FIRST JOHN

God is Light

1 John 1:5-2:2

INTRODUCTION

The main opponents John is addressing in 1 John, the Gnostics, believed that the "saved" man was made up of 2 parts: the spirit and the body. Moreover, the Gnostics taught that basically the true person was the spiritual side, not the body side. In fact whereas the spiritual side of the person was perfect, pure, and sinless, the body was evil. As a result, Gnostics were split into 2 camps as to what to do with the body. Some said that since the body was evil, you should beat it into submission by either starving it, freezing it, or whipping it with metal-laced whips. Others said that since the body was evil and the body was not the real you, then it didn't matter what you did with the body. You could be gluttonous, promiscuous, etc. It didn't matter because the body wasn't the real you.

Well, guess which of the 2 approaches did most Gnostics take? The second one. Gnostics not only OK'd immoral behavior, in many cases they even promoted it in order to express their belief that they were really good on the inside even if they did bad things with their bodies on the outside.

This same kind of approach to morality runs rampant in our society today. I had one young lady in my youth group admit that even though she had been promiscuous, SHE hadn't really been promiscuous. The person who jumped into bed with that boy wasn't the real her. She was still that sweet little innocent thing her father adored. With all due respect, the NT says that is so wrong. What I do in the body reflects who I really am.

Why is it that what I do in the body reflects the real me? Because I don't simply have a body; I AM body and soul and spirit, etc. One day when Jesus comes again, my soul isn't the only thing going into heaven. Jesus is going to transform my body so that it too will live forever with Christ. The BODILY resurrection of Jesus assures me that my body is with me forever--in a transformed state no doubt, but nevertheless always with me.

The result of this is that whereas Gnosticism taught that it didn't matter what you do in the body, Christianity stresses that what you do in the body is critically important. In fact it is so critically important what you do in the body that John later informs us that we will be judged by what deeds we do in the body.

THE MESSAGE: GOD IS LIGHT (1:5)

Before describing the kind of life a Christian should live, John gives us the basis in verse 5 for what he is about to teach. God is absolutely 100% good, 100% perfect, 100% righteous, etc. He is so full of righteousness, goodness, perfection, that in Him is how much darkness?

James teaches the same thing when he claims: "Every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is NO variation or shifting shadow."

THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING IN THE LIGHT--LIVING A LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (1:6-10)

What is true about the person who claims that he has fellowship with the Father and yet walks in darkness? In other words, what is true about the person who claims he is in a positive relationship with God and yet intentionally lives in sin?

What is true about the person who walks in the light?

THE PROPER VIEW ON SIN (1:8:-10)

Verse 8 deals with the person who claims that he has "no sin." Since the word "sin" is in the singular, John is probably referring to the sin nature in each of us. John's opponents claimed that they had no sin nature. Only the body was bad; the spiritual nature was completely good and perfect. What does John say about the person who claims that there is nothing inwardly wrong with him?

Verse 9 assumes that we realize something IS wrong within us, that we do have sin natures, and that we do sin. What should we do as a result of this sin in our lives?

The word "confess" literally means "to say the same thing." In other words, we confess whenever we say the same thing about our sins that God says about them--that they are wrong and need to be repented of. How does God respond whenever we confess those sins?

The 2 clauses "to forgive" and "to cleanse" are actually in the perfect tense. It is as if John is saying that God has already forgiven us and cleansed us even before we ask for forgiveness. Actually we don't have to worry about God forgiving us. The truth is that the forgiveness and cleansing are already there. We just need to apply them to our lives by confessing and repenting of our sins.

The person who claims he does not sin has done what?

The whole point of Jesus' coming was to deal with our sin situation. If we claim we have not sinned, then we have denied the very purpose Jesus came in the first place.

What is not in the person who claims he does not sin?

In other words, we might have God's Word, we might listen to God's Word; however, it is not operating powerfully and effectively in our lives.

TAKE SIN SERIOUSLY (2:1-2)

When you hear John say that we are sinner, period, you can almost come away thinking that you situation is hopeless, that you are going to sin no matter what you do? So why try?

According to 2:1 why did John write these things to us?

Yes, John knows that we are going to sin; however, there is a radical difference between the person who has given up and the person who still tries to live a righteous life. The person who tries it live righteously may only get it right 50% of the time; however, that is 50% more than the man who has given up. I prefer to be around the first person instead of the second. Moreover, I would prefer to live in a society where the society is at least 50% good rather than 100% bad.

The sad thing is that our present society has bought into the liberal lie that since you can't be perfect, you shouldn't even try. Morally, our society is probably worse than it has ever been in the last 300+ years. It's because we've given up since we can't be 100% perfect.

But the truth is that even if we try our hardest, we are going to blow it from time to time (why we shall see later). What is true about the Christian who sins?

The image here is that of the Christian standing in court before the Judge. The Christian is guilty as sin. It looks hopeless for him; however, look at all the good things in his favor. First of all, our Father is the Judge. Not some hateful, spiteful hanging judge. Our Father is the Judge. Second, our defending attorney is none other than Jesus Christ the Righteous. He's not some shady slick Louisiana attorney; He's the righteous defending attorney who happens to be no other than the Son of the Judge. All this is to say is that WE CAN'T LOSE! If ever the jury was stacked in a person's favor, it is this instance. The Christian can't lose when he sins, confesses, and repents of his sin.

Verse 2 tells us why God is going to forgive us. According to verse 2 Jesus is the "___________________" for our sins. This great word has the idea of sacrifice behind it. In the old movies, the volcano would erupt and threaten the village because the volcano god was angry at the village. In order to avert God's wrath, the villagers would send up a beautiful virgin to jump into the flames. When she did, the wrath of the volcano god would be appeased. The village would be spared.

In a similar way the NT teaches that God is full of wrath when He looks down upon man's sin. Yet Jesus the perfect man is sacrificed so that ALL of God's wrath is poured out upon Jesus. There is NONE left for those who believe in Jesus. If Christians continue to feel condemnation, then they are simply believing the lies of Satan because God is no longer anger with you and me. According to Rom. 8:1 how much condemnation for Christians?