1 John 1
The Communion of Christians with God And One Another
This writing begins without any of the formal features characteristic of a letter, such as we found in 2 John and 3 John. Since the conclusion also lacks any typical features of a letter, we must conclude that the writing is not so much a letter as a written sermon or address. - Howard Marshall
Many commentators believe that John wrote this sermon/epistle to specifically address false teaching in the churches around the identity of Jesus, the Christian’s sin nature, and assurance of salvation. With this view in mind, the introduction of this letter reads like a carefully crafted creed that presents Jesus as the incarnate Messiah and the apostles as the authorized conveyors of God’s truth.
What We Have Seen And Heard
Witness
Vs. 1 - “...what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands…”
John reminded his readers that he was recounting firsthand information. His instruction was not second-hand or speculatory. He was expanding on the teachings of Jesus.
Word
Vs. 1 - “...the word of life.”
John described Jesus as the “logos” or logic behind all of life in his gospel record and first epistle.
John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The idea of the Logos – of the Word – was important for John and for the Greek and Jewish worlds of his day. For the Jew, God was often referred to as the Word because they knew God perfectly revealed Himself in His Word. For the Greek, their philosophers had spoken for centuries about the Logos – the basis for organization and intelligence in the universe, the Ultimate Reason which controls all things.
It is as if John said to everyone, “This Logos you have been talking about and writing about for centuries – well, we have heard Him, seen Him, studied Him, and touched Him. Let me now tell you about Him.” - David Guzik
Eternal
Vs. 2 - the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us
John left little room for speculation about the incarnate nature of Jesus. He and the other apostles had been taught by the Son of God.
So That You May Have Fellowship
Purpose
Vs. 3-4 - so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Here at the very beginning of his letter, John sets down his objects in writing to his people. It is his wish to produce fellowship with men and fellowship with God. The pastor's aim must always be to bring men closer to one another and closer to God. - William Barclay
The idea of fellowship is one of the most important ideas in this letter of John’s. It is the ancient Greek word koinonia, which speaks of a sharing, a communion, a common bond and common life. It speaks of a living, breathing, sharing, loving relationship with another person. - David Guzik
There is a consistent emphasis in this letter on the importance of love and unity with God and other believers. Here, the apostle notes that he desires for these Christians to have “fellowship” with “us,” likely referring to John himself and the other apostles who had been personally chosen to lead and teach the early church.
The false teachers that John is fighting against were trying to discredit the apostles and turn them away from their teachings. John is telling us that there is a problem with rejecting apostolic teaching. If you are not in fellowship with the apostles you cannot be in fellowship with God and his Son. Christ is eternal life and we only can be in fellowship with the Eternal Life and with the Father when we have fellowship with the apostles’ teaching. - Brent Kercheville
Metaphors
Vs. 5 - “God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.”
Light = Truth
Darkness = Falsehood
Walking in the light = Living according to the truth
John compared the false teachings that had invaded the churches to a kind of darkness that obscured reality. And he encouraged Christians to allow the “light” of the truth to illuminate their lives rather than to stumble in the darkness of falsehood.
Misunderstandings
John continued to provide examples of some misunderstandings, or false teachings, that had apparently crept into the churches’ understanding of the ongoing presence of sin in the lives of believers.
It is probable that these claims were real statements made by people in the church to which John was writing, and that they reflect the outlook of the people who were causing trouble in the church. - Marshall
Practicing Sin
Vs. 6 - If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth.
First, if people think they can sin as they please and still have fellowship with God, they are mistaken. - Fleming
In the way that light shows dirt, truth reveals our need for forgiveness. If we are not aware of our own sinfulness, it is because we have not exposed ourselves to the truth.
Denying Sin Nature
Vs. 8 - If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Second, if people forget that they have a sinful nature and think that everything they do is right, they deceive themselves. - Fleming
Rationalizing Sin
Vs. 10 - If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Third, if people claim they never sin at all, they are really saying that God is a liar, because he has declared all people to be sinful. - Fleming
John condemns the man who claims that he is so far advanced in knowledge and in the spiritual life that sin for him has ceased to matter; he condemns the man who evades the responsibility for his sin or who holds that sin has no effect upon him; he condemns the man who has never even realized that he is a sinner. The essence of the Christian life is first to realize our sin; and then to go to God for that forgiveness which can wipe out the past and for that cleansing which can make the future new. - William Barclay
True repentance begins where whitewashing (‘Nothing really happened’) and blame-shifting (‘It wasn’t really my fault’) and self-pity (‘I’m sorry because of what it has cost me’) and self-flagellation (‘I will feel so terrible, no one will be able to criticize me’) end. - Tim Keller
From beginning to end, John is concerned to guard against two opposite errors: (1) treating ongoing sin lightly and (2) despairing that, if a believer sins, he is lost. Both are errors.
Some of John’s community seem to think that you can continue sinning and still be born again. Others seem to think that, if you are born again, you don’t have any sin in your life. To the first group, John says, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning” (1 John 3:9). To the second group, he says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8).
In other words, Christians sin, but Christians do not settle in with the practice of sin. - John Piper
Mercy
Vs. 7 - If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Vs. 9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
John reminded these Christians that they would continue to sin, but that when they do, they should not conceal it in shame but rather confess it in surrender. His description of confession and cleansing became an invaluable addition to the new testament canon.
John’s teaching on repentance and confession of sin is consistent with the whole biblical account. The biblical authors did not describe an experience of sinless perfection as followers of God. But they did pray for divine mercy as they strived to confess and forsake their sin.
Psalm 51:1-2 - Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 130:3-4 - Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that you may be revered.
Proverbs 28:13 - The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
It would be difficult to find any single passage of Scripture more crucial and fundamental to daily Christian living than 1 John 1:5-10. For here, in a few brief verses, the ’disciple whom Jesus loved’ has laid down for us the basic principles which underlie a vital walk with God. - Hodges
