1 JOHN

Chapter 1, Verse 8-10

[1-30-11]

 

Review:

1 John 1:7) [KJV] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

QUESTION: What are the results of our walking in the light of God’s truth?

ANSWER: 1) Christian fellowship occurs. When we are walking in God’s truth we will love one another. 2) Also, when we walk in the light of God’s truth we have been, are, and will be cleansed from sin.

Concerning “cleanseth,”

“Note the present tense cleanseth. The cleansing is present and continuous” [Vincent].

2 Corinthians 5:19) [KJV] To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

NOTE: Through Christ, God has brought all who trust Him into a relationship with Him. How did He do this? Jesus took the blame for our sins! He then died for those sins! Consequently, GOD NO LONGER COUNTS OUR SINS AGAINST US!!  

QUESTION: What are the results of our walking in the light of God’s truth?

ANSWER: 1) Christian fellowship occurs. When we are walking in God’s truth we will love one another. 2) Also, when we walk in the light of God’s truth we have been, are, and will be cleansed from sin.

Concerning “cleanseth,”

“Note the present tense cleanseth. The cleansing is present and continuous” [Vincent].

2 Corinthians 5:19) [KJV] To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

NOTE: Through Christ, God has brought all who trust Him into a relationship with Him. How did He do this? Jesus took the blame for our sins! He then died for those sins! Consequently, GOD NO LONGER COUNTS OUR SINS AGAINST US!!

Regarding “if we walk in the light,”

“When we are in the sphere of walking in this Light; Who is God, Who is Love; we are walking in His Love, and the Law stands fully obeyed in us (see my notes on the previous verse). In those moments when the Love of God is controlling our lives the moral Law of God is being fully obeyed by us, and the Law is not necessary (Gal 5:14, 22-23; 1 Timothy 1:9-10) because a greater power constrains us (Gal 5:13). In this Light, in this Love, our vision is clear, and we can walk without stumbling, and without causing others to stumble (John 11:9-10; 1 John 2:9-11). Outside of this Light, outside of this Love, we are blinded by the darkness that is hatred, and we can’t see where we’re going. If we’re to do that which is good then we must see where we’re going; we must walk in this Light, this Light that is Love [Taken From My Commentary].

On To This Week’s Lesson:

1 John 1:8) [MSG] If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense.

QUESTION: What does this verse affirm?

ANSWER: Every one of us has sinned; consequently, we all stood in need of reconciliation. Our sins separated us from God. Through His Son, Jesus, God has brought all who place their faith in Him back into fellowship with Him.

Pertaining to “if we claim that we’re free of sin,”

“As we saw when I quoted UBS in my earlier notes (1 John 1:6), they believe that verses 6, 8, and 10 reflect what errors of Gnostic teaching John is correcting. In other words, those false teaching Gnostics were claiming that they had fellowship with God even though they saw no need to walk in the Light (1 John 1:6), they were claiming that they had no sin in their lives (current verse), and they were claiming that they had never (perhaps since their conversion) sinned (1 John 1:10). They believed that only their spirit was saved and that, consequently, it didn’t matter what the flesh engaged in. Sin was a non-issue to them! Make bad choices regarding conduct and your saved spirit might even learn valuable lessons from it, so in the end, their “sin” was beneficial to them. John was saying, “they’re lying, and not walking in the Truth” (1 John 1:6), “they’re deceiving themselves, and the Truth isn’t in them” (current verse), and “They’re disagreeing with God, and therefore calling Him a liar; and God’s Word in not in them” (1 John 1:10) [Taken From My Commentary].

QUESTION: In what way to some of these Gnostic heresies affect today’s church?

ANSWER: Some modern day Christians don’t believe that, in this day of grace, sin is a big thing. If they choose to live outside of the teachings of Scripture “grace will cover it.”

9) [KJV] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[GNB] But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing.

Concerning “confess our sins,”

“From ομός, one and the same, and λέγω, to say. Hence, primarily, to say the same thing as another, and, therefore, to admit the truth of an accusation” [Vincent].

QUESTION: What are we doing when we confess our sins to God?

ANSWER: We’re saying the same thing about that sin that God says. Without excuse, we’re saying that what we did was sin.

Matthew 7:1) Judge not, that ye be not judged.

1 Corinthians 11:31) For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

QUESTIONS: What two things can we do to escape a just punishment for our sins?

ANSWER: 1) We can judge ourselves as being without excuse for our conduct. 2) We can intercede/make excuses for others when they sin.

NOTE: In other words, when we sin we should confess our sin to God without excuse [judge ourselves], and when a fellow believer sins we should intercede for that Christian by reminding God of the circumstances surrounding that sin [not judge that individual].

QUESTIONS: What does “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” mean? Does God owe us forgiveness? Does justice demand that God forgive us?

ANSWER: 1) God is faithful to His Son! Jesus earned our forgiveness at Calvary. Justice now demands that God forgive us when we enter into agreement with Him.

2) God is faithful to His promises. He promised to forgive us; therefore our confession of our sin, in light of His promises, demands His forgiveness and cleansing.

NOTE: When my wife spends most of a day cleaning her house I had better not tell her that the house is a pigpen. That would be an insult to her cleaning abilities. Yet, when God cleanses us from the stains of sin we walk around thinking we are filthy in the sight of God. That’s an insult to God’s ability to cleanse. AFTER WE CONFESS OUR SINS, WE MUST CONFESS, AND THANK GOD, THAT WE ARE CLEAN AND FORGIVEN.

10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

QUESTIONS: Can we really make God a liar?

ANSWER: Of course not! When we deny the truth of Scripture we are, in essence, calling God a liar!