1 John 1:5-7 – 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 sin.
Again, John is not repeating a tale as a third person recipient. He is an eyewitness. What he has seen and heard He has declared to us. He is not repeating what someone else said about Jesus, he is repeating what he heard Jesus teaching. Wow! Really, wow! God so lovingly provides for us!
“God is light.” Not “God is a light,” but God is light. He is not one of many lights just as He is not one of many gods. There is only one God and that God is light. What does light inherently do? It reveals. When light enters a dark room it reveals what our eyes could not previously see. When God touches a person’s life, what spiritual truth was previously unseen, is seen. As light intrinsically reveals, so does God. The best thing that He could reveal to us is Himself. Pastor Chuck Smith said, of God identifying Himself as “I Am,” that this could be understood as the “Ever Becoming One” (Exodus 3:14). God is who He is. He always has been and unchangingly so, always will be (Numbers 23:19). He is not “Ever Becoming” because He becomes as the need arises (James 1:17). No, He is always desirous to reveal Himself to us (John 14:9, 17:3). So, though God never changes, to us, we learn more of Him every day (2 Peter 3:18). Every day our God is a wonder! Every day He is a blessing that explodes within us and overwhelms us with His goodness and love! Oh Family, jump and shout at the greatness of God! Jump and shout at the greatness of God in your individual life. When we begin to recount how many blessings we have, from seemingly little to seemingly miraculous, God is great beyond the words to express! Thinking of Him, words fail me. Being overwhelmed by who He is, I can only, repeatedly proclaim “Thank you Lord” and “Praise God!”
In God, there is “no darkness at all.” This darkness speaks of blindness, darkened eyesight, or ignorance. God is none of these three. With Him within us, all of these have been, and are being, chased away. With the Holy Spirit teaching us the Word of God (John 14:26), and revealing God’s endless acts of love to us throughout our day, we are not blinded to the wonder that is our God. He and His Word, are beauty and wisdom that feed and guide us for a lifetime, and beyond. The darkness spoken of here is not so much speaking directly about sin, but rather about blindness that comes from rejecting the knowledge of God that only comes as one respond’s to God’s calling that comes through Jesus Christ. God is not blind or ignorant. He is omniscient. In Him is “no darkness at all.” With Him within, darkness must flee from us.
If we claim to know God, but do not know Him, if we do not know His Word, if we don’t know His will, we are still in darkness. The only way to still be in darkness is to reject His call to come and belong to Him. Those who walk in ignorance willingly do so. They do not want the light because they want to continue to live in darkness and do the evil deeds that they do (John 3:20). If they were to come into the light, then they would know the truth and have an obligation to do it. They foolishly suppose that they will avoid condemnation by willful ignorance. That is a lie perpetuated by the enemy of our souls. It is a lie that the enemy, and the lusts of a corrupt nature, plants in the garden of our hearts and soul and then carefully tends. God, by nature reveals Himself to all who heed His call. If we are ignorant of the things of God then we are ignorant by our own will. If there is no victory over sin, then something is wrong. Not that we will not ever sin, we most certainly do. But we should, ever the more throughout our lives, gain increasing victory of sin. For that not to happen, then we are denying God the Light to expose sin in us, and chase it from us. To have fellowship with God is to be moved from ignorance of God and His ways to knowledge of Him and His ways. All this only happens through Jesus. Our Savior and Lord Jesus, purifies the lives of all who fellowship with Him. As God and His Word are known by us, the washing of our souls and spirits has come, and it continues.
If we claim to be without sin, then we are still in darkness. Jesus, who is the Light and the Truth, is not illuminating within us. We all sin. What we don’t do is plan to sin. We don’t habitually sin, but rather, we torture ourselves as we sin. We wound our consciences because we cannot bear doing what displeases God. John does not leave us here. He is clear to say that, as we sin and we confess, He always forgives us. What does that mean? Does it mean that every time we sin God is making a mental note to forgive us? No! Jesus paid the full price for all of our sins. Jesus said that “It is finished” and He did not say that it is mostly finished but He will take care of that as it happens. When Jesus cleans, He cleans completely. When Jesus died for our sins, there was no sin that we would do, even after becoming Christian, that He did not die for. He died for the all the sins of all of our life. When He became our Savior and Lord, He knew of all future sins. He did not die just for the sins up to that date, but all our sins. Family, our salvation is complete. Praise God! Then, why do we need to confess. It is for our benefit. Remember that God continues to redeem us. The whole process is too miraculous and too wonderful! As we confess, as we acknowledge it, as the Light of God exposes it in us, then God works it out of us. Also, it keeps us from pride. Additionally, our gratefulness grows and is multiplied as we acknowledge and grow in the depth and beauty of His grace and love.
Let us every day be in the Word of God. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will bring us light. Let us get out of the way of the Light that no shadows are cast that would obstruct the work of the Light. God is good, and He is faithful even when we are not. Why? Well, that’s just who He is. Aren’t we so glad of that! Family, let us always, every day, praise and thank God. There is great wisdom and wonderful protection in doing so. God has ordained it! Praise God.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.