1 John 1 - Why Confession is For You!

Click Here To Read 1 John

Today we start the 3 letters of John, universally agreed to be written by John, the beloved the disciple  These letters were written toward the end of the 1st Century (90-100 AD)  

Like 1 and 2 Peter, false teaching was infiltrating the church. The particular form of heresy was known as “Gnosticism”, which advocated a strict dualism of the body and the Spirit  The Gnostic heresy was where one could be given secret knowledge  The “gnosis” in the Greek means “to know”.  To gain this knowledge was to become like God.  This heresy was a precursor to our modern “New Age” movement and things channeling God’s Spirit  The other main theme is the essence of God, which is His love incarnated through the  Jesus Christ, who was truly God and truly human.  

The Incarnation of the Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes ,which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

John says “we” several times indicating it was not only him who saw Jesus in the flesh but many others.  They not only saw him but touched him verifying he was TRULY human. 

The other key word for John was “life”.  Jesus was the life and also brought eternal life.  John’s goal was to have fellowship with all the other believers, which literally means “to share in the Spirit.  It is the reason for the special friendship we share as Christians.

Finally, John’s penultimate purpose is to share the joy we have in Christ.  It is so important to him, he says his joy will be complete when he shares it  When share the Good News with others through Christ it gives us a joy the world can’t give  

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,we lie and do not live out 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, purifies us from all[b] sin.

Another theme for John is the relationship between light and darkness   In his gospel he said Jesus is the Light, so to walk with Jesus is to walk in the light.  Apart from a relationship with Jesus there is only darkness 

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

This is a confession we also use in our church services.  These verses would be great for you to memorize. I have. If I claim to be without to sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in me.  If I claim to be without sin I make God a liar. Those are some pretty strong words.  The only way I can have fellowship with God is to be honest with about who I am.  We don’t need to pretend to be holy because we aren’t.  It is actually freeing to admit it. 

The most important part of these verses come when he says “But God IS FAITHFUL and JUST”  Though we are unfaithful God is ALWAYS faithful.  When we are honest before God to admit our shortcomings, God guarantees to forgive us of our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  “Unrighteousness” means the things we have left undone.   Righteousness is doing the right thing all the time.  When we fail to do the right thing, we sin as much as when we do the wrong thing.  We tend to put all the focus on the latter.  

Where do you need to be honest before God today? You can’t fool God.  But if you will confess the things you have done and left undone, you will be freed from sin, guilt, and shame.  You will be free to live the life You’ve always wanted.  Don’t wait.  Go to God today!  He is FAITHFUL!  















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