1 John, verse-by-verse
Session 2 | 1 John 1:5-10
1 John 1:5 | The Heart of the Message
Verses 1-5 show that the recipients of the letter are people (Israel) who are not in fellowship with us (v. 3), nor with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ (v. 3). The epistle is written that your joy may be full“that the Kingdom may be established."
For the recipients to be in fellowship with the author, the foundational issue is God as light in who there is no darkness at all.
James, writing about the same time as I have dated this letter, says something very similar in James 1:17, that God is the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness.
The premise seems to be that Israel is walking in darkness, and therefore must be walking outside of fellowship with her God.
The same idea is seen in John 1:4-5, speaking of Israel, saying the darkness comprehended it not.
1 John 1:6-10 | Ground Rules
Verse 6 --
Premise #1: Those who walk in darkness cannot claim to be in fellowship with him.
To make a claim of fellowship with God while walking in darkness is to lie, though the author does not indicate whether the lie was due to self-deception or was purely and purposely given as a false claim.
“in the dark," yet they were unwilling to speak this truth.
Verse 7 -
Premise #2 - Those who walk in the light will have fellowship with God and the cleansing from all sin.
Having proven they are not in fellowship because of their blindness, he now proves the other side of the coin: if they were in light, they would have these two benefits:
The would have fellowship one with another.
“have fellowship with each other," but the only “other" in the verse is the he, which is God the Father.
Those who use this verse to chastise fellow believers for not being in fellowship together are missing the greater point.
They would have a cleansing from all sin by the blood of Jesus Christ.
As it stood (and stands), the nation of Israel remained in their sin, still waiting for a cleansing.
The body of Christ (i.e.: the church) is not Israel and is not in the same national position. The world today does not have their trespasses imputed unto them (2 Cor. 5:19). On a national and theocratic level, however the nation of Israel awaits a cleansing from sin (namely her sin of crucifying her Messiah, of which she must repent). The nation will repent in the future, seeing the wounds of Jesus (Zech. 13:6).
An individual (Jew or Gentile) can today receive the gift of life offered because God is not counting trespasses against us. The nation of Israel, however, remains to be cleansed by the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Verse 8 --
Premise #3: Confession of sin is needed.
Still speaking to the nation (as in the entire epistle), the confession of sin is encouraged, coming from the opposite direction.
While this truth is universally applicable (Rom. 3:23), the focus here is the national sin of Israel.
Verse 9 --
Premise #4: Forgiveness and cleansing awaits the national confession.
Note again the national / collective nature of the confession in the pronouns: we, our, us.
Someday the nation will look upon me whom they have pierced, And they shall mourn (Zech. 12:10). When they do so, they will break forth in confession and the Lord will forgive the national sins and restore the nation to the theocracy.
Verse 10 --
Premise #5: Denial of the national sin is the worst of sins.
What could be worse that to make him a liar?
God has announced that Israel by wicked hands crucified the Messiah (Acts 2:23) and that they had rejected their own prophets (Acts 7:52).
Under God's declaration, they know are betrayers and murderers of the Just One (Acts 7:52).
The nation stood in denial it all, and thus make him a liar. Because of this the epistle can declare his word is not in us.
The nation to whom was committed the oracles of God (Rom. 3:2) now finds itself lost, blind, and without a word from God. The epistle longs to correct this situation.
