Month: January 2015

I Know That I Know.

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And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. – 1 John 2:3 ESV

The knowledge of God is far more than an academic or cognitive kind of knowledge. You can know details and even personal information about the Prime Minister of England or the President of the United States, but that doesn’t mean you know them. You simply know something about them. You have no personal knowledge of them and cannot claim to have a close relationship with them. Sadly, this describes the relationship that many have who claim to know God. Their knowledge is Book-knowledge, fed to them from the pulpit or Sunday School classroom, or passed on to them by their parents. If you were to ask them if they know God, they would say, “Of course, I know Him.” They could probably tell you facts and details about God, concerning His character, His creation of the world, His miracles recorded in the Bible, and even His offer of salvation made available through belief in His Son. But according to the apostle John, the proof of their knowledge of God would be far more simple and conclusive. “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3 ESV). In other words, obedience is the true test of our knowledge of God. But we must be careful here. John is not telling us that obedience is the way to come to know God. He is not saying that you have to obey God in order to know Him. No, John is telling us that obedience is a proof of our knowledge of God. It is how we can know that we truly do know Him. The kind of knowledge John speaks of is intimate and experiential, not academic. He uses the Greek word, ginōskō, which was a Jewish idiom referring to sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. This isn’t some kind of a head-knowledge. It is an intimate awareness of God’s involvement in one’s life. Because the only way we can keep His commandments is IF we know Him. It is His power, made available to us through the presence of His Spirit, that makes it possible for us to live in obedience to His will. It is our relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ, that makes a life of obedience, a life of righteousness, possible. So when John states, “whoever says he abides in him [Christ], ought to walk in the same way in which he [Christ] walked” (1 John 3:6 ESV), We can and should live our lives as Jesus lived His – humbly, sacrificially, and in complete obedience to the Father’s will. No, we cannot live our lives completely without sin, as He did, but we can live in obedience. Because we know God, we can put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13). Paul tells us, “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). We can live differently and distinctively. We can say yes to God and no to sin. Again, Paul writes, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13 NLT).

We can know that we know God, that we have a relationship with Him, when we see the remarkable change take place in our character that is only possible through the redemptive work of His Son. When we come to know Christ as our Savior, we receive a new nature, a new capacity to live in obedience to the will of God. He sets us free from slavery to sin and provides us with the freedom to live in willing obedience to God. “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life” (Romans 6:20-22 NLT). When we obey God, we don’t get the credit, He does. What we get is the assurance that we know Him. “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). I know Him. He knows me. Not only that, He loves me. And He empowers me to live righteously, even when surrounded by unrighteousness. He has given me His Spirit to help me do battle with my own sin nature. I don’t have to give in to sinful desires. I don’t have to fall for every temptation that comes my way. I can walk like Jesus walked. And when I do, I can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I know God. Over in his gospel, John recorded a fascinating statement from the lips of Jesus. It was part of His prayer that He prayed to the Father not long before His trials and crucifixion. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3 ESV). Eternal life is NOT simply heaven. It is not an opulent residence reserved for us somewhere in the future. It is the knowledge of God and His Son. It is a relationship with the Creator of the Universe and the King of kings and Lord of lords. And I can know that I know them because I can see their life-transforming power at work in my life – right here, right now. And THAT is eternal life.

No Cause For Stumbling.

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Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. – 1 John 2:10 ESV

When it comes to this one verse, it seems the commentators are somewhat divided. It seems simple enough, but the last phrase is interpreted a variety of ways. For instance, the New Living Translation paraphrases verse 10 this way: “Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.” It puts the emphasis on those with whom we interact. The person who walks in the light loves as Jesus loved, and his life provides no reason for those around him to stumble or fall. But there is also the sense that the stumbling being referred to here is aimed at the one who loves his brother. When we love as Jesus loved, sacrificially and selflessly, it is a byproduct of abiding in the light of Christ’s love. And His light illuminates our path so that we can see where we are going. It would seem that this view is the most accurate, because the very next verse reads, “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walk in the darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11 ESV). When we hate or, better yet, fail to love, we are NOT abiding in the light. As a result, we find ourselves walking in the dark, unable to see the obstructions, the sins, of our own lives. We can’t see our pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, and selfishness. The whole idea of the light is that it reveals or exposes the darkness. It is what David was asking God to do in his life when he wrote Psalm 139. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV).

But while the second interpretation may appear to be the most accurate, I believe they both have relevance. An individual who lives his or her life in the dark, outside the influence of the light of Christ, will inevitably stumble. Because they fail to spend adequate time in the Word, allowing it to penetrate their lives and expose their sin, they will grow comfortable with the darkness in their life. As they walk outside the influence of the light, they will find their hearts increasingly darkened by unrepentant, unconfessed sin. But when these kinds of individuals stumble and fall, their actions have a ripple effect. If one person walking in the dark falls, all those behind him are likely to fall as well. When he goes down, he takes others with him. The same is true of our walk with the Lord. When we fail to abide in Christ, we will inevitably find ourselves in the dark. John reminds us “whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:5 ESV). We must know the word and obey it. We must read it and apply it. We must allow it to penetrate our lives and expose those hidden areas of sin to which we are blind. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV). The word of God is one of the primary tools He uses to guide and direct us. David expressed it quite succinctly. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105 ESV). Without it, we will find ourselves stumbling and falling. When we fall, we will take others down with us. When David lusted after Bathsheba, he was not living in the light. He stumbled and not only caused Bathsheba to sin, but eventually took the life of her husband so that he could have her as his wife. His fall was far from personal. It had wide-sweeping ramifications. One of the lies of the enemy is that our stumbles are of no importance. They don’t hurt anyone else. Our sins are harmless and of no consequence. But God would have us know that a life lived in the dark is far from isolated. It will have an influence on those around us. Our sins have consequences. Our choices impact others. 

Paul told Timothy, “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 NLT). Our lives are to be an example to those around us. When we abide in the light, walking as Jesus walked, loving as He loved, we will not fall. Our sins will be exposed, not hidden, allowing us to confess them. We will enjoy the benefits and blessings of walking with God in the light of His Word, under the direction of His Spirit and with His Son interceding on our behalf every step of the way. The goal is that we would “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10 ESV).

Something Old, Something New.

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Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. – 1 John 2:7 ESV

John has gone out of his way to stress to his readers that they could know if their relationship with God was healthy and secure. He has stressed the need for them to understand that their right relationship with God was based on a firm belief in the deity of Jesus. He alone is the key to eternal life. And like His Father, Jesus is light and “in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). And those that truly know God and His Son, Jesus Christ, should be marked by certain characteristics and behaviors. They should have a recognition of their sins and a willingness to confess them. They should walk in the same way in which Jesus walked – in the light. They should keep His commandments. In other words, John is not talking about a cognitive knowledge of God alone, but a practical, experiential knowledge that shows up in everyday life.

But in verse seven, John becomes even more specific, focusing in on a particular command that he feels is needed at that moment in the lives of his readers. He refers to it as both an old and a new commandment. He reminds them that they have had this commandment “from the beginning” (1 John 2:7 ESV). “The old commandment is the word that you have heard” (1 John 2:7 ESV). John is basically telling them that this is something they should already know. It was part of the original message they had heard when they came to faith in Christ. In fact, it was part of the message of Christ that had been taught to them. No doubt, they had heard the story of Jesus and His encounter with the lawyer. He had been put up by the Pharisees in an attempt by them to trick Jesus into saying something for which they could condemn Him. So the lawyer asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36 ESV). And Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39 ESV). Love God. Love others. For Jesus, it was as simple as that. And now John is reminding his readers of this “old” command. He was attempting to give it new life by applying it to their immediate context. He tells his readers, “At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you…” (1 John 2:8 ESV). In other words, love for God and love for others was true in Jesus’ life, but it should also be true in their lives. John remembered well the words of Jesus, having recorded them in his gospel. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 ESV). Jesus didn’t leave the definition of love up for grabs. He didn’t open it up for interpretation or debate. He said that we were to love others in the same way that He loved us – selflessly and sacrificially.

Like John’s audience, most of us know this commandment all too well. We have heard it and, more than likely, memorized it. But do we keep it? When John writes, “we ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6 ESV), he has this commandment in mind. Jesus referred to it as the greatest commandment. To love God and to love others. Two commands, but in Jesus’ mind, they were one and the same, inseparable and indistinguishable. Which is why John could write, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20 NIV). Pretty strong words. But John isn’t done. He goes on to say, “Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:14-15 ESV). And then he adds, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7 ESV).

Our love for God is expressed through our love for others. God’s love for us is evidenced in our capacity to love others. It is proof that we have a relationship with Him. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7 ESV). Just as God is light, God is love. It is His very essence. It is not a characteristic of God, but the very nature of God. And as His children, we are to live in the light and walk in His love. We are to spread His light and love through our lives to those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ – both locally and globally. The apostle Paul puts it this way: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4 ESV). Then he goes on to tell us to have the mind of Christ. We are to share His same attitude of selflessness, sacrifice, and humble service to others. We are to walk in the same way in which He walked. We are to love as He loved. And when we do, the world will know that we are His disciples.

A New Commandment

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At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. – 1 John 2:8 ESV

John has made it clear that to claim to know God and to abide in Christ is little more than a lie if it is not accompanied by obedience and a lifestyle that emulates that of Jesus. Those who have truly come to know Christ and, as a result, have come to know the Father, should be experiencing the life-transforming power of His Spirit. John had heard Jesus make the promise, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 ESV). And that was not the only time that John had heard those words from the lips of Jesus. “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46 ESV). John was convinced that Jesus was the light of the world, and he was convinced that “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8 ESV). He had witnessed the penetrating, life-changing power of the light in his own life and had seen it impact those around him. In just a short time, Christianity had spread throughout the known world. The apostles had taken their commission from Christ seriously and spread the good news regarding Jesus Christ to Jew and Gentile alike. Many had converted to Christianity. In doing so, they had come to know Christ as their Savior and sin-substitute. They had accepted His free offer of eternal life by acknowledging their sin and believing that His sacrificial death on the cross had paid the penalty for their guilt. His death had satisfied God and His resurrection had proved that He had been sent from God. The truth of that message had spread, penetrating the darkness of the world, and transforming the lives of those who had once lived in helplessness and hopelessness.

But that light was to continue to spread. It was to further permeate the lives of those who believed in Christ, exposing their sin in order that they might confess it. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). As the light expands in the life of the individual, it extends to those around him. The love of God, expressed through the life and death of His Son, is perfect or made complete in the lives of His children. God loved us by sending His Son. Christ loved us by giving His life. And when we love others as we have been loved, we complete the circle. Our love for others is an expression of our love for God. In essence, we are conduit through whom God loves those around us. And when we allow His love to flow through us to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are expressing our love to Him. To refuse to love those whom God has chosen to love through the death of His Son is to question our love for God. Later on in his letter, John writes,  “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20 ESV). We can’t see God. We can’t physically express our love to God. But when we love those who He has redeemed with the blood of His Son, we are loving Him. We become conduits of His love. Again, John tells us, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16 ESV). The love of God resides in us. But that love is not to be hoarded. It is to be shared with those around us, especially those who share our faith and are part of the household of God. John gives us the motivation for our love: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 ESV). Because we have experienced the gracious, merciful, undeserved love of God through the gift of His Son, we should love others, as an expression of our love for Him. So in essence, when we love others, we are loving God. That means the other person does not have to be loveable or lovely. They don’t have to be deserving of our love. We are simply sharing the love of God and our love for God with them. “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20 ESV).

When Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 ESV), He was letting us know that the kind of love He was talking about was not of this world. He wasn’t referring to human love, which is almost always marred by selfishness and a deep-rooted what’s-in-it-for-me motivation. What Jesus had in mind was a supernatural, Spirit-empowered kind of love that starts with God and flows through His Son into the lives of those who place their faith in Him. That love, like light, is not to be hidden or hoarded, but shared with those around us. It is to penetrate and permeate the darkness. One of the greatest evidences of the reality of Christ’s saving work is our capacity to love. It proves we are His disciples. And it reveals the love of God to those around us. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 ESV).

WLJW

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By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. – 1 John 2:5-6 ESV

A number of years ago there was a fad that passed through the ranks of evangelical Christians. It was based on a book called In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. The subtitle for the book was “What Would Jesus Do?” That simple phrase became the acronym WWJD and was placed on wristbands and other paraphernalia to serve as a reminder for Christians to always consider what would Jesus do in a given situation. In other words, they were to consider living their lives with Him as their model. The section of First John we are currently in – 1 John 2:3-11 – carries a very similar sentiment. Except that John would simply say, Walk Like Jesus Walked. And there would be no question n John’s mind as to what that would look like for each and every believer. For John, one of the key characteristics or proofs of a saving faith was love for you fellow believers. But John did not have in mind some kind of Hallmark card, syrupy, sentimental kind of love. He was referring to the lay-it-all-on-the-line kind of love that Jesus expressed through His life and, ultimately, His death. John had personally heard Jesus say, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 ESV). And this was not some isolated statement. Jesus had made sure His disciples knew the importance of it by repeating it regularly. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14 ESV). Here Jesus gives the clear definition behind what He means when He says, “love one another.” We are to love as He loved us. How did He love us? By sacrificing His life on our behalf. The kind of love Jesus was calling His disciples to exhibit toward one another was to be selfless and sacrificial. Later on in his letter, John writes, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10 ESV). God showed His love for us by sacrificing His Son. Jesus showed His love for us by giving His life.

John pulls no punches when he tells his readers, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9 ESV). And he follows that up with, “whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11 ESV). But an evidence or proof that we are abiding in Christ and His light is shining in and through our life will be a Christ-like love for others. Jesus said that this kind of love would be proof to the world that we are His disciples. It is meant to be a kind of love that shocks and surprises. In John’s day, it showed up in the form of converted Jews and Gentiles worshiping Christ together. That was shocking to the lost community around them. It was a love that showed up in believing slaves and their Christian master worshiping as brothers in the same fellowship – with no change in their slave-master relationship. Scandalous. Unbelievable. Shocking. It was love expressed through willing sacrifice as believers met the needs of other believers so that no one went without. It was the love of Christ being lived out in daily life. Christians walking like Jesus walked. Doing what Jesus had done. Loving like Jesus loved.

In the same way that an absence of light produces darkness, an absence of love in our lives produces hate. When we fail to love as Jesus loved, it is as if we hate the other individual. To choose not to express love to another brother or sister in Christ is  to hate them. God has loved us. He expressed that love through the gift of His own Son’s life. Jesus has loved us by laying down His life on our behalf. And we are called to love as we have been loved. Sacrificially and selflessly. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:11-12 ESV). We are to be conduits of God’s love. When we love one another, the love of God is perfected in and through us. It is completed, come full circle. We have been loved by God and we are expressing that love to others. Walking like Jesus walked. Loving like Jesus loved. Living in the light of God’s love and sharing that love with others.

The Fading Darkness.

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At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. – 1 John 2:8 ESV

Light penetrates and permeates. Light illuminates and eliminates the darkness. Just as physical light has a transformative nature, so does the Light of the world. Jesus said, ““I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 ESV). Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ have had the darkness of their lives penetrated by the Light. We have been given the Spirit of God, resident within us, to enlighten us and empower us to live our lives in such a way that we make a difference. “You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket  but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV). But if we are going to have an illuminating impact on the world around us, we first have to allow the Light to have its full influence on us. John made the claim that the darkness is fading. It is a statement of fact. As light grows, darkness diminishes and fades. Yet, it would be easy to look around the world and conclude that the darkness is winning. Evil appears to be increasing. But could the problem be that we, as children of light, have allowed the darkness to overtake the light in our own lives? Are our lamps too feeble? Is our faith too small? Is our light too weak to penetrate the darkness around us? 

Paul gives us words of encouragement. “The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light” (Romans 13:12 ESV). We must live with a realization that the light wins. The darkness loses. There is a movement of God going on that is moving the world from darkness to light. We may not be able to see it. We may not feel it. But as soon as Jesus entered the world, the light of God penetrated the darkness and began to spread. But we have a responsibility to see to it that we don’t end up loving the darkness more than the light. We must live as children of the light, fanning the flame of faith through regular time in the Word, fellowship with other believers, and a reliance upon the Spirit of God for strength, wisdom and ongoing exposure of any darkness that remains in our lives. The darkness still resident in our lives should be passing away. The light – the righteousness and holiness of God – should be increasing. Everywhere we go, our lives should provide light in the darkness. Our lives should be proof of the transforming power of God made available through Jesus Christ. When Jesus commissioned Paul to take the good news regarding Jesus Christ and His offer of salvation to the Gentiles, He said, “I am sending you to open their eyes so that they turn  from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:17-18 ESV). So not only is the light in our own lives to be increasing, slowly and steadily eliminating the last vestiges of darkness; but it is to be shining out of us into the darkness around us. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 ESV). We have the light of God in our lives. That light should be increasing in intensity and influence. It should be shining through all the cracks and flaws our lives, revealing the power of God at work in our lives. When people look at us, they will still see clay jars; flawed, cracked and seemingly without value. But they should also see God’s light shining through us and around us. We are simply receptacles of His glory. We are the conduits of His life-changing, darkness-diminishing light. As the children’s song says, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine! Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!” But we must never forget that our ability to illuminate others and eliminate darkness is not self-produced, but a by-product of walking in the light.

 

By This We Know.

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And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. – 1 John 2:3

Profession of a having a relationship with God cries for proof. It begs for evidence. Following up with his assessment of false claims of intimacy with God found in the previous verses, John says, “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4 ESV). That sounds eerily similar to what John wrote just a few verses earlier. “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6 ESV). From John’s perspective, the assertion of intimacy with God means nothing without the kind of behavior that gives evidence that one is truly walking in the light. Obedience to the commands of God is proof that one has a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ the righteous. His light has illuminated the darkness of our lives, exposing the sin within, and replacing it with the power to live holy lives, set apart for His glory. To claim to have an abiding, ongoing, personal and intimate relationship with God through Christ is one thing. To live like it is another. “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6 ESV). That is a serious and sobering statement. It is a call to a radical, revolutionary kind of lifestyle that looks nothing like what we see modeled on this earth.

Jesus came to dispel darkness. He came to penetrate the darkness of man’s sin with the light of His life. He said of Himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 ESV). But it does no good to claim to know the light of the world if our lives do not reflect the presence of that light on a daily basis and in practical ways. The apostle Paul puts this in terms we can understand and apply. “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT). The light of God in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ, has penetrated the darkness of our lives and the result should be that it shine OUT of our lives in ways that prove its existence. John tells us what that should look like on a daily basis. And he ties it back to the greatest commandment as Jesus explained it. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-39 ESV). Love God and love others. You can’t do one without the other. Without God’s help, loving others is impossible. At least, to love them on God’s terms is impossible. But it is impossible to say you love God if you can’t bring yourself to love those who are supposed to be your brothers and sisters in Christ. Supposedly the darkness of our lives has been penetrated by the light of Christ. But “whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9 ESV). In other words, their behavior does not reflect their so-called relationship with Christ. If anything it contradicts the truth as expressed by Christ Himself. He said, “If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 NLT).

To continue to walk (conduct your life) in the dark when you have been exposed to the Light makes no sense. Anyone whose life is marked by hatred rather than love for his brother, is stumbling around in the dark, “because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11 ESV). But John says, we can know that we have come to know Christ. We can know we have a relationship with God. We can know that we are in him. And the proof is in the transforming power of Christ in us. We can love others. And when we love others we are expressing and proving our love for God. We are giving evidence of His Spirit’s presence within us. We are walking (living our lives) in the same way Jesus did. In obedience and dependence upon God. Claiming to know Him is one thing. Living as if we know Him is another. And the strength to accomplish is God-provided, not self-made. “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT). Life transformation is evidence of our ongoing sanctification by God. By this we know.

Jesus Christ the Righteous.

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My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. – 1 John 2:1 ESV

For John, a life without sin was to be the goal for every believer. But he was well aware of the fact that complete sinlessness was not a possibility as long as we live on this earth and in these bodies. Like every other believer, John had a sin nature and knew all too well the kind of influence it could have on his life. But he was also convinced that a life characterized by sin was no longer the inevitable fate for those who had placed their faith in Christ. We could and should “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, has made it possible for us to have fellowship with God. He gave us His Spirit to live within us and to empower us to live godly lives. Our sin natures were not eradicated at our conversion, but our helpless and hopeless enslavement to sin was. Paul explained our new post-conversion status: “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6 ESV). What made all this possible was the righteousness of Christ. It was His sinlessness that made Him the perfect, acceptable sacrifice. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT). His righteousness made our right standing with God possible. We could have spent our lifetimes trying to earn favor with God and live up to His holy standard, and we would have failed. But the righteousness of Christ alone is what satisfied (propitiated) God the Father. His sinlessness allowed Him to become our substitute and pay the price for our sinfulness.

His death has given us life – life more abundantly in this age and the guarantee of eternal life in the age to come. Until He returns, we must still deal with the reality of sin in and around us. Our sin natures are alive and well. Our flesh, as Paul so aptly describes our sin nature, is alive and well. It is that earthly, unrighteous part of us that is driven by desires and passions that are contrary to the will of God. Paul puts it this way: “ The sinful nature [flesh] wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions” (Galatians 5:17 NLT). But the answer to this dilemma is to walk in the Spirit, to live our lives under the Spirit’s control. Christ has provided a new source of strength through the Spirit’s indwelling presence that can enable us to say no to sin. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Galatians 5:24-25 NLT). Elsewhere Paul writes, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:12-14 NLT).

We can walk in the light, as He is in the light. We can live our lives in the power of the Spirit. We can walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). But John reminds us, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1 ESV). It’s not a matter of if, but when. We will sin in this lifetime. We are no longer slaves to sin, but we are still greatly influenced by its presence in and around us. We can sin less and we should. But in those times when we give in to temptation and listen to our sinful passions rather than the Spirit within us, we have an advocate – a paraklētos – an intercessor who is pleading our cause before God. Jesus Christ the righteous is our advocate. He sits at the right hand of God the Father and represents us before Him. He is a constant reminder to God the Father of our righteous standing because of His own righteousness. When God looks at us, in essence, He sees Jesus. We are clothed in His righteousness. As a result, we stand before God as justified. Because of what Jesus the righteous has done on our behalf, God is able to pardon, accept and declare us to be just in His sight. So that when we sin, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 ESV). Jesus died for our sins. Jesus lives for our sins. He is our advocate. He is our representative. His death paid for our sins. But in His resurrected life, He continues to redeem and save us from the condemnation of sin in our lives. “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God” (Romans 5:10-11 NLT).

Godly Fellowship.

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But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. – 1 John 1:7 ESV

John is passing along a message he heard directly from Jesus Himself. It is a simple, yet profound message that gives us a glimpse into the character of God. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). Interestingly enough, in his gospel, John made the claim that Jesus was the light. He wrote, “He was in the beginning with God…In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1,4-5 ESV). Later on John elaborated on this light that had come into the world. He stated that God loved the world so much that He sent His only son that the world might be saved through Him. But when Jesus, the light, arrived into the world, “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:19-21 ESV).

God is light. And as His Son, Jesus is also light. Jesus is not simply a reflection of God, but God in human form. “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15 ESV). “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18 NIV). When Jesus entered the world, He penetrated the pervasive darkness that permeated everything. Sin had infected the world and the lives of men – even those of the people of God, the Jews. Jesus came to change all that. He came to expose sin. “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5 ESV). Jesus didn’t just come to provide us a model for living. He came to provide us with the capacity to live holy, light-filled lives in the midst of a dark, sin-filled world. “By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:5-6 ESV). How did Jesus walk? In the light. Jesus was the light and yet He walked in the light of God’s will. This speaks to that mysterious truth regarding the unique nature of Jesus’ divinity and humanity. He was the God-man – 100 percent God and 100 percent man. As the Son of God, He was the image of the invisible God. As the Son of Man, He was a human being who “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). Jesus walked in the light. He lived in obedience to the commands of God. He allowed the Holy Spirit to direct His path and guide His steps. “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness” (Luke 4:1 ESV). Jesus’ entire life and death was dedicated to doing God’s will. In His high priestly prayer, prayed near the end of His life, Jesus was able to say, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4 ESV). Everything about His life gave evidence that He not only was the light, He walked in the light.

And John wants us to know that we should have the same goal for our own lives. Fellowship with God and with His Son should be accompanied by light, not darkness. To claim to have fellowship with God and yet live a life characterized by darkness or sin is to live a lie. “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:6 ESV). The idea here is that of continual, repetitive, unrepentant sin. It is a lifestyle characterized by darkness rather than light. Instead, “whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning” (1 John 3:7-8 ESV). Our lives should give evidence of our fellowship with God. Our ability to fellowship with one another should give evidence of our fellowship with God. Anything we do that is characterized by righteousness is of God. It is a product of, the fruit of the Spirit of God within us – “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT). Living in the light exposes sin in order that we might confess it. But living in the light also produces fruit. It causes our faith to grow. It purifies our character. The more intimate our fellowship with God through Christ, the more intense the light will become in our lives. That light will have an effect on our lives. John puts it succinctly and practically. “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness…whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:9, 11 ESV). But “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling” (1 John 2:10 ESV). We are to walk in the light, as He is in the light. And that regular, consistent exposure to the light will gradually transform us into the image of Christ.

The Danger of Deception.

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If say we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. – 1 John 1:10 ESV

Three different times in 1 John 1:5-2:2, John uses the phrase, “If we say…” And each is followed by a statement that reflects a certain viewpoint or perspective with which John has a point of conflict. It isn’t just that John disagrees with them, it is that he believes them to be outright lies, declarations of deception. It would appear that these three viewpoints were being lived out in the local fellowship to which John wrote. These were not simply scenarios concocted by John, but examples of real-life attitudes held by some who called themselves believers. The first John addresses has to do with those who try to deceive others. It has to do with behavior that doesn’t accurately mirror or reflect stated beliefs. “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6 ESV). To claim to have fellowship with God while modeling behavior that is well outside His holy expectations for His children, we end up living a lie. We don’t DO the truth. When John speaks of walking in darkness, he uses the Greek word, peripateō. It means “to walk, to regulate one’s self, to pass one’s life.” And John seems to be using this word in the progressive or continuative sense. Accordingly, the NET Bible translates this line as, “If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking  in the darkness.” It carries the idea of continual, habitual sin. It is to live one’s life characterized by sin. And yet John has said that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). So how can one claim to be in fellowship with Him, yet conduct their life as if His light never penetrates the darkness of their behavior. They claim one thing, but do another. They lie. All in an attempt to deceive others, to convince them that are something other than what they truly are. To live in darkness is to live without the benefit of the light of God in one’s life. To fellowship with God involves walking in the light – His light. It includes the bright illumination of His holy Word and the presence of His Holy Spirit. Fellowship with God will eliminate darkness by exposing sin and encouraging confession. To claim to have a relationship with God, while consistently living sinful, unrepentant lives, is to live a life marked by deceit and deception. It may be intended to garner acceptance and inclusion among those who truly love God. The object of the deception may be to feel a part of the faith community. But fellowship with God must include DOING the truth of God.

The second statement John addresses has to do with self deception. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 ESV). The claim of sinlessness seems ridiculous. That anyone would ever claim to be without sin after all God has had to say on the matter seems ludicrous. And even if you don’t accept God’s assessment on the matter, it would be difficult to conclude that sin either does not exist or that you don’t struggle with it. But the real issue here has to do with the rejection of the need for a Savior. Only sinners need a Savior. This second statement John addresses seems to reflect an attitude that contradicts John’s and God’s view of sin. These individuals did not believe their actions were sinful to begin with. They refused to admit that they were sinners and, as a result, proved that the truth was not in them. Had they had fellowship with God and been exposed to His light, they would have known their own sinfulness and their need for the salvation made available through Jesus Christ. As stated earlier, fellowship with God will eliminate darkness by exposing sin and encouraging confession. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). A lack of recognition of our sin exposes a lack of light in our lives. Our sinfulness remains unexposed and, therefore, unconfessed. The result if self-deception, believing we are spiritually healthy and whole, while God sees us as sinful, condemned and worthy of death.

The final statement is the most serious of the three. The first two have to do with those who do not DO the truth or simply do not HAVE the truth of God within them. But the third statement seems to address those who have been confronted by the truth of God regarding their sin, but who refuse to accept it. They have had the light of God illuminate their sinfulness, but disagree with His assessment. “If we say we have NOT sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10 ESV). While this one sounds similar to the second statement, it would appear that it is speaking about specific sin, while the other was referring to general sin. The situation seems to indicate an individual who has had a particular sin exposed by God, but rather than agree with Him about it and confess it, they simply deny it. And in doing so, they call God the deceiver. He is the liar. They reject His declaration of their sinfulness and make Him out to be a liar. And John sadly concludes that the word of God is not in them. They not only do not practice the truth or have the truth within them, they lack the word, the logos of God. I am reminded of John’s opening statement in his gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 ESV). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 ESV). Without the Word in our lives, we lack the ability to see the sin in our lives. And even when confronted by God’s assessment of our sinful estate, we will reject it, making Him a liar. 

God has made the sinful state of man clear. His law proved it. All men stand before Him as sinful and guilty as charged. But God has also provided a solution to man’s sinful situation. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4 ESV).