Verse 7: But 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.
This is the second of John’s 5 logistical statements presented in verses 6-10.
John’s Second Premise
“But” contrasts verse 6 with another hypothetical statement: “if we walk in the light.” By “if” John recognizes that maybe we will or maybe we won’t—it is our responsibility to choose. In verse 5 John declared that God is light, now he asserts that God’s absolute status is that “He Himself is in the light.” John also established in verse 5 that ‘light’ refers to the holiness of God. So not only is God holy but He exists in the sphere of holiness, devoid of any sin or evil. Therefore, to walk in the light is equivalent to living a holy and righteous life free from sinful rebellion towards God.
The Conclusion: We Have Fellowship
John concludes that when we resolve to ‘walk in the Light,’ we are living a life of holiness instead of in the darkness of sin and rebellion, and then we can have genuine fellowship with God. This should produce in the believer an overwhelming realization of how they can have an intimate relationship with the God of the universe. This should stagger the imagination. And since this is God’s Word, this is the Divine standard for having fellowship with the Almighty. We are to do it on His terms, not on our personal subjective notions. R.C.H. Lenski agrees and stresses the outcome of our obedience:
To walk in the light is above all to believe the light, the truth, and then also to obey it in word and in deed. What is in the soul will become manifest in the conduct; this is not a mere claim that contradicts open evidence.1
That God “Himself is in the Light” should be our motivation to aspire authentic fellowship. For our desire should be to imitate God as the Apostle Paul commanded: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). We should aspire to be “holy” just as He is holy (Leviticus 19:2; cf. 1 Peter 1:16) and to have as our ambition “to be pleasing to Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9b; cf. Ephesians 5:10). There is something awfully wrong with any relationship that is devoid of the desire to please the other. This is especially true with our fellowship with the Lord.
The phrase “fellowship with one another” is to be understood as the
believers’ mutual relationship with God and is not meant to imply having
fellowship with other believers. That will be addressed in the next chapter. Presently, John’s intention is for each believer to
consider the implication of his message as to how it applies to them
individually in their relationship with God.
The Continuous Cleansing of Sin
Not only do we have genuine fellowship with God as a result of walking in the Light but John adds that “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” There are two things about this phrase that needs amplification. First, the blood of Jesus refers to His violent sacrificial death on the cross. There have been “irresponsibly mystical and theologically misleading”2 speculations regarding the literal blood of Christ for decades. The truth is that the Greek word for ‘blood’ does not always refer to the literal liquid that is “indispensable for the maintenance of life in both human beings and animals.”3 But instead, as defined by the highly regarded Theological Dictionary of the New Testament it is
[A] “violently destroyed life,” “death” or “murder”...also used for “to kill,” though with no specific reference to the actual shedding of blood...The interest of the New Testament is not in the material blood of Christ, but in His shed blood as the life violently taken from Him.4
The atoning work of Christ entailed His bearing of our sins and the sins of the world on the cross (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2). All mankind are considered spiritually “dead in our transgressions [sins]” (Ephesians 2:5), making us enemies of God. Sin is what separates mankind from God and dooms man to eternal death—“The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20a ESV). This is spiritual death, eternal separation from God. The Apostle Paul concludes that even though we were enemies, God the Father resolved our predicament “through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10):
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
It is beyond our ability to comprehend how the Son of God as the sin bearer could experience eternal separation from God, but that is exactly what His atoning work entailed. He suffered the same spiritual death we deserved—separation from God. And while He was still alive, before He shouted out “It is finished” (John 19:30), He was suffering the penalty for our sins.
Secondly, all personal sins we commit after salvation breaks our temporal fellowship with God, which John characterized in the previous verse as walking in darkness. But since Christ already died for all of our sins, John says that we may now have complete confidence that Christ’s death continuously cleanses us from all sin.
Dr. Lewis Chafer maintains that the “immediate confession of every known sin”5 is the only Biblical means stipulated for us to avail ourselves of His continual cleansing from all sin. He goes on to explain that,
To walk in the light is not to become the light; it is rather to be wholly subject to the mind and will of God and adjusted to the holy character of God.6
What this means is that we must be determined to be in harmony with His holy character at all times. This can be attained by confession of our sins and seeking His cleansing. Only then will we be able to have meaningful fellowship with God and “walk in the Light.”
[1] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 11.388.
[2] Carson, D.A. (2004). Exegetical Fallicies. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, p. 34.
[3] Beetham, Christopher A. (Ed.) (2021). The Concise New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, p. 32.
[4] Behm, Johannes (1964–). αἷμα, αἱματεκχυσία. In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich, Eds.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1.173-174.
[5] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 7.55.
[6] Chafer, 3.262.
© 2024 David M. Rossi
In my opinion this entry in "Thieme Bible Doctrine Dictionary", pages 26, 27 provides a clear and accurate explanation of the Blood of Christ (© 2022 by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights reserved.)
ReplyDeleteThe phrase, "the "blood of Christ" is figurative biblical language that represents the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross—His substitutionary spiritual death.
The technical phrase “blood of Christ” sets up an analogy between the physical death of Old Testament sacrificial animals and the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. In Israel’s ritual sacrifices, shedding of animal blood was a visual aid for teaching the substitutionary sacrifice of the prophesied Savior. Since blood is the seat of life for an animal (Lev. 17:11), the innocent animal’s blood was an apt representation of a life given on behalf of others. Animal sacrifices
were the “shadow of good things to come”—the reality would be fulfilled at the cross by Jesus Christ (Heb. 9:11–12; 10:1). To pay the penalty for mankind’s sins, Christ had to die spiritually, not physically, as a substitute for us (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24). This substitutionary spiritual death, the figurative “blood of Christ,” opens the door
to salvation for anyone who believes in Him (Eph. 2:12–13). Furthermore, because the figurative blood of Christ “cleanses us from all sin,” believers can simply name their postsalvation sins privately to the Father and be forgiven (1 John 1:7b–9).
The literal blood that flowed from Christ’s hands, feet, and head was not a factor in either
His spiritual or physical death, nor was it in any way related to His substitutionary atonement. Christ remained physically alive until His sal-vation work was complete, at which time He uttered the words “it is finished” then died physically by His own volition (Luke 23:46; John 10:17–18; 19:30). Afterward, a soldier thrust his spear into Christ’s side and “immediately blood and water [blood clots and serum] came out,” forensic evidence that our Lord did not die from loss of blood (John 19:34).
In Scripture. The word “blood” in the Bible often indicates literal blood of humans and animals (Gen. 9:4; 37:22–31; Ex. 7:17; 12:23; Lev. 7:26; Ps. 106:38; Acts 22:20), but when the New Testament speaks of blood in relation to the sacrifice of Christ, as in “the blood of Christ” or “His blood,” the terminology is always a figure of speech for His saving work (1 Cor. 10:16; Eph. 2:13; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:2). More specifically, Scripture relates the figurative blood to the soteriological doctrines of reconciliation (Col. 1:20), propitiation (Rom. 3:25), expiation (Rev. 1:5), redemption (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:12; 1 Pet. 1:18–19), justification (Rom. 5:9), and sanctification (Heb. 13:12).
NOTE: The above quote by Frank is Biblically accurate. It is why the Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus Christ is the "one mediator between God and men" (1 Tim. 2:5; cf. Heb. 12:24) through His death on the cross.
Delete"He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" - 2 Corinthians 5:21.