CONFESSION OF SINS - 1 JOHN 1:9

 

Verse 9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

John presents one of the most critical doctrines of the Christian faith with his 4th conditional statement of verses 6-10. This doctrine has the greatest impact upon the believer’s most intimate fellowship with God. The correct understanding and implementation of this truth will determine the quality and effectiveness of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Therefore it should be understood that the following verse establishes the definitive basis of true spirituality in the Christian’s life.

John’s Fourth Premise

“If” expresses the probability of our decision in dealing with personal sins—if we decide to confess our sins, then what proceeds will transpire. Sin breaks our fellowship with God, disrupting our moment-by-moment walking in the Light. The Apostle Paul discussed the believers’ sinfulness in Ephesians 4:17-32 and commands, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30a). By grieving the Spirit we also quench the Spirit’s empowering presence in our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:19). It then becomes our responsibility to resolve the problem of our relationship with the Lord. By applying the solution that John provides will indicate just how much we recognize and value the importance of fellowship with our Savior. This should be our automatic response to sin, validating how serious we are in desiring to “please God” as Paul explains:

Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1) [emphasis added]

To confess means to simply name the sin, it does not imply, require or demand that we feel sorry as the basis for forgiveness. We confess our known sins privately to the Father in prayer, not to anyone else, for our fellowship is broken with the Father and needs to be restored. By doing so, the believer agrees that they have committed a transgression of God’s holy directives. The intent of “confess our sins” is to do so both continually and intermittently—whenever we sin. My first pastor-teacher, Robert F. Armstrong (1925-2001)1 rightly stressed that this means we should “keep short accounts with God.” To remain out of fellowship with God the believer reverts back to their “former manner of life” (Ephesians 4:22). There is a downside regarding this status as Paul explained to the Corinthians: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men” (1 Corinthians 3:1a) denoting the loss of the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

 The Outcome of Confession

With the confession of sin we experience the marvelous grace of God. He is continually faithful, being “true to His own nature and promises,”2 (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:9) and He is continually righteous, “because He has found a righteous basis for forgiveness in the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.”3 And James concurs that He never varies from His character of being continually faithful and righteous (James 1:17).

Based upon His character, John maintains that He customarily (routinely) does two things: forgive and to cleanse,4 expressing His Divine purpose for being faithful and righteous. He forgives our sins every time we confess and at the same time He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It’s not difficult to understand His forgiveness of our sins since they had already been judged on the cross by Jesus Christ. But the cleansing of all unrighteousness needs additional clarification.

Since sin breaks our fellowship with God, confessing our known sins demonstrates our obedience and conveys our desire to “walk in the Light” and recover our fellowship with Him. However, there are many sins we commit that we may not be aware of (especially mental attitude sins) they are regarded by Him as unrighteousness—unknown sins. And because the Father has made provision for us to have fellowship with Him, He provides cleansing of all our unknown sins. This does not mean we are to be careless and unconcerned about learning all which God deems sinful, for our ambition should be to obey and please Him (2 Corinthians 5:9).

True Spirituality

As mentioned at the outset, this doctrine of confession of sin defines the Christians’ status of spirituality. Dr. Chafer explains that “spirituality represents that manner of life which is wrought in (not, by) the believer by the unhindered, indwelling Spirit of God.”5 This presupposes that the believer is not grieving or quenching the Spirit because of unconfessed sin. When the Apostle Paul stated that “he who is spiritual appraises all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15) he was emphasizing the believers’ position of being in fellowship with God. The believer unhindered by sins is now in a ‘spiritual’ position and has the ability to appraise (evaluate, assimilate and understand) spiritual phenomena—Divine truths of Scripture.

A ‘natural’ man, the one who has not believed in Jesus Christ, is unable to understand spiritual phenomena, as Paul observed:

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Paul declared that the Corinthians in their sinful condition were not “spiritual men” but “men of flesh” (3:1; carnal in the King James Bible) and that they walk “like mere men” (3:3). In other words, to walk “like mere men” is synonymous to “walk in darkness” (1 John 1:6)—believers emulating the unbeliever (natural man) whose life is driven by fleshly (carnal) desires.

The Apostle Paul catalogs the “deeds of the flesh”: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these (Galatians 5:19–21a). Whenever a believer involves themselves in any of these sinful deeds he emulates the unbeliever and walks in darkness and not in the Light.

In conclusion, it is not what the believer does or doesn’t do that classifies him as being ‘spiritual.’ Therefore, true spirituality characterizes the believers’ manner of life—led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18)—accomplished by the unhindered, indwelling Holy Spirit. It is the status of being unimpeded by sin that grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit.

The Challenge

Are we believers who desire to please God? To live a Spirit empowered life to walk in His Light? Then this passage provides the mechanics necessary to maintain our moment-by-moment fellowship with God. To become aware of our sins, we need an in-depth knowledge of His Word. And above all else, we need to keep short accounts with God.

---

[1] Pastor for 49 years of Warrendale Community Church of Dearborn, MI.

[2] Vincent, Marvin R. (n/d). Word Studies in the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2.321.

[3] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (A. Farstad, Ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, p. 2310.

[4] Wallace, D. B. (1996) Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, p. 472 & 562.

[5] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 7.292.

 

© 2024 David M. Rossi

NO SIN? = NO TRUTH! - 1 JOHN 1:8

 Verse 8: If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Note: this is the third of John’s 5 logistical statements presented in verses 6-10. At first glance, this verse seems rather simple and straight forward. But there is a need to explore the depths of the intent of what John is teaching here.

John’s Third Premise

In this premise John uses the word ‘sin’ in the singular. This does not refer to the plurality of personal sins, but instead it denotes the nature or principle of sin. John is indicating that a person who claims to “have no sin,” maintains that they no longer have the tendency or inclination to commit sin. R.C.H. Lenski’s further elaborates their thinking:

The claim that we do not have “sin” means “such a thing as sin,” and not having such a thing means that nothing of the nature of sin clings to us to stain us as filth or to blacken us as guilt so that we need cleansing or removal.1

Therefore, this means that they no longer believe it necessary to observe the commands to avoid sins as the Apostle Paul warns:

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19–21; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9–10)

As was discussed in the James and Jude series, the early church was confronted with considerable opposition from various heretical factions. They not only had to contend with the Judaizers but also some that were even more nefarious: the Gnostics and the Nicholaitans. John is most likely alluding to the Nicholaitans. Dr. C.C. Ryrie states that according to the early church Fathers “These were apparently a sect that advocated license in matters of Christian conduct, including free love.”2

Albert Barnes notes what the Nicholaitans claimed:

[T]hat nothing was forbidden to the children of God under the gospel, and that in the freedom conferred on Christians they were at liberty to do what they pleased.3

This is known as the heresy of perfectionism. It may be difficult to comprehend that in our present day, there are some who maintain these same beliefs that originated in the 1^st Century and claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. Those who believe in this heresy claim that they have been excused from all requirements of moral law. They specifically based their belief on the assumption that they no longer possess the inherent sin nature. Dr. Kenneth Wuest explains:

Here we have the heresy of the eradication of the totally depraved nature during the earthly life of the Christian. The heresy of perfectionism and of the eradication of the evil nature is the present day form of this problem of the indwelling sinful nature.4

The Conclusion: Self-deception

Even though those who advocate this heresy do a wonderful job of persuading, the inconvenient fact as John states is that we who believe this heresy are deceiving ourselves. In modern jargon, we’re only fooling ourselves. And John states the reason we deceive ourselves is because “the truth is not in us.” As the subject of truth was considered in verse 6, this refers to the absolute truth contained in Scripture—the revelation of “the True God”.5

Those who peddle heresy may claim they are conveying truth, but if it cannot be supported or corroborated by Scripture, then it is not absolute truth. They are arbitrary self-made ‘truths’ generated by Satan “who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). The Apostle Paul warned of this deception:

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

What should be especially noted from the verse we are considering, that no matter who may be promoting and peddling the false teachings of perfectionism, John maintains that we are responsible for our own self-deceiving. The Apostle Peter identified them as the “false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1). Those who deceive God’s people will have their day of judgment before the supreme court of God; for Peter contends that the Lord will “keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).

In Closing: A Remedy

John implies that believers have a solution so that they will not have cause to deceive themselves. If the reason for self-deception is the fact that “the truth is not in us,” then the remedy is the opposite: to get the truth in us. But it must be God’s absolute truth contained in Scripture, His Word. The Apostle Paul explained why it is important:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

The divine ideal is for the believer to receive this instruction from a pastor-teacher, designated by God “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11b-12). It is critical that the believer find a pastor who believes and teaches the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.

The challenge for believers today is to make certain that we are not characterized as the nation of Israel was by the Lord in Jeremiah’s day:

“You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.’” (Jeremiah 7:28 emphasis added)

---

[1] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 11.391.

^[2] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 2015 note.

[3] Barnes, A. (2005). Notes on the New Testament: Hebrews to Jude. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 13.2.284.

[4] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 13.103.

[5] Smith, David (1990). In The Expositor’s Greek Testament (Nicoll, W. Robertson, Ed.), Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 5.172.

 

© 2024 David M. Rossi

WE CAN HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD - 1 JOHN 1:7

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
 

THE PRACTICE OF TRUTH - 1 JOHN 1:6

 

Verse 6: If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

 

 

In verses 6-10 John presents 5 logistical statements indicated by the word ‘if’ in each verse. The objective is to determine that if the established hypothetically premise is true, then the conclusion that is reached will also be true. These verses follow the rule of Greek grammar pertaining to conditional clauses, demonstrating that the premise statement presents a logical connection with the conclusion reached.1

 

John’s First Premise Statement

First let us examine the subject matter of John’s premise statement in verse 6. The objective is to verify the honesty of the believer by evaluating what they say with what they do. His full premise is “if we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness.” What the believer who makes this factual statement means by fellowship is that they have a continuous, close and intimate relationship with the “God of Light,” the holy God of the universe. John presents here a glaring absurdity: that a believer could believe they are having fellowship with the holy God and continuously walk (live) in the realm of darkness. Remember that John maintains that in God “there is no darkness at all” (verse 5). For darkness is representative of sin and rebelliousness to God and is the domain of Satan and thus the opposite of holiness.  

The Conclusion

Therefore, if we as a believer in Christ profess that we are in an intimate relationship (fellowship) with God and our walk is in darkness, characterized by a sinful and rebellious life, then we are a liar. This word ‘walk’ means “to live or pass one’s life,”2 referring to a person’s manner of living. Christian ‘fellowship’ was defined in verse 3 as “an association involving close mutual relations and involvement”3 with God. This entails our participation and partaking of commonly shared interests and replicating the characteristics of God—specifically His holiness and His righteousness.

Not only are we exposed as a liar, but John adds that we “do not practice the truth.” Practicing the truth is not exactly the same as practicing medicine. Doctors practice medicine only when they are tending to patients. The meaning of the word ‘practice’ implies “any external act as manifested in the production of something tangible.”4 In contrast with the doctor, who practices medicine only on occasion, the inference here is that the believer is not consistently producing evidence of truth by his life as they should.

So, what is truth? Dr. Norman Geisler, maintaining that the nature of truth is essential to the Christian faith, states:

Not only does Christianity claim there is absolute truth (which is true for everyone, everywhere, always) but it also insists that truth is that which corresponds to the way things really are.5

Absolute truth originates with God through the revelation of His Son and Scripture. This was affirmed by Jesus’ proclamation that He is the truth (John 14:6), the eternal source of absolute Divine wisdom and knowledge, and that God’s “word is truth” (John 17:17b). God’s absolute truth assures us of objective truth—truth from Divine viewpoint as opposed to subjective human viewpoint. Human viewpoint makes up ‘truth’ statements based upon self-interest standards and has no objective basis, meaning that what is considered ‘truth’ for one person may not be considered ‘truth’ for someone else.

For the believer to practice the truth means that they are consistently producing clear evidence of their relationship with Jesus Christ on the basis of His truth standards. John defines these truth standards as “His commandments” in chapter 2:3-4. There the relational dynamics are further developed as the believer having “come to know” Christ; as opposed to the one who claims to know Christ and does not keep His commandments—that one is a liar.

Since all personal relationships are based upon the knowledge of one another, our relationship with God is no different. God knows us because He made man and formed us in His image (Genesis 1:27; 2:7). The only way that we can know Him is by how He has revealed Himself: by His creation (Isaiah 45:18) and by His Son, Jesus Christ, Who as the Word “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). But now He is revealed to us through the inspired writings of the Scriptures (Hebrews 1:1-2). The Scriptures are the embodiment of Divine truth and the means by which all believers come to know Jesus Christ. Not by some personal emotional or intangible feelings. The Apostle Paul described the procedure that God has established for believers today to learn His truth, and that is by a pastor-teacher:

And He gave...some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11b–13)

The believers’ fellowship with Christ is supposed to be a solemn and intimate relationship. But to “walk in darkness” concludes that it becomes transitory when personal sin causes a disruption of our fellowship. This is what John desires that believers may avoid, for outside of the fellowship relationship with God, the believer grieves7 and quenches8 the Holy Spirit Who, empowers them in their moment-by-moment “walk in the Light” (1:7), characterized by John as to “practice the truth” (1:6).

R.C.H. Lenski is correct in his analysis:

To think that we can remain in darkness and yet be in fellowship with him, in who there is no darkness whatever, is the height of delusion, the saddest contradiction.6

We must all examine ourselves to determine if we indeed practice the truth. Not the ‘truth’ of the world or a ‘truth’ that we devise apart from Scripture, but God’s Divine truth. The study and intake of God’s indispensable Word is essential for spiritual growth and for our empowerment to practice His truth.

---

[1] Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Zondervan Publishing House, p.696.

[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G4043.

[3] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1.445.

[4] Zodhiates, G4160.

[5] Geisler, Norman L. (2002). Systematic Theology, Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1.107.

[6] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 11.383.

[7] Ephesians 4:30

[8] 1 Thessalonians 5:19

 

 © 2024 David M. Rossi