WEEK 7
FELLOWSHIP--1 John 1:5 - 2:29
Chapters 1-2 emphasize fellowship and John gives three basic "tests" for us to take to see if we are in fellowship with God through Christ. For one to be in fellowship, he must be saved; have a right relationship (that is, sonship or child of God.) Far too many professing Christians never test their lives to see if they are truly saved. John asks us to apply these tests that we might enjoy the Christian life to the fullest.
--The test of obedience. (1 John 1:5-2:6)
--The test of love. (1 John 2:7-17)
--The test of truth. (1 John 2:18-29)
This week we will explore Test 1--The test of obedience. (1 John 1:5-2:6)
John tells us that the sum of the revelation which the Lord made to man has been communicated. We have heard (past time) from Him and at present it is ringing in our ears. This is the existing results. All was heard not only by John himself from the mouth of Jesus, but was also heard by others of that time. They were the witnesses of the preaching of Christ.
John tell us that God is light. Now he isn't saying that He is "a light", but that He is light Himself. He is the source and fountain of light in all heaven and earth. Light is the emblem of purity, truth, knowledge, prosperity, and happiness:
- He is perfectly pure, without any sin.
- He is infinitely true, never stating error or giving even a look of approval of error.
- He has all knowledge, with not one bit of ignorance on any subject.
- He is prosperous in all His ways, never knowing the darkness of disappointment and adversity.
- He is infinitely happy, with nothing to make Him miserable.
This expression is designed to state that God is absolutely perfect and there is nothing in Him which would dim or mar the pure splendor of His character, not even as much as the smallest speck would mar the sun!
The person who professes to be saved is claiming to have things in common with God, common likes and dislikes, and a common nature. Being saved involves the idea of having fellowship with God. Therefore, our "walk," or our behavior, will be continuous in fellowship with Him. If we continue to be a slave to he habits of sin, then we are walking in darkness. We are false professors and are deceived if we think that we can have fellowship with God, and yet live in the habitual and continual practice of sin. The profession is a false one. We are false in word and in deed. Truth with John is not confined to language. It is exhibited in conduct also.
In contrast, if we walk in the light, that is we conduct ourselves continually and habitually within the sphere of God's light, then we exhibit this in our actions. Walking in the light could be expressed in one word: holiness. This means:
- Living a life of holiness; the heart beating in harmony with the Light.
- Living a life in the practice of holiness which is the inward priciple expressed in the outward conduct or the light of the heart shining in the life.
- Living a life progressing in holiness; he who walks is not stationary but advancing.
While we walk (or move through time) in the light, God is (in eternity, unchanging and existing as) the light.
RESULT OF WALKING IN THE LIGHT
Having fellowship one with another in this instance does not mean fellowship with the brethren, but a reciprocal fellowship with God Himself. We have fellowship with Him. He in turn has fellowship with us.
The blood of Jesus--real, shed, atoning--purifies us from all sin. While the Gnostics taught that the term blood was used as a mere example, John was not ashamed to use the term as a real thing. John witnessed the death of the Savior and knew first hand that the shed blood was real. The blood is what cleanses us from sin. The tense of the verb "cleanseth" means that His blood keeps continually cleansing us from all sin. The sins of omission, commission, ignorance, sins we know nothing aout in our lives simply because we have not grown in grace enough to see that they are sin. This is true only if we are habitually ordering our behavior in the light.
Some believed then, as many do now, that once saved, we can no longer sin. But to say that we have no sin is itself a lie. We are in a constant battle with our Adamic nature and we will have sin in our lives. Admitting that and confessing it reveals that the Holy Spirit is indwelling us. To deny that reveals there is no indwelling of the Holy Spirit and therefore no salvation.
We sin three ways:
- -Private,
- -Personal, and
- -Public.
So we must confess sin if we are to expect forgiveness and cleansing.
- -Confess only to God if our sin is private.
- -Confess first to the individual we sinned against personally, then to God.
- -Confess to the church and then to God if we have committed a public sin.
God is faithful and will forgive us our sins if we confess them. This is a promise from the One who cannot lie. (1 John 1:9) No child of God knowingly sins habitually. When one is saved by faith, all sin is forgiven, past and future, as far as the law is concerned, because the Lord Jesus satisfied the law's demand when He died on the cross for our sins. The forgiveness spoken of here does not primarily deal with the breaking of God's law, but the breaking of fellowship between a child and his Father.
When we profess to believe in sinless perfection, we deny any acts of sin committed in past times with the implication that none are able to be committed at present. John says two things can cause one to come to this conclusion: A-The stifling of one conscience and B-Ignorance of His Word. Note the climax: v.6-We lie; v.8-We lead ourselves utterly astray; v.10-We make God a liar.
John addresses his readers as an aged father would address his children, with tenderness and love. He writes to combat certain errors. John had no patience with professional perfectionists, but he had still less with loose-livers like some of the Gnostics who went to all sorts of excess of sin without shame. The saint has been saved by the Precious blood of Jesus, our advocate to the Father, so that we may be able to keep from sinning. and when we do sin, we wound the tender heart of the Saviour, and force Him to face God the Father with that saint whom He has saved by His precious blood. This thought should keep us from committing acts of sin. He is qualified to plead our case. He does not plead we are innocent, but acknowledges our guilt and presents His vicarious work as the grounds of our acquittal.
He is our propitiation. That is He became our sacrifice, our substitute, and the Mercy seat. He satisfied the demands of the broken law. The sin of Adam--one man--was placed in every person in the world. And because of One man, the Lord Jesus, and His finished work on Calvary, all mankind can find mercy. The choice is up to them.
John foresees two questions which could be asked: How can I be assured that Christ is all this to me--my propitiation, my advocate? How can I be assured that I have an abiding interest in Him? These questions are answered by applying the test of obedience: We know Him if we keep His commandments. We know we are in Him and He in us if we follow in His steps.
To keep His commandments does not merely mean the act of obeying His commands, but of an anxious desire not to disobey any of His commands.
- It involves taking heed lest we fall.
- It involves a constant awareness of the deceitfulness of the heart, and of the craftiness and power of inward corruption.
- It involves taking caution and avoiding everything that would offend and dishonor God and the Savior.
- It causes the saint to love God's word and guard that word lest it be dishonored.
The verb tense shows continuous action, which means it is the habitual, moment by moment safeguarding of the Word by the saint lest he violate its precepts.
If we say that we know Him, yet obey Him not, then how can we profess to be saved? Personal experiential knowledge of the Lord Jesus is open to all true believers, not just a select few Gnostics who thought they had a corner on God nobody else had. Keeping the word of God is evidence that the love of God is perfected in us.
The love spoken of here is not the love with which God loves us, but the love by which we love God, and that is perfected in us. When man loves perfectly, his love is the love of God shed abroad in his heart, therefore, his love owes its origin and its nature to the love of God. This gives double comfort for all who keep the commandments of Christ Jesus: God's love is perfect in them; they know that they are in Him.
To abide in Jesus implies not only position or relationship, but fellowhip, friendship, dependence, harmony, and communion. To abide means to have no known sin not judged and not cofessed, to have no interest into which He is not brought, to have no part of one's life which He cannot share, to take all our burdens to Him, to draw all wisdom, life and strength from Him, to let nothing b allowed in one's life which separates us from Him. We know that we know Him if we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous.
1) What does it mean to be in fellowship with God?
2) What does it mean to walk in the light?
3) What does John tell us we must do to show that we are a child of God?
4) When we speak of the blood of Jesus, are we speaking symbolically or literally?
5) Why can we not live in a state of sinless perfection?
6) How are we to deal with sin in our lives?
7) How can we be sure that we are forgiven?
8) Is forgiveness a license to sin?
9) Do we need to obey the command of Jesus, or has salvation bought us freedom from condemnation so that we can sin freely?