1 John, Part 2: Walking in the Light

In part 1 of our sermon series on the epistles of John, we looked at the first four verses of 1 John, in which John testified that he and the other disciples had fellowship with Jesus. As he said in 1 John 1:1, they had personally heard Jesus speak; they had seen Him with their own eyes; and they had gazed upon and touched Him with their own hands. And the reason he wrote this down was so that everyone could join in that fellowship and be filled with the same love and joy that he had found.

In that sermon, I stated that to join that fellowship and be filled with that complete joy he mentioned, we must do the same things that John testified about—we must hear, see, and reach out and touch Jesus, too. So, with all that in mind, let’s read the next part of this letter, where John directly continues his thought of how we may join in this fellowship.

1 John 1:5-2:2 (BSB) says:

5 And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 

6 If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

7 But 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 cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Before we look at each of these verses, I want us to look at the beginning of the Gospel of John and notice some parallels with this text. In John 1:1-5, he writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John began that Gospel by beautifully declaring who Jesus is, referring to Him as the Word and the Light. Now, in the beginning of 1 John, he uses these same terms. 1 John 1:1 says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.” And verse 5 declares that God is Light.

John didn’t make up these descriptions of God, though. When John declares in John 1:1 that “In the beginning was the Word…and through Him all things were made,” this is an echo of what Psalm 33:6 says: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.”

Jesus is the Word of life who was present at creation and who became flesh. Have you stopped and thought about what it means that Jesus is the Word?

I think it’s important that we understand this term as we dive into this text, and I think it’s always best to have Scripture interpret Scripture. A good verse to explain it is Hebrews 1:1. It says, “On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.” That verse doesn’t call Jesus ‘the Word,’ but it’s explaining how He is the Word. God has spoken to the world through Jesus. Jesus is both God’s messenger and God’s message to the world.

All that God the Father wanted to communicate to the world, He communicated through Jesus. First, by sending Him to earth to be born as a baby, taking on human form. Second, by what He said. As Jesus said about Himself in John 12:49-50, “I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it. And I know that His command leads to eternal life. So I speak exactly what the Father has told Me to say.”

The other description John uses—that God is light—is something he learned directly from Jesus. In his Gospel account, John recorded an exchange between Jesus and some Pharisees. In John 8:12, it says, “Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

And now, looking closer at the first verse of our text for today, John declares, “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

This is such an important point to pay attention to: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. That means there is no yin and yang element to God. A lot of philosophies and religions teach that there is dualism at work in nature or in God. They think that opposite but complementary forces exist and somehow work together. But that’s not true. There is no darkness whatsoever in God. That is because light and darkness do not mix.

I like what Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says about this: “The expression here is designed to affirm that God is absolutely perfect; that there is nothing in him which is in any way imperfect, or which would dim or mar the pure splendor of his character, not even as much as the smallest spot would on the sun. The language is probably designed to guard the mind from an error to which it is prone, that of charging God with being the Author of the sin and misery which exist on the earth; and the apostle seems to design to teach that whatever was the source of sin and misery, it was not in any sense to be charged on God. This doctrine that God is a pure light, John lays down as the substance of all that he had to teach; of all that he had learned from him who was made flesh.”

I agree with that, and certainly, it’s vital that we understand that although God created everything, He did not create sin. God gave us free will. Sin entered the world when people disobeyed God’s command and rebelled against Him. So, as Barnes notes, we shouldn’t mistakenly blame God for the existence of sin and misery. If we do that, we are going against Scripture. It’s clear that “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

Properly understanding this greatly affects how we think about sin. Remember how I had explained that there are people who identify as Christians and yet they have not personally heard, seen, nor touched Jesus, but are stuck at the very beginning of faith, not living in fellowship with the Lord? Well, this is another issue that needs addressing before someone can join this fellowship and have the complete joy John testifies about.

If we think God is the author of sin, then we might feel powerless to overcome sin in our lives. But look what John says in verse 6: “If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

That must mean that we don’t have to walk in darkness. John says that if we say we have fellowship with Jesus—or say we are like Christ (which is really what the name Christian means, doesn’t it?)—but we are walking in darkness, then we are lying to ourselves and others. John says, “We lie and do not practice the truth.” Because if we want to have fellowship with the Lord, we cannot walk in darkness. That’s because Jesus is the light of the world, so we can’t walk in darkness and think that we are walking with Him. There is no darkness in light; there is no duality at work.

But if we think God is the author of sin, and believe that everything that happens to us—including any sin we commit—was predestined for us to do, then we won’t properly understand the point John is making here.

It’s the same point The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan makes. In it, Bunyan effectively captures the need for Christian (the main character) to stay on the correct road and not be waylaid off the path of righteousness. By the way, there is an updated version of The Pilgrim’s Progress that was written in the 1940s by a woman named Helen L. Taylor that I highly recommend.

It illustrates that Christian has choices to make. In order to stay on God’s path, he cannot walk off the path. John is making the same point: we cannot go off down a path of darkness and think that we are still walking in the light. There are two distinct paths. Scripture is telling us: we cannot follow God and walk in darkness. God will never lead us down a path of darkness. Any darkness or sin we commit is not God’s fault, nor His will for us. If we think so, then I’m afraid we won’t see the urgency to fight against darkness in our lives.

A long time ago, the lead pastor at the church I attended loved to proclaim that he and everyone at that church were, “10% shady.” He’d say it rather proudly, and everyone would laugh. But should that really be a point of pride when we are told to “never walk in the darkness”?

No, it shouldn’t. We should not embrace any darkness. We should not willingly allow any shade to darken any part of ourselves, much less make it part of our identity.

The path that leads to eternal life with God is not the path the world walks. Sadly, it seems like there are a lot of people who attempt to walk the world’s path and follow Jesus at the same time. But the people who attempt to do that are not in proper fellowship with the Lord, nor with other Christians. Verse 7 says, “But 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 cleanses us from all sin.”

Did you notice that this time he said, “fellowship with one another,” and not fellowship with God? It’s only if we walk in the light that we can have proper fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This point that John is introducing here is going to become a key point later in this letter. We can’t walk in darkness—even 10% darkness—and have fellowship with one another. That sin we are participating in harms us and everyone around us, breaking our fellowship and separating us from one another.

But John says that if we walk in the light, not only can we have fellowship with one another, but “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Theologian Alexander MacLaren, in his commentary, points out that in this verse, John is talking about sanctification. He says, “So you see, there are two aspects of Christ’s great work set before us under that one metaphor of the blood in its two-fold form, first, as shed for us sinners on the Cross; second, as poured into our veins day by day. That works progressive cleansing. It covers the whole ground of all possible iniquity. Pardon is much, purifying is more. The sacrifice on the Cross is the basis of everything, but that sacrifice does not exhaust what Christ does for us. He died for our sins, and lives for our sanctifying. He died for us, He lives in us. Because He died, we are forgiven; because He lives, we are made pure. Only remember John’s ‘if.’ The ‘blood of Jesus will progressively cleanse us until it has cleansed us from all sin,’ on condition that we ‘walk in the light,’ not otherwise. If the main direction of our lives is towards the light; if we seek, by aspiration and by effort, and by deliberate choice, to live in holiness, then, and not else, will the power of the life of Jesus Christ deliver us from the power of sin and death.”

I really like how MacLaren explained this. That “if” is so important to understand. And John continues with a series of more “ifs.” In verse 8, he says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Now, what’s interesting to me is that John could have stopped right here. He could have concluded his thought. If he did, we’d understand that Jesus’ blood cleanses us, but also that we will continue to sin. I think a lot of people tend to stop right there. Maybe even the pastor I mentioned—the one who boasted that he was 10% shady—was simply trying to say what verse 8 says, that no one is without sin. But that is no place to stop. We must keep reading. There are more “ifs.” Verse 9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

That means we don’t have to stay in the darkness. That means, if we confess our sins, we don’t have to live with shade covering any part of us, 10% or otherwise, because Jesus will forgive us and “cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That means Jesus will sanctify us as we walk in the light, just as MacLaren was explaining.  

Have you noticed that John basically keeps repeating the same message, just wording it a little differently each time? We can’t walk in darkness and follow Jesus at the same time. But if we confess our sins, Jesus will forgive us. And now, almost as another repeat, in verse 10 he says, “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.”

That’s because God’s Word says that all people have sinned. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So, anyone who says that they are not a sinner is saying that God’s Word is not true.

John doesn’t want us to deceive ourselves, nor deceive others about who God is and what He requires of us. He wants us to tell the truth. He wants us to be honest about ourselves.

Are you being honest? Are you walking in the light? Or are you saying that you are, but really, you’re walking in darkness? If that is what you’re doing, now is the time to repent. Confess your sins, and God will forgive you and cleanse you. He will forgive you, and He will help you get back on the path of righteousness.

Walking in the light does not mean that we will never stumble. It just means that when we do sin, we confess our sin and receive God’s forgiveness. But that’s not where we should stop. True repentance means we turn from sin and continue pursuing holiness, being honest about our actions.

Now, some people hear the message of grace and forgiveness, and think that means they can continue to walk in darkness. But that’s not the message we should hear. Just look at what John says next.

The Bible separates this next thought into the next chapter, but it really is a direct continuation. We can confess our sins and God will forgive us, but 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”

Again, John doesn’t want us to think that Jesus’ blood means we can just keep sinning. He is writing these things to us so that we will not sin. The direction of our lives must be toward the light, not toward darkness. But notice, here’s yet another “if.” If we do sin, Jesus is our advocate before the Father. He explains what that means in verse 2, which says that Jesus, “He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

The whole world, not just those who are predestined or chosen, as some claim. As Barnes’ Notes states on this verse, “If he died only for the elect, it is not true that he is the ‘propitiation for the sins of the whole world’ in any proper sense.”

Jesus died on the cross so that all people who repent of their sins and believe in Him may be forgiven and given eternal life with Him. We never have to look at someone and wonder whether Christ’s blood was meant for them. We can proclaim to every person: If you come to Jesus in faith, you will be received. All people are invited into this fellowship with God, because Jesus Himself became the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, thereby opening the way to God.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, no longer do we have to walk in darkness. We can walk in the light as He is in the light, and we can have fellowship with one another, because the blood of Jesus can cleanse us from all sin. Why would we want to walk in darkness any longer when we no longer have to?

Let us not miss the message that John is proclaiming: If we say that we are Christians, but we are walking in darkness, we lie and aren’t practicing the truth. But if we confess our sins, Jesus will forgive us and help us walk the path of light, so we no longer have to walk in darkness. Let us keep to the path of light and not veer off into any darkness.

If this was all that John wrote in this letter, it would be enough. But John is not finished. He will continue to show us how to keep fellowship with one another and with the Lord.

Pray: Heavenly Father, we confess that we are sinners and we need Your grace to help us walk in the light. Please show us any areas in our lives where we have veered off Your path of righteousness. Please help us by Your Holy Spirit to be sanctified more and more each day. Thank You for loving the world so much that You sent us Jesus so that all who believe in Him might be saved. We love You and praise You, and in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.