1 John Part 2

And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ... This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:3b,5-10

This passage has confused me in the past. It seemed to say that if we walk with God we will not sin, but then later John says that if we are without sin we deceive ourselves. It seemed contradictory. But alas, it is not.

Here is a quick outline of verses 3-7:

1. Our fellowship is with the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. v3
2. God is light; there is no darkness in him at all. v5
3. If we claim to have fellowship with God (pure light) in whom there is no darkness, yet you walk in darkness, you are a liar because there is no darkness in God. If your fellowship is with darkness, it can not be with God who is pure light. v6
4. If we do walk in the light (God) :, a. We have fellowship with one another, and b. The blood of Christ will purify us from all sin. Christ will remove the guilt resulting from the sins we commit.

Here are the issues that confused me in the past:

1. What does it mean to walk in the darkness vs walking in the light?
2. What does it mean that the blood of Christ will purify us from all sin?

My confusion arose from how I answered these questions. I thought that walking in the light meant being sinless, and walking in the darkness meant committing sins. I was in the light as long as I did not sin, but then would be in the darkness as soon as I sinned. This definition came from outside of this passage, and indeed from outside the Bible from a legalistic sinful mind.

Walking in the light means walking with God, having fellowship with Him. It does not mean that we will never sin once we have chosen Christ. It means that we stay in contact with Him through prayer, reading Scripture, good works, fellowship with other believers, evangelizing, and any other way we may have fellowship with Him. It means that when we do sin, we confess our sins to God and ask forgiveness. And God will be faithful to Christ's sacrifice and forgive us if we have put our faith in him. And Christ's blood will also continue to do the work of purifying us and making us more like Him.

Using this correct definition of fellowship, verses 8-10 do not contradict the previous verses. Realizing that we sin and confessing those sins to God are part of walking in the light and maintaining our fellowship with him. This is how the Word has a place in our lives. Not by claiming to be sinless.

So, God knows you are going to sin even though you have chosen to walk with him. Do not hide from him, but confess your sins without delay so that you can be purified.