVATION STAGE
The purpose of the
observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand in accordance
with the framework in which it was written: a framework which is defined
by the normative rules of language, context and logic - rules which do not
impose undue, unintended meanings to the text 
,
and which largely limit the observer to the content offered by the books
of 1st John and the Gospel of John. In order for any passage from
elsewhere to be considered, it must have a relationship with the context
at hand, such as a Scriptural quotation or a specific cross reference in
the passage at hand by the author. This will serve to avoid going on
unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more importantly, it will provide the
framework for a proper and objective comparison with passages located
elsewhere in Scripture.
Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.
God the Son personally dwelt in human form among men in order that men might have fellowship with Him based on Who He is, (1 Jn 1:5), and what He did on the cross as a propitiation for the sins of all mankind, (1 Jn 2:2). This fundamental truth has been denied to the extent that Scripture was written to correct this error including the First Epistle of John. Note that the extant nature from which comes sinful actions and the new born of God nature from which comes godly righteousness are in view in the children of God, born of God in this first chapter of First John.
[Zane Hodges, The Epistles of John, Grace Evangelical Society, Irving, Tx, 1999, pp. 34-35]:
"In [the epistle of] First John the apostle writes out of a concern that certain false teachers may be given a hearing in the church or churches he is addressing. Since they essentially deny the fundamental truth of the Christian faith, namely, that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh (1 Jn 2:22; 4:3), their doctrine strikes right at the heart of all Christian experience:
A) [Compare 1 Jn 2:15-29; 4:3]:
(1 Jn 2:15 NASB) "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
(1 Jn 2:16 NASB) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
(1 Jn 2:17 NASB) The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
(1 Jn 2:18 NASB) Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
(1 Jn 2:19 NASB) They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
(1 Jn 2:20 NASB) But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.
(1 Jn 2:21 NASB) I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
(1 Jn 2:22 NASB) Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
(1 Jn 2:23 NASB) Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
(1 Jn 2:24 NASB) As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
(1 Jn 2:25 NASB) This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
(1 Jn 2:26 NASB) These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.
(1 Jn 2:27 NASB) As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
(1 Jn 2:28 NASB) Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
(1 Jn 2:29 NASB) If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him."
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
(1 Jn 4:2 NASB) By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
(1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world."
[Hodges, cont.]:
"The readers who are clearly Christians themselves (2:12-14; 21; 5:13), are therefore not in danger of losing eternal life - which cannot be lost [cf. 1 Jn 5:13] - but are in danger of having their fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ His Son seriously undermined. Thus, the stated general aim of the epistle is fellowship (1 Jn 1:3)."
(1 Jn 1:3 NASB) "what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."
[Hodges, cont.]:
"In the process of discussing the terms, conditions, and experiences connected with genuine fellowship with God, the apostle also takes time at appropriate points to deal with the false teachers and their fellowship-threatening doctrines. Thus, a statement of purpose for First John could also include the thought that he writes to sustain and promote fellowship with God in the face of the theological errors that constitute an attack on this fellowship.
In the past it was often suggested that the false doctrine in view in First John was so-called Gnosticism. But since our knowledge of Gnosticism is largely dependent upon sources later than First John itself, this is a somewhat precarious proposition... In this regard, it is not always clear in First John whether the false statements condemned can be positively ascribed to the errorists or whether they simply represent false ideas which are common enough among Christian people.
What we can say about the errorists of First John is that they denied that Jesus was the Christ Who had come in flesh. Exactly what form this denial took is not absolutely clear, but the statements in 1 Jn 5:6-8 suggest the possibility of an error similar to the one ascribed in ancient Christian literature to a certain Cerinthus, who is presented as an adversary of the apostle John at Ephesus. Cerinthus is said to have held that the man Jesus and the divine Christ were two distinct beings, and that the Christ descended on Jesus at His baptism, but left Him prior to His death. Thus the divine Christ might be said to have come 'by water' but not 'by blood'... The denial that Jesus was the Christ may have involved a division of His Person into two distinct beings, in order to divide His experiences and assign some to the human person only."
(1 Jn 5:6 NASB) "This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood.
(1 Jn 5:7 NASB) And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.
(1 Jn 5:8 NASB) For there are three that bear witness, * the Spirit and the water [Jesus' water baptism] and the blood [Jesus' crucifixion]; and the three are in agreement."
[Bible Knowledge Commentary, NT, Eds, Walvoord & Zuck; Victor Books, USA, 1988; p. 901]:
"The Spirit's witness may be thought of as coming through the prophets (including John the Baptist). The Spirit's witness, then, was augmented by the historical realities involved in "the water" and "the blood." Both the baptism and the crucifixion of Jesus are strongly attested historical facts (cf. John 1:32-34; 19:33-37). All three witnesses ("water" and "blood" are personified) "are in agreement" that a single divine Person, Jesus Christ, [being both God and Man] was involved in these events."
[* Above reading in 1 Jn 5:8 is according to WH, NU, sinaiticus, A, B, Psi, Maj, syr cop, arm, eth, it.
A few late (14th century) manuscripts have an addition which came about as a result of a Latin treatise written by the Spanish heretic Priscillian (died ca. 385) who attempted to interpret the original passage as a symbol of the Trinity (through the mention of the three witnesses: the Spirit, the water, and the blood). So words to this effect were evidently written on some manuscript as a marginal note and then found its way into the body of a manuscript of the 14th century. It was never cited by any Greek father, nor included in Erasmus' Greek New Testament until the his third edition when he was fooled by a fabricated 16th century manuscript. Whereupon he incorporated the addition into the TR and then it was translated into the KJV and the NKJV. Many of the Greek manuscripts which support the variant reading do not even include the extra words in the text but rather record the following words as a 'variant reading' in the margin:
"In heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness," (TR, 61, 629, it (1,q), vg (mss), Speculum, (Priscillian Pulgentius)]
[Hodges, cont.]
"If this were the case, [that there was a division of the Person of Jesus Christ into two distinct beings, in order to divide His experiences and assign some to the Deity Son of God and some only to the Human Person Jesus Christ], it would imply that some aspects, at least, of physical experience were considered by the false teachers to be inappropriate or meaningless for a divine being. This may have involved the concept that any real physical contact with such a being was also impossible and that people could have contact only with the human Jesus. If this claim was made, it is denied in 1:1-4 where the apostles are said to have had physical contact with 'that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us' (1:2, italics added)."
(1 Jn 1:1 YLT) "That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we did behold [in the sense of gazed intently upon], and our hands did handle, concerning the Word of ... Life -
(1 Jn 1:2 NASB) and [indeed] the Life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us -
(1 Jn 1:3 NASB) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you *also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
[* WH, Sinaiticus, A(org), B, C, 25P, 33, sa, Lach, Treg, Alf, Word, Tisc, Weis, Sod, UBS]
(1 Jn 1:4 NASB) These things we write*, so that our** joy may be made complete.
[*"These things we write" in WH, NU, Sinaiticus, A(org), B, P Psi, 33, Treg, Alf, Tisc, Weis, sod, UBS is favored over the longer "These things we write to you" which the latter adds nothing to the meaning and which is in TR, A(corr), C, K, L, byz, it, bo, 1739, Maj
**"our" is in sinaiticus, B, L, Psi, 049, syr(p), cop(sa) best fits the context of readers and author John - fellow children of God, born of God and apostles - their mutual joy all having been fulfilled altogether; as opposed to "your" limiting the joy just to the readers - the latter which is in A, C, P, 33, 1739, syr(b), cop(bo)]
(1 Jn 1:5 NKJV) "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
[TR WH NU sinaiticus A B Maj. have "this is the message which we have heard from Him"
The variant of "promise" for "message" in C P 33 cop and miniscules 69 81 323 614 945 1241 1505 1739. Another variant has "the love of the promise" in Sinaiticus2, Psi. Since the phrase "God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all" is stipulated in this verse as a statement of fact, it could hardly be construed as being a promise. On the other hand, it is remotely possible but unlikely that it could be referring in some way back to 1:3-4 wherein John promised the readers that they would be having the joy of fellowship with the Father and the Son as were the apostles. The textual evidence speaks against the variants because the variant "promise" appears in two forms in later manuscripts, while the TR WH NU reading has the combined support of three early witnesses (sinaiticus A B) - speaking of the transmission of Christ's message. Just as Christ passed on the message he heard from the Father, so the apostles in turn passed on the same message they heard from the Son]
(1 Jn 1:6 NASB) If we [should] say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not [do] the truth;
(1 Jn 1:7 NASB) but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, [One = God, with another = with each of we children of God, born of God walking in the light], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
(1 Jn 1:8 NASB) If we [should] say that we have no sin, we [deceive] ourselves and the truth is not in us.
[Variant "the truth of God" in some miniscules and syr - little support, unnecessarily expanded the word "truth." The shortest reading is best]
(1 Jn 1:9 NASB) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
["our" in the phrase "He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins" is in 01Sinaiticus 04C, 044Psi 81 614 623 630 1505, 1852, 2464, 2495 - the best manuscript evidence for this variation. Although the alternative reading has the Greek definite article "tas" rendered "the" in lieu of "our," it is an article of previous reference, referring to the first phrase in the verse, "If we confess .our sins." So the meaning of "our" is implied. Hence either rendering suits the context of the passage]
(1 Jn 1:10 NASB) If we [should] say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us."
(1 Jn 1:1 YLT) "That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we did behold [in the sense of gazed intently upon], and our hands did handle, concerning the Word of ... Life - (1 Jn 1:2 NASB) and [indeed] the Life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us - (1 Jn 1:3 NASB) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 Jn 1:4 NASB) These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete." =
The apostle John did not begin this epistle with the phrase, 'He Who was from the beginning,' which would have been similar to what he wrote in his gospel, "In the beginning was the Word," (Jn 1:1). Instead, he began with the impersonal form rendered "That which was from the beginning," conveying a proclamation of what he and fellow apostles have heard, have seen, have gazed intently upon and whose hands did handle; i.e., have personally experienced with all their senses "from the beginning" of the ministry of "the Word of Life," (1 Jn 1:1) - "the Eternal Life," (1 Jn 1:2), the Person, the Humanity of the Son of God Who was with the Father, i.e., Who is Eternal, (Jn 1:1-3, 14); and Who at the beginning of His earthly ministry was manifested to John and fellow apostles.
(Jn 1:14 NASB) "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the [One and only] from the Father, full of grace and truth."
So this manifestation of "the Word of Life," "the Eternal Life," "the Life" - everything that that entails was revealed to John and fellow apostles in the Person of the LORD Jesus Christ. It is all about Who He is, what He said and what He did as witnessed and experienced by His chosen disciples / apostles. Therefore, the subject of the epistle of First John is the proclamation and reaffirmation of the truths about eternal life which John stipulated was the key for author John's readers and all children of God, born of God to having an ongoing fellowship and shared joy with those disciples / apostles whom Jesus had chosen; and that shared fellowship and shared joy author John declared was with God the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Since eternal life cannot be distinguished from God's Son Who is Eternal Life, (refs. Jn 1:1-3; 1 Jn 1:2), then the incarnate life of Jesus Christ on earth is the expression of the truths that author and apostle John were proclaiming about eternal life. On the other hand, the specific, historical details of the life of Jesus Christ were not under consideration in this epistle. In fact, a major contrast between the Gospel of John and John's epistles is the absence in the latter of historical information about Jesus Christ. Instead, in his epistles, John addressed those principles relative to the earthly life of our Savior which were intended to be emulated in the life of his Christian readers so that they might in their mortal, finite capacity maximize their experience of that Eternal Life while they lived out those mortal lives in the flesh. Author John indicated that when Christians did emulate the life of Jesus Christ, they experienced having fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
In view in 1 Jn 1 is "the Word of Life," - a title for Jesus Christ, the One Who reveals the mind of God to men - at the time when He had added to Himself Humanity and was heard, seen, gazed intently upon and touched by His chosen disciples:
2) (1 Jn 1:1b) "That which we have heard" =
This phrase refers to that which author John and fellow apostles have heard the LORD Jesus speak, i.e., what they have listened to as to what God had to say directly from God Himself - the Son of God - first hand - concerning Himself: the Word of Life, the message of the truths of eternal life.
Note that the Greek verb "akEkoamen" rendered "we have heard" is in the perfect tense which portrays a hearing of what the Word of Life had to say which began in the past - from the beginning of the time when "the Word of Life" began His earthly ministry with those who became His apostles - through an ongoing hearing of what "the Word of Life" had to say to those apostles to the time of the end of His earthly ministry. Verse 3 will then convey that the apostles' witness of what "the Word of Life" had to say comprised the testimony of those apostles which words are the basis for their shared fellowship with the readers of John and all children of God, born of God, which fellowship is shared with the Father and His Son - "the Word of Life."
3) (1 Jn 1:1c) "That which we have seen with our eyes." =
This phrase refers to that which author John and fellow apostles have actually seen with their own eyes: the LORD Jesus Christ, God Himself - the Son of God - first hand - concerning Himself: the Word of Life, the message of the truths of eternal life.
Note that the Greek phrase "heOrakamen tois ophthalmois hEmOn" rendered "we have seen with our eyes" is also in the perfect tense which portrays a seeing with their own eyes of what the Word of Life was doing which began in the past - from the beginning of the time when "the Word of Life" began His earthly ministry with those who became His apostles - through an ongoing seeing of what "the Word of Life" was doing for those apostles to see - with their own eyes - to the time of the end of His earthly ministry. Verse 3 will then convey that the apostles' eye witness - seeing with their own eyes - of what "the Word of Life" was doing comprised the testimony of those apostles which words are the basis for their shared fellowship with the readers of John and all children of God, born of God, which fellowship is shared with the Father and His Son - "the Word of Life."
4) (1 Jn 1:1d) "That which we did behold." =
This phrase refers to that which author John and fellow apostles have actually gazed intently upon the LORD Jesus, God Himself - the Son of God - first hand - concerning Himself: the Word of Life, the message of the truths of eternal life.
Note that the Greek verb "etheasametha" rendered "we did behold" [in the sense of gazed intently upon] is in the aorst tense which portrays a completed action of having beheld or gazed upon "the Word of Life" conveying all of those moments of gazing intently upon "the Word of Life" - a complete and detailed look at everything that the apostles intently viewed of "the Word of Life" during His earthly ministry with them - a completed look at their past and personal experience relative to "the Word of Life."
Note that Verse 3 does not include the apostles' personal experiences conveyed by the phrase "that which we did behold" as part of the basis for their shared fellowship with the readers of John and all children of God, born of God, which fellowship is shared with the Father and His Son - "the Word of Life." The apostles evidently limited their written testimony to an objective report of that was said and seen by "the Word of Life."
5) (1 Jn 1:1e) "and our hands did handle, concerning the Word of Life." =
This phrase refers to that which author John and fellow apostles have actually handled with their own hands: the LORD Jesus Christ, God Himself - the Son of God - first hand - concerning Himself: the Word of Life, the message of the truths of eternal life.
Note that Verse 3 does not include the apostles' personal experiences conveyed by the phrase "[that which] our hands did handle" as part of the basis for their shared fellowship with the readers of John and all children of God, born of God, which fellowship is shared with the Father and His Son - "the Word of Life." The apostles evidently limited their written testimony to an objective report of that was said and seen by "the Word of Life."
This personal experience of the apostles of the reality of the incarnate life of Jesus Christ - a witness based on the immediate evidence of the senses - is proclaimed here so that the truths of eternal life coming directly from "the Word of Life" Himself, Jesus Christ might be proved by credible witnesses. John and fellow apostles were eyewitnesses of the reality of the Son of God in His Humanity. He was not a contrivance or figment of the imagination of co-conspirators as some contend - especially those who denied that Christ came in human form.
The phrase "The Word of Life" in 1 Jn 1:1e in the Gospel of John chapter one was described in the Gospel of John, chapter 1 as "the Word," "the Life," "the Light," "the Life," "God,""Creator of all things," Who "became flesh and dwelt among us." And that time when He had become flesh during the time of His earthly ministry - that was when John and the rest of the Apostles personally experienced the Word of Life, the Eternal Life which they then proclaimed to the world:
(Jn 1:1 YLT) "In [the] beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(Jn 1:2 YLT) He [lit., This One] was in [the] beginning with God;
(Jn 1:3 NAS) All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
(Jn 1:4 NAS) In Him was life, and the Life was the Light of men.
(Jn 1:14 NKJV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the [One and only from] the Father, full of grace and truth."
In 1 Jn 1:1, the phrase rendered "from the beginning," therefore refers to the time when the Word of Life - when God the Son had added to Himself Humanity, and thereby could be heard, seen, gazed intently upon, and touched by a number of individuals addressed as "we" - His chosen disciples, thereby giving the author and his associates firsthand observation and experience, i.e., original information received by author John and fellow apostles - Jesus' circle of witnesses who were designated for this role by the LORD Jesus Christ Himself (ref. Acts 1:8, 21; 3:15; 5:32, etc.) - who were in the company of the LORD during his public ministry, (Acts 1:21).
From the beginning of the time of His Humanity when He could be heard in the sense that being God, one heard Him speak the words of God, seen in the sense that being God one seeing Him saw God, beheld Him in the sense of gazed intently upon God, and touched Him in the sense of physically touching God in His Humanity. In view are those children of God, born of God who had became His disciples / apostles - specifically during the time of our LORD's three year ministry when He selected John and those men who became His faithful disciples / apostles.
(1 Jn 1:1 YLT) "That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we did behold [in the sense of gazed intently upon], and our hands did handle, concerning the Word of ... Life - (1 Jn 1:2 NASB) and [indeed] the Life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us - (1 Jn 1:3 NASB) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 Jn 1:4 NASB) These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete." =
1) "and [indeed] the Life was manifested" =
In 1 Jn 1:2 the first word in the Greek text which is a position of emphasis is "kai" rendered "and" in the NASB, YLT, ASV; and absent in some versions - NKJV, HCSB, KJV ('for'), NIV. Since the first position in this phrase makes "kai" more emphatic, then it is best rendered in English, "and indeed." John not only emphatically asserted with what he wrote through the use of and position of the word "kai," but through the repetition of the concept of the manifestation of Life of the Word of Life to which he and fellow apostles declared they could give firsthand testimony in both verses one and two. So by this repetition and the emphatic use of "kai" John conveyed the experience of the reality of the incarnate Life of Jesus Christ - the Eternal Life in the life of himself and fellow apostles to a point which must be beyond question.
The apostles' experience of "The Life" which the apostles proclaimed was portrayed as intensely personal. "The Life," was earlier referred to in 1 Jn 1:1 as "The Word of Life," and then in 1 Jn 1:2b as "The Eternal Life" - terms which were personifications of Eternal Life in Jesus Christ Himself. John asserted that his and fellow apostles' ministry of witness was based on the historical event of Christ's appearance as a man. God became man, and the apostles simply testified to what they had experienced. They declared the truth, making an official announcement of what God had said and done. And that Life was declared as the Eternal Life which was with the Father, conveying His eternality and His deity; and they declared Him as having appeared to people in His Humanity, conveying His incarnation. Jesus in His Humanity manifested the kind of endless, infinite and glorious life which God Himself possesses. A person may receive eternal life but only God can BE Eternal Life. The phrase, "and indeed the Life was manifested" refers to God incarnate, the LORD Jesus Christ in the flesh Who was disclosed, i.e., brought out into the open for man so that God may be "heard," "seen," "gazed upon," and "touched," (v. 1).
So historically speaking, the Eternal Life "was"(Greek "en" past imperfect), "with" (Greek "pros" = literally face to face on an intimate and equal relationship with) "the Father." Since the word rendered, "was" connotes His Eternality and the phrase rendered, "with the Father," connotes equality with the Father - attributes reserved only for God, then the Word of Life, the Life, the Eternal Life, the Word of Life is God; (vv. 1f, 2c; cf. Jn 1:1). And that Eternal Life was manifested in Jesus Christ in His Humanity - His life, death and resurrection appearances, as reported in the Gospel of John and Revelation, (Jn 20:1-23, 26-29; 21:1-2; Rev 1:10-18); and elsewhere, (Lk 24:13-53; Mk 16:12-20; Mt 28:16-20; 1 Cor 9:1, 5; 15:5-9; Acts 1:3-12; 9:3-17; 18:9; 22:14, 18; 23:11; 26:16). But author John in his first epistle is reporting it in another way: John is showing how eternal life - The Eternal Life / Jesus Christ was manifested among the apostles and hence can be manifested to and in his readers as well, i.e., all children of God, born of God.
This manifested Life, therefore, can be talked about! The apostles have seen it, bear witness to it, and declare it to the readership. As eyewitnesses of this Life they can give testimony to its reality. But this is not something they do only when called upon to do so. Instead, they actively declare it, that is, proclaim it, to all those of John's readers of his epistles. This intensity of communication is fully justified by the profound importance of the subject matter, since this life is nothing less than "that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us."
To be noted are the last words of this verse, (v. 2): "to us." The revelation of this Eternal Life, Jesus Christ, as stipulated in 1 Jn 1:1-3 was fully made only to the selected witnesses - the apostles themselves. As Peter himself once said, 'Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead' (Acts 10:40-41, italics added). Thus John and his apostolic fellow witnesses were uniquely equipped to share with the readers their knowledge of the manifested life.
(1 Jn 1:1 YLT) "That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we did behold [in the sense of gazed intently upon], and our hands did handle, concerning the Word of ... Life - (1 Jn 1:2 NASB) and [indeed] the Life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us - (1 Jn 1:3 NASB) "what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you *also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 Jn 1:4 NASB) These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete." =
*v. 3 manuscript evidence "also":
[* WH, Sinaiticus, A(org), B, C, 25P, 33, sa, Lach, Treg, Alf, Word, Tisc, Weis, Sod, UBS]
In verse 3, author John completes his thought to his readers / and all children of God, born of God on the matter of the Eternal Life being manifested to himself and to fellow apostles in the form of fellowship one with another and with the Father and His Son.
Of all the children of God, born of God John probably was the one who could understand and appreciate what this kind of fellowship could mean. He was one of the "inner circle," along with Peter and James, who had enjoyed special privileges; for example, witnessing the transfiguration of Jesus. He was very close to Jesus, possibly more than the other apostles (note in 1:1 how he refers to that relationship). He is referred to as "one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23) and sat next to the Lord at the Last Supper. But he had enjoyed that fellowship for only a little more than 3 years; now he could enjoy it continually through the Spirit.
So John wrote that through what he and fellow apostles have heard, seen with their eyes, and gazed intently upon, and their hands have handled have thereby attained, he proclaims should be the goal of his readers / and all children of God, born of God - that through ones faith in Jesus Christ - the Eternal Life - one may also have (Greek "echEte," present tense), signifying having an ongoing fellowship with the apostles, (and with all children of God, born of God). And indeed - all the more - the fellowship that John and fellow apostles have with one another and with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, all children of God, born of God may also have with John and fellow apostles, with the Father and His Son and with one another - all part of the unity of all children of God, born of God through their faith in Jesus Christ.
[The First Epistle of John, Walking in the Light of God's Love, Zane Hodges, Grace Evangelical Society Publishers, Irving, Texas, 1999, pp. 51-52]:
"[The phrase rendered] "fellowship with us" into which author John invites the readers involves sharing the apostles' own "fellowship .... with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." This is a stunning claim. The author of the epistle is stating that he is part of a circle so intimate with God that if one has "fellowship with" his circle, one also has "fellowship with" God "the Father and with His Son!" But the claim is no more amazing than the one he also makes in 4:6: "We [apostles] are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us."
The modern world, with its skepticism and unbelief, has virtually lost its respect for apostolic authority. To the modern and postmodern scholar, the apostles were mere creatures of their own, prescientific age.
Their viewpoints have no more authority than the modern mind feels willing to grant them, and the enlightened scholar of today always knows more than these 'ignorant and unlearned' men did.
But the biblical point of view is different. In the Christian faith, all claims to truth must be tested at the bar of apostolic authority. What the apostles said as representatives of a Risen Lord carried all the authority of the Lord Himself. To refuse to hear the apostles was to refuse to hear God Himself. In the same way, to be "out of fellowship" with apostolic thought and practice was to be "out of fellowship ... with the Father and the Son." There is no form of true Christian "fellowship" outside of apostolic truth, since the New Testament message is nothing more nor less than the truth which the Lord Jesus revealed to His apostles and which He commanded them to teach to us (John 14:26-26; Matthew 28:18-20).
[Note that a
diligent study of Scripture, whether New Testament or Old Testament, in
accordance with proper rules of language, context and logic
.results
in a message from the apostles and Old Testament authors that is
non-contradictory throughout, that perfectly fulfills every detail of
prophecy so far, that has no spelling, grammatical, geographical or
historical errors that can be substantiated; hence Scripture throughout
corroborates the testimony of each of the apostles and each of the Old
Testament authors as wholly reliable.
[Hodges, cont.]:
It is noteworthy, however, that in offering to share the apostolic experience with his readers, John mentions only "that which we have seen and heard." He does not repeat two ideas found in verse 1, namely, "which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled." The word translated "looked upon" (Greek: etheasametha) can suggest "the thought of attentive, careful regard, as in Mt 11:7. Since here this word follows the more common word, "seen," it is likely that John intended the more intensive sense, as we might say, "which we gazed at." Of the four words in verse 1 ("heard... seen... looked upon ... handled"), the first two, which are repeated in verse 3, are in the Greek perfect tense, while the last two, not repeated in verse 3, are in the aorist tense.
Although commentators are often guilty of overrefinement in handling the Greek tenses, the change of tense in verse 1 appears to be deliberate. The thought of "sharability" most likely underlines this shift of tense. In this context the verbs in the perfect imply the ongoing sharability of the experience of the apostles, while the two aorist verbs carry no such connotation. This explains why, in the present verse, [1 Jn 1:3], John speaks only of "that which we have seen and heard" as the basis of his shared "fellowship" with the readers.
Thus the apostles really could not share the experience of "gazing at" and "handling" the manifested Life. But they could share whatever was "seen" or "heard." And while all Christian "fellowship" with God must lie within the parameters of what the apostles saw and heard, the apostolic experience as a whole cannot be fully shared in this life. We must wait until we are in the presence of the Lord to "gaze at" or "handle" Him! But that is clearly something to look forward to."
The Greek word "koinOnian" rendered "fellowship" in vv. 3 and 6 means having communion with one another with an emphasis on the closeness of the relationship - a readiness to share. This "koinOnian" is a sense of unity amongst all the children of God, born of God with and through God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ - the Eternal Life.
(Phil 2:1 NASB) "If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
(Phil 2:2 NASB) make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
(Phil 2:3 NASB) Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;
(Phil 2:4 NASB) do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
(Phil 2:5 NASB) Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
(Phil 2:6 NASB) who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
(Phil 2:7 NASB) but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
(Phil 2:8 NASB) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
[Hodges, cont.]:
"This is a supernatural life that was disclosed to author John and his fellow apostles in the incarnate Jesus Christ to His chosen apostles. lt is the Eternal Life that comes from the Father and becomes the eternal life which is shared individually and corporately by the company of children of God, born of God. It is what causes the oneness of faith - because the faith is the same for all: in Christ alone unto eternal life.
Note that the words "fellowship with us" precede in the text the words "fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ." This is evidently a reminder that there can be no fellowship with the Father or with the Son that is not based on the content of the apostolic witness. So John stresses "fellowship with us" as having priority in time.
So the purpose of John's letter is stated in these first three verses: to inform his intended readers / and all children of God, born of God that just as the apostles were in fellowship with one another and God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, so the readers / and all children of God, born of God may also have fellowship with them and the Father and His Son.
If one has fellowship [Greek: "koinOnia," singular] with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1:3), then one will have "koinOnia" with other children of God, born of God who have this same relationship to God (1:6, 7). And if fellowship does not exist between children of God, born of God, then any claim to have fellowship with God is invalid. The converse, though not stated, would also be true: True human "koinOnia" is impossible apart from "koinOnia" with God."
Hence the issue is not about salvation unto eternal life, as some contend, but it is about having author John's readers / and all children of God, born of God having fellowship with the apostles and with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. For author John's intended audience is children of God, born of God who are already secure in their salvation whom he calls "My little children:"
(1 Jn 5:9 NASB) If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.
(1 Jn 5:10 NASB) The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
(1 Jn 5:11 NASB) And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
(1 Jn 5:13 NASB) These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."
Note that 1 Jn chapter
5:9-13 confirms that believing in the Son is all that is required in order
to have eternal life. So the epistle of First John is addressed to
children of God, born of God - those who know they have eternal life
because they know that they have believed in the Son of God for it
.
Furthermore, the following four passages indicate that the intended readership of First John is described by the phrase, "My little children" a descriptive term for children of God, born of God:
(1 Jn 2:1 NASB) "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous;"
The first part of 1 Jn 2:1, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin," further establishes to whom the First Epistle of John was written. Since 'unchildren' of God, 'unborn' of God are hopelessly enslaved to sin, (Ro 6:17, 20); and since only children of God, born of God therefore would be in a position to not sin; then the intended audience of this epistle must be children of God, born of God, as author John described as "My little children."
This is further confirmed by the final phrase of 1 Jn 2:1, "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous," which confirms that children of God, born of God are in view in this passage; for those who are not children of God, born of God first must become children of God, born of God in Jesus Christ in order to have Him as an Advocate with God the Father when they do sin.
(Jn 1:12 YLT) "But as many [individuals of His own creation, (Jn 1:11a)] as did receive Him to them He gave authority to become sons [lit., children] of God - to those believing in His name"
(1 Jn 3:1 NASB) "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
(1 Jn 3:2 NASB) Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is."
(1 Jn 2:12 NASB) "I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake."
Note that only children of God, born of God have the status wherein their sins are forgiven them relative to eternal life, (cf Acts 10:43).
So the subject of the first epistle of John is the exhortation to the reader / children of God, born of God to live a holy and righteous life resulting in fellowship with God.
This could not apply to what
one must do to receive eternal life since acting righteously, i.e.,
keeping God's commandments, etc., are not part of receiving eternal life,
(1 Jn 5:9-13 );
nor are they absolutely trustworthy - they are untrustworthy at best, (1
Jn 1:8, 10).
(1 Jn 1:1 YLT) "That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we did behold [in the sense of gazed intently upon], and our hands did handle, concerning the Word of ... Life - (1 Jn 1:2 NASB) and [indeed] the Life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us - (1 Jn 1:3 NASB) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you *also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 Jn 1:4 NASB) These things we write*, so that our joy** may be made complete."
[*"These things we write" in WH, NU, Sinaiticus, A(org), B, P Psi, 33, Treg, Alf, Tisc, Weis, sod, UBS is favored over the longer "These things we write to you" which the latter adds nothing to the meaning and which is in TR, A(corr), C, K, L, byz, it, bo, 1739, Maj
**"our" is in sinaiticus, B, L, Psi, 049, syr(p), cop(sa) best fits the context of readers and author John, fellow children of God, born of God's and apostles' mutual joy all having been fulfilled altogether; as opposed to "your" limiting the joy just to the readers - the latter which is in A, C, P, 33, 1739, syr(b), cop(bo)] =
Author John in verse 4 completed the message of the first three verses with "These things we write so that our joy may be made complete." This statement implies that should John's readers respond positively to his message which follows in more detail in the rest of the epistle, then those that respond positively to the message as well as all children of God, born of God who follow the message would be in fellowship with the apostles and with God the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And this fellowship would make their joy complete - evidently referring the apostles as well as any readers / children of God, born of God who respond positively to John's message. The source of this joy would be a spiritual one - one which included an assurance of eternal life, a temporal peace with God and a confidence in ones intimate and eternal connection with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, an inner joy which continues to bless the individual despite what goes on in the temporal life. The apostles' joy would also be due to the spiritual well being of their brothers and sisters in Christ who respond positively to their message and thereby share in the apostles' fellowship with one another and with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
(2 Jn 1:12 NASB) "Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full."
[Author John here writes of a joy made full in those to whom he writes and speaks as a result of their responding positively to his message to them of what he had seen and heard from the Word of Life, Jesus Christ]
(3 Jn 4:1 NASB) "The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
(3 Jn 4:2 NASB) Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
(3 Jn 4:6 NASB) For I was very glad when brethren came and bore witness to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth.
(3 Jn 4:4 NASB) I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth."
Author and apostle John indicates that when those to whom he ministers walk in the truths which he has related to them, he has no greater joy.
This joy author John also refers to his gospel:
(Jn 15:5 NASB) [Jesus said] "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
(Jn 15:6 NASB) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
(Jn 15:7 NASB) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
(Jn 15:8 NASB) My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
(Jn 15:9 NASB) Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
(Jn 15:10 NASB) If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
(Jn 15:11 NASB) These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."
(Jn 16:22 NASB) [Jesus said] "Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
(Jn 16:22 NASB) In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
(Jn 16:22 NASB) Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full."
(Jn 17:13 NASB) [Jesus said] "But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may haveMy joy made full in themselves."
The joy that Jesus spoke of was a joy which came from abiding in Him in the sense of walking in the truths that the LORD spoke of which He personally exemplified during His three year ministry. This joy begins with salvation unto eternal life since those to whom the LORD was speaking directly to were His disciples. And as the child of God, born of God abides in Christ, he would be blessed in his temporal life, including whatever he asked for in the LORD. The child of God, born of God would then experience the joy of the LORD in full - especially in the sense of being in fellowship with Him as he abides in Him. So the joy the LORD spoke of and author and apostle John wrote of and proclaimed was inseparable from the salvation that is present in "the Word of Life," the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is directly bound up with the Person of the Son, Who is Himself present in the fellowship with the one who walks with Him in the truths that the LORD spoke of and exemplified.
(1 Jn 1:5 NKJV) "*This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." =
[*TR WH NU sinaiticus A B Maj. have "this is the message which we have heard from Him"
The variant of "promise" for "message" in C P 33 cop and miniscules 69 81 323 614 945 1241 1505 1739. Another variant has "the love of the promise" in Sinaiticus2, Psi. Since the phrase "God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all" is stipulated in this verse as a statement of fact, it could hardly be construed as being a promise. On the other hand, it is remotely possible but unlikely that it could be referring in some way back to 1:3-4 wherein John promised the readers that they would be having the joy of fellowship with the Father and the Son as were the apostles. The textual evidence speaks against the variants because the variant "promise" appears in two forms in later manuscripts, while the TR WH NU reading has the combined support of three early witnesses (sinaiticus A B) - speaking of the transmission of Christ's message. Just as Christ passed on the message he heard from the Father, so the apostles in turn passed on the same message they heard from the Son]
1) [Compare 1 Jn 1:5c Greek Interlinear]:
"Kai .skotia .....en autO ouk estin oudemia"
"And darkness in Him ..not .is .....none"
It is evident from 1 Jn 1:1-4 that author John earnestly desired that his readers - and all children of God, born of God - might have fellowship with himself and fellow apostles and thus they would also have the fellowship the Apostles have with God the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. In verse 5, the Apostle John once more declared to have heard the message from "the Word of Life" whereupon he wrote of having declared that message to his readers - hence to all children of God, born of God. And that part of the message author John declared in verse 5 was an emphatic hence extremely important point about the message of how to have fellowship with the apostles and with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. John wrote "That God is Light; and in Him there is no darkness at all!!!
Author John writes, "God is light," meaning that God is characterized by light - light in the sense of a light which is absolutely pure, i.e., Absolute Righteousness, Absolute Purity, Absolute Holiness, Absolute Truth. Absolute Splendor, Absolute Glory, etc., etc: that is what God is characterized by. And then, to make this first statement in verse 5 more emphatic, author John writes, "and in Him is no darkness at all!!!" Darkness here is the opposite of the light that characterizes God - mutually exclusive of that light and of Who God is. The light of God reveals the darkness which is in all men - their sinful characters and the evil that they constantly do: all men, except God the Son, Jesus Christ in His Humanity. And most of all this darkness has in view that men tend to remain wilfully ignorant of Who God really is - the light of His Absolute Righteousness. Throughout history all men have demonstrated that they love darkness / evil and choose to dwell in it instead of in the Light / the Righteousness of God. This darkness is sin / evil / unrighteousness which has no part of Who God is and what He does. Because this darkness pervades the character of all men, all of mankind has a problem with Who God is, because no man is capable of being as Righteous as God is Righteous. All men, even children of God, born of God, even apostles are inherently evil and incapable in and of themselves of having fellowship with God, and yet all men wilfully tend to remain ignorant of Who God is.
The light of God's Absolute Righteousness has been testified to from the beginning of Creation and throughout the ages: by observing Creation, by what the prophets of old said and did - especially as recorded in Scripture, by what the apostles said and did - especially as recorded in Scripture, most particularly what they wrote of the Word of Life, Jesus Christ, God the Son - as to what they heard and observed Him say and do and in their writings that comprise the New Testament books.
(Jn 3:19 NASB) "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
(Jn 3:20 NASB) For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
(Jn 3:21 NASB) "But [the one doing] the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been [accomplished by] God."
So man under his own auspices, being evil, cannot have fellowship with a Holy God Who is Absolute Righteousness, unless God provides the wherewithal to account each man moment to moment to be as Righteous as God is, so that what that individual does in the moment can be manifested as Righteous - having been accomplished by God.
(Jn 8:12 NASB) "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.' "
The phrase "I
am the Light of the world; he follows Me will not walk in the darkness,
but will have the Light of life," in the sense of believing in Jesus
Christ for eternal life, (cf. Jn 1:6-13; 3:14-21; 5:24; 6:29, 35, 40, 47;
7:38; 8:24; 20:31); and then following what Jesus taught about conducting
oneself in the temporal life to receive blessings, be provided with a true
purpose in life and consequently add eternal value to that temporal life
in the form of eternal rewards .
And the opposite is true that those that do not follow Jesus' teaching by
neither believing in Him for eternal life, (cf. Jn 8:24), nor following
His teaching would be walking in the darkness of evil - the opposite of
what the Light of the world, Jesus Christ was all about.
(Jn 12:28 NASB) ''' "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
(Jn 12:29 NASB) So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him."
(Jn 12:30 NASB) Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.
(Jn 12:31 NASB) Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
(Jn 12:32 NASB) And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
(Jn 12:33 NASB) But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.
(Jn 12:34 NASB) The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"
(Jn 12:35 NASB) So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
(Jn 12:36 NASB) While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light." These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them.
(Jn 12:37 NASB) But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.'"
By believing in "the Light," (vv. 35-36), "the Christ," (v. 34), "the Son of Man," (v. 34) - a moment of faith - and one has become a son of Light, (v. 36), implying having possession of eternal life - having an eternal fellowship with the Light / Jesus Christ, (cf. Jn 3:16).
So 1 Jn 1:5 says that God is light in the sense that He reveals Himself in and to His creation, and in so doing He reveals the wickedness that is found in creation - in all men - which is completely set apart from Who He is. Thus, it is in the very nature of Who God is that man is inevitably exposed by the light of God as falling far short of His moral glory.
The second phrase in 1 Jn 1:5 is a negative corollary to the first phrase "God is light." This second phrase is rendered "and in Him is no darkness at all." The Greek literally says "and darkness is not in Him - none." It has two negatives to make the message very emphatic. Although there are those who contend that there is darkness / evil in God, 1 Jn 1:5b says emphatically that there is absolutely no darkness / evil in God at all! In the paganism of the day, there was a mythology about the gods reflecting a capriciousness and willingness to do harm. Others' contend that 'evil,' as well as 'good,' originated from the Creator and so moral distinctions were invalid. But according to and throughout all of Scripture which has no contradictions on this matter; and according to the experience of the apostles, who saw and heard from "the Word of Life," Jesus Christ, Who is God - their accounts having been written down without contradictions in this matter, there is no evil in God - only absolute Righteousness:
(Dt 32:3 NASB) "For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God!
(Dt 32:4 NASB) The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He."
(Isa 45:21 NASB) "Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me."
(Ro 3:21 NASB) "But now apart from the Law the Righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
(Ro 3:22 NASB) even the Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
(Ro 3:23 NASB) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Ro 3:24 NASB) being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
(Ro 3:25 NASB) whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; "
Notice that the Righteousness of God has been witnessed to in Scripture - "the Law and the Prophets" - which Righteousness is received only by an individual through a moment of faith alone in Jesus Christ alone - in His propitiation in His blood / in His atoning sacrifice for sins. For all men have sinned and fall short of the glory - the Absolute Righteousness of God, and consequently have no righteousness of their own.
The fact that God is light and in Him is no darkness is testified to in Old Testament Scripture without the slightest contradiction throughout. This is corroborated by the noncontradictory written accounts of the personal experience of the Apostles of the words and actions of the Word of Life, Jesus Christ, Who is God the Son in His Humanity in the New Testament. There was observed and heard by the apostles no evil present in the Word of Life, in God the Son, Jesus Christ in His Humanity, Who is God, and Who came from God the Father. On the other hand, man is inherently evil and cannot have fellowship with a Holy God Who is absolute righteousness. So the fellowship each individual man could have could only be through God's provision alone whereby that man can be purified from all unrighteousness by God Himself. So an individual's fellowship with God can only be through being purified from all unrighteousness by God Himself - the Righteous One, (Isa 53:11; cf. 1 Jn 1:9). For no man other than Jesus Christ Himself is without sin, nor can claim any man to be without sin, (cf. 1 Jn 1:8, 10).
(1 Jn 1:5 NKJV) "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 Jn 1:6 NASB) If we [should] say that we have fellowship with Him and. yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not [do] the truth." =
Author John completes the thought he began in verse 5, that since God is light, i.e., Absolutely and Eternally Righteous; and since in Him there is no darkness at all, i.e., never anything evil, (cf. Jn 1:5; 3:19; 12:35 [twice]; 1 Jn 1:5-6; 2:8-9, 11 [twice]; then "If we [should] say we have fellowship with Him and. yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not [do] the truth."
The first phrase in verse 6, "If we [should] say that we have fellowship with Him [God] and yet walk in darkness" comprises the first clause of a 3rd class If-Then statement. The phrase rendered, "walk in darkness" conveys the sense of not acknowledging ones sins before a Holy God Who is Light, i.e., Absolute Righteousness. The Greek words "ean eipOmen" rendered "If we should say" is in the aorist tense and the subjunctive mood, conveying a completed action moment of maybe we do say, and maybe we do not say. The subjunctive mood is a mood of objective possibility which conveys a conditional statement of children of God, born of God's including apostles' potential of making a statement that they have fellowship with God yet walk [= an unspecified period of time defined in the present tense] in darkness in the sense of not acknowledging their sins before a Holy God Who is Absolute Righteousness.
The second clause of the If-Then statement declares the result if we children of God, born of God do [aorist tense] say that we have [present tense] fellowship with God and walk [present tense] in darkness:" "we lie [present tense] and do not [do] [present tense] the truth."
The words rendered "we" in verse 6 refer back to verse 5 incorporating John and fellow apostles, John's readers and all children of God, born of God - all of whom are children of God, born of God. For whether one is an apostle or a reader / child of God, born of God, if one is walking in darkness / sin - ignoring Who God is, that He is Absolutely Righteous, and one makes the statement that one has fellowship with God then that statement is a lie and those children of God, born of God are not doing the truth. Note that to walk in darkness is to hide from God and to refuse to acknowledge Who He is - that He is light and in Him is no darkness at all - to refuse to recognize ones sinful character and the evil that one commits all the time, (cf. 1 Jn 1:8, 10). So the "we" applies to all children of God, born of God, including the apostles. Had John and fellow apostles thought that they were impervious to a failure in their walk with God, John could have easily written, "If you say" thereby excluding themselves. But they did not.
Four of the
five verbs in verse 6 are simple present tense - the first verb is aorist
tense. These four verbs are without any words in the context to convey
permanent habitual / lifestyle action. The present tense in koine Greek
without qualifying words does not demand permanent habitual / lifestyle
action as some contend it does convey in this passage
..
The duration of the time in which one might walk in darkness and not do
the truth can be a short duration of time or a long one depending upon the
particular circumstance of the one walking in darkness. Note that all
children of God, born of God experience moments of walking in darkness
every day, so no one can claim to have no sin, (1 Jn 1:8), or have not
sinned, (1 Jn 1:10), for some period of time - short or long or permanent
- hence not be acknowledging the truth of their lives before God, and
especially not be acknowleding Who God is moment to moment - His
Absolutely Righteous Onmipresence in all men's lives, (1 Jn 1:8, 10). So 1
Jn 1:6 is saying that if for those particular moments that a child of God,
born of God says that he has fellowship with God yet for those moments he
is walking in darkness by doing evil / not reconciling himself with God by
responding to God's light by walking in the light through acknowledging
Who God is and through confession of ones sins, (1 Jn 1:7, 9); then he is
moving in a sphere from which God is absent - not having that evil
accounted for by God; and that child of God, born of God is lying, and is
not doing the truth - not being truthful for the duration of that
particular time.
So the Greek phrase "kai ou poioumen tEn alEtheian" in 1 Jn 1:6 rendered "and do not [do] the truth" in the YLT, AV, KJV is imprecisely rendered in other versions as "and do not practice the truth," in the NASB, NKJV; and "and are not practicing the truth" in the Holman; and "and do not live out the truth," in the NIV - adding additional words such as "practice," "practicing," and "live out" that are not in the original Greek text.
(Jn 3:21 NKJV) "But he who *does [NKJV, AV, KJV, YLT] the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
* NASB: "practices;" HCSB, NIV: "lives by."
The simple present tense verb form that is present in 1 Jn 1:6 "poioumen" which means "do," and the nominative participle verb form of this verb in Jn 3:21, (poiOn tEn alEtheian") which means "he who does," lit., "the one doing the truth" both convey the concept of a limited timespan when one is not walking with God but in darkness - in sin and in wilful ignorance of the fact that God is Perfect Light / Absolute Righteousness. Both verb forms require additional words in order to convey the context of characteristic of ones lifestyle, ("living the truth"), or an extended timeframe of not "practicing" as opposed to simply not "doing" the truth for the moment that is in view in the text.
Although
children of God, born of God while they walk in darkness are nevertheless
eternally secure, born again children of God, (Jn 1:12-13; 1 Jn 2:1-2;
5:9-13 );
but for the time that these children of God, born of God do walk in
darkness, they are wilfully denying the Absolute Righteeousness of God -
hiding in the darkness their minds from His Perfect Light. Hence as
children of God. Hence as children of God, they are out of temporal
fellowship with God - apostles included. And while they walk in darkness
they are moving in the realm of evil - while God remains in the realm of
holiness and Absolute Righteousness. Temporal fellowship of these errant
children of God, born of God with God is not available.
This passage does not apply
to unbelievers as some contend it does. Although all unbelievers stand
under God's condemnation, ();
hence they walk in darkness / evil - all the time - even when they do
'good;' and although some of them may lie and say that they are in
fellowship with God in order to pretend holiness and lead others astray
with their false religious points of view; the word rendered "we"
in 1 Jn 1:6 cannot refer to those who are neither John's intended readers,
nor any of the apostles, nor anyone who is a child of God, born of God.
For chapter one has only those who are children of God, born of God in
view whether apostles, intended readers or any children of God, born of
God. No where in chapter one of this epistle are nonbelievers in view
.
Note that the extant nature from which comes sinful actions and the new
born of God nature from which comes godly righteousness have both been in
view in the children of God, born of God in First John up to this point.
(1 Jn 1:5 NKJV) "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 Jn 1:6 NASB) If we [should] say that we have fellowship with Him and.yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not [do] the truth; (1 Jn 1:7 NASB) but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, [One = God, with another = with each of we children of God, born of God walking in the light], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." =
In verse 5, author John emphatically established that God is light / Absolute Righteousness and in Him is no darkness / evil at all. And with that in mind, he wrote in verse 6, "if we children of God, born of God [apostles included] say that we have fellowship with Him [God, Who is Absolute Righteousness] and yet walk in darkness [hiding in the darkness of our minds from His Perfect Light - not acknowledging our sins in the presence of the light of a Holy God - a God Whom we wilfully refuse to acknowledge in our minds is Absolute Righteousness,] we lie and do not [do] the truth." Whereupon John wrote in verse 7 of an alternative to walking in darkness: walking in the light, acknowledging in our minds the presence and character of God Whose sphere is Perfect Light / Absolute Righteousness and reviewing our thoughts, words and deed before Him - acknowledging what we know falls short of His Absolute Righteousness:
The first phrase in verse 7, "But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light" which conveys the sense of acknowledging ones sins before a Holy God Who is Absolute Righteousness comprises the first clause of a 3rd class If-Then statement. The Greek words "ean de en tO phOti peripatOmen" rendered "But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light," is in the present tense and the subjunctive mood, conveying a present action moment of unspecified duration of maybe we do walk, and maybe we do not walk, depending upon the circumstances of each child of God, born of God. The subjunctive mood is a mood of objective possibility which conveys a conditional statement of the potential of children of God, born of God of walking in the light as He [God] Himself is in the light - the sphere of His Absolute Righteousness.
The second clause of the If-Then statement in verse 7 rendered [then] "we have fellowship with one another, [One = God, with another = with each one of we children of God, born of God walking in the light]; and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" declares the result if we children of God, born of God walk [present tense] in the light as He [God] Himself is in the light," namely fellowship with God and cleansing from all unrighteousnesses.
Note that the Greek word "allElOn" rendered "one another," in the phrase "have fellowship with one another" has in view the two parties named at the beginning of this statement which begins in verse 6, namely, "If we [children of God, born of God including apostles] say that we have fellowship with Him," i.e., God. So God and children of God, born of God including apostles while they are walking in the light are in view. So to walk in the Light of God is to walk in the sphere of God which illuminates everything as it shines on us and everything around us - throughout the world, implying a worldwide illumination of Who God is: Absolute Righteousness. Since according to this passage God not only is light (verse 5), but He also is in the light (verse 7); so to walk in the light means to acknowledge God's presence, Who He is, and what He has revealed about Himself in Creation and via the proper study, understanding and acknowledgement of truths contained in Scripture. The more we children of God, born of God study the Word of God and the more we acknowledge our shortcomings to Him, the better our fellowship with God will be.
So the issue for children of God, born of God including apostles is not to satisfy an impossible requirement to walk according to the light of God's Absolute Righteousness: The issue is not to stay on a path of life that is in line with His holy character to attain moments of sinless perfection in order to have fellowship with God during those 'perfect moments,' as some contend. For this is something which is impossible for all men except Jesus Christ - the Son of God in His Humanity, (Jn 1:1-14; 1 Jn 1:7-8, 10). But the issue is to walk in the light of God's light - allowing that light which is the absolutely perfect Righteousness of God to illuminate our sinful natures - our sins on a moment to moment basis as we compare our lives to the standard of His Absolute Holiness - implying an ongoing acknowledgment of Who God is - His Absolute Righteousness.
And since God has made provision through the sacrifice of His Son to pay for all the sins committed by all men throughout history, past, present and future, (1 Jn 2:1-2); which serves to provide eternal life for we who have trusted in Him for it, (Jn 3:16), to become those who are in view in First John chapter one, i.e., "we" children of God, born of God; then as we children of God, born of God walk in the Perfect Light of God's Perfect Holiness - acknowledging to God whatever the Perfect Light of God reveals is wrong in our lives; then the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us children of God, born of God from whatever temporal sins we have been acknowledging; and furthermore, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness. And during these moments of walking in God's Perfect Light, we have fellowship with God, and He with us. We are made clean / holy to be in fellowship with God by virtue of the Savior's shed blood - His propitiation for the sins of all mankind.
(1 John 2:2 NASB) "and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
(Ro 3:21 NASB) "But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
(Ro 3:22 NASB) even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
(Ro 3:23 NASB) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Ro 3:24 NASB) being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
(Ro 25a NASB) "Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith [for a display].
(Ro 25b NASB) This [display] was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
(Ro 26 NASB) for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
(v. 23) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (v. 24) and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus, (v. 25a NAS) Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. =
Redemption, (being freed from the consequence of ones sins unto an eternal righteousness from God, i.e., justification), came by Christ Jesus Whom God displayed publicly, i.e., provided an observable demonstration to the world of Christ Jesus' propitiation, His satisfactory atoning sacrifice, in His blood, for the sins of the whole world, which redemption comes through faith in that sacrifice.
Notice that in 1 Jn 1:7 the present tense in the phrase "and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin," indicates an ongoing cleansing as acknowledgement / confessions are made by we children of God, born of God, (cf. v. 9). The more consistent our walk in the Light of God, the more we walk away from those things which our sin natures move us to do such as refusing to acknowledge the Perfect Light of God, denying we have an ever present evil nature in our character and denying that we commit sins all the time. All mental and physical activity which acknowledges a Holy God distances us from activity toward the darkness in our temporal lives. Note that the pursuit of walking in the Light of God's Absolute Righteousness is enhanced by the pursuit of the knowledge of God through study of the Word of God, such as what John wrote in his first epistle.
(1 Jn 1:6 NASB) "If we [should] say that we have fellowship with Him and.yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not [do] the truth; (1 Jn 1:7 NASB) but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, [One = God, with another = with each of we children of God, born of God walking in the light], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 Jn 1:8 NASB) .If we [should] say that we have no sin, we [deceive] ourselves and the truth is not in us." =
[Variant "the truth of God" in some miniscules and syr - little support, unnecessarily expanded the word "truth." The shortest reading is best]
After enlightening children of God, born of God in 1 Jn 1:5-7 on how to have fellowship with God by their unceasing acknowledgment that God is Perfect Light / Absolute Righteousness, and by unceasing acknowledgment that they constantly fall short of His Absolute Righteousness and need unceasing cleansing of their sins by the blood of Jesus God's Son; author John returns in 1 Jn 1:8 to children of God, born of God' (including apostles') tendency - even those who have a consistency of being in fellowship with God, to deceive themselves when they falsely consider themselves free of committing acts of sin; when they falsely think that they do not need continuous cleansing from "the blood of Jesus Christ."
The first phrase in verse 8, "If we [should] say that we have no sin" comprises the first clause of a 3rd class If-Then statement. The Greek words "ean eipOmen" rendered "If we [should] say" is in the aorist tense and the subjunctive mood, conveying a completed action of maybe we do say, and maybe we do not say. The subjunctive mood of objective possibility conveys a message of children of God, born of God potentially making a statement that they have no sin, [sin, singular conveying that the child of God, born of God no longer bears present guilt for some particular sin - any sin*]" For the Greek words "hamartian ouk echomen" rendered "we have no sin" is in the present tense conveying a moment in time when one thinks there is not a single sin that one can be held accountable for in a timeframe they falsely perceive as one of sinless perfection.
*Although the sin nature, the principle of sin that pervades all mortal humanity except Jesus Christ is present even in children of God, born of God including the apostles; nevertheless the phrase rendered "we have no sin," in the NASB does not refer to the presence of the sin nature / the sin principle within one, as some contend. For the Greek phrase transliterated "ouk echomen hamartian" lit. "sin not we have" and rendered "we have no sin" in the NASB, occurs elsewhere in the New Testament in John's Gospel, (cf. 9:41; 15:22, 24; 19:11). In all these places, the obvious meaning is to bear present guilt for some particular sin - any sin, implying that the phrase rendered "we have no sin," in 1 Jn 1:8 implies the false idea that a child of God, born of God experiences moments of sinless perfection.
A child of God, born of God
may not be conscious of any acts of sin in his life, or maintain that he
no longer has a sin nature which produces acts of sin; or he may think
that he has overcome his sin nature with his new nature via the indwelling
Holy Spirit
for a period of time in order to achieve moments of sinless perfection.
Some might even falsely contend that they are beyond the categories of
good and evil because they possess the Spirit of God or have achieved some
kind of spiritual transcendance. But whatever one thinks does not
contradict the fact that while in one's mortal body, one nevertheless has
a sin nature, commits sin all the time, and constantly falls short of the
glory of God - His Absolute Righteousness all the time - children of God,
born of God including apostles (as well as all unbelievers). This is
clearly and repeatedly conveyed in Scripture, (1 Jn 1:10; even admitted to
by the apostle Paul after he became a child of God, born of God and an
apostle: ref. Romans chapter 7 ).
The second
clause of the If-Then statement contains two phrases, "we [deceive]
ourselves and the truth is not in us." It declares the result of when
we children of God, born of God do say that we have no
sin: we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." It brings
out into the light those children of God, born of God who have wilfully
hidden their mentalities from the sphere of light in which God dwells -
the sphere of His Absolute Righteousness, which sphere man cannot attain
under his own auspices in his mortal life. This is man's typical self
deception - his arrogance - which serves to puff himself up to think that
he has committed no sin for a period of time - that he has no sin nature
or has overcome it if he is a child of God, born of God with the new
nature within him that the Holy Spirit has provided
.
The Greek word "heautous" rendered "ourselves" is the
first word in the second clause, "we [deceive] ourselves and the
truth is not in us." It is in an emphatic position emphasizing that
such a self deception is deliberate and wilful, bearing no resemblance to
the truth nor to innocence. Such children of God, born of God are in
danger of becoming progressively delusional and evil as the timespan that
they claim to be without sin increases.
So when children of God, born of God feel close to God, they should nevertheless remember that a closeness with God, i.e., genuine fellowship with Him is not due to their being free of sin - without acts of sin being committed by them, or by some kind of feeling based on emotion or some unbiblical idea. Fellowship with God only comes to a child of God, born of God via confession to God Who is Light / Absolute Righteousness, and out of the grace of God because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, which cleanses us from all sin, (1 Jn 1:7). Fellowship does not result from how good the child of God, born of God behaves or feels but how much more he is focused upon God's Absolute Righteousness as compared with the evil nature of his own thoughts, words and deeds which he acknowledges to God.
(1 Jn 1:9 NASB) "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us *our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." =
[*"our" in the phrase "He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins" is in 01Sinaiticus 04C, 044Psi 81 614 623 630 1505, 1852, 2464, 2495 - the best manuscript evidence for this variation. Although the alternative reading has the Greek definite article "tas" rendered "the" in lieu of "our," it is an article of previous reference, referring to the first phrase in the verse, "If we confess .our sins." So the meaning of "our" is implied. Hence either rendering suits the context of the passage]
"If we confess our sins" =
First John 1:7, which reads, "But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, [One = God, with another = with each of we children of God, born of God walking in the light], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin," is saying the same thing as "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" in verse 9. The issue in the phrase in verse 7 of walking in the light is not a matter of walking with God through one's own effort, which would be expressed differently as "walk according to the Light." It is actually a matter of recognition of one's own depravity - of recognition of one's incompatibility with the Absolute Holiness and Righteousness of God, (1 Jn 1:5). It is not a matter of repenting unto behaving better, as some contend; but a matter of confessing one's sins.
So to walk in the light in order to be in fellowship with God is further explained by author John in verse 9: "If we" [children of God, born of God including apostles] "confess our sins" [in the sense of if we should acknowledge to God particular sins God is bringing to our minds which we are committing] "He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The Greek verb form "homologOmen" rendered "confess" is composed of "homo" meaning the same, and "logOmen" meaning "we say" from the Greek verb "lego," to speak. "HomologOmen" therefore means to say the same thing back to God that the Holy Spirit is saying to us: The Holy Spirit is bringing certain sins which we have committed to our attention which we are to confess back to God. The verb is in the present tense conveying a duration - a continuance in time which is dependent upon how long a particular child of God, born of God has been committing sins and has fallen out of fellowship with God and is due to confess his sins. The Greek phrase "ean homologOmen tas hamartias hEmOn" rendered "If we should confess our sins," is the first part of a third class If-Then statement. It is is in the subjunctive mood conveying objective possibility; i.e., maybe we children of God, born of God will and maybe we won't acknowledge back to God what He is reminding us of committing particular sins.
The Greek noun "hamartias" in the phrase "tas hamartias hEmOn" rendered "our sins" is plural, signifying acts of sin which we children of God, born of God have committed. The singular form of sin which might signify the sin principle / the sin nature is not in view.
"He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." =
Rather than continuing to deny that we are committing particular acts of sin by not acknowledging them to God, Who is reminding us of our falling short of His Absolute Righteousness, we children of God, born of God - apostles included - are being given the opportunity to acknowledge our sins freely back to God as we are committing them. Once we confess our particular acts of sin which we have committed, the character of God being Absolutely Trustworthy, (cf. Jer 31:34), and Absolutely Righteous, (Ps 71:19); as promised, He will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness unto fellowship once more with God including those sins which we confessing children of God, born of God are not aware of; until God provides the next reminder of our falling short of His Absolute Righteousness.
For as Scripture promises, God has always been and will be true to His nature of being Absolutely Faithful and Trustworthy - fulfilling every promise He makes. For "God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all," (cf. 1 Jn 1:5). God "is faithful" because He is Who He is: Absolute Faithfulness. Consider especially the unfathomable gift of the life of the Son of God promised to mankind throughout the ages and faithfully dying on the cross and rising from the dead for our sins as prophesied.
Children of
God, born of God including apostles who confess known sins are temporally
cleansed of those sins which they have confessed; whereupon they are also
temporally cleansed from.all
unrighteousness. Although no sin can go unpunished without impugning God's
Perfect Justice; and the mercy of God cannot be invoked without the
justice of God being satisified. We need not fear that God will refuse to
forgive because it would not be 'right' for Him to do so in the sense that
no payment was made to provide His forgiveness. There is no compromise of
God's Absolute Righteousness when He does forgive the child of God, born
of God who confesses his sins to Him. For the sins of all mankind have
been atoned for by Jesus Christ for eternal forgiveness for any who trust
in that eternal provision, (becoming children of God, born of God, 1 Jn
5:9-13 );
as well as for temporal forgiveness / cleansing of sins - a familial
forgiveness provided for those who are already children of God, born of
God: those of the family of God - those who have believed in Jesus' name
for eternal life, (Jn 1:12-13) - in order to provide the blessings of
temporal fellowship with a Holy God while in their mortal bodies. So God
is righteous in doing this, i.e., God is judicially justified in cleansing
us children of God, born of God of all of our sins who confess them
because He has made a grace provsion for the temporal forgiveness /
cleansing of sins through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ in
temporal payment for all sins confessed and unconfessed - activated for
the times when any child of God, born of God is walking in the Light of
God's Absolute Righteousness, (ref. 1 Jn 1:7; 2:2), by confessing his sins
in order to provide fellowship with God his Father.
The child of God, born of God is then cleansed of temporal sins on the basis of what Jesus his Savior did for him on the cross. That child of God, born of God, for the moment, is in fellowship with God, i.e., abiding in Christ until he violates a principle from God's Word again.
Since
confession of sins is never connected in Scripture with
the acquisition of eternal life. Other passages that have confession of
sins in view do not provide eternal life either
;
and since eternal life is not so named as a result of such an action or
any action in 1 Jn chapter one - directly or indirectly - but (temporal)
fellowship of children of God, born of God including apostles with one
another and God is, (vv. 3, 6, 7); and since eternal life is always
conditioned solely via a moment of faith alone in Jesus Christ alone plus
nothing else throughout Scripture, (Jn 1:12-13; 3:16-18; 3:36, 5:24; 6:29,
35, 40, 47; 20:31; 1 Jn 5:9-13 )
- resulting in an irreversible spiritual birth and an irrevocable promise
of eternal life; and since there are no requirements of an individual
other than a one time expression of faith in Christ and certainly no
ongoing qualifiers built into God's plan of salvation, (Eph 2:8-9;
1:13-14; Ro 11:29); and since unbelievers are not in view in First John
chapter one; then First John chapter one is not giving instruction to
unbelievers or believers on how to have eternal life via confession of
sins, as some contend.
Some contend that a child of God, born of God already has forgiveness in Christ, (ref. Eph 1:7; 4:32; Col 1:14; 2:13) and does not need to confess his sins or do something for forgiveness of his sins as he commits them. But this point of view confuses the perfect / eternally secure position which a Christian has in God's Son (by which he is assured and even "seated... with Him in the heavenly realms" [Eph 1:13-14; 2:4-9]) with his temporal position before a Holy God as a continually flawed individual in his mortal body on earth. What is considered in 1 John 1:9 may be described as "temporal" or "familial" forgiveness. It is perfectly understandable how a son needs to have his father forgive and cleanse him of his faults while at the same time his position within the family as a son is not in jeopardy.
This confession
is not a deed but an admission, an acceptance of guilt. And by this
acceptance a child of God, born of God is forgiven by God of all
temporal sin to the point of the confession. ALL of the child of God, born
of God's daily sins up to the point of confession are completely cleansed.
This is like eternal salvation in that the cleansing we receive is by
accepting our guilt and trusting in God to make it right - through the
sacrifice of His Son for our sins. When eternal salvation occurs our sins
are cleansed for all eternity by being promised a new nature - a new
righteousness from Christ, (Rom 3:21-24). And when confession of sin
occurs in a child of God, born of God, that child of God, born of God's
sins up to that moment are cleansed relative to now being placed back into
fellowship with God - no longer under His discipline, (Hebrews 12:4-6) -
no longer grieving the Holy Spirit with sin, (Eph 4:17-30) - but
throughout it all always remaining a child of God forever - a born again
child of God, (Jn 1:12-13). You are in fellowship with God your Father until you sin again.
Note that as we children of God, born of God including apostles find ourselves in fellowship with God as a result of confession to God, we must still be prepared at all times to be conscious of the light of God's Absolute Righteousness as well as ever vigilant of our own sinfulness and confess from moment to moment when a shortcoming is revealed to us in the Light of God's Absolute Righteousness. So as long as we walk in the Light of God's Absolute Righteousness by acknowledging His Holiness all the time, God will reveal to us our failures in the Light of His Holiness; and when failure inevitably happens we should confess it to restore our fellowship with Him.
The more consistent our walk in the Light of God, the more we walk away from those things which our sin natures move us to do such as refusing to acknowledge the Perfect Light of God, denying we have an ever present evil nature in our character and denying that we commit sins all the time. All mental and physical activity which acknowledges a Holy God distances us from activity toward the darkness in our temporal lives. Note that the pursuit of walking in the Light of God's Absolute Righteousness is enhanced by the pursuit of the knowledge of God through study of the Word of God, such as what John wrote in his first epistle.
In order to walk in the light and confess known sins to God, we children of God, born of God including the apostles are commanded to be discerning of what is right and what is wrong - of what represents the absolute holiness of God and what does not. This necessitates an earnest study of the bible and a constant acknowledgment to God when one does not conform to the standard of God's holiness.
Confession of the child of God, born of God of his sins is a repentance / a change of mind from not acknowledging his sons to acknowledging them before God. This does not require an emotional reaction such as feeling sorry, although that may occur; nor does it have in view a repentance from committing acts of sin to sinless perfection, which is neither possible with mortal sinful man, nor is it in view in First John chapter one.
"METANOEO, lit., to perceive afterwards (meta, after, implying change, noeo, to perceive; [comes from the Greek noun] nous, the mind, the seat of moral reflection), in contrast to pronoeo, to perceive beforehand, hence signifies to change one's mind or purpose..." ).
So the Greek verb "metanoeo" = to repent relative to a child of God, born of God being in fellowship with God means for him to change his mind about wilfully refusing to acknowledge that he has shortcomings in his life before a Holy God to confessing them to God. Although the basis for maintaining fellowship with God is simply one of acknowledging Who God is - Absolute Righteousness and then by confessing ones shortcomings before Him in the light of God's Absolute Righteousness on a moment to moment basis. And the more a child of God, born of God distances himself from repeating those shortcomings, the greater the opportunity he has to enjoy the blessings of fellowship with the LORD through confession.
Compare what David, a child of God, born of God, states in Psalm 32:5:
(Ps 32:1 NASB) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!
(Ps 32:2 NASB) How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
(Ps 32:3 NASB) When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.
(Ps 32:4 NASB) For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
(Ps 32:5 NASB) I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD'; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
(Ps 32:6 NASB) Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
(Ps 32:7 NASB) You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.
(Ps 32:8 NASB) I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
(Ps 32:9 NASB) Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.
(Ps 32:10 NASB) Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.
(Ps 32:11 NASB) Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart."
The sacrifice of a goat or a lamb under certain Mosaic Law provisions was meant to be a picture of an individual's acknowledgment to God of certain sins committed which then results in God's forgiveness of those 'confessed' sins:
(Lev 4:27 NASB) " 'Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty,
(Lev 4:27 NASB) if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed.
(Lev 4:27 NASB) 'He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering.
(Lev 4:27 NASB) 'The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.
(Lev 4:27 NASB) Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
(Lev 4:27 NASB) 'But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring it, a female without defect.
(Lev 4:27 NASB) 'He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they slay the burnt offering.
(Lev 4:27 NASB) 'The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.
(Lev 4:27 NASB) 'Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.' "
Note that old testament saints were saved unto eternal life in the same way by a moment of faith alone in Christ (the Messiah Savior) to come alone except that they looked forward to the time of His provision for their sins, (ref. Ro 4:1; Jn 3:16; Heb 11:4, 13); whereas church age children of God, born of God look back in time, (Eph 1:3-2:9). Fellowship with God for old testament believers came as a result of confession and practice of various acts such as stipulated under Mosaic Law, (cp Lev 4:3, 5:5; 5:15-19; Ex 30:19-21, 40:11-12, 30-31; Pr 28:13; Ps 32:5).
(Lev 5:1 NASB) " 'Now if a person sins after he hears a public adjuration to testify when he is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise known, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his guilt.
(Lev 5:2 NASB) 'Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean cattle or a carcass of unclean swarming things, though it is hidden from him and he is unclean, then he will be guilty.
(Lev 5:3 NASB) 'Or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort his uncleanness may be with which he becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty.
(Lev 5:4 NASB) 'Or if a person swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, in whatever matter a man may speak thoughtlessly with an oath, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty in one of these.
(Lev 5:5 NASB) 'So it shall be when he becomes guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned.
(Lev 5:6 NASB) 'He shall also bring his guilt offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin."
(Pr 28:13 NASB) "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."
(1 Jn 1:10 NASB) "If we [should] say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us."
The first phrase in verse 10, "If we [should] say that we have not sinned" comprises the first clause of a 3rd class If-Then statement. The Greek verb form "ean eipOmen" rendered "If we should say" is in the aorist tense and the subjunctive mood conveys a completed action of maybe we do say, and maybe we do not say. The subjunctive mood of objective possibility - a message of children of God, born of God's potential of making a statement that they have not sinned - a potential of claiming the experience of a period of sinless perfection. For the Greek words "hEmartEkamen" rendered "we have not sinned" is in the perfect tense conveying a moment in time when sinless action began in the past and which continues through the present. This denial of committing sin might even be a denial that we children of God, born of God have ever or at anytime sinned. So if instead of confessing as sin what the light of God has shown us to be sin, if we children of God, born of God categorically deny the testimony of God's Word and the message in our minds given to us by the Holy Spirit about our falling short of the Absolute Righteousness of God, then the result will be as stated in the second clause:
The second clause of the If-Then statement, "we make Him a liar and His word is not in us," declares the result if we children of God, born of God do say that we have not sinned then we make God out to be a liar and His word is not in us, implying that God and His Word which characterize all men as constantly sinful, committing sins all the time without the possibility of moments of sinless perfection are liars. By denying that testimony of God, we in effect charge God with untruthfulness, untrustworthiness and evil. Note that the extant nature from which comes sinful actions and the new born of God nature from which comes godly righteousness have both been in view in the children of God, born of God in First John up to this point.