1 John 1:5

The apostle, having declared the truth and dignity of the author of the gospel, brings a message or report from him, from which a just conclusion is to be drawn for the consideration and conviction of the professors of religion, or professed entertainers of this glorious gospel.

I. Here is the message or report that the apostle avers to come from the Lord Jesus: This then is the message which we have heard of him (Jo1 1:5), of his Son Jesus Christ. As he was the immediate sender of the apostles, so he is the principal person spoken of in the preceding context, and the next antecedent also to whom the pronoun him can relate. The apostles and apostolical ministers are the messengers of the Lord Jesus; it is their honour, the chief they pretend to, to bring his mind and messages to the world and to the churches. This is the wisdom and present dispensation of the Lord Jesus, to send his messages to us by persons like ourselves. He that put on human nature will honour earthen vessels. It was the ambition of the apostles to be found faithful, and faithfully to deliver the errands and messages they had received. What was communicated to them they were solicitous to impart: This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you. A message from the Word of life, from the eternal Word, we should gladly receive: and the present one is this (relating to the nature of God whom we are to serve, and with whom we should covet all indulged communion) - That God is light, and in him is no darkness at all, Jo1 1:5. This report asserts the excellency of the divine nature. He is all that beauty and perfection that can be represented to us by light. He is a self-active uncompounded spirituality, purity, wisdom, holiness, and glory. And then the absoluteness and fulness of that excellency and perfection. There is no defect or imperfection, no mixture of any thing alien or contrary to absolute excellency, no mutability nor capacity of any decay in him: In him is no darkness at all, Jo1 1:5. Or this report may more immediately relate to what is usually called the moral perfection of the divine nature, what we are to imitate, or what is more directly to influence us in our gospel work. And so it will comprehend the holiness of God, the absolute purity of his nature and will, his penetrative knowledge (particularly of hearts), his jealousy and injustice, which burn a a most bright and vehement flame. It is meet that to this dark world the great God should be represented as pure and perfect light. It is the Lord Jesus that best of all opens to us the name and nature of the unsearchable God: The only-begotten, who is in the bosom of the Father, the same hath declared him. It is the prerogative of the Christian revelation to bring us the most noble, the most august and agreeable account of the blessed God, such as is most suitable to the light of reason and what is demonstrable thereby, most suitable to the magnificence of his works round about us, and to the nature and office of him that is the supreme administrator, governor, and judge of the world. What more (relating to and comprehensive of all such perfection) could be included in one word than in this, God is light, and in him is no darkness at all? Then,

II. There is a just conclusion to be drawn from this message and report, and that for the consideration and conviction of professors of religion, or professed entertainers of this gospel. This conclusion issues into two branches: - 1. For the conviction of such professors as have no true fellowship with God: If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. It is known that to walk, in scripture account, is to order and frame the course and actions of the moral life, that is, of the life so far as it is capable of subjection to the divine law. To walk in darkness is to live and act according to such ignorance, error, and erroneous practice, as are contrary to the fundamental dictates of our holy religion. Now there may be those who may pretend to great attainments and enjoyments in religion; they may profess to have communion with God; and yet their lives may be irreligious, immoral, and impure. To such the apostle would not fear to give the lie: They lie, and do not the truth. They belie God; for he holds no heavenly fellowship or intercourse with unholy souls. What communion hath light with darkness? They belie themselves, or lie concerning themselves; for they have no such communications from God nor accesses to him. There is no truth in their profession nor in their practice, or their practice gives their profession and pretences the lie, and demonstrates the folly and falsehood of them. 2. For the conviction and consequent satisfaction of those that are near to God: But, if we walk in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. As the blessed God is the eternal boundless light, and the Mediator is, from him, the light of the world, so the Christian institution is the great luminary that appears in our sphere, and shines here below. A conformity to this in spirit and practice demonstrates fellowship or communion with God. Those that so walk show that they know God, that they have received of the Spirit of God, and that the divine impress or image is stamped upon their souls. Then we have fellowship one with another, they with us and we with them, and both with God, in his blessed or beatific communications to us. And this is one of those beatific communications to us - that his Son's blood or death is applied or imputed to us: The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. The eternal life, the eternal Son, hath put on flesh and blood, and so became Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ hath shed his blood for us, or died to wash us from our sins in his own blood. His blood applied to us discharges us from the guilt of all sin, both original and actual, inherent and committed: and so far we stand righteous in his sight; and not only so, but his blood procures for us those sacred influences by which sin is to be subdued more and more, till it is quite abolished, Gal 3:13, Gal 3:14.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

[2. First Half. God is Light (1Jn_1:5 to 1Jn_2:28).

(1) STATEMENT OF THE LEADING THOUGHT (1Jn_1:5).

(2) FIRST INFERENCE: The true fellowship (1Jn_1:6-7); the Christian must not sin.

(3) SECOND INFERENCE: Confession of sins (1Jn_1:8-10); the Christian must not conceal his sin.

(4) THIRD INFERENCE: Remedy for sins (1Jn_2:1-2).

(5) OBEDIENCE THE SIGN OF WALKING IN LIGHT (1Jn_2:3-8).

(6) ESPECIALLY BROTHERLY LOVE (1Jn_2:9-10).

(7) THE THINGS THEY MUST NOT LOVE IF THEY WALKED IN THE LIGHT (1Jn_2:12-17).

(8) THE MANIFESTATIONS OF DARKNESS (1Jn_2:18-28).

(a) Signs whereby they should know the forerunners of the last time (1Jn_2:18-23).

(b) Exhortation to continue in the light (1Jn_2:24-28).]

(1) (5) This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you.—What the Son had received from the Father, this the Apostles were to report to the world. The attention is aroused, as by the silence before the thunderstorm, to expect a central and fundamental notion of the utmost importance.

That God is light.—Here is the essence of Christian theology, the truth about the Deity as opposed to all the imperfect conceptions of Him which had embittered the minds of the wise. To the heathen, Deity had meant angry, malevolent beings, worshipped best by the secrecy of outrageous vice; to the Greeks and Romans, forces of nature transformed into superhuman men and women, powerful and impure; to the philosophers, an abstraction either moral or physical; to the Gnostics it was a remote idea, equal and contending forces of good and evil, recognisable only through less and less perfect deputies. All this John, summing up what the Old Testament and our Lord had said about the Almighty Father, sweeps away in one simple declaration of truth. Light was God’s garment in Psa_104:2; to Ezekiel (Eze_1:2), the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord was brightness; to Habakkuk (1Jn_3:3), His brightness was as the light; Christ had called the sons of God children of the light (Joh_12:36), and announced Himself as the Light of the World (Joh_8:12); in the Hebrews (Heb_1:3), Christ was the refracted ray of the Father’s glory, “the express image of His person;” to James, the Almighty was the Father of all lights (Jas_1:17); to Paul, He dwells “in the light that no man can approach unto” (1Ti_6:16); to St. Peter, the Christian state is an admission “into His marvellous light” (1Pe_2:9). These ideas John comprehends: God is Light. Light physical, because (1) it was He who called everything first out of darkness, and (2) from whom proceeds all health and perfection; light intellectual, because (1) He is the source of all wisdom and knowledge, and (2) in His mind exist the ideals after which all things strive; light moral, because (1) His perfection shows that the difference between good and evil is not merely a question of degree, but fundamental and final, and (2) the life of Christ had exhibited that contrast sharply: once for all. Thus, on this declaration depends the whole doctrine of sin: sin is not merely imperfection; it is enmity to God. There can be no shades of progression, uniting good and evil: in Him is no darkness at all. Good and evil may be mixed in an individual: in themselves they are contrary.

(2) (6) If we say.—A favourite form with John, expressing sympathetic delicacy.

That we have fellowship with him. . . .—Some of the Gnostics (like the Anabaptists) said that on account of their spiritual knowledge they were free to act as they liked, without committing sin. For walking as a description of the spiritual state, compare 1Jn_2:6; 2Jn_1:6; Rom_6:4; Rom_8:4; Eph_4:17; Php_3:20.

Darkness would include any conscious habit which was opposed to God’s example of perfection.

We lie.—We are a self-contradiction, and we know it.

And do not the truth.—The truth with St. John is as much a matter of action as of thought and word; that sphere of conduct which is in harmony with God, whose nature is Light.

(7) As he is in the light.—The effulgence of the atmosphere of the perfectly good, the sinlessly loving, the gloriously pure, which, created by God and proceeding from Him, is specially “His throne.” At the same time, wherever such characteristics of Divine Light are found, there He is particularly present.

We have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.—The antithesis to “lying and doing not the truth,” presented under the twofold aspect of (1) the brotherly result of walking with God, (2) its purifying influence. Each human being that comes near us becomes the object of our friendly sympathy; and the sacrifice of Christ has both put away the sin of the world and prevents sin from reigning in our mortal bodies; it obtains forgiveness for us, and by reminding us that it was sin that brought Jesus to the cross, has a continually purifying power over us, through the Spirit of Christ and of the Father. (See 1Co_6:11; Eph_1:7; Eph_1:19-20; Heb_9:14; 1Pe_1:19-23.)

(3) (8) If we say that we have no sin.—The preceding words had reminded St. John that even mature Christians, though certainly not “walking in darkness,” yet have sinful tendencies in themselves: sensuous impulses, non-spiritual inclinations, lack of self-knowledge, a lowered standard, principles and views borrowed partly from the world, wavering of will, and hence even graver faults. Not to admit this would be to mislead ourselves, and in us the power and energy of light, searching the very corners of the heart, would not be working. (See Rom_7:18-23; Gal_5:17.)

(9) If we confess our sins.—An advance in the thought from the general “having sin.” Confession to God must recognise and measure each particular fault. (Psa_32:5; Psa_51:3; Pro_28:13; Luk_15:21.)

He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.—He, from the context, cannot possibly be any other than God. Here another grand progression of thought meets us: not merely “we are in the truth,” but the actual and glorious result on God’s side; faithful and just on account of Christ’s sacrifice and our repentance. For the double notion of forgiving and cleansing, see Note on 1Jn_1:7. The Romish interpreters, in their arbitrary way, limit the cleansing here to purgatory.

(10) If we say that we have not sinned.—The argument of the passage equally excludes the interpretation “freedom from guilt since conversion” as “innocence during the whole life.” St. John is here repeating, in a more emphatic form, the thought of 1Jn_1:8.

We make him a liar, and his word is not in us.—Stronger far than “we lie,” or “the truth is not in us.” Our foolish presumption is regarded in its worst aspect: an impiety against God, whose word, revelation, appeal to our conscience, and witness by the Spirit, are thus blasphemously contradicted. Parallel to “we do not the truth” and “the truth is not in us,” the practical result here is that we cannot be regarded as having in any sense received God’s revelation into our hearts.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5–7. Fellowship with God and with the Brethren

5. This then is the message which we have heard of Him] Better, And the message which we have heard from Him is this. ‘This’ is the predicate, as so often in S. John: ‘But the judgment is this’ (Joh_3:19); ‘The commandment is this’ (Joh_15:12); ‘The eternal life is this’ (Joh_17:3): comp. 1Jn_3:11; 1Jn_3:23; 1Jn_5:3; 1Jn_5:11; 1Jn_5:14; 2Jn_1:6. In all these cases ‘is this’ means ‘This is what it consists in, This is the sum and substance of it’. The conjunction does not introduce an inference: here, as in the Gospel, the main portion of the writing is joined on to the Introduction by a simple ‘and’. Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Rhemish all have ‘and’: ‘then’ comes from Geneva, apparently under the influence of Beza’s igitur. The connexion of thought seems to be this. S. John is writing that we may have fellowship with God (1Jn_1:3): and in order to have this we must know 1. what God is (1Jn_1:5), and 2. what we consequently are bound to be (6–10). The word for ‘message’ (ἀγγελία) occurs only in this Epistle (1Jn_3:11) in N.T., but is more frequent in LXX.

Once more we have a striking parallel between Gospel and Epistle: the Gospel opens with a sentence very similar in form; ‘And the witness of John is this’ (Joh_1:19). All these similarities strengthen the belief that the two were written about the same time, and were intended to accompany one another.

from Him] From Christ. The pronoun used (αὐτός) is not the one (ἐκεῖνος) commonly used for Christ in this Epistle. But here the context decides: ‘Him’ refers back to ‘His Son Jesus Christ’ (1Jn_1:3), the subject of the opening verses (1–3). Moreover, it was from Christ, and not immediately from the Father, that the Apostles received their message.

and declare unto you] Better, and announce unto you: not precisely the same verb as was rendered ‘declare’ in 1Jn_1:2-3. Both are compounds of the same verb; but while the former has merely the notion of proclaiming and making known, this has the notion of proclaiming again what has been received elsewhere. The one is annuntiare, the other renuntiare. S. John hands on the message received from Christ: it is no invention of his own. It is a message, and not a discovery. So also the Spirit makes known or reveals to us truths which proceed from the Father (Joh_16:13-15): comp. Joh_4:25; 2Co_7:7; 1Pe_1:12, where the same verb is used in all cases.

God is light] This is the theme of the first main division of the Epistle, as ‘God is Love’ of the second: so that this verse stands in the same relation to the first great division as 1Jn_1:1-4 to the whole Epistle. No one tells us so much about the Nature of God as S. John: other writers tell us what God does, and what attributes He possesses; S. John tells us what He is. There are three statements in the Bible which stand alone as revelations of the Nature of God, and they are all in the writings of S. John: ‘God is spirit’ (Joh_4:24); ‘God is light’, and ‘God is love’ (1Jn_4:8). In all these momentous statements the predicate has no article, either definite or indefinite. We are not told that God is the Spirit, or the Light, or the Love: nor (in all probability) that He is a Spirit, or a light. But ‘God is spirit, is light, is love’: spirit, light, love are His very Nature. They are not mere attributes, like mercy and justice: they are Himself. They are probably the nearest approach to a definition of God that the human mind could frame or comprehend: and in the history of thought and religion they are unique. The more we consider them, the more they satisfy us. The simplest intellect can understand their meaning; the subtlest cannot exhaust it. No philosophy, no religion, not even the Jewish, had risen to the truth that God is light. ‘The Lord shall be to thee an everlasting light’ (Isa_60:19-20) is far short of it. But S. John knows it: and lest the great message which he conveys to us in his Gospel, ‘God is spirit’, should seem somewhat bare and empty in its indefiniteness, he adds this other message in his Epistle, ‘God is light, God is love’. No figure borrowed from the material world could give the idea of perfection so clearly and fully as light. It suggests ubiquity, brightness, happiness, intelligence, truth, purity, holiness. It suggests excellence without limit and without taint; an excellence whose nature it is to communicate itself and to pervade everything from which it is not of set purpose shut out. ‘Let there be light’ was the first fiat of the Creator; and on it all the rest depends. Light is the condition of beauty, and life, and growth, and activity: and this is as true in the intellectual, moral, and spiritual spheres as in the material universe.

Of the many beautiful and true ideas which the utterance ‘God is light’ suggests to us, two are specially prominent in this Epistle; intelligence and holiness. The Christian, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and in communion with God in Christ, possesses (1) knowledge, (2) righteousness. (1) ‘Ye know Him which is from the beginning’ (1Jn_2:13-14); ‘I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it’ (1Jn_2:21); ‘Ye need not that anyone teach you’ (1Jn_2:27); &c. &c. (2) ‘Every one that hath this hope on him purifieth himself, even as He is pure’ (1Jn_3:3); ‘Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God’; &c. &c.

and in Him is no darkness at all] Or, retaining the telling order of the Greek, and darkness in Him there is none at all. This antithetic parallelism is characteristic of S. John’s style. He frequently emphasizes a statement by following it up with a denial of its opposite. Thus, in the next verse, ‘We lie, and do not the truth’. Comp. ‘We lead ourselves astray, and the truth is not in us’ (1Jn_1:8); Abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him’ (1Jn_2:10); ‘Is true, and is no lie’ (1Jn_2:27): comp. 1Jn_2:4. So also in the Gospel: see on Joh_1:3. The denial here is very strong, the negative being doubled in the Greek; ‘none whatever, none at all’.

Another parallel between the Gospel and the Epistle must here be pointed out. In the Prologue to the former we have these ideas in succession; the Word, life, light, darkness. The same four follow in the same order here; ‘the Word of life’, ‘the life was manifested’, ‘God is light, and darkness in Him there is none’. Must we not suppose that the sequence of thought here has been influenced by the sequence in the corresponding portion of the Gospel?

The figurative use of ‘darkness’ for moral darkness, i.e. error and sin, is very frequent in S. John (1Jn_2:8-9; 1Jn_2:11; see on Joh_1:5; Joh_8:12). These passages shew that the meaning of this verse cannot be, ‘God has now been revealed, and no part of His Nature remains unknown’; which, moreover, could never be stated of Him who is incomprehensible. S. John is laying the foundation of Christian Ethics, of which the very first principle is that there is a God who intellectually, morally, and spiritually is light.

“In speaking of ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ it is probable that S. John had before him the Zoroastrian speculations on the two opposing spiritual powers which influenced Christian thought at a very early date” (Westcott).

1Jn_1:5 to 1Jn_2:28. God is Light

1Jn_1:5 to 1Jn_2:11. What Walking in the Light involves

This section is largely directed against the Gnostic doctrine that to the man of enlightenment all conduct is morally indifferent. Against every form of this doctrine, which sapped the very foundations of Christian Ethics, the Apostle never wearies of inveighing. So far from its being true that all conduct is alike to the enlightened man, it is the character of his conduct that will shew whether he is enlightened or not. If he is walking in the light his condition and conduct will exhibit these things; 1. Fellowship with God and with the Brethren (5–7); 2. Consciousness and Confession of Sin (8–10); 3. Obedience to God by Imitation of Christ (1Jn_2:1-6); 4. Love of the Brethren (1Jn_2:7-11).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn_1:5-10

This then is the message … that God is light

The clergy Gods messengers

All rightly ordained ministers of Christ are Gods messengers.

Our office is not merely of mans appointment; we hold it from the Lord. We are sent to remind you of Gods will, to be His witnesses unto you (Heb_2:1-4). Consider, then, the message which we bring unto you, whence it comes, and upon what authority. I have a message from God unto thee. That message began to be preached by the Lord Himself, by Him who said, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father. The apostles, who were eyewitnesses of His majesty and glory, have handed down His words to us in the New Testament. To show that they were sent by God they wrought miracles (Mar_16:16). We are invested with Gods authority to warn, to teach, to rebuke, to comfort (2Co_5:20). And as our message is from God, so we must be faithful in delivering it. Christs ministers are put in trust with the gospel, and they must fulfil that trust (Eze_3:11). They who refuse to hear the messenger refuse to hear Him who sent him (Mat_10:40). It remains for me to say what my message is to each of you.

1. And, first, I speak to those who are careless, thoughtless, and unconcerned about religion. You have not known God as a Father, Christ as a Saviour, the Holy Spirit as a Sanctifier. I have a message from God to you. He says, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead. Consider your ways. Boast not thyself of tomorrow: for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Remember that word, Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.

2. Next, I speak to those who are living in known sin. I have a message from God unto you. Break off your sin by repentance, turn to God through Christ earnestly, seriously, and at once; for remember that the unbelieving must have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. We beseech you, in Christs stead, be ye reconciled to God.

3. But is there one here who is humbly desiring to learn the way of salvation, who is sorry and ashamed to have lived so long without God, and to have so grievously provoked Him by sin and folly? I have a message from God unto thee, and it is one full of love and full of comfort Be of good cheer; They that seek shall find.

4. But there may also be some who, having once known the way of righteousness, have since fallen away and gone backwards. I have a message from God to you also. If any man draw back, He says, My soul shall have no pleasure in him. Remember from whence thou art fallen and repent, and do thy first works. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you.

5. Or is there one amongst us whose heart is troubled with a sense of sin and guilt? who is asking in sorrow, What must I do to be saved? There is a message from God to you. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He came into the world to save sinners.

6. There are yet some to whom I may especially say I have a message from God unto you--you who have fled to Christ, who are living a Christian life in communion with God and hope of heaven. You are still surrounded with temptations from within and from without. Therefore be sober, be vigilant. Walk humbly with God, pray without ceasing. Abound in all good works. God expects you to attend to what He says, to give earnest heed to the things which you have heard, lest at any time you should let them slip. (E. Blencowe, M. A.)

A glorious message

I. A message.

1. How was this message obtained? We have heard it, and disclose it unto you, says John. Heard it; from whom? Unquestionably from the Lord Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the Great Teacher sent from God. He delivered it to His disciples, and they to others.

2. What does this message express? God is Light, He makes us wise unto salvation.

3. What does this light exclude? It excludes all darkness, for God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. This shows the supremacy of God, and His sovereign perfection in distinction from all orders of His creatures.

II. The awful decision. If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.

1. Now men may say this by profession of it to others; and they may say it to their own souls, persuading themselves that they are real Christians, when they have no part or lot in the matter, their hearts not being right in the sight of God.

2. Congeniality must precede fellowship, and resemblance must precede fellowship. And therefore it will follow that a change of heart is necessary, for without this change we can neither enjoy God, nor serve Him acceptably.

III. The glorious privilege.

1. It takes in fellowship. We have fellowship one with another. There is a fellowship belonging to all the people of God wherever they live. But this is not the fellowship referred to here. Here the fellowship one with another means the fellowship that exists between God and us. He is their God, and they are His people.

2. The other article here is the assurance of pardon. And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.

(1) Observe the procurer, the Son of God. However this term may be explained, it always in Scripture means dignity.

(2) Mark the efficacy of His death: His blood cleanseth us from all sin. It delivers us from the heinousness of it, however offensive it is in the eyes of a holy God; and from the love of sin, and make us dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God.

(3) Then mark the extent of it: it cleanseth us from all sin--from original sin and actual sin; from all sin, however aggravated. His blood cleanseth perfectly from all sin, and completely from all transgression. (W. Jay.)

The conditions of Divine fellowship

I. A lesson of instruction (verse 5). Both the manner and the matter of this lesson are very impressive.

1. The apostle adopts the manner of the deliverer of Israel (Jdg_3:20). It is indeed the style of our Lord Himself (Joh_7:16). It is intended to remind us that the word and ministry are to be understood and treated as a message from God (1Th_4:8). It is observable that no mention is here made by name of the Being from whom the message comes. We have heard of him. Of whom? No doubt the glorious Being described in the previous verses. It is Jesus the Mediator.

2. Impressive, however, as is the manner of the lesson before us, its matter is of far higher moment.

(1) God is light. Its simplicity and comprehensiveness are amazing. There are three principal ideas suggested by the figure.

(a) Light is the emblem of knowledge. God is onmiscient. He sees all things as they are, in their true nature and real influence. He cannot be deceived. Matter and mind are alike plain to His perception. Our motives and feelings and purposes are as palpable to Him as our bodies.

(b) So also is light the emblem of holiness. God is the Holy One implying that none but He is absolutely and infinitely holy. All He does is in undeviating correspondence with perfect purity.

(c) Light is the emblem of happiness. Infinite knowledge and holiness must be productive of infinite happiness. He possesses within Himself all the sources of unmingled blessedness. His perfections are never-failing springs of joy.

(2) And in Him is no darkness at all. Nor is this without its meaning. It is designed to teach us that no element enters into His light to obscure it. He is intellectually and morally perfect.

II. A warning against self-deception (verse 6).

1. If we say that we have fellowship. We say it, but we may herein be uttering what is untrue. Profession is not principle. We may be self-deceived, or we may be hypocrites.

2. And walk in darkness. Darkness is the emblem of ignorance, error, and sin. And so far may the spirit of self-deception or hypocrisy prevail, that with the highest professions on our lips, our walk may be utterly inconsistent with them. It is not merely that we may be betrayed by the force of temptation into some inconsistent action, but that our habit of life is contrary to sound principle and true godliness.

3. We lie in such a case. Our outward profession is contrary to the inward reality.

4. And do not the truth. If such be our deportment, we are disobedient to the truth. The language reminds us of the words of Christ (Joh_3:19-21).

5. It is plain that the warning of the apostle is designed to stand ill contrast to the lesson which he had just delivered. Looking at it, then, in this light, how powerful is his appeal! God is light. Who, then, can have fellowship with such a Being? Is it he who is walking in darkness, which is the emblem of ignorance, and error, and sin? Impossible! And what communion hath light with darkness?

6. With these solemn words before us, let us inquire who they are that belie their profession of fellowship with God?

(1) The ignorant do so. They have no adequate conception of sin, or of themselves, or of the Saviour, or of God, or of the world, or of eternity. They are walking in darkness, yet they have no fear.

(2) The erroneous present a mole aggravated case. What a description does Isaiah (Isa_44:20) give of such! St. Paul describes the same (Rom_10:3). The forms in which they do so are very various, and sometimes the very opposite of one another. One trusts in his innocence or righteousness. He does not see anything in himself why God should cast him off, but thinks he has done much to commend himself to His fellowship. Another relics not on himself at all, but in the creed which he has learned from his youth, and which he holds tenaciously in the letter, while a stranger to its power and spirit. Many more rest in the formality of outward rites and ceremonies (Mat_15:8).

(3) Above all, they who allow themselves in sin, fall under the censure of the apostle. Nor are such always sensible of their own inconsistencies. It is to be feared many are going to the judgment with their sins without alarm.

III. The seasonable and encouraging direction which the apostle gives to those who would have tile enjoyment and advantage of real fellowship (verse 7).

1. A clear apprehension of the truth is essential to fellowship. No one can have solid and permanent enjoyment of God who does not well understand the doctrine of justification by faith.

2. The believer, thus enlightened and brought into fellowship with God, must exercise the utmost watchfulness against sin. Whatever sin is allowed, and in whatever measure, it will obscure the object of faith, and darken the evidence of his interest in it.

3. He who would walk in the light and enjoy the fellowship of God must abound in well-doing. This is the secret of religious enjoyment. He that watereth others, shall himself be watered. Exercise is essential to health. (James Morgan, D. D.)

Light the nature and dwelling place of God

I. The form of the announcement in the fifth verse is very peculiar: This, then, is the message, etc. It is not a discovery which we make concerning God, an inference or deduction which we draw for ourselves from observation of His works and ways, and which we publish in that character, and with that weight of influence, to our fellow men. It is an authentic and authoritative communication to us from Himself. And it is to be accepted as such.

1. Positively, God is light. Let these two thoughts be fixed in our minds; first, the thought of perfect openness; and secondly, the thought of perfect inviolability.

2. Negatively, In Him is no darkness at all. I connect this part of the statement with that saying of John in his Gospel (Joh_1:5). In the light itself, in Him who is the light even when shining in darkness, the darkness which comprehendeth it not--there is still no darkness at all. The light shineth in darkness. He who is the light comes, in the person of His Son, to seek and to save us who are in darkness; who, as to our character, and state, and prospects, are darkness itself. For our sakes, in our stead, in our nature, He who is light is identified with our darkness. And yet in Him is no darkness at all. In the very heat and crisis of this death struggle, there is no surrender of the light to the darkness; no concession, no compromise; no allowance of some partial shading of the light on which the darkness presses so terribly. All still is clear, open, transparent, between the Son and the Father. In the interest of light triumphing over darkness, not by any plausible terms of accommodation, but before the open face of eternal righteousness, pure and untainted, the Father gives the cup and the Son drains it to the dregs. In that great transaction, thus consummated, before all intelligences, between the Father and the Son, it is clearly seen and conclusively proved that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

II. Such being the message in the fifth verse, the warning in the sixth verse becomes simply a self-evident inference: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. What is this walking in darkness? Our answer is simple enough. All unholy walking is walking in darkness (Eph_5:3-11; Gal_5:19-21). But the matter must be pressed a little more closely home. The characteristics of light are clearness, openness, transparency, and inviolability, retaining and preserving its own pure nature, unmodified, unmingled, unsullied by external influences. Now darkness is the opposite of this light. Instead of openness there is concealment and disguise; instead of inviolability there is facile impressibility. Ah! this walking in darkness! Is it not after all just walking deceitfully? Is it not simple insincerity, the want of perfect openness and transparent honesty in our dealings with God and with ourselves as to the real state of our hearts towards God, and the bias of our affections away from God towards selfishness and worldliness? Is it not that we have in us and about us something to conceal; something that does not quite satisfy us; something about which we have at least occasional misgivings; something that, when we think seriously, and confess, and pray, we slur over and do not like to dwell upon; something that we try to represent to ourselves as not so bad as it seems--as indeed, in the circumstances, excusable and unavoidable?

III. From the solemn message in the fifth verse, and the faithful warning in the sixth, the gracious assurance in the seventh fitly follows: We have fellowship one with another; God with us and we with God. The expression may seem to savour of familiarity. The explanation may be found in the conditional clause--if we walk in the light, as He is in the light. We walk in the light in which God is. It is the light of His own pure truth, His own holy nature. In that light He sees and knows and judges all things. And now the supposition is that we walk--as He is--in that light. To us the light in which we walk is identically the same as the light in which He is. The same lustrous glory of holiness shines on our walk and on His throne. The very same pure medium of vision is common to us both. We see light in His light. (R. S. Candlish,D. D.)

God is light

1. When the source of light is considered we have an emblem of the vastness, the ubiquity of God. How insignificant is man in his lofty aspirations and his feeble powers as he walks in the midst of this vastness!

2. The analysis of the spectrum unfolds to us the fact that a ray (called white) is made up of a number of coloured rays; and further observations show that combined with this white ray there is also a ray of heat, and the chemical ray called actinism, which gives vitality and paints the lines of life and beauty. The natural and moral attributes of God, such as His omnipresence, eternity, spirituality, and His benevolence, justice, truth, and others, form to us the only conceptions of Gods character which we can realise. Without a knowledge of these God has no appreciable relation to us, and we fail in our attempt to conceive it. But as we look to the analysis of the white light, and of the combined ray, to tell us of the physical properties of the suns rays, so we need such intermediate knowledge of Gods attributes to realise a knowledge of the perfections of His character, and of the unity of the mysterious persons in One, that God may be known to us.

3. When the diffusion of light is considered, we have the most perfect illustration which nature can afford of the immediateness of Gods communications with us. John here, when the undulatory theory was unknown, and any notion of the velocity of its influence, conceived light as emanating from the sun--shining forth, filling the heavens and pervading the face of the earth, and at times intercepted and darkness intervened. But how much higher than this are our conceptions of this diffusion raised, under more exact knowledge, when we learn that the actual velocity of light in its passage from the sun to the earth is at the rate of one hundred and ninety-three thousand miles per second, a speed which would belt the earth in the space of one-eighth of a second. Yet, quick as this velocity may appear, it is tardy in comparison with Gods communications with us. When they call I will answer! Here is no waiting, no passage through an intercepting medium.

4. With equal force does the figure unfold to us a view of Gods universal knowledge. Light is like God, inasmuch as it reveals and exposes to view every object upon which it falls. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth. His eyes behold, His eyelids try the children of men. For the Lord God is a sun, discovering, enlightening, and cheering the whole created universe.

5. But the most prominent feature in this analogy is the relation of light with Gods infinite purity and goodness.

6. But the teaching of the text is not all hidden under these material comparisons and contrasts; for, lifting us to a higher view, the relation in which God stands to the Christian in his daily course of spiritual life--a life of purity--is directly intimated.

(1) The Christian is here supposed to be walking before God in harmony and perfect confidence with Him, in a walk comprising the sum of his motives, his aspirations, his actions.

(2) Not only does he walk with God in the light of Divine knowledge, but also in that of Divine purity.

(3) This walk is, like light, to be constant and unvarying, as the little intruding preposition if preceding the sentence implies--if we walk in the light. (D. Smith.)

God is tight

1. In this view, are we not warranted in laying stress on the fact that light is an entirely open thing? It is the first property of light to manifest itself and all else on which it rests. It is here the direct antithesis of darkness. Darkness hides; but light lays bare everything it reaches. Moreover, its whole tendency is to expand its influence all around the source whence it proceeds. Here, I think, we have set before us, first of all, the blessed fact that God is the God of revelation. He has not hid Himself from us as in our sin we deserved. But He has unveiled Himself to us that we may know His nature and character, His method of dealing with us now, and His plans for our destiny hereafter. This was done in many different ways from the beginning of the world; it reached its climax in the advent of Christ. The sun is set on high for the illumination of the heavens and the earth. No portion of our globe is exempted from his beams. So the Lord manifestly intends to diffuse the knowledge of Himself over the whole world. It is His very nature to penetrate by His Word into the remotest corners of human existence. Yet wherever His Word does penetrate, He is found true to Himself. As Light alone, He has the power of distinguishing betwixt truth and falsehood, purity and impurity.

2. On the other hand, is not light also an inviolable thing? This tells us that the nature of God also is inviolably pure. As the light streams into contact with the world and all that is in it, so God is now by His Spirit alike in providence and redemption in the closest contact with the heart and life of men. But in this action on His creatures He never catches anything of the moral corruption by which the world is saturated.

3. But, last of all, is not light also a glorious thing? Thus it suggests to us the moral and spiritual glory of the Divine nature. (J. P. Lilley, M. A)

God is light

I. We look at the text as an illustration of the divine character.

1. Light is perhaps the nearest approach of anything with which we are acquainted to immateriality. It seems to fill all nature, to surround all worlds, and so to bear a fit resemblance to its glorious Maker, who says, Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?

2. Then, again, how fine an emblem is it of the Divine purity!

3. Does it not also portray to our minds His all-searching know ledge?

4. It is important also to observe that light is exhibited to us in the text as the emblem of the essential perfection of the Divine nature.

II. Our text may now be contemplated as containing an intimation of what God does for man.

1. Light is a revealer.

2. Light communicates enjoyment; for a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.

3. Light clothes all things with beauty. Dark providences brighten when God shines upon them, and the manifestation of His wisdom and love, His faithfulness and power, please our eyes and comfort our hearts.

4. Light purifies the atmosphere in which we live, which without it would be but ill adapted to sustain our existence in comfort.

III. The subject is adapted, to furnish us with a few serious and practical suggestions.

1. How blind are men that do not see God in all things! The light of heaven shines all around them.

2. How great are our obligations to God for the light which He has given us!

3. How great the duty which rests upon us, to pity and endeavour to enlighten those who are sitting in darkness and the shadow of death! (The Evangelical Preacher.)

The perfect light of God

It seems a very simple thing to say that God is light, etc. We almost wonder at the Bible taking so much trouble to say it. For, we might think, how could God be otherwise? How could we imagine God to be imperfect, wanting in goodness, and holiness, and wisdom, and truth? How could God be God unless He were all-perfect--light without s shade of darkness? And this is true. But how is it that we have come to have these thoughts of God? It is that the gospel has become so much a matter of course to us, that its truth has come to seem to us our own thoughts. But it was by no means so plain a truth to the world when St. John wrote his Epistle. He wrote when the world believed in idols and false gods without number. And those false gods were not thought of as we think of God. They were believed to be not more perfect, not more holy, not more good, than the men who worshipped them. But those days of idolatry and ignorance are past; and perhaps we think that we do not need to be reminded that God is light--perfectly pure and holy and true and good. We do want to be reminded that there are those still who do not in their hearts believe that God is light; for is it not so, that instead of really believing that God is light, without stain, or shade of sin, we often make Him out in our thoughts to be what we like and wish Him to be? What does the sinner wish God to be? He wishes God to be kind and indulgent to his sin; to be a God who always rewards and never punishes; who will do good to us, whether we obey Him or not. Do we never sin, hoping that after all God will not think so severely of our sin as the Bible seems to make out that He will? Do we never comfort and flatter ourselves with such general excuses as that God is merciful, and will not be hard upon us? Do we not, instead of taking the Bible, and reading there the true character of the God whom we worship, make an image according to our own imperfections and sins, and call it God? Is this the God who is light, and in Him is no darkness? Can we be said really to believe in Him when we treat Him as if He were foolish, and could not see through our cunning devices, and could be flattered into good humour with us, and be prevailed upon to treat us as favourites? Again, what a sad show of our real thoughts about God is to be found in the manner of our worship and in our prayers! If He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all, what must He think of worship which only pretends to worship and honour Him? of prayer which does not really ask in spirit for the thing it speaks about? God is what He is, whatever we may think; and earnestly ought we to strive and pray that we may know Him as He is, and always think of Him as He is. (Dean Church.)

No substitute for light

Clear and brilliant light often brings out exquisite colours, as happens among the Alps and also in the north frigid zone, where the humble little plants called lichens and mosses are in many cases dyed of the most brilliant hues, purple and gold predominating. Warmth, in like manner, will stimulate vegetable growth in the most astonishing manner, but it is growth not necessarily accompanied by the secretion of valuable substances, such as give quality and real importance to the plant. In English hothouses, for example, we have plenty of spice trees, those generous plants that yield cinnamon and cassia, the nutmeg and the clove; but although healthy and blossoming freely, they never mature their aromatic secretions. Though they have artificial heat equal to that of their native islands, which burn beneath the sun of the Indian Ocean, we cannot supply them with similar and proportionate solar light.

God the satisfying light

Suppose the case of a cripple who had spent his life in a room where the sun was never seen. He has heard of its existence, he believes in it, and, indeed, has seen enough of its light to give high ideas of its glory. Wishing to see the sun, he is taken out at night into the streets of an illuminated city. At first he is delighted, dazzled; but after he has had time to reflect, he finds darkness spread amid the lights, and he asks, Is this the sun? He is taken out under the starry sky, and is enraptured; but on reflection finds that night covers the earth, and again asks, Is this the sun? He is carried out some bright day at noontide, and no sooner does his eye open on the sky than all question is at an end. There is but one sun. His eye is content: it has seen its highest object, and feels that there is nothing brighter. So with the soul: it enjoys all lights, yet amid those of art and nature is still inquiring for something greater. But when it is led by the reconciling Christ into the presence of the Father, and He lifts up upon it the light of His countenance, all thought of anything greater disappears. As there is but one sun, so there is but one God. The soul which once discerns and knows Him, feels that greater or brighter there is none, and that the only possibility of ever beholding more glory is by drawing nearer. (W. Arthur.)

Light in the hour of darkness

When Charles Kingsley was dying he said, It is not darkness I am going to, for God is light. (E. W. Bibb.)

No darkness in God

Skotia ouk estin oudemia (no, not even one speck of darkness); no ignorance, error, untruthfulness, sin, death. (A. R. Fausset, M. A.)

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie--

Light and darkness: sin and purification

Light and Darkness are very living expressions. They belong to the life of us all. Moreover, these expressions were wonderfully suitable for those to whom St. John wrote. The Ephesians had paid an especial worship to Artemis or Diana. They connected her with the moon, the night ruler. They had paid a worship, in common with the other Greeks, to Apollo; him they connected with the sun, that rules the day. They connected them, I say, with these beautiful objects; but they were never satisfied with doing so. The god of light was the god whom they went to consult how they should manage states, conduct wars, make peace. They felt that a higher light than the light which the eyes could see must proceed from him. So these old Greeks thought. They were continually exalting the lower light above the higher light, and supposing the higher to come from the lower. This was their idolatry. They worshipped the visible things from which they thought that the light proceeded. St. John had been taught almost from his birth that he was not to worship things in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, or the works of his own hands. He had been taught that the Lord his God was one Lord, that He was the Unseen Deliverer, Guide, Teacher, King of Israel. He had clung to this teaching. Now he had believed that this God had revealed Himself to them, not in the sun or in the moon, bug in a humble and crucified Man. With this conviction becoming every hour deeper and deeper in his mind, he had settled in the city where Apollo and Diana were worshipped. He saw the mischiefs and dangers of that worship more clearly and fully than he did when people told him about it on the Lake of Galilee. But he did not think that these Ephesians had been wrong because they had dreamt of a God of Light. That was a true dream. Christ had come to fulfil it. The God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, whom Jesus had revealed, was this God of Light. But there is another reason closely connected with this, why St. John could not abandon the word light for any that was more formal and less living. A man may easily fancy that goodness, wisdom, truth, are possessions of his own. Whether he thinks he has got them for himself, or that some god has given them to him, he may still believe that he holds them just as he holds a freehold house or a purse of money. But you can never suppose that you hold light in this way. That I can never boast that I possess, Now the message which St. John brought to the Ephesians was not concerning a blessing of the first kind, but of this last kind. He did not tell them that God had given them certain possessions here, or had promised them certain possessions hereafter, which they could call theirs. That is the subject of the next verse--If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. Walking in darkness is, alas! the phrase about which we have the least need of an interpreter. Everyone interprets it himself. It is possible for a man to be in this dark selfish state, and yet to say that he has fellowship with God. He may repeat prayers, he may offer sacrifices, he may pass for a religious man. But his life, the apostle says, is a lie. It is not only that he speaks a lie; he acts a lie. He does not the truth. This, indeed, he would have us to understand is falsehood--the very root of falsehood. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. The darkness of which St. John speaks is an utterly unsocial condition. A man thinks about himself, dwells in himself; the rest of the universe lies in shadow. What, then, is the opposite state to this? If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. The light is all around us, while we are most dark. I cannot extinguish the creation because I do not think about it or care about it. But this recollection is not enough to bring me out of my dark pit. My selfishness is too strong for all, however bright, in earth, and sea, and air to overcome. It is not too strong for God to overcome. All those strange intimations which come to me that I ant not what I am meant to be, must be flashes of light from the source of light. They are painful flashes. They are just what men have tried by their false religions--by their insincere professions of fellowship with God--to drive away. But if, instead of doing that, we will hail them, if we will receive them as His messengers, we may enter into His true order. The proper social life is restored to us, even if we are far away from our brethren. And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. St. John appeals to our experience. You desire to be true yourself; you desire to have fellowship with other men. The moment that first desire is awakened in me, then arises along with it a sense of falsehood: I have done false acts. I have been false. I have an inclination to do false acts and to be false now. I have something in me which violently resists my craving to be true. And about the seriousness, the terribleness of this fact there is no doubt. It must be at the bottom of the insincerity, discord, and hatred of the world. But how shall I describe this fact? I am at a loss; I cannot find a name. But I discover something more about the strange fact. God is light, and in Him is no darkness; I am intended to walk in this light. This inclination not to be true, not to have fellowship with my fellow men, is an inclination not to walk in this light, not to be in that state in which He has intended men to be. Now I am, perhaps, better able to express this inclination of mine, and what has been the fruit of it. One name, however, does not satisfy me. I try several. I call it transgression; that is, the passing over a boundary which was marked out for me. I call it iniquity; that is, an uneven, zigzag course, a departure from the straight, even course. I call it sin; that is, the missing of an aim; the going aside from the goal which I was intended to reach. All these words imply that there is One who has marked the boundary for me, who has drawn the line for me, who has fixed the goal or aim for me. All imply a disobedience to a Will which I am meant to obey. Now, the message which St. John brought to the Ephesians was, God has revealed Himself to us in Jesus Christ as the perfect Truth. God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ as the God who has created men to be one. Therefore it is a revelation to us of our sin; for it shows us how we have fought and do fight against this mind and purpose of God; how, in doing so, we fight against our own proper state, our own proper blessedness. I do not mean that this sense of sin did not exist before that full revelation of God in Christ. But how much deeper did it become in those who learnt that God was light, and in Him was no darkness--that He had sent His Son to bring them into His light! What a sense of sin must have been in them! How they must have felt, It is our own fault, our own choice, that we have been walking in darkness. We have been striving against a God who has been at every moment plotting for our good! If, then, the men in the times of old cried out for a purification, those who heard this revelation must have felt the need of it immeasurably more. But what kind of purification could they have? The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. There is a new lifeblood put into this nature of ours. God Himself has infused it. The Son of God has taken our flesh and blood. He is the Head of our race. When we seek to rise out of ourselves--to be delivered from our falsehood--to have fellowship with God, and fellowship with our brother, then His blood is an assurance that we have that fellowship. It removes the sense of sin against God which is in us; it removes the sense of sin against men. It gives that atonement and that purification which nothing else in earth and heaven can give. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Instead of this fancy that you are without sin being a proof how clearly the light is shining into you, it is a proof that you are shutting out the light, for that would reveal to you your own inclination to fly from it and to choose the darkness. The truth makes us aware of our falsehoods. Is that hard doctrine? No; for if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. His faithfulness and justice are the enemies of our sins; therefore to them we may turn from our sins. They are the refuges from the darkness that is in us. A faithful and righteous Being is therefore a forgiving Being. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. If we will not confess the evil in us, we impute that evil to Him. We thrust away that Word which is shedding abroad His light in us; we bury ourselves in our own darkness. This is the effect of trying to make out a good case for ourselves, when it is our interest, our privilege, our blessedness, to justify God and to condemn ourselves; to say, Thou hast been true, and we have been liars. Deliver us from our lies! Help us to walk in Thy truth! (F. D. Maurice, M. A.)

The child of light walking in light

The apostle warns us against saying more than we have made our own by experience. To have fellowship with God is a great matter; but merely to say that we have fellowship with Him is a totally different thing. John warns us that if we say that which our characters do not support, we lie. He leaves it just so, without a word of softening or excuse. Let us now speak of the real thing--the fellowship with God, which comes of walking in the light. The Christian life is described as walking, which implies activity. Chiefly in the character of active workers, or in that of willing sufferers, we must maintain fellowship with God. Walking implies activity; but it must be of a continuous kind. Neither this step, nor that, nor the next, can make a walk. Not he that begins, but he that continues, is the true Christian; final perseverance enters into the very essence of the believers life; the true pilgrims of Zion go from strength to strength. This suggests that walking implies progress. He that takes one step and another step, and still stands where he was, has not walked.

I. Consider, first, the light of our walk. True believers do not walk in darkness; they have found the road, and they see it before them. Moral darkness is contrary to their newborn nature: they cannot endure it. What is this light, then, in which the Christian walks?

1. I answer, first, it is the light of grace. The Holy Spirit brings us out from under the dominion of the old nature by creating within us a new life, and He brings us out from under the tyranny of the Prince of Darkness by opening our eyes to see and our minds to understand celestial truth. The result of this light is seen in various ways. It causes deep sorrow in the beginning, for its first discoveries are grievous to the conscience. Light is painful to eyes long accustomed to darkness. Anon the light brings great joy, for the soul perceives deliverance from the evils which it mourned. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

2. Ever, in each condition, you observe conspicuously that the light of grace is seen as the light of sincerity. Hypocrisy and pretence fly before sincere belief and feeling.

3. Next to sincerity I regard a willingness to know and to be known as an early result of walking in the light of God. A religion which we will not submit to the test of self-examination cannot be worth much. No one is afraid to have a genuine sovereign submitted to any test: it is the coiner who is afraid. We must build on truth, and nothing else but truth.

4. A still surer evidence of grace is the minds perception of revealed truth and its obedience to it. Are the doctrines of grace essential verities with thee? Whatever God has said about sin, righteousness, judgment to come, art thou ready to accept it at once? Whatever He has revealed concerning Himself, His Son, His Holy Spirit, the Cross, life, death, hell, and the eternal future, dost thou believe it unfeignedly? This is to walk in the light.

5. This leads to a transparency and simplicity of character. The man who does in reality what he seems to do; the man who says what he means, and means what he says; the man who is truthful artless, and sincere in all his general dealings both before God and man, he it is whose conduct leads us to hope that the light of grace shines within.

6. This is very evident in the mans cessation from all guile towards himself. Remember how David pronounces him blessed in whose spirit there is no guile. He knew painfully what it was to be full of guile. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation. He is in the light now, for deceit has gone, and now God can speak comfortably to him, and wash him and make him whiter than snow.

7. The man who is walking in the light, as God is in the light, is full of abhorrence of sin. Sin is practical falsehood; it is moral darkness. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. Forget not this practical truth.

II. I come, secondly, to the communion of our walk. Those who are in the light shall not be alone. God Himself will be with them, and be their God. What honour! What joy is this! Thus is the mischief of the Fall removed, and Paradise is restored. God in the light and man in the light have much in common. Now are they abiding in one element, for they are dwelling in one light. Now are they both concerned about the same thing, and their aims are undivided: God loves truth, and so do those who are renewed in heart. Now we partake with God in sympathy, having a fellow feeling with Him. Does the great Father mourn His prodigal child? So do we mourn over sinners. Do we see Jesus weeping over Jerusalem? So do we mourn for the perishing who will not be saved. Again, as God rejoices over sinners that repent, so do we rejoice in sympathy with Him.

III. The glory of this communion. We have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. I gather from the way in which this sentence grows out of the text that this very thing, which looks as if it were the death of all communion with God, is made by infinite grace to be a wide and open channel of communion with Him. This stone is rolled away from the door of the sepulchre, and the angel of communion sits down upon it as on a throne.

1. To begin with, here is sin! What an evil thing it is! How our soul hates it! O, wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me? Listen! You are having fellowship with God in this. God hates it also; and herein you are agreed.

2. Sin being once perceived, the next step is that it should be got rid of. Ah! say you, I wish I could be cleansed from it--cleansed from all of it; but how can this be? It is not possible for me to purge away my sin. The sacrifice of the Only-Begotten is the unique hope of sinners. The laying of our iniquity upon Him who deigned to be the great scapegoat of His people is the sole means for the taking away of the sins of the world. That inward persuasion of the impossibility of the purgation of sin by any doings or feelings of our own, and the consequent perception that in Christ only lies the help of men, has brought us through the light of truth to walk in fellowship with the thrice holy God.

3. The glorious Son of God condescends to become the atonement for sin. Standing by the tree of doom, we look up to that blessed Saviour with all-absorbing admiration and love. In the putting away of sin by the blood of Jesus the Father has an infinite content, and so have we. A step further.

4. Many of us have come to Jesus Christ by faith; we have looked to Him, and have accepted Him as our Saviour cleansing us from all sin. We rejoice in perfect whiteness, for the Lord has made us whiter than snow. Yes, we have fellowship with God in this cleansing, for God accepts us in the Beloved. God that made Him to be the Lord our Righteousness, God Himself justifies us in His Son. He will in the last great day make the whole universe a witness to the righteousness of the salvation of believers. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Communion with God

I. The nature and the means of communion with God.

1. We have communion with God in personal intercourse.

2. We have communion with God in the exercise and interchange of mutual thoughts and affections.

3. We have communion with God in the reception of His gifts and blessings.

4. We have communion with God in the exercise of mutual love to Christ. The heart of God and our hearts unite in their affections, and fix them on the Lamb.

5. We have communion with God in His works of nature. Never does the face of nature appear so lovely as when we thus behold in it the beauty of the Lord.

6. We have communion with God in the dispensations of His providence.

II. The connection which exists between communion with God and holiness.

1. A man may say that he has communion with God whilst he is walking in darkness and living in sin. He may say it literally with his lips, or he may say it by assuming the external forms of religion. He is a liar against his own experience, which has never enjoyed the communion he professes; he is a liar against his own affections, which are holding communion with sin and Satan and the world; and he is a liar against God Himself, who declares that He has no communion with darkness and with sin.

2. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. Such persons have communion with their God. God Himself is light, and they are children of light--and as the sun has communion with surrounding stars, because their beams of light resemble each other in nature, though they differ in degrees of glory, so there is a similarity, and a sympathy, and a harmony of character and pursuit, between God and His people, which is the origin and the means of their communion with each other. The holiness of the one attracts the holiness of the other. Their holy minds, their holy thoughts, their holy affections, and their holy pursuits meet and mingle.

III. The importance and some of the advantages of communion with God.

1. Communion with God is connected with an interest in the blood of Christ. Even the man who holds communion with God needs and finds a refuge in the great atonement. He does indeed walk in the light; but that very light discovers to him more and more clearly his numerous imperfections and sins, and his abundant need of pardoning mercy.

2. Communion with God is the means of promoting our holiness. Those who most associate with God most resemble Him, and partake most fully of the Divine nature.

3. Communion with God is a source of the sweetest pleasure. Those who walk with God in the light of purity, walk with Him also in the light of joy. Matthew Henry, just before he expired, declared, as his dying testimony, that a life spent in the service of God, and in communion with Him, is the happiest life that anyone can live in this world. And it must be so. There are no intelligent beings in the universe, whether men or angels, who can find true happiness in any place where God is not, or in any communion from which God is excluded. (J. Alexander.)

The right way of obtaining and maintaining communion with God

Why is God called Light without Darkness? And what is this Light?

1. Wisdom is light, and folly is darkness.

2. Knowledge is light, and ignorance is darkness.

3. Truth is light, and error is darkness.

4. Holiness is light, and sin and wickedness are darkness.

I. What this communion with God is.

1. Active on our part, which consisteth in the Divine operations of our souls toward God; when the mind is exercised in the contemplation of Him, the will in choosing and embracing Him; when the affections are fixed upon Him and centre in Him; when by our desires we pursue after Him, by our love we cleave to Him, and by delight we acquiesce and solace ourselves in Him.

2. Passive on Gods part. This communication of God to us in our communion with Him is specially in these three things.

(1) In light (2Co_4:6; Psa_36:9).

(2) In life (Eph_4:18).

(3) In love (Rom_5:5).

II. Some distinctions about communion with God.

1. Communion with God may be considered either with respect to this world, or the world to come; the one is imperfect, the other is perfect; one is mediate, the other immediate; the one is inconstant, the other without any interruption forever.

2. This communion with God hath higher and lower degrees; both among the saints here below, and the saints and angels above.

3. This communion with God is either internal or external; by internal I mean that sacred intercourse between God and the soul which is managed only in the inward man; and by external I mean this communion with God managed in some external ordinance of His worship in the communion of saints.

III. How this communion with God is attained and then maintained.

1. By Jesus Christ.

(1) By virtue of His incarnation.

(2) By virtue of His life which He lived here in the world. Considered either in the holy example that He has left us to walk by, or the doctrine that He here preached--by both which He did guide and lead men in the right way to fellowship with His Father.

(3) By virtue of His death, and making reconciliation for us by His blood. Without agreement made between God and us, we could never have had communion with Him.

(4) By virtue of His resurrection, whereby believers come to be raised up to newness of life (Rom_6:4).

(5) By virtue also of His ascension into heaven (Col_3:1).

(6) By virtue of His intercession. For this is one great thing that He intercedes for with His Father in heaven, that His people might have union and communion with them (Joh_17:21).

2. This communion with God is also by the Spirit of God. As the apostle speaks of the communion of the Holy Ghost (2Co_13:14). Now the Spirit doth effect this communion with God.

(1) By sanctifying our hearts, and assimilating our natures to the nature of God. For there can be no communion where there is no likeness of nature.

(2) By elevating and raising the soul above its natural power and reach.

3. These are the principal ways for communion with God. But then there are subordinate ways, which are the ordinances and institutions of God for that end. For God hath in all ages been training up His people to have communion with Himself, and therefore He did appoint ordinances for that end under the law. There were sacrifices, and altars, and solemn feasts appointed of God, all for this end. And so, in the New Testament, God hath His ordinances also appointed for this end; as prayer,.hearing the Word, etc. (M. Barker, M. A.)

Fellowship with God

I. What is the nature of this fellowship?

II. What is the great hindrance to this fellowship? It is here described as walking in darkness.

III. What are the conditions of this fellowship? If we walk in the light we have fellowship with Him. This implies--

1. Activity.

2. Progress. There is no finality in the experience of holiness.

3. Definiteness.

4. Completeness.

5. Pleasantness. In the light.

6. Safety. He that walketh in the darkness stumbleth (Joh_11:10).

IV. What is the result of fellowship? It is evidently cleansing. (H. Thorne.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn 1:5-7. This then is the message — That is, one part of it; which we have heard of him — The Son of God; that God is light — The light of truth, wisdom, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye; and in him is no darkness at all — Not the least mixture of ignorance or error, of folly, sin, or misery; if we say — Either with our tongue, or in our heart; if we endeavour to persuade ourselves and others, that we have fellowship with him — If we pretend to, or make a profession of it; and walk in darkness — Live in a state of ignorance, error, folly, or sin, which things are as contrary to his wise and holy nature, as darkness is to that of light, whatever professions we may make of our acquaintance with Christianity, and of being zealous for its interests; we lie, and do not the truth — Our conduct shows that our professions are false, and that the truth is not in us. But if we walk in the light — In the way of truth, knowledge, and holiness; as he is (a deeper word than walk, and more worthy of God) in the light — Is essentially and perfectly wise and holy, then we may truly say, we have fellowship one with another — God with us, and we with him; for that is the fellowship the apostle is speaking of 1Jn 1:6, namely, fellowship or intercourse between the head and the members of the community: a fellowship which consists in the Father’s bestowing blessings on us through the mediation of Christ, and in our receiving these blessings from the Father and the Son with thankfulness. As if the apostle had said, We who have seen, and you who have not seen, do alike enjoy that fellowship with God and Christ, the imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son — With the grace purchased thereby; cleanseth us from all sin — Taketh away all the guilt, and therewith all the power of sin, both original and actual. There is also a cleansing from all sin in a higher sense, even from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, (see 2Co 7:1; Eph 5:25-26; Col 1:22; Tit 2:14,) from whatever is contrary to the mind of Christ and the image of God, which may be experienced in the present life, by the blood of Christ, who, having died to procure for us the influences of the Spirit for fully sanctifying our nature, may be truly said to cleanse us from all sin by his blood. Of this cleansing, however, the apostle does not speak directly in this verse, but he speaks of it 1Jn 1:9.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A preliminary summary of the entire epistle, 1Jn_1:5-10.

Our apostle now summarizes the substance of his message or epistle, by unfolding the true Christian doctrine of purity from sin in opposition to the errorists’ theory of purity in sin. God is absolute purity, and the only method of coming into oneness with his purity is, by absolute confession of sins, repentance, the atonement, the pardon, and the sanctification. Every other method is a fatal falsehood.

5. This… message—Message is the noun of which declare, or announce, in 1Jn_1:3, is the verb, and includes the entire doctrine of the epistle. Heard… and declare from Christ unto you.

God is light—As perfect universal truth and purity; yet not universal so but that there is an opposite darkness. Yet the darkness is not in him, but is the perfect reverse of him. Truth and falsehood, love and malignity, light and darkness, are the intensest possible opposites. They may mix, but cannot be identified.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES

1Jn_1:5.—The first part of the epistle begins here. It is directed against the Gnostic teaching, that to a man of enlightenment all conduct is morally indifferent. In every age there have been those who claimed an interest in Christ while living in sin. St. John does not address sinners generally, but distinctly those who made Christian profession, but fell short of it through misapprehensions and self-delusions. God is light.—This is not merely the absolute fact concerning Him. It is the precise fact which Jesus Christ declared to be the first of truths. “We have heard [it] of Him.” Christianity is founded on the Divine holiness. Light is the sensible figure of rectitude, moral purity.

1Jn_1:6. Walk in darkness.—Either to hide what we do not wish to be seen, or in self-indulgent ways which are symbolised by darkness. Plummer says, “Some Gnostics taught, not merely that to the illuminated all conduct was alike, but that to reach the highest form of illumination men must experience every kind of action, however abominable, in order to work themselves free from the powers that rule the world.” See 2Co_6:14. We lie.—Either in self-deception, or in wilfully deceiving others.

1Jn_1:7. One with another.—Fellowship with Christ, which involves fellowship with the Father, and surely brings us into fellowship with all who have the same fellowship. Blood of Jesus Christ.—Omit Christ. The blood is as truly a figure as the light. “The blood is the life.” But it is the surrendered life. There was no actual blood shed in the dying of the Lord Jesus that can in any sense be applied for cleansing. There is no general declaration of the universal efficacy of Christ’s blood to cleanse all sin. The reference here is strictly limited to professing Christians. Cleanseth.—Present tense. The cleansing work is continually going on. Us.—Precisely those who are in saving relations with Christ, but fall into sins of frailty (Heb_9:14; Rev_7:14). It is not the pardon of sin, but purification from sin, which is here associated with the “blood of Christ.”

1Jn_1:8. Deceive ourselves.—Lead ourselves astray.

1Jn_1:9. And to cleanse us.—Notice that He Himself is said to do what, in 1Jn_1:7, His blood is said to do. The later expression helps to explain the earlier.

Note on 1Jn_1:7 by Eric Haupt.—“Blood and life are in the Scripture equivalent terms: where that is, there is this; for the life is in the blood, according to the language of the Old Testament. Thus then the καθαρισμὸς ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας is possible only in consequence of the blood of Christ entering into our life as a new principle of life. There is absolutely no Christian sanctification imaginable which does not take place through the blood—that is, through the Redeemer’s power of life working its effects and ruling within us.”

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—1Jn_1:5-10

The Conditions and Privileges of Christian Fellowship.—St. John had entered into, and was enjoying, the “fellowship of the Father and the Son.” That fellowship he wanted the disciples to enjoy as fully as he did. He would therefore have them worthily estimate its privileges, and understand the conditions of its maintenance. And since he has in mind the particular character of the mischievous influences to which the disciples were then exposed, his instructions exclusively bear relation to their correction. It was then being freely taught that to the spiritual man all conduct is morally indifferent—nothing that he does, in the bodily and material spheres, is regarded as sin, nothing breaks up his fellowship with God. It is manifest that such teaching strikes at the very root of Christianity, which is, essentially, the recovery of men to righteousness, and that not a sentimental or mystical righteousness, but a real, present, practical righteousness, which must include knowing how to “possess the vessel of the body in sanctification and honour.”

I. The absolute condition of fellowship is perfect righteousness.—This is indicated in the term “light,” the most pure and unsullied of all things, and in the strongly marked contrast between light and darkness, each of which absolutely opposes and excludes the other; there can be no conceivable alliance or accommodation between them. God is represented by light. That only can be in fellowship with Him which also is light. Man’s self-indulgences belong to darkness, and make darkness. The light can have nothing whatever to do with them, except to clear the darkness away. There can be no fellowship where the strongest opposition is excited. Illustration may be taken from the Ormuzd and Ahriman of the Zoroastrian reform. The two powers are actively and persistently opposed. It is well for us to face this truth as openly as possible. The full relation to God is only possible to perfect beings—perfect as He is perfect. It was possible to the one righteous Man, the sinless Christ. It is possible, fully, to no other man.

II. Perfect righteousness is a condition unattainable by us.—It is to any creature who is only a creature. But that perfect righteousness which is possible to a creature is not possible to us creatures, because our race has to carry the burden and disability of sin. We can never have fellowship with God on the absolute condition of being light as He is light, perfect as He is perfect. St. John brings out clearly this distinction—though we cannot be actually light, as God is, we can will to be light, and we can make effort to be what we will to be. We can “walk in darkness,” or “walk in light,” the term “walk” implying will and effort. And in these two things may be found the only righteousness attainable by any creature while in limited, earthly conditions, and affected by the disabilities of a sin-biassed, bodily nature. The will is the man; it is the spiritual being acting; and the man is in the light, if his will is firmly set for righteousness. Then the man is kin with God, and can have fellowship with Him.

III. Christian imperfections have to be taken into account, but they need not spoil fellowship, if they are rightly dealt with.—St. John’s teaching cannot be rightly apprehended unless the distinction between the sin of the regenerate man and of the unregenerate man is fully recognised. The unregenerate man sins as the expression of a will that is set against God. The regenerate man sins by persuasion of bodily frailty, or at most by the temporary bending aside of his will. Christians do sin. Their sin would disturb fellowship. But the liability to sin has been taken into merciful account, and due provision has been made for it.

1. It is expected that the Christian man will, by confession, clear himself of all suspicion of having his will in his sin.

2. Then God will entirely forgive the sin, and remove it as a hindrance to fellowship.

3. And even more, God will, in the power of the blood of Christ, cleanse the Christian from all the evil influences of his sin, and help him to recover the power which he must have temporarily lost, or he could not have yielded to the sin. The condition of fellowship with the Light is our being, at least in central purpose, also light. The privilege is a gracious provision for the imperfections which, at the best, attach to the human light.

SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES

1Jn_1:5. God is light.—Here is the essence of the Christian theology, the truth about the Deity as opposed to all the imperfect conceptions of Him which had embittered the minds of the wise. To the heathen, Deity had meant angry, malevolent beings, worshipped best by the secrecy of outrageous vice; to the Greeks and Romans, forces of nature transformed into superhuman men and women, powerful and impure; to the philosophers, an abstraction either moral or physical; to the Gnostics it was a remote idea, equal and contending forces of good and evil, recognisable only through less and less perfect deputies. All this St. John, summing up what the Old Testament and our Lord had said about the almighty Father, sweeps away in one simple declaration of truth. Light was God’s garment in Psa_104:2; to Ezekiel (chap. 1Jn_1:1), the appearance of the likeness of God was brightness; to Habakkuk (chap. 1Jn_3:8), His brightness was as the light; Christ had called the sons of God children of the light (Joh_12:36), and announced Himself as the Light of the world (Joh_8:12); in the Hebrews (chap. 1Jn_1:3), Christ was the refracted ray of the Father’s glory, “the express image of His person”; to James, the Almighty was the Father of all lights (Jas_1:17); to Paul, He dwells “in the light that no man can approach unto” (1Ti_6:16); to Peter, the Christian state is an admission “into His marvellous light” (1Pe_2:9). These ideas John comprehends. God is light. Light physical, because

(1) it was He who called everything first out of darkness, and

(2) from Him proceed all health and perfection. Light intellectual, because

(1) He is the source of all wisdom and knowledge, and

(2) in His mind exist the ideals after which all things strive. Light moral, because

(1) His perfection shows that the difference between good and evil is not merely a question of degree, but fundamental and final; and

(2) the life of Christ had exhibited that contrast sharply, once for all.—W. M. Sinclair, D.D.

1Jn_1:6. On being true to Ourselves.—A man should take care that his professions and his conduct are kept in the strictest harmony. If he says he abides in Christ, his walk must evidently be a Christly walk. That may be urged as a plain and manifest duty

(1) for Christ’s sake, whom we are bound to honour, if we bear His name;

(2) for other people’s sake, since they cannot but misunderstand Christ, and so fail to realise His saving and sanctifying power, if we who bear His name misrepresent Him. But the point now to be impressed is, that there must be harmony between profession and conduct, because it is absolutely essential to a man’s moral dignity and stability that he should be consciously true to himself. Let a man permit a conscious opposition between profession and life, and the man debases himself. Fail to be true to self, fail to be consciously at harmony with yourself, and you not only become slave to man, but slave to the devil, who finds his chance when the supreme concern for moral consistency is destroyed in a man’s soul.

Walk in Darkness.—“The word ‘walk’ expresses not merely action, but habitual action. A life in moral darkness can have no more communion with God, than a life in a coal-pit can have communion with the sun. For ‘what communion hath light with darkness?’ (2Co_6:4). Light can be shut out, but it cannot be shut in. Some Gnostics taught, not merely that to the illuminated all conduct was alike, but that to reach the highest form of illumination men must experience every kind of action, however abominable, in order to work themselves free from the powers that rule the world.” “If the light is the Divine, then the darkness is the undivine, or that which is opposed to God—that is, the nature turned away from God, and not directed to Him. Hence the σκοτία, darkness, coincides with the New Testament idea of the κόσμος; it is the principle which animates and governs the κόσμος, and which comes in it into outward exhibition and form.”

Perils of Self-deceit.—These may come from a man’s particular disposition; or from the influence—bias—of public opinion; or from special times of unrestrainable passion; or from distinctly false and corrupting teachings.

1Jn_1:6-7. Walking in Darkness or in Light.—Darkness represents the self-sphere. Light represents the God-sphere. God is kin with everything clean, good, kind. Self spoils even good things by throwing upon them the shadow of its own darkness. Darkness, both in poetry and religion, is the symbol of evil. The figure may not come very effectively to those of us who have been brought up in Christian surroundings and associations; but we have to think of the moral atmosphere of pagan cities in the time when St. John lived. Their darkness is faithfully revealed in the first chapter of the epistle to the Romans. Or we may try to realise what is the depraved moral life of certain sections of our great cities. Or perhaps we can gain a better impression, and find a sharper contrast, if we think of the moral atmosphere of a heathen city, such as are to be found all over India, where immorality is actually made a portion of worship, an agency of religion, and the whole range of thought, and tone of human relations, are dark indeed: men walk in darkness. And there, in the very midst of all the impurities, move to and fro the few men and women who are regenerate in Christ Jesus. They walk in the light. Lives morally sweet; thought and feeling sensitively delicate and pure. They breathe the light; they live with God, who is light. St. John urges that no other than such walking in the light can be befitting to those who have been made light in the Lord. Men were deceiving themselves then with the idea that they could keep their soul-relations to the light, and yield to dark bodily indulgences. All material things, they said, were evil; and since they were in material bodies, they could not help being in a dark sphere, and it did not much matter how dark it was, if only they kept their souls in the light. But this is precisely what men never can do, and they wholly deceive themselves if they think they can. Where the body goes the soul will really go, whatever the outward seeming may be. And where the soul goes it will never rest content unless it has the body with it.

1Jn_1:7. The Christian’s Walk in Light and Love.—I am to speak to you of that bond of love which binds soul to soul in binding all to God; of that walk of light which assimilates us to Him who is light; and of the union which identifies these, in connecting them both with the purifying work of Christ.

1. The apostle declares himself commissioned to proclaim a “message” of transcendent importance, calculated to consummate the joy of all the believing people of God. It is this, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”

2. This revelation of the Divine excellency is directly connected with the mystical communion of which he speaks. The one is, in some measure, the condition on which the other is suspended. This light, with which God Himself is identified, becomes also the element in which His elect children breathe and move.

3. The apostle contemplates the Church of the sanctified walking together under the radiance of a common light, which streams from the presence of God, and which, involving them all, assimilates them all. What is that fellowship, and what that light, which are declared to involve each the other? First, we must resolve each into its proper origin, to contemplate each in its proper aspect. The apostle speaks of a fellowship essentially Christian; and to it none other than the Christian believer is competent. It is “fellowship with us,” because it is “fellowship with the Father and the Son.” The communion is essentially Divine; it exists in and through God alone; it is of each with each, because of all with Him. If you would learn its properties and characteristics, you must seek them in their fountain, where the human soul is alone with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. We are “to walk in the light, as He is in the light.” We are to design from God Himself. We are to look straight to Him. The remove from the original may be infinite, but it is only one remove. “As He is, so are we in this world.” The walk in light is the earthly image of the supernal light; the “fellowship one with another” resolves into “the fellowship with the Father and the Son.” The Christian verity has taught us how to contemplate God. We are to regard that wondrous Essence which caused and sustains the universe as parting into three streams from one eternal Source, which (stooping to our capacities, relationships, and language) it has styled the Father, Son, and Spirit. Of what these Persons are, in their own nature, we cannot know; of what they are in relation to us, we can. Our fellowship is with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. If, then, our fellowship with Deity be distinguished into separate communions, each having its own grounds and offices of intercourse, and if this threefold communion be inseparably interwoven with the “walk of light” which imitates a God who “is light,” we may naturally expect that that celestial lustre which represents the whole Godhead shall itself be separable into significancies, in some measure corresponding to the Divine Personages whom the Godhead embraces. Thus shall our threefold communion be met and answered by a threefold “light.” The significancies of that Divine light seem resolvable into three cardinal excellencies—holiness, happiness, and knowledge. God the Father, God of all righteousness; God the Son, the God of all happiness; God the Spirit, God of all truth: or God the Father, imputer of our righteousness; God the Son, victorious obtainer of our happiness; God the Spirit, liberal bestower of our wisdom. To live within the verge of the Divine illumination is to hold communion with the essential excellencies of the triune God. If the fellowship of the Three in One thus answer to the threefold light in which they dwell, how, specially, does it correspond to each? If the Father be eminently the light of holiness, and our accepter as a holy people in Jesus, he who walks in that light communes with Him by the link of holiness, by the cordial adoption of that “righteousness of God which is witnessed by the law and the prophets,” by profound submission to that will which is the executive, that reason which is in itself the legislative council, of the universe. If the Son be eminently the light of celestial peace and its dispenser, we commune with Him as dwellers in that light,—by trust boundless and unfeigned in that victor who, having once and for ever foiled His adversary in the deadly struggle of Gethsemane and Calvary, will never forsake the Church He redeemed; by gratitude for blessings undeserved; by joy for blessings assured and everlasting; by that sterner task of which another apostle speaks, the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death (Php_3:10). If in the Spirit we worship the light of eternal truth and its revealer, when are we found in that light, and when blending in mystic union with Him who abides there, but when with a sanctified reason we apply our whole mind to receive and understand His revelations, when, raising at His call the faculties which He alone can furnish with fitting objects, we issue gladly forth from the world of shadows, and meet Him, where He awaits us, in the world of immutable reality? The earthly career of light involves the whole Christian life, as directed to each member of the ever-blessed Trinity. And the whole communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as well as the mutual communion of the brethren in Christ, is comprehended in that single word love.—W. Archer Butler, M.A.

The Power of Christ’s Blood.—Blood is a figure for the surrender of life. In giving to God the blood of animals the worshipper gave to God the animal’s life. In shedding His blood Jesus gave His life to God as a sacrifice of perfect obedience and perfect trust. Because He thus gave His life to God, and was fully accepted, Jesus has the power to do three things:

1. To forgive sins that we have committed.

2. To cleanse us from the bad consequences and influences of the sins.

3. To keep us from committing them again; for even when we are made clean, we have to walk and work amid temptations and evils. So we need that He who forgives and cleanses should also defend and keep.

A Double Fellowship and a Single Condition.

I. A fellowship with Christ—with God in Christ.—

1. To be a Christian is to enter into gracious relations with Christ.

2. To keep a Christian is to maintain those gracious relations. Sometimes the prominent aspect in the fellowship is service, sometimes it is friendship. “Henceforth I call you not servants, but I have called you friends.”

II. A fellowship one with another in Christ.—The fellowship of—

1. A common love.

2. A common duty.

3. A common experience.

4. A common worship.

III. Both forms of fellowship depend on one condition: “Walking in the light”—that is, walking according to the will of God, who is the light, as contrasted with walking in the darkness of our self-will and self-pleasing. Our spheres of fellowship may vary, but the condition of maintaining fellowship is absolute and unchangeable.

The Fellowship of Believers.—Temptation in all ages to dissociate holiness from profession.

I. The fellowship of believers with each other depends on their individual fellowship with the Father and the Son. First, fellowship with God. That brings Christian union. The degree of the union depends on the fellowship with God. No force will make a Christian life or Christian union. Nourishment of inward spirit will tell on Christian living and Christian fellowship.

II. Fellowship depends wholly on mutual sympathy. Light cannot have fellowship with darkness. God is light—the symbol of purity, moral perfectness. A man in sympathy with darkness cannot be in fellowship with the light. That differs from saying a man who sins cannot be in fellowship. A man may be in full sympathy with light, and be struggling after it, and yet be often overcome with evil. Fellowship depends on the heart being set on the light. And the bond of fellowship with one another is the common love of, and seeking after, the light.

III. For the imperfectness of human walking in the light a gracious remedy is provided. “The blood of Jesus cleanseth us.” It covers the evil, and it cleanses it away. The blood stands for the living power of Jesus.

The Condition of Christian Fellowship.—Some texts are difficult to expound because of our familiarity with them. We too readily assume that we understand them, and we therefore resist all fresh and independent inquiry concerning them. There are two ways of treating Scripture texts:

1. We may let the words suggest thought. That way is suited to private meditation. But there is always this danger—we may come to think that our thoughts are as authoritative as the Scripture words.

2. We may inquire what the words actually mean. That way is especially suited to public ministries. It is strange that St. John the loving should be the most controversial of the New Testament writers. But that is the fact which we may assert in view both of his gospel and his epistles. The false teachings of his day concerning the person of Christ are familiar: the false teachings concerning the Christian life are not so well known. There have been Antinomian teachings in every age. They took two forms in St. John’s days. It was said

(1) that the enlightened could be indifferent to moral distinctions; and

(2) that the enlightened ought to have complete knowledge of evil through personal experience of it. We can understand how such teachings affected the Christians when they came to be translated into the common thought. This St. John deals with in the beginning of his epistle. Christianity is inseparable from holiness; it can live in no other atmosphere. As he sees Christianity it is fellowship; and we cannot wonder at his taking this view when we remember how close was his own personal fellowship with Christ. To him personal religion was fellowship with Christ, and what it involved, even fellowship with the Father, and fellowship with the other sons. St. John caught the spirit of Christ’s great prayer, which he alone records. St. John begins his epistle by asserting his competency. He had intimately known everything relating to Christ from the beginning. What then is Christ’s primary message? This—God is light. Light is the material symbol of goodness, righteousness. Christ, who manifests God, manifests Him as light. No man sees Christ aright unless the sight makes him feel, as he never felt before, the holiness of God. His point in the text is this—there is a condition on which fellowship depends, and there is a privilege which maintained fellowship secures.

I. The condition on which fellowship depends.—“If we walk in the light.” Illustrate by the conditions of human associations. There must be common interests, and a common spirit. So in religion, there can be no fellowship if some walk in light, and some walk in darkness. How expressive of moral difference the terms “light” and “darkness” are! The Father of light walks in light. The “Light of the world” walked in light. Those named after the “Light of the world” must walk in light.

II. The privilege which maintained fellowship secures.—“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” The “blood of Jesus” is a figure, just as “God is light” is a figure. It is not here the blood as the ground of forgiveness, but the blood as the power, or agency, in cleansing. St. John addresses persons who are forgiven, and restored to the Divine family. But here is a difficulty. Blood does not cleanse. Nobody ever heard of its use in such a way. (The only approach to the idea is the old use of bullocks’ blood in refining sugar.) St. John was a Jew. To him the blood was the life. Put the word life for the word blood, and say, “The life of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” That partly gives St. John’s meaning; but it is not altogether satisfactory. When blood stands for life, it always means blood shed, life surrendered. Apprehend this, and the apostle’s meaning becomes clear. The “blood of Jesus” stands for that power to cleanse which Jesus has gained by surrendering His life. It is called His blood because it has come to Him through His blood-shedding. St. John’s idea is this—keep fellowship by walking in the light, and you will surely find that there is a privilege belonging to that fellowship. It is this—one member of the fellowship is an ever-active power, working at the cleansing away of everything that can possibly break or spoil the fellowship. The symbol of our Lord’s continuous work in the fellowship was given in the “upper room,” when He washed the disciples’ feet, and dealt, for cleansing, with their sins of frailty. It was a fellowship of the “clean.” He kept it by removing the soilings from the feet. And is not this precisely the provision that we need? The sincere ones are frail. Frailty is provided for in the fellowship, if only we keep sincere. In family life, so long as the fellowship is preserved, the frailties can be easily and wisely dealt with. How does the living Lord Jesus cleanse? Through the discipline of life-experience, which He uses and sanctifies. And He comes to us with great persuasions that He can cleanse—persuasions from His blood-shedding, from His entrusted powers as Mediator, from His adaptation through a human experience. And Christ in our life, cleansing us from our Christian frailties, is our inspiration to the cleansing of ourselves. There is what we only can do. There is what He only can do.

Close with St. Peter’s drawing up his feet away from the cleansing Christ. He was imperilling his fellowship.

The Lord’s Supper an Expression of Fellowship.—One of the great words of St. John’s epistles is fellowship. The thought is beautifully presented here. The early disciples came into contact with the Lord, seeing, hearing, and touching Him. Their communion and fellowship were immediate and personal, and their contact with other disciples who had not seen the Lord was also immediate and personal, and so by declaring to them what they had seen and heard they introduced them to the fellowship of the Lord Himself. Christian history forms a chain of many links; and as we trace back link after link, till we come to Him from whom all hang in dependence, we feel the unity, the solidarity, of the Christian brotherhood and testimony. The Lord’s Supper is the expression of this visible fellowship.

1. Immediately connected with the existing body of disciples.

2. Links every new commemoration to all the preceding.

3. And so unites every body of disciples to the Lord.—Anon.

The Limitations of Christian Sin.—Much confusion of thought is occasioned by persisting in keeping to one definition of sin, as if it could always be just the same thing. It is the “transgression of the law”; but it is something else besides. It is the expression of self-will. It is even a natural consequence of human frailty. And it will be manifest that the character of sin necessarily changes when a man is renewed in will and motive by the regenerating grace in Christ Jesus. He becomes a new man; and if he gives full and befitting expression to his new life, he cannot sin. To sin with the will is the act of the unregenerate man; and if a Christian ever sins with his will, he, at least for the time, falls back upon the conditions of his unregenerate life. It needs to be firmly stated that the Christian, as such, cannot determinedly sin with his will. He may sin through frailty, or because led astray, and deceived by temptation; his will may be even forced aside for a time; but he comes to himself again when the force is withdrawn. He sins a child’s sins who is in the full joy of home life and love.

1Jn_1:8. The Peril of Christian Self-deception.—“Where there is even only a trace of life, and of the Divine fulness, this must immediately manifest sin to be sin” (Eric Haupt).

I. The denial of sin.—

1. Some claim an absolute exemption from sin.

2. Some say they have no sin, by claiming a relative exemption from it.

II. The consequence of this denial.—For us to deny our sin is to deny—

1. Indisputable facts.

2. The infallible testimony of the word of God.

3. The moral propriety of the scheme of redemption.

III. The confession of sin.—“If we confess,” etc.

IV. The consequence of such confession.—

1. Forgiveness.

2. Sanctification.—Dr. Clark.

Sinful Tendencies of Christians.—The preceding words had reminded St. John that even mature Christians, though certainly not “walking in darkness,” yet have sinful tendencies in themselves: sensuous impulses, non-spiritual inclinations, lack of self-knowledge, a lowered standard, principles and views borrowed partly from the world, wavering of will, and hence graver faults. Not to admit this would be to mislead ourselves, and in us the power and energy of light, searching the very corners of the heart, would not be working.—W. M. Sinclair, D.D.

Self-delusion as to our State before God.—It is among the most potent of the energies of sin, that it leads astray by blinding, and blinds by leading astray. There is an inherent and inevitable efficacy in sin to diffuse darkness, and to make us in love with the darkness it diffuses. In the judgment God will unravel all the tangled mesh of our excuses, and flash upon us the tremendous conviction, that we are lost only because we would be lost, that in every several instance of temptation the sin lay with us as the situation with God.

I. The imagination of our own sinlessness is an inward lie.—It has been questioned whether the apostle included in this affirmation the highest degrees of Christian attainment; but Wesley made the theological question of Christian perfectibility of far more practical importance than it ever deserved. Whatever may be the measure of sanctification which God bestows upon His children in this world, we can scarcely conceive its highest state unaccompanied with a longing for a state yet higher, clearly conceived, and sought with a personal consciousness (so far) of imperfection, and an ardent desire to still escape that remainder of earthliness that embarrasses the ascent. In fact, the belief of Christian perfectibility seems inapplicable to individual practice from the very nature of Christian holiness. Were a perfect man to exist, he himself would be the last to know it, for the highest stage of advancement is the lowest descent in humility. The spiritual life, as a progressive life, involves a progressively increasing knowledge of God; and as it approaches the Source of all holiness, the spirit of man must appreciate far more accurately the force of the contrast between itself and its mighty Model. In truth, it is only fervent and exalted piety that can really feel how immeasurably far it is from perfect holiness. Whatever be the doctrine of Christian perfectibility collected out of the writings of St. John, it certainly can have but little relation to the earthly saint’s estimate of his own piety. It is not, however, of these “perfect” ones that we now speak, but rather of those whose cold hearts and neglectful lives utter the bold denial of a sinlessness which the lips dare not deny. Adequately to enumerate the causes of this lamentable blindness to pressing and palpable evil would be impossible. The particular causes of the delusion will vary with every variety of individual character. Every temptation that occupies, and by occupying excludes all other occupants, may claim its share in the perpetuation of this melancholy ignorance. We can only speak of some of the general principles on which the delusion rests.

II. The sources of this lamentable ignorance of our personal state with God.—Something is due to the governing agency of Satan, the “ruler of the darkness of this world.” He who deceives that he may destroy, stupefies that he may deceive. The cunning of the serpent alone can reach the master-subtlety of making the soul of man do his work by being its own unpitying enemy, and traitor, and cheat: it is only the “father of lies” that thus can make the wretched heart a liar to itself. The first and darkest of his works on earth is the original and inherited corruption of the human soul itself. It is ignorant of sin, just because it is naturally sinful. Faint, frail, and disordered from the first, how should it easily suspect its own disease? One chief object of the gospel history, as applied by the Spirit of God, is to humble and yet animate us by a portraiture of moral excellence which, as observation cannot furnish, so assuredly nature will never spontaneously imagine. We cannot know our degradation, we cannot struggle, or even wish, to rise, if we have never been led to conceive the possibility of a state higher than our own. For the mournful unconsciousness of our personal depravity, have we not a powerful cause in that depravity itself? But no human being can be seen in the state of nature alone. Repeated acts are become principles of action, and every man is the creature of his own past life. If degraded nature is silent in denouncing sin, what shall she be when doubly and trebly indurated by habit. We know not ourselves as sinners, because from infancy we have breathed the atmosphere of sin. A man lives in the frigid formalism of external religion, or in the habitual neglect of God, until it seems almost impossible to separate the habit from life itself: to live at all is to live thus. The terrible power of irreligion, become thus habitual, to blind men to the momentous peril of their daily state, is above all evinced in this: that every form of exhortation or appeal is weak to break the lethargy; yet not at all from any unbelief of the facts or doctrines stated, but from an obstinate refusal or inability to imagine that they can have the remotest reference to the hearer himself. And this operation of habit is a universal law. Is not there something in the frame and condition of the world that is fitted to assist this melancholy work of deception? The blind man does not conceive of light, neither does the godless spirit conceive of God. But even supposing the organ to be restored, were he placed in a world of darkness, he would be as far as ever from imagining the true nature of the light he could not witness. Society moulds us. As men copy themselves by force of habit, they copy others by force of example. Mankind in crowds and communities tends to uniformity. We cherish and confirm the dream that “we have no sin,” because all the world is sinful as ourselves. The power of this universality of sin around us to paralyse the sensibility of conscience is augmented by the influence of rank and fashion. So servile a copyist of evil is man, that vice, the darkest and most degrading, seems to lose its name and nature when thus authenticated by the passport of rank. To this must be added the tendency of pleasure itself, or of indolence, to prolong this deception, and our natural impatience of the pain of self-disapproval. There are two ways of escaping an angry conscience—by ceasing from the evil that provokes it, or by resolutely refusing to hear its voice, which soon amounts to silencing it for ever.—W. Archer Butler, M.A.

1Jn_1:9. God keeping Conditions.—“He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” It is true to the nature of things that a father should forgive and restore his erring child, if that child penitently confesses his sin. And in putting Himself into the figure of a father, God puts Himself into fatherly conditions; and those conditions we may be quite sure that He will keep. He must, for He cannot be other than just to Himself, and faithful to us. “Just,” in this verse, has nothing to do with the conditions on which, as a moral governor, God’s justice is satisfied. “Just” here is a feature of the Divine character. In the same sense as that in which we speak of a man as a just man, we may speak of God as a just God. A just man will keep his engagements, strictly, honourably, fully. He will try to shirk nothing. And this security we have in thinking of the just God. If He has made a covenant, He will keep every one of its terms. If He has given promises, He will fulfil every one of them to the letter. If He has said He will forgive and cleanse His penitent children, forgive and cleanse He certainly will.

Confession a Sign of Right-mindedness.—Confession as an act standing by itself has but little value. Its importance lies in the condition of mind and feeling which it represents and indicates. What is the mood towards sin of the man who confesses? (Of course, the supposition is that the confession is sincere.) Plainly, it is a different mood to that which he was in when he committed the sin, or when he kept in the hardened frame which allowed of his committing the sin. Plainly, too, he is in an humble mood of mind, and even distressed that he should have been led astray. And plainly, also, he now wants all the wrong taken away, and the broken relations fully restored. But these are right moods. The man has become right-minded. The proper spirit of the son has come back to the man; and in that fact is found a sufficient basis for full forgiveness and acceptance, and a gracious cleansing work.

Cases of Confession.—Three cases are conceivable: A man may have nothing to confess; a man may be in a mood that he will not confess; and a man may want to confess. What do each of these reveal concerning the man?

Confessing our Sins.—What is it to confess our sins? It is to tell them out to God. It is true God knows them already far better than we do ourselves. To Him all hearts are open, and from Him no secrets are hid. So when He bids us confess our sins, it is not that He may know them better, but that we may know them better, and feel them more deeply. And so it is plain that to confess our sins must mean much more than the mere telling them out to God. For this would be nothing at all, without self-examination, and godly sorrow, and humbling of the heart, and penitence, and prayer, and holy resolves, and amendment of life. Observe the twofold blessing promised:

(1) the forgiveness of sin;

(2) the cleansing from all unrighteousness. These are simply the two great wants of man with regard to sin: pardon for the past; cleansing for the future; or, in other words, the gifts of justification and sanctification. By the one (justification) we are accepted by God, who blots out our sins, and counts us as righteous for Christ’s sake, without our really being so; by the other (sanctification) we are really made righteous in ourselves, God’s Holy Spirit working in us, so that we conquer the power of sin, and grow in grace and holiness.—W. Walsham How, D.D.

Forgiving must go with Cleansing.—Could it possibly suffice for God to forgive? That may be tried in both the public spheres of justice, and in the private spheres of the family. The failure of public justice is seen in that it can do two things only. It can acquit, and it can punish, but it cannot cleanse. Consequently public justice as a civil power is effective, and as a moral power is helpless. The success of family dealing with wrong-doing is seen in the fact that a father can never satisfy himself with any act of forgiveness, because his supreme concern is the moral well-being of his child, whom He would deliver from the influence and power of his wilfulness, whom he must get cleansed from all his unrighteousness.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1

1Jn_1:5. “God is light.”—Light is beautiful; it is gladdening to the eye and to the heart; it flies toward us like God’s angel from the skies; but light of itself is not enough. It were a poor thing for this earth if the sun gave it only light. Soon it would be clothed in the whiteness of universal snow, relieved only by an azure of glacial ice, and in the cold, clear, dazzling glare the life of ocean and continent would die. The earth would not cease to be—it would roll on, a fair and beauteous star among the worlds; but no life would stir in its cold magnificence, no voice would break the stillness of its icy solitudes—it would roll on, a splendid sepulchre, through the skies. Light of itself is not enough. Life wants something more than light. No life can be matured apart from warmth. Were God only light, we might be spotless as snow, chaste as crystals, beautiful as blocks of ice; but the best and highest things in our natures would die—there would be no warmth of friendship in our grasp, no pity flowing in tears of sympathy from our eyes, no sacrificing love in our hearts; our minds might become glorious, but our hearts would be empty and dead. And, therefore, inasmuch as a tender, sympathetic heart is higher than a mere scholastic mind, inasmuch as sacrifice is profounder than wisdom, and the cross sublimer than philosophy, insomuch is the knowledge that “God is love” better to us than the knowledge that “God is light.”—Henry Wonnacott.

A Legend of the Light.—There is a Rabbinical legend that, when light issued from under the throne of God, the prince of darkness asked the Creator wherefore He had brought light into existence. God answered that it was in order that he might be driven back to his abode of darkness. The evil one asked that he might see that; and, entering the stream of light, he saw across time and the world, and beheld the face of Messiah. Then he fell upon his face and cried, “This is He who shall lay low in ruin me, and all the inhabitants of hell.”

1Jn_1:7. Walking in the Light.—The planet Venus teaches an important lesson to the followers of Christ, viz. that the earth was never yet known to come between her and the sun. Whence the languor and the spiritual declensions, the darkness and the soul distresses, of many a child of light? Come they not very frequently from giving way to earthly cares, earthly joys, and earthly pursuits? We let these things shut out the sun. No wonder that we move heavily and walk in the dark while we cultivate that friendship with this world which is enmity with God. But if, on the contrary, our affections are set on things above—if our treasure and our hearts are with Christ in heaven—we shall probably “walk in the light,” and enjoy an abiding perception of interest in His precious blood which cleanseth from all sin.—Salter.

Luther and the Evil One.—There is a legend of Luther that, during a serious illness, the evil one seemed to enter his sick-room, and, looking at him with a triumphant smile, unrolled a vast roll which he carried in his arms. As the fiend threw one end of it on the floor, and it unwound itself with the impetus he had given it, Luther’s eyes were fixed on it, and to his consternation he read there the long and fearful record of his own sins, clearly and distinctly enumerated. That stout heart quailed before that ghastly roll. Suddenly it flashed into his mind that there was one thing not written there. He said aloud, “One thing you have forgotten: the rest is all true; but one thing you have forgotten—‘The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ ” As he said this, the “accuser of the brethren,” and his heavy roll of “lamentation, and mourning, and woe,” disappeared together.

Purity through Christ’s cleansing.—See these pure white clouds that stretch in ranks, like rolling waves, across the canopy of heaven in the still, deep noon of a summer day! Row after row they lie in the light, opening their bosoms to the blaze of a noontide sun; and they are all fair; “they are without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Who are these that stand, as it were, around the throne of God in white clothing, and whence came they? These are they that have come from various places on the surface of the earth and sea,—some from the briny ocean, and some from miry land; some from yellow, overflowing rivers, and some from cool, crystal springs; some from stagnant pools in distant, lonely deserts, and some from the slimy bed of the Thames, or the Clyde, where living beings can scarcely breathe on the banks. All are alike welcome to these heavens, and all are, in their resurrection state, equally pure. May I—spiritually distant and unclean—may I rise, like these snow-white clouds, from earth to heaven, and take my place, without challenge, among the stainless witnesses who stand around the Redeemer’s throne? I may—not because my stains are few, but because “the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth from all sin.” I may—not because my sins are small, but because my Saviour is great.—W. Arnot.

CHAPTER 2

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

II. PRINCIPAL PART THE FIRST

1Jn_1:5 to 1Jn_2:28

IF YE WALK IN THE LIGHT (1Jn_1:5 to 1Jn_2:2)—OBEDIENT TO HIS LAW IN GENERAL (1Jn_2:2-6), AND TO THE COMMANDMENT OF BROTHERLY LOVE IN PARTICULAR (1Jn_2:7-14), NOT MISLED BY THE LUSTS (1Jn_2:15-17) AND THE LIES OF THE WORLD (1Jn_2:18-23) YE SHALL ABIDE BEFORE CHRIST

1. Leading thought: God is Light

5This then Isaiah 9 the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you,10 that God is light, and in him is no darkness11 at all.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

1Jn_1:5. And is not like οὖν (igitur, Beza) or δὲ (Episcopius); for it is neither an inference, nor even a delicate antithesis; it simply connects with the preceding, as does καὶ—γράφομεν, 1Jn_1:4, with ἀπαγγέλλομεν, and while ταῦτα points to the contents of the now opening Epistle, καὶ connects with the exordium, in which preparation is made for what follows, and αὕτη ἡ ἀγγελία points to the subsequent words [ὅτι ὁ θεὸς κ. τ. λ.—M.].

This is the message.—Contrary to the usual position of the words (αὕτη ἐστίν, 1Jn_2:25; 1Jn_3:11; 1Jn_3:23; 1Jn_4:3; 1Jn_5:11; 1Jn_5:14, cf. Joh_17:3), ἐστιν is emphatically placed first to denote the existence and reality of the message. The poorly authenticated reading ἐπαγγελία is very awkward, the word denoting not annunciation (Oecumen., Beza, de Wette contrary to the grammatical usage of the N. T.), either here or elsewhere (1Jn_2:24; 1Jn_3:11; cf. var. 2Ti_1:1; Act_23:31), and if taken in the sense of promise would have required here an enlargement of the thought. Calov: non jubemur tantum in luce ambulare ac mundari sanguine Christi, sed utriusque etiam gratia nobis promittitur, illius per Spiritus Sancti illuminationem, hujus per expiationis Christi applicationem; quia utraque fruimur per beatam cum Deo et Christo communionem. [Huther thinks that the reading ἐπαγγελία in the sense of promise might be justified on the ground that every announcement of the New Testament is fraught with promise, and cites Spener, who says: “Promise, as the sequel indeed conceals a promise. God is not only a light in Himself, but He is also the light of believers. And that is the promise.”—M.].—ἀπαγγελία, which occurs no where in the New Testament, as Socinus and Episcopius read, is an arbitrary correction. The outwardly best authenticated reading is strongly supported by the context, for it seems to rëecho in the following ἀναγγέλλομεν: the message of Christ is announced again by His Apostles. Erasmus: “Quod filius annunciavit a patre, hoc Apostolus acceptum a filio renunciat nobis.”

Which we have heard from Him.—The Apostle alludes to 1Jn_1:1. He thinks of the first disciples, and more particularly of the Apostles. Hence both the ἀγγελία, the ἀκηκόαμεν, and the contents of the message: ὁ θεός κ. τ. λ̓.., suggest the reference to Jesus, the Christ; this is also rendered necessary by the preposition ἀπό, which indicates the Prophet-speaker, the Person of the Master, on whose lips the Apostles hang as hearers and disciples. John uses ἀκούειν παρά, Joh_8:26; Joh_8:40; Joh_15:15, but there it is the Father who speaks and the Son who hears; this (παρὰ) presupposes the nearness, the being together, and had to be used when the Son was hearing the Father, the other (ἀπό) denotes distance, and could hardly have been used in the aforecited passages; παρὰ points also to familiarity ἀπό only to derivation in general αὐτοῦ denotes, with reference to 1Jn_1:3 : τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, Christ; the assertion that αὐτοῦ, as distinguished from ἐκεῖνος, which always relates to Christ, invariably refers to the Father (Paulus, Baumgarten-Crusius) is incorrect. The sense then is: From Him, the Incarnate Son of God, whom we have heard, etc., 1Jn_1:1, we have received the message concerning God the Father (Düsterdieck, Huther). Socinus, who takes the relation of God and Christ not as conjunctio esseritiæ, but only as conjunctio voluntatis et rerum aliarum omnium, understands a Deo et Christo, i.e., a Deo per Christum, thus representing Christ as the mere mediator and not as the author of the message.

And announce to you again.—Next to the note of Erasmus, as quoted above, we cite the admirable exposition of Bengel: “Quæ in ore Christi fuit ἀγγελία eam apostoli ἀγγέλλουσι; nam ἀγγέλιαν ab Ipso acceptam reddunt et propagant.” ἀναγγέλλειν is not exactly = ἀπαγγέλλειν, the latter denotes to continue announcing [rather to bear tidings from one person (ἁπὸ) to another—M.], the former to announce anew, back, again, as in Joh_4:25; Joh_16:25, where, however, ἀπαγγελῶ is the more authentic reading. As our Lord conversed with the Syrophœnician woman as the Messenger of God Reporting what the Father had told Him before, so the Apostles report what the Lord had told them before (Joh_20:21).

God is light.—This is the substance of the ἀγγελία. But Christ did not say so, although He called Himself the Light, Joh_12:12; Jno 15:46; and speaks of the children of the Light (Joh_8:36), even as James refers to the Father of the Lights, τῶν φώτων, Jam_1:17, see the note above ad loc. But Christ, as the Son of God, is ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσες αὐτοῦ (Heb_1:2), and this it is which John and his fellow Apostles (1Jn_1:1) had heard, seen and gazed upon, so that the sum-total and centre of the message of Christ, as well as His personal manifestation and revelation in the flesh, may truly be expressed in the words “God is Light.” Christ reveals this, but no philosopher is able to find it; without Christ the wise men of the world pass it by. It is not a light, as Luther translates, as if there were other lights beside and out of Him. The Being of God is Light. Neither is it in the light, as if it were only surrounding Him, nor as the Light. It is not secundum similitudinem (Bullinger), but secundum substantiam. Light is His garment (Psa_104:2); Ezekiel (1 John 1.) and Habakkuk (1Jn_3:3, sqq.) beheld the glory of the Lord as fire, pure and bright as lightning. He is not only the Author of light, to whom belongs His first creative fiat (Gen_1:3), but the Father of all light (Jam_1:17), a mighty sphere of light surrounds Him (1Ti_6:16); and the marvellous light wherein Christians walk is God’s (1Pe_2:9). This sentence is parallel to the sentence: “God is Love” (1Jn_4:8; 1Jn_4:16), with the same fundamental thought, although in the one instance the expression is figurative, and in the other literal, and the figurative expression lays peculiar emphasis on one side of the Divine Being, and this, on account of the antithesis in the following verses (1Jn_1:6-10), is also holiness, perfect pureness, but not omniscience, as Calov maintains, although in Dan_2:22 light is the symbol of the omniscience of God; it may include, however, the wisdom of God. [Alford:—“Of all material objects, light is that which most easily passes into an ethical predicative without even the process, in our thought, of interpretation. It unites in itself purity, and clearness, and beauty, and glory, as no other material object does; it is the condition of all material life and growth and joy. And the application to God of such a predicative requires no transference. He is Light, and the fountain of light material and ethical. In the one world, darkness is the absence of light; in the other, darkness, untruthfulness, deceit, falsehood, is the absence of God. They who are in communion with God, and walk with God, are the light, and walk in the light.”—M.]

And darkness in Him is none whatsoever.—This second negative member, stated with marked emphasis (οὐκ ἒστιν οὐδεμία, similar to Joh_15:5, see Winer, p. 521. [“The two negations produce one negation, which is the more frequent case, and serve, originally, to make the principal negation more distinct and forcible, and exhibit the sentence as negative in all its parts.”—M.]), rejects any and every darkness, i.e., impureness [or absence of all admixture.—M.]. Oecumenius: ἢτοι τὴν ἂγνοιαν, ἢ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Rather both: neither an untruth or a lie, nor any sin is in Him. The fulness of the reference contained in this expression is brought out by Lorinus in the following passage cited by Huther: “Deus lux est, quia clarissime se ipsum percipit, omniaque in se ipse, utpote prima et ipsissima veritas; quia summe bonus, ac summa et ipsissima bonitas; fidelis absque ulla iniquitate, justus et rectus, quia fons omnis lucis in aliis, i.e., veritatis atque virtutis, non solum illustrans mentem, docensque quid agendum sit, verum etiam operans in nobis, ut agemus et sic radiis suis liberans mentem ab ignorantiæ tenebris, purgans a pravitate voluntatem.”—John’s speculation or mysticism is so thoroughly ethical, that he is solely concerned with the practical working out of the truth: “God is Light.” As he connects this sentiment with the preceding by καὶ, namely, the fellowship with the Father and the Son, so he develops the nature of this fellowship-life in the sequel (1Jn_5:6-21). Now, since the nature of this fellowship and of the life in it depend upon the nature of the Father, he begins with the leading thought (1Jn_1:5) and with reference to errors in a sentence of two members, the one positive, the other negative. [Huther: “John properly makes the truth that God is Light, as the chief substance of the ἀγγελία of Christ, the starting-point of his development; for it is the essential basis of Christianity, both as to its objective and subjective substance, and it involves both the consummation of sin and the redemption from sin by the incarnation and death of Christ; both the necessity of repentance and faith and the moral problem of the Christian life.”—M.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Monotheism and the absolute personal existence of God are with John two chief points, which may be also identified here, although one side only is made prominent. Of the two sentences, “God is Spirit” (Joh_4:24), and “God is Love” (1Jn_4:8; 1Jn_4:16),—the former denoting the Being of God physically, the latter ethically; the former describing the nature and substance, the latter the character of God,—the second only will have to be connected with the sentence, “God is Light,” and thus be further defined by a metaphorical expression. Spirit and Love are indeed correlative fundamental ideas, since Spirit denotes “free self-glory in self-consciousness and spontaneity over a substantial fulness of real vital powers,” and Love “free self-surrender with conscious and intentional conservation of the essential original determinateness both of oneself and of others” (Plitt). But the phrase “God is Light,” declares “the superiority of God to all sensuous wants” (Köstlin), the holiness of God, and thus defines further the character of God, His Love, and this as a holy Love, while it enables us to take the Love of God as contemplating also the communication of His Holiness. We may add, “God is—eternal Life” (Joh_1:20) as a correlative, so that His Love as well as His Holiness are live. There is no manner of darkness in Him. He is not a God in process of being coming to Himself in the history of creation, the world or in the spirit of man, as Plato maintains: He is operative prior to all the ὒλη of Plato, or the dark Urgrund of Schelling, as a self-conscious, holy, loving and living God. Nor has sin, evil, its original beginning in Him, as was taught by the Gnostics in their doctrine of emanations. [Wordsworth: “A sentence opposed to the error of most of the Gnostics, who asserted the existence of two hostile Deities, one a God of Light, the other of Darkness. Irenæus I., 25. 28, ed Grabe. Theodoret, Hæret., fab. prœm. Epiphan., Hæres, XXVI., cf. Ittig. Hæres, p. 34; note in his Comment. on Joh_1:5; and Bp. Andrewes, III., pp. 371–376. Almost all the Gnostics adopted the theory of dualism, derived from the Magians, and afterwards developed by the Marcionites and Manichæans.”—M.]

2. God is Light—must not be taken as a notice, a truth without reality, a reality without efficiency. As the sentence “God is Spirit” (Joh_4:24) is immediately followed by “and those who worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in truth,” so this sentence must be taken as a principle, the application of which is contained in the sequel. The sentence is through and through ethical and practical. John wants no science without practice. He does not allow an enlightenment of the mind without a corresponding bias and purifying of the will.

3. The question “Whence comes sin, evil into the world?” the Apostle here decides very distinctly in a negative form: in no event from God. Evil though connate, is not co-created.

4. Nothing must be taught or announced that does not rest upon or does not agree with the testimony of Christ. Those who pretend to know eternal truth which maketh free, different from Him, do not know it better, and are not servants, but adversaries and rebels.—It is at once Apostolical and Protestant to go back to the beginning of the Gospel in Christ. We are much more the Apostolical Church than the Church of Rome with its claims to Apostolicity.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

God is Light. 1. Whence do you know it? 2. What does it mean? 3. Whither does it point?—Whatever right and true views you may have of God the Father, you have them from Christ, no matter whether a messenger of salvation, a servant of the Church have announced them to you, whether they were told you by your mother or commended by the counsel of a friend, whether Christian hands brought them to you in the Bible, or the Holy Ghost excited them in your heart.—Nothing gladdens the hearts of men more than light; but how have they abused the Word and deprived it of its best part, and try to make it chime in with unholiness in thought, in word and in deed!—The world’s light dazzles without illumining, shines without producing a spring with blossoms or an autumn with fruit.—The world’s light may be useful, build you in this life bridges of honour, bring wreaths to artists and fame to the wise, make account of order in the land and in the streets, rejoice the heart in the social circle and refresh the mind, but also undermine and destroy the salvation of your soul. But it cannot carry a shine of consolation into the night of life, still less into the night of death; it cannot help the soul to find love and the life which death cannot destroy.—The world’s light sets like the sun in the sky; but the Light which is God the Lord, shines through all the night of sin, of life, of death.—Try every light, whether God be in it.—If He, the Holy One, is absent, that light is no light worthy of the name, but a false light, a will-o’-the-wisp.—Do not look for salvation in any light of science or civilization, if it denies the holy light. Fear only the darkness in which God the Father is not found.

Starke:—Teachers should not pronounce any thing in things Divine but that which they have heard from the Lord in His Word; for if the Apostles themselves were firmly tied by it, how much more are they bound to cleave to it? The thoughts of man, being fallible, are not sufficient for the foundation of the faith.—Because God is Light, and in Him is no darkness whatsoever, it is wholly impossible that He can be the Cause of sin, which is the greatest darkness.—God is all Light, Wisdom, Holiness, Consolation and Joy; who would not desire to be united with Him?

Lange:—Because God is Light we have often to sigh in our fellowship with Him: “Lord, cause Thy face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us.”

Spener:—God is Light. 1. Holiness and Righteousness, showing that He not only has no evil within Himself, but also cannot suffer sin or evil in His creatures. 2. All wisdom and Allwisdom. 3. Glory and salvation.

Heubner:—Christianity has showed to all men the light-nature of God in Christ in the clearest brightness; that He is through and through perfect Knowledge, Omniscience, Wisdom, Love, Grace, Holiness and Happiness, and delights in the happiness of His creatures. Why does John specify this as the chief announcement? 1. Because it is of the first importance and indispensably necessary for sinful man to know that it is not by the hostile and malicious purpose of an omnipotent Being that he has been cast into this misery, that God did not plan his ruin, and that it does not come from Him, because He is pure and good. 2. Because salvation, a restoration of happiness may be expected from this God who desires all men to be happy. This belief is man’s first support [holding-point] of salvation. And this His Will God has proved most strongly in fact—through Christ.

Besser:—John convicts of falsehood three classes of spirits by declaring the vanity of the boast of fellowship with God on the part of such as walk in darkness instead of walking in the Light, of such as comfort themselves with the assurance of being perfectly pure instead of relying upon the continual cleansing of the blood of Christ, and lastly, of such as, instead of confessing their sins, deny their sinfulness. Worldly-mindedness, boast of sanctity and self-righteousness are exposed by John to the condemnatory light of the truth, and accompanied by an exhortation to a sincere, humble and penitent walking in the Light.

[Bp. Hall:—Divine Light and reflections. Sermons, Works, 5, 419.—M].

Footnotes:

[9]1Jn_1:5. ἒστιν αὒτη, B. C. G. K., Cod. Sin., al. [Syr., Theoph., Oecumen., Tischend., Buttmann, Wordsw. καὶαὒτη ἐστὶ, A., Vulg., Lachm., Rec.; this is altered from the original reading.—M.]

[10]Instead of ἀγγελία, A. B. G., al. [Griesb., Scholz., Lachm., Tischend., Wordsw.—M.] we find ἐπαγγελία in C., and in Cod. Sin., over ἀπαγγελία, the following correction, probably emanating from the transcriber himself: ἁγαπη τῆς ἐπαγγελίας; but a later hand has added ἀγγελία as the right reading.

[11][ἀναγγέλλομεν, renuntiamus, announce again, Report (Lillie). Declare, E. V., is too weak, it denotes a repetition of an announcement already made and known, brought out by the preposition ἀνα. See the notes of Bengel and Erasmus in Exegetical and Critical.—M.]

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

II. LIGHT AND DARKNESS AND THE TESTS

CHAPTERS 1:5-2:17

1. God is light; walking in darkness and in light (1Jn 1:5-7)

2. What the light manifests (1Jn 1:8-10)

3. The advocacy of Christ to maintain the fellowship (1Jn 2:1-2)

4. The tests of fellowship (1Jn 2:3-17)

1Jn 1:5-7

The message they had heard of Him and which they declared to others is, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Light, perfect, pure light is God’s nature; He is absolutely holy, with no darkness in Him at all. That God is light was manifested in the life of the Lord Jesus, for He was and is holy. Fellowship with the Father and the Son means, therefore, to have fellowship with light, and that excludes a walk in darkness. “if we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth.” If one professes to have fellowship with God and walks in darkness, he lies, for darkness can have no fellowship with light. “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.”

But what is this walk in the light? It is not the same thing as walking according to the light. It does not mean to live a perfect and sinless life. Walking in the light is not the question of how we wait but where we walk, and the place where the believer walks is the light. It means to walk daily in His presence, with our will and conscience in the light and presence of God, judging everything that does not answer to that light. Whatever is not right is brought at once in His presence, exposed to the light, confessed, judged and put away. Such is the walk in the light which fellowship with God demands. The result of such a walk in the light is mutual fellowship among believers, because each has the same nature of God and the same Spirit, the same Christ as the object before the heart and the same Father. It cannot be otherwise. Then there is another thing stated, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Walking in the light shows us what we are and we cannot say that we have no sin. But we have no consciousness of sin resting upon us before a holy God, though we know that sin is in us, but we have the assurance of being cleansed from it by His precious blood. Such is the blessed position of a true Christian. Fellowship with the Father and with His Son, walking in the light as He is in the light, fellowship one with another and the cleansing power of the blood.

1Jn 1:8-10.

The light makes known that sin is in us. If the believer, the child of God, says that he has no sin, the light contradicts him. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The denial of sin within is a delusion. This evil teaching that the old Adamic nature is eradicated in the believer is widespread in our day among Holiness, Pentecostal and other sects. True spirituality is to confess daily, walking in the light, that in our flesh there dwelleth no good thing. And if sin is committed it needs confession. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The light also manifests another evil, the claim of a sinless perfection. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us. Some have applied this verse to the unsaved; it has nothing to do with the sinner, but relates to a true believer, who in presumption makes the claim that he lives without sinning. And the reason why children of God make such unscriptural claims is inattention to His Word, for the Word makes manifest what sin is, and the Apostle says “If we say that we have not sinned ... His word is not in us.”

1Jn 2:1-2.

For the first time John uses the endearing term “my little children”, meaning the born ones of God, who are born into the family of God by having believed on the Son of God. One might conclude, inasmuch as belief in the eradication of the old nature and sinless perfection is a delusion, that the child of God must sin. But, while sin is within, and a sinless perfection is beyond our reach, it does not mean that the believer should continue in sin. He had written these things that they might not sin. But if any man sin a gracious provision has been made. Let it be noticed that the application, as it is often done, to the sinner who is outside, who knows not Christ at all, is totally wrong. It means the little children, the members of the family of God. If any true child of God sins we have an advocate with the Father (not God, it is the matter of the family), Jesus Christ the righteous. The advocacy of Christ restores the sinning believer to the communion with the Father and the Son which sin interrupted. He does not wait till we come repenting and confessing, but in the very moment we have sinned He exercises His blessed office as our Advocate with the Father and His intercession produces in us repentance, confession, and self-judgment. Thus we are maintained by Himself in the fellowship into which the grace of God has called and brought us.

When the believer sins it does not mean that he has lost his salvation. Many a child of God has been harassed through ignorance, and imagined that he committed the unpardonable sin. The sin of a believer does not make him unsaved or lost, but it makes fellowship with the Father and the Son impossible till the sin is judged and confessed. This is accomplished by His advocacy.

“The Lord Jesus as much lives to take up the failure of His own, as He died to put away their sins by His blood. This, too, is founded on propitiation; but there is besides the blessed fact that He is the righteousness of the believer in the presence of God. His one expiatory sacrifice avails in abiding value; His place is before God as our righteousness; and there for the failing He carries on His living active advocacy with the Father.”

1Jn 2:3-17.

John now writes of the characteristics of the life which the believer has received, the eternal life and applies certain tests. The profession of a Christian is that He knows God. But how do we know that we know Him? The answer is, “If we keep His commandments.” This is not legality in the least which puts the believer back under the law. John knows nothing of that. Obedience is the leading trait of the imparted life. It is set on doing the will of God. Christ walked on earth in obedience; His meat and drink was to do the will of Him that sent Him. Inasmuch as His life is in us as believers, it must manifest itself in obedience to the will of God. It is the same which we find in 1Pe 1:2, sanctified, or set apart, unto the obedience of Jesus Christ. It is not a sinless obedience as it was in Him; while the believer has his heart set on obeying the Lord and doing His will, he often fails and stumbles, but he continues to aim at doing the will of God, for that is the nature of the new life. “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in Him.”

One who professes to know God and does not manifest obedience is no Christian at all, but he is a liar, and the truth in the knowledge of the Lord is lacking in such a one. He is a mere professing Christian, one who has the outward form of godliness but does not know the power of it, because he has not the life in him, which is His life and in which he delights to obey. The first great test of the reality of the divine life in the believer is obedience.

Then follows a second test: “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” In His prayer our Lord told the Father, “They are not of the world even as I am not of the world”; and again, “As Thou has sent me into the world so have I sent them into the world” (Joh 17:16; Joh 17:18). Believers are not of the world as He is not of the world, because they are born again and have His life in them. They are in Him, abiding in Him, and therefore they must walk as He walked, which does not mean to be what He was, for He was without sin, but it is a walk after His own pattern, the reproduction of His character and life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the next two verses we read of the old commandment and of the new commandment (1Jn 2:7-8). The old commandment is explained, as the word which they had heard from the beginning, that is, the same beginning as mentioned in 1Jn 1:1, the manifestation of Christ on earth. But what is the commandment of which he speaks next? It is something new now, for the life which was in Him on earth is in believers now. Therefore, it is true in Him and in us because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shineth. Christ is life and light and as His life is in us we share it in Him; this is that which is new. It was true of Him first, and now it is true of us, too.

This is followed by another test. “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now.” The life must manifest itself in love. Light and love go together; both are manifested in Christ, He was light and love. If He is, therefore, in the believer, and he possesses that life, and professes to be in the light, and with such a profession hateth his brother, he shows thereby that he is in the darkness until now. Love cannot be separated from that life and light which was in Him and which is in us as believers. He that abideth in the light loveth his brother and because he does there is no occasion of stumbling in him. In him who loves there is neither darkness nor occasion of stumbling; in him who does not love there is both darkness and stumbling. He who hates his brother is a stumbling block to himself and stumbles against everything. Not loving the brethren and manifesting hatred against them is the sure sign of being in darkness and walking in darkness. Such are the tests of Christian profession; light and love, obedience and loving the brethren; where there is no life from God there is absence of love for the brethren and a walk in darkness and not in the light. It seems that many in John’s day were in that deplorable condition, while today such is almost universally the case.

1Jn 2:12-17

contain a message to those who are in the light, who possess that life and in whom it is manifested in obedience and in love. He addresses the fathers and the young men. Before he does this he mentions that which all believers, even the most feeble, possess. “I write unto you little children (the term of endearment which means the whole family of God) because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” This is blessedly true of every child of God, Each has “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” It is the thing which is settled for time and eternity for all those who are in Christ.

Then different grades are mentioned: fathers, young men and little children. The meaning is in the spiritual sense, fathers in Christ, young men in Christ and babes in Christ. The word “children” used in 1Jn 2:13 and 1Jn 2:18 is a different word from the one used in 1Jn 2:12. In this chapter in 1Jn 2:1; 1Jn 2:12 and 1Jn 2:28 the little children are all the family of God, but in 1Jn 2:13 and 1Jn 2:15 it means young converts.

The maturity of the fathers consists in knowing Him that was from the beginning, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual progress and maturity is a deep knowledge and appreciation of Christ. The Apostle Paul illustrates what real Christian maturity is. He had but one desire to know Him; not I but Christ; Christ is all. The Fathers have Christ for their fullest portion and walking in Him have learned the depths of His grace and the glory of His person. They are occupied not with their experience but with Himself It has been well said, “All true experience ends with forgetting self and thinking of Christ.” To know Him, to know Him still better, to be entirely dependent on Him, to have none other but Him, never losing sight of Him-- that is the highest attainment of a Christian.

He speaks next of the young men, who have advanced in their Christian life. They had gone forward in undaunted faith and courage and overcame the difficulties; they overcame by faith the wicked one. The strength of the new life, that is, Christ, was manifested in them in conflict. The “babes,” comes next, the young converts, who have not much experience in conflict. To them he writes, “Ye have known the Father.” Every newborn babe in Christ cries, enabled by the Spirit of adoption, “Abba, Father.” To know God as Father is the blessed birthright of every newborn soul.

Once more he writes the same to the fathers. He can add nothing to it for the highest attainment is to know Him, as the fathers know Him. But he has more to say to the young men. He tells them that they are strong, because the Word of God was abiding in them, which is the source of power and strength of every believer and because the Word of God abided in them they overcame the wicked one. Then follows the exhortation and warning not to love the world, the world of which John speaks later, which lieth in the wicked one.”

This world-system in every aspect, whether we call it the social world, the political world, the commercial world, the scientific world, the religious world--all is not of the Father. All its glory is not of the Father. The love of the world is, therefore, inconsistent with the love of the Father. The controlling principles in it are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. May we remember once more that our Lord speaks concerning His own, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” Grace has taken us out of this old world, with its corruption which is there by lust and has put us into another world, so to speak, in which Christ is the center and the attraction. That new sphere is our place. The only way to escape this world with its beguiling influences is by separation from it. And that separation becomes real when we know Him, as the fathers know him, and find our joy and our satisfaction in Christ. “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” But if this exhortation was needed in John’s day, how much more is it needed in our days, when, as never before, the god of this age blinds the eyes of them that believe not, when this world system, in its godless and seductive character, develops a power and attraction unknown before, and when on all sides professing Christians are “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”

Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:5–2:6 Here John focuses on the first aspect of living in fellowship with God. Living in the light means that the believers will see that they are sinners, but they will also realize that Jesus is their Advocate to make them right with God (see Eph 5:6-13).

1:5 God is light: This light shone through Jesus Christ to all he came in contact with, to expose their sin and to illumine the moral nature and character of God (see John 1:4-5, 9; 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36, 46). In the writings of John, “light” represents God’s holiness and revelation. It is the opposite of false teaching and undisciplined living, which is “darkness” (1 Jn 1:6).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Jn 1:5. Ἡ ἀγγελία) ch. 1Jn 3:11. The declaration, which relates to the main subject. Neither in the gospel nor in the epistles does John speak of the Gospel by name; but he terms it the testimony, the word, the truth; and here, by a closely resembling sound, ἀγγελίαν, the declaration. That which was in the mouth of Christ ἀγγελία, a declaration, the apostles ἀναγγέλλουσι, declare; for they in turn give forth and propagate ἀγγελίαν, the declaration received from Him. It is called the word, ch. 1Jn 2:7.—ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ, from Him) from the Son of God: Joh 1:18.—φῶς) The Light of wisdom, love, and glory. What the light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye. As he here calls God Light, so ch. 1Jn 2:8, he calls Christ Light.—σκοτία, darkness) The meaning of this is plain from the opposite.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

to 1Jn_2:11

1Jn_1:5 to 1Jn_2:11.

After the apostle has indicated the fulness of joy, which is in the fellowship with the Father and with the Son, as the aim of his Epistle, he brings out in what follows, from the point of view that God is φῶς (1Jn_1:5), in opposition to moral indifferentism, the condition under which alone that fellowship can exist.

1Jn_1:5. This verse contains no inference from what precedes (καί is not = igitur, Beza), but the thought that lays the foundation for what follows.

ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ ἀγγελία] and this is the message; ἔστιν is here putcontrary to its usual position, comp. 1Jn_2:25, 1Jn_3:11; 1Jn_3:23, 1Jn_4:3, etc.before αὕτη in order to mark the reality of the message (Braune); αὕτη hereas elsewhere alsorefers to what follows: ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς κ.τ.λ., by which the subject-matter of the message is stated. Calvin incorrectly, following the reading ἐπαγγελία: promissio, quam vobis afferimus, hoc secum trahit, vel hanc conditionem habet annexam.

The word ἀγγελία only here and 1Jn_3:11 (where, however, it is also not unopposed); frequently in the LXX. 2Sa_4:4; Pro_12:26; Pro_25:26; Pro_26:16; Isa_28:9; Jer_48:3-4. The reading ἐπαγγελία is more difficult with the meaning promise; yet this may be justified in so far as every N. T. proclamation carries with it a promise.[47] De Wette prefers this reading, but takes ἐπαγγελία, following the example of Oecumenius, a Lapide, Beza, Hornejus, etc.,contrary to the constant usus loquendi of the N. T.,in the signification: announcement (Lange: teaching).

ἣν ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ] from Him, that is, Christ. Instead of ἀπό, it is more usual to have παρά, comp. Joh_8:26; Joh_8:40; Joh_15:15; Act_10:22; Act_28:22; 2Ti_2:2.

αὐτός in the Epistle, not always (Paulus, Baumgarten-Crusius) indeed, but mostly, refers to God, while ἐκεῖνος refers always to Christ; here it refers backwards to τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰ. Χρ. in 1Jn_1:3; Düsterdieck: From Him, Christ, the Son of God manifested in the flesh (1Jn_1:3), whom the apostle himself has heard (1Jn_1:1 ff.), has he received the message about the Father. In favour of the correctness of this explanation is also the following: ὅτι ὁ Θεός.[48]

καὶ ἀναγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν] ἀνΑΓΓΈΛΛΕΙΝ is synonymous with ἈΠΑΓΓΈΛΛΕΙΝ, 1Jn_1:2-3, only that in ἈΝΑ the idea again is contained; Erasmus: quod filius annuntiavit a patre, hoc apostolus acceptum a filio renunciat.[49] This ἀναγγέλλομεν refers back with peculiar subtleness to the preceding ἀγγελία, and thus testifies to the correctness of that reading (Düsterdieck). The subject is, as in 1Jn_1:2-3, John and the rest of the apostles. To reduce their proclamation to the word which they heard from Christ Himself serves to confirm its truth; comp. the combination of ἀκούειν and ἀπαγγέλλειν in 1Jn_1:3. Ebrard wrongly interprets this ἀναγγέλλομεν also of the proclamation of John which occurred in his Gospel, to which this Epistle is related as the concentrating development.[50]

ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς φῶς ἐστί] φῶς is inappropriately translated by Luther: a light; the article weakens the thought; God is light, i.e. Gods nature is light = absolute holiness and truth (comp. chap. 1Jn_4:8; Gospel of Joh_4:24);[51] for the signification of the symbolical expression light, compare especially Jam_1:13; Jam_1:17.

As God is φῶς in absolute sense, so also all light outside of Him is the radiation of His nature, as all love flows forth from Him whose nature is ἀγάπη; comp. chap. 1Jn_4:7 ff.

καὶ σκοτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεμία] The thought contained in the foregoing is emphasized by the negation of its opposite, which is here expressed in the strongest manner by οὐκ … οὐδεμία, in accordance with Johns diction (comp. chap. 1Jn_2:4; 1Jn_2:18, etc.).

σκοτία: antithesis of φῶς: sin and falsehood; the same antithesis is frequently in the N. T.; comp. Rom_13:12; Eph_5:8 ff.; 1Th_5:4-5. In opposition to the general prevalent explanation given here, Weiss thus explains the sense of this verse: God is light, i.e. He has become visible, capable of being known, namely in Christ, who certainly proclaims this truth; there is no more any darkness in God at all, i.e. no part of His nature remains any longer dark and unknown, He has (in Christ) become completely revealed. This interpretation, to which Weiss is led by the erroneous supposition that the idea φῶς has in the N. T. no ethical reference,[52] is refuted both by the form of expression, which exhibits φῶς (just as ἈΓΆΠΗ, chap. 1Jn_4:8) as a description of the nature of God, and also by the train of thought, in so far as the truth expressed here forms the starting-point for all the following amplificationswhich bear on the ethical relationship of Christians. Besides, the apostle would have insufficiently expressed the thought, as he would have left out the essential ἐν Χριστῷ, which Weiss unjustifiably inserts. John rightly puts the truth that God is light, as the chief subject-matter of the ἈΓΓΕΛΊΑ of Christ, at the top of his development; for it forms the essential basis of Christianity both in its objective and in its subjective subsistence; in it there lies as well as judgment in regard to sin, so also salvation from sin by the incarnation and death of Christ, as well as necessity of repentance and faith, so also the moral exercise of the Christian life.

[47] Spener: Promise; inasmuch as, in what follows, a promise is really involved. God is not only a light in Himself, but to believers He is also their light. And that is the promise.

[48] The use of this pronoun even where the reference is obscure is caused by this, that John does not think of the Father without the Son, or the Son without the Father; the thought therefore remains essentially the same, whether we refer it in the first instance to the Father or to the Son; notwithstanding, however, the view of Socinus is unjustifiable, according to which, on account of the conjunctio inter Deum et Christum (which Socinus, moreover, holds not as a conjunctio essentiae, but only as a conjunctio voluntatis et rerum aliarum omnium), by αὐτοῦ is here to be understood equally God and Christ.

[49] Bengel: Quae in ore Christi fuit ἀγγελία, eam apostoli ἀναγγέλλουσι; nam ἀγγελίαν ab ipso acceptam reddunt et propagant.

[50] According to Ewald, John is here quoting a definite utterance of Christ; possibly, but not necessarily.

[51] The fulness of the references contained in these words, Lorinus states in the following manner: Deus lux est, quia clarissime se ipsum percipit, omniaque in se ipso, utpote prima et ipsissima veritas; quia summe bonus, ac summa et ipsissima bonitas; fidelis absque ulla iniquitate, justus et rectus, quia fons omnis lucis in aliis i.e. veritatis atque virtutis, non solum illustrans mentem, docensque quid agendum sit, verum etiam operans in nobis, ut agamus et sic radiis suis liberans mentem ab ignorantiae tenebris, purgans a pravitate voluntatem.

[52] The assertion that φῶς refers only to knowledge and not to the ethical state, is so much the more untenable, as Weiss himself describes this knowledge as the true knowledge of God, i.e. such that the entire spiritual life of man is absorbed in it, so that he is henceforth completely in God, or in which the object of cognition is received into the whole spiritual life of man in such a way that it becomes a force, inspiring and determining, or ruling, the latter in its totality. But even such a cognition must certainly be regarded as an ethical act.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn 1:5-10 . The Message of the Incarnation and the Duty which it brings. “And this is the message which we have heard from Him and are announcing to you, that God is light, and darkness in Him there is none. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and be walking in the darkness, we lie and are not doing the Truth; but if we be walking in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanseth us from every sin. If we say that we have not sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the Truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, faithful is He and righteous to forgive us the sins and cleanse us from every unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we are making Him a liar and His Word is not in us.”

1Jn 1:5 . ἀγγελία in N.T. only here and 1Jn 3:2 . ἐπαγγελία could only mean “promise” ( cf. 1Jn 2:25 ). ἀπαγγέλλειν and ἀναγγέλλειν both mean “announce,” the former with reference to the source of the message ( ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ) and the latter to its destination. “ Quod Filius annunciavit, renunciat apostolus ” (Haupt). οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεμία : the double negative makes a stronger negative ( cf. Luk 23:53 ). The manifestation of God in Christ was to those who beheld it a splendid glory, the breaking of a great light into the darkness of a sinful and sorrowful world. Cf. Mat 4:14-16 . Light means warmth, health, sight, in a word “life” ( cf. 1Jn 1:2 ).

Light is given that we may “walk in it” and enjoy its blessings. It is thus that the Gospel attains its end and fulfils its purpose in us. The Apostle now proceeds to warn his readers against two heresies which ignored this condition of heavenly fellowship.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Jn 1:5 to 1Jn 2:28. GOD IS LIGHT

1Jn 1:5 to 1Jn 2:11. WHAT WALKING IN THE LIGHT INVOLVES

This section is largely directed against the Gnostic doctrine that to the man of enlightenment all conduct is morally indifferent. Against every form of this doctrine, which sapped the very foundations of Christian Ethics, the Apostle never wearies of inveighing. So far from its being true that all conduct is alike to the enlightened man, it is the character of his conduct that will shew whether he is enlightened or not. If he is walking in the light his condition and conduct will exhibit these things; 1. Fellowship with God and with the Brethren (5–7); 2. Consciousness and Confession of Sin (8–10); 3. Obedience to God by Imitation of Christ (1Jn 2:1-6); 4. Love of the Brethren (1Jn 2:7-11).

5–7. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND WITH THE BRETHREN

5. ἔστιν αὕτη ([435][436][437]) for αὕτη ἐστίν ([438]). ἀγγελία ([439][440][441]) for ἐπαγγελία ([442]). φῶς ἐστίν. The enclitics ἐστίν, ἐσμέν, ἐστέ, εἰσίν are accented thus when the previous word cannot receive the accent: comp. 1Jn 2:5; 1Jn 3:3; 1Jn 3:8; 1Jn 3:23; 1Jn 4:2-7; 1Jn 4:17; 1Jn 5:9; 1Jn 5:11; 1Jn 5:19; 3Jn 1:11. ἐστὶν καὶ … Following the uncial MSS., the best editors add ν ἐφελκυστικόν before consonants and vowels alike: πᾶσι and δυσί being occasional exceptions, and perhaps γιγνώσκουσι (Joh 10:14). Winer, 44 note.

[435] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles.

[436] 4th century. Brought to Rome about 1460. It is entered in the earliest catalogue of the Vatican Library, 1475. All three Epistles.

[437] 5th century. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it. In the National Library at Paris. Part of the First and Third Epistles; 1Jn 1:1 to 1Jn 4:2; 3Jn 1:3-14. Of the whole N.T. the only Books entirely missing are 2 John and 2 Thessalonians.

[438] 5th century. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. All three Epistles.

[439] 4th century. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the monastery of S. Catherine on Mount Sinai, and now at Petersburg. All three Epistles.

[440] 5th century. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. All three Epistles.

[441] 4th century. Brought to Rome about 1460. It is entered in the earliest catalogue of the Vatican Library, 1475. All three Epistles.

[442] 5th century. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it. In the National Library at Paris. Part of the First and Third Epistles; 1Jn 1:1 to 1Jn 4:2; 3Jn 1:3-14. Of the whole N.T. the only Books entirely missing are 2 John and 2 Thessalonians.

5. καὶ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ ἀγγ. And the message which we have heard from Him is this: αὕτη is the predicate, as so often in S. John, and means ‘This is the sum and substance of it, This is what it consists in.’ Usually αὕτη precedes ἐστίν, as in 1Jn 3:11; 1Jn 3:23; 1Jn 5:3; 1Jn 5:11; 1Jn 5:14; 2Jn 1:6; and hence some texts place αὕτη first here. Comp. αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις (Joh 3:19), αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολή (Joh 15:12), αὔτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰών. ζωή (Joh 17:3). As in the Gospel (Joh 1:19), the main portion of the writing is connected with the Introduction by a simple καί. It does not introduce an inference, and the ‘And’ of Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Rhemish is rightly restored in R.V. The ‘then’ of A.V. comes, like so many errors, from Geneva, probably under the influence of Beza’s igitur. The connexion of thought, as so often in S. John, is not plain, but seems to be this. He desires that we should have fellowship with God (1Jn 1:3): and in order to have this we must know α. what God is (1Jn 1:5), and β. what we are consequently bound to be (1Jn 1:6-10). Ἀγγελία (frequent in LXX., 2Sa 4:4; Pro 12:26; Pro 25:26; Pro 26:16; &c.) occurs nowhere else in N.T. but here and 1Jn 3:11; in each case with ἐπαγγελία, as v. l. Ἀγγέλλειν occurs only Joh 20:18; with v. l. ἀπαγγέλλειν. Neither in his Gospel nor in his Epistles does S. John ever use εὐαγγέλιον, εὐαγγελίζειν, or εὐαγγελί ζεσθαι. The Gospel with him is ὁ λόγος or ἡ ἀλήθεια.

Once more we have a striking parallel between Gospel and Epistle. Each opens with the same kind of statement.

καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν

καὶ ἔστιν αὕτη

ἡ μαρτυρία …

ἡ ἀγγελία …

All these similarities strengthen the belief that the two were written about the same time, and were intended to accompany one another.

ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ means from Christ, as the context shews: comp. 1Jn 2:12. Christ was the last mentioned (1Jn 2:3) and has been the main subject of the Introduction. It was from Christ, and not immediately from the Father, that the Apostles received their mission. Ἀκούειν ἀπό is not common in N.T. S. John generally writes ἀκούειν παρά (Joh 6:45; Joh 7:51; Joh 8:26; Joh 8:38; Joh 8:40; Joh 15:15).

ἀναγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν. We announce to you. The amount of difference between ἀπαγγέλλειν (1Jn 1:2-3) and ἀναγγέλλειν is not great, yet for the sake of distinction one may be rendered ‘declare’ and the other ‘announce’. The Vulgate renders both by adnuntiare; but ἀναγγ is rather renuntiare. Both have the meanings ‘report, announce, proclaim.’ Both also may have the meaning of making known again to others what has been received elsewhere: yet this is more commonly the force of ἀναγγ. And this is the meaning here. The Apostles hand on to all men what they have received from Christ. It is no invention for their own benefit. It is a message and not a discovery. So also the Spirit reveals to us truths which proceed from the Father and the Son (Joh 16:13-15): and the Messiah ἀναγγελεῖ ἡμῖν πάντα (Joh 4:25 based on Deu 18:18). Of the Evangelists S. John alone uses ἀναγγ. Comp. 2Co 7:7; 1Pe 1:2. The ἀπό in ἀπαγγ. is ‘from’ rather than ‘back’: ἀπαγγ. = ἀγγ. ἀπό τινος. Hence, while the destination of the message (ἀνά) is prominent in ἀναγγ., the origin of it (ἀπό) is prominent in ἀπαγγ. The latter word is rare in S. John (only 1Jn 1:2-3 and Joh 4:51), but very frequent in S. Luke’s writings. Although ἀγγέλλειν occurs only once in N.T. (Joh 20:18), its compounds abound: διαγγέλλειν, ἐπαγγέλλεσθαι, ἐξαγγέλλειν, καταγγέλλειν, παραγγέλλειν, προεπαγγ., προκαταγγ.

ὁ Θεὸς φῶς ἐστίν. God is Light. This is on the whole the main theme of the first great division of the Epistle, as God is Love of the second. This verse stands in much the same relation to the first main division as 1Jn 1:1-4 to the whole Epistle.

No one tells us so much about the Nature of God as S. John. The name given to him by the Greek Church, ὁ θεολόγος, ‘the Theologian,’ is amply justified. It is from him that we learn most of the Divinity of the Word and of the meaning of ‘Divine.’ Other writers tell us what God does, and what attributes He possesses; S. John tells us what He is. There are three statements in the Bible which stand alone as revelations of the Nature of God, and they are all in the writings of S. John: ‘God is spirit’ (Joh 4:24); ‘God is light,’ and ‘God is love’ (1Jn 4:8). In all these momentous statements the predicate has no article, either definite or indefinite: πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός: ὁ Θεὸς φῶς ἐστίν: ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν. We are not told that God is the Spirit, or the Light, or the Love: nor that He is a Spirit, or a light. Luther is certainly wrong in translating, “dass Gott ein Licht ist.” But ‘God is spirit, is light, is love’: spirit, light, love are His very Nature. They are not mere attributes, like mercy and justice: they are Himself. They are probably the nearest approach to a definition of God that the human mind could frame or comprehend: and in the history of thought and religion they are unique. The more we consider them, the more they satisfy us. The simplest intellect can understand their meaning; the subtlest cannot exhaust it. No philosophy, no religion, not even the Jewish, had risen to the truth that God is light. ‘The Lord shall be to thee an everlasting light’ (Isa 60:19-20) is far short of it. But S. John knows it: and lest the great message which he conveys to us in his Gospel, ‘God is spirit,’ should seem somewhat bare and empty in its indefiniteness, he adds this other message in his Epistle, ‘God is light, God is love.’ No figure borrowed from the material world could give the idea of perfection so clearly and fully as light. It suggests ubiquity, brightness, happiness, intelligence, truth, purity, holiness. It suggests excellence without limit and without taint; an excellence whose nature it is to communicate itself and to pervade everything from which it is not of set purpose shut out. ‘Let there be light’ was the first fiat of the Creator; and on it all the rest depends. Light is the condition of beauty, and life, and growth, and activity: and this is as true in the intellectual, moral, and spiritual spheres as in the material universe.

Yet we must not suppose that S. John means this as a mere figure borrowed from the material world, as if sunlight were the reality and the Godhead something like it. Rather, the similarity exists, because light and its properties are reflexions of attributes which are Divine. In Platonic language, God is the ἰδέα or archetype of which light is the noblest earthly expression. Thus Philo says, ὁ Θεὸς φῶς ἐστί, … καὶ οὐ μόνον φῶς ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὸς ἑτέρου φωτὸς ἀρχέτυπον. S. James seems to have a similar thought in calling God ὁ πατὴρ τῶν φώτων (Jas 1:17): comp. Rev 22:5.

Of the many beautiful and true ideas which the utterance ‘God is light’ suggests to us, three are specially prominent in this Epistle; intelligence, holiness, and communicativeness. The Christian, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and in communion with God in Christ, possesses (1) knowledge, (2) righteousness, and (3) necessarily communicates to others the truth which he knows and the righteousness which he practises. (1) ‘Ye know Him which is from the beginning’ (1Jn 2:13-14); ‘I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it’ (1Jn 2:21); ‘Ye need not that any one teach you’ (1Jn 2:27); &c. &c. (2) ‘Every one that hath this hope on Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure’ (1Jn 3:3); ‘Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because His seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God’; &c. &c. (3) ‘We have fellowship one with another’ (1Jn 1:7); ‘We love the brethren’ (1Jn 3:14); and the whole tone of the Epistle.

καὶ σκοτία οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ οὐδεμία. This is the order of the words in [451], Thebaic, and Memphitic, and it is very forcible: and darkness there is not in Him, no, not any at all. Gnostic systems which taught, that a series of Aeons ending in an evil one could emanate from the Supreme Being, are here condemned by anticipation. Out of Light no darkness can come. This ‘antithetic parallelism’ is a mark of S. John’s style. He frequently emphasizes a statement by following it up with a denial of its opposite. Thus, in the very next verse, ‘We lie and do not the truth’: comp. 1Jn 1:8, 1Jn 2:4; 1Jn 2:10; 1Jn 2:27; 1Jn 5:12. So also in the Gospel: Joh 1:3; Joh 1:20; Joh 3:15; Joh 10:5; Joh 10:18; Joh 18:20; Joh 20:27. And in Rev 2:13; Rev 3:9. It is one of many instances of the Hebrew cast of S. John’s language. Parallelism is the very form of Hebrew poetry and is frequent in the Psalms (Psa 89:30-31; Psa 89:38).

[451] 4th century. Brought to Rome about 1460. It is entered in the earliest catalogue of the Vatican Library, 1475. All three Epistles.

Another point of similarity between the Gospel and the Epistle must here be noticed. In the Prologue to the Gospel we have these four ideas in succession; ὁ λόγος (1Jn 1:1-2), ἡ ζωή (1Jn 1:4), τὸ φῶς (1Jn 1:4-5), ἡ σκοτία (1Jn 1:5). The same four follow in the same order here: περὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ζωῆς, ἡ ζωὴ ἐφανερώθη, ὁ Θεὸς φῶς ἐστίν, καὶ σκοτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεμία. Has not the sequence of thought in the one case been influenced by the sequence of thought in the other? Such close correspondence between the ideas with which each writing opens cannot be accidental.

The figurative use of σκοτία for moral darkness, i.e. error and sin (peccata, haereses, et odia nominat, says Bede), is very frequent in S. John (Joh 2:8-9; Joh 2:11; Joh 1:5; Joh 8:12; Joh 12:35; Joh 12:46): he only twice uses the form σκότος (1Jn 1:6; Joh 3:9), which (excepting Mat 10:27; Luk 12:3) is the invariable form elsewhere in N.T. The passages just quoted shew that S. John’s meaning here cannot be, ‘God has now been revealed, and is no longer a God that hideth Himself’ (Isa 45:15). The point is not that God can be known, but what kind of God He is. The Apostle is laying the foundation of Christian. Ethics, of which the very first principle is that there is a God who intellectually, morally, and spiritually is light.

“In speaking of ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ it is probable that S. John had before him the Zoroastrian speculations on the two opposing spiritual powers which influenced Christian thought at a very early date” (Westcott).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. The nature of God. God is light, and therefore only those whose conduct can be described as “walking in light,” can enjoy fellowship with such a Being.

In form the opening of the Epistle is closely parallel to that of the Gospel. This verse corresponds to Joh 1:19, and it is introduced in exactly the same way (καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία). There also the idea of “witness” is taken up from the middle verses of the Prologue, just as ἀγγελία here takes up the ἀπαγγέλλομεν of vv. 2, 3.

καί] The connection with what immediately precedes is not obvious. According to Dr. Westcott it must be found in the idea of fellowship. “Fellowship must repose upon mutual knowledge” (p. 14). If we are to have fellowship with God and with the brethren, we must know what God is and what we are. False views on either subject must prove a fatal barrier to true fellowship. But see the preceding note. It would seem to be simpler to find the connection further back in the idea of the “announcement.” He makes his announcement, contained in the letter he finds it necessary to write (ver. 4), with a special purpose which he has now stated. And the burden of the announcement is this, that God is light, and men must walk in light if they would enjoy His fellowship.

ἀγγελία] The simplest form of the word is chosen, as the writer wishes to describe its twofold aspect as a message from God to those whom he addresses, in the following words. It is an ἀπαγγελία from God Himself, ἣν ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ. It is also an ἀναγγελία meant for those to whom he writes (καὶ ἀναγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν). The word may also suggest that the message contains a conception of God which men could not have formed for themselves without His help. It is a “revelation and not a discovery,” it is the message which has come from God to be delivered to men.φῶς ἐστίν] Anarthrous to express quality. God’s nature is best described as “light.” τὸ φῶς would have suggested light in some particular relation, cf. Joh 1:5-9. φῶς describes His nature as He is, the description being true so far as it goes, though not complete. The primary idea suggested by the word in this context is “illumination.” It is of the nature of light that it is and makes visible. God’s nature is such that He must make Himself known, and that knowledge reveals everything else in its true nature. That this thought is present here is suggested by the following section (2:3 ff.). That God can be “known,” and by those to whom the author is writing, is one of the leading ideas on which he lays special stress. But in view of the use of the metaphor of light and darkness in the Bible generally, and especially in S. John, and of the immediate context in this Epistle, it is impossible to exclude the ethical meaning from the signification of the word here. The context shows that this is the idea which he is most anxious to emphasize. The word must suggest the notes of Holiness and Purity as essential to God’s nature. The conditions of fellowship on which he insists are closely akin to the Levitical “Be ye holy, for I am holy, saith the Lord.” The full meaning, however, of what is contained in words is not limited to the sense in which they were probably used and understood by the writer and his first readers. Jesus’ revelation of God as “Father” goes far beyond what was understood of it by the men of His own generation. For the more permanent meaning of the sentence, and the further ideas which it may be regarded as connoting, see Dr. Westcott’s note (p. 16 f.); Findlay, p. 102.

καὶ σκοτία κ.τ.λ.] This is not a mere repetition of the sentence in negative form, in accordance with the writer’s love of double expression by parallel clauses, positive and negative. And it probably does not merely emphasize the “perfect realization in God of the idea of light.” It emphasizes rather the completeness of revelation. God is not the ἄρρητος σιγή, or βυθός, of the more developed Gnostic systems, or the “unknowable” God of the Gnostic thought which preceded those systems. Though complete knowledge of God is impossible, He can be truly “known” here and now, under the conditions and limitations of human life. His nature is “light,” which communicates itself to men, made in His image, till they are transformed into His likeness. From the ethical side, the words also emphasize the conditions of fellowship. Walking in darkness must exclude from the fellowship of Him “in whom is no darkness at all.” Conduct is not the matter of indifference that in some of the teaching of the time it was made out to be. With the order of ideas here, λόγος, ζωή, φῶς, σκοτία (vv. 2, 5), comp. the same sequence in the Prologue to the Gospel (1, 2, 4, 5).

και1o] om. boh-codd.

εστιν αυτη א B C K L P 31. 40. 69. 105. 137 ascr cscr al. fere. 60 syrp txt Thphyl. Oec.] αυτη εστιν A 13 al. uix. mu. cat. arm. vg. syrsch et p mg.

η αγγελια אc A B K L al. fere. 70 Cat. Did. Thphylcomm Oeccomm vg. syrsch arm. aeth.] η επαγγελια C P 13. 31. 40. 69. 70. 73. 137 ascr al. uixmg sah. cop.(?) syrp Thphyltxt Oectxt: א* (sic). An obvious assimilation to a commoner word by careless scribes.

απ] παρIa 264 (233) O46 (154).

και20] om. boh-txt.

αναγγελλομεν] απαγγελλομεν18. 40. 69. 98. 100. 137. 180. 57lect ascr.

εν αυτω ουκ εστιν א A C K L P al. pler. cat. vg. arm. syrp Or. Did. Aug.] ουκ εστιν εν αυτω B 13. 31 aeth. boh. (uid.) Or. Caes.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This then is [και αυτη εστιν] . Rev., correctly and literally, and this. According to the proper reading the verb stands first in order [εστιν αυτη] , with emphasis, not merely as a copula, but in the sense "there exists this as the message." For a similar use of the substantive verb, see 1Jo 5:16, 17; 1Jo 2:15; Joh 8:50.

Message [επαγγελια] . This word, however, is invariably used in the New Testament in the sense of promise. The best texts read ajggelia, message, which occurs only at 1Jo 3:11; and the corresponding verb, ajggellw, only at Joh 10:18.

We have heard of Him (ajkhkoamen ajp' aujtou). A form of expression not found elsewhere in John, who commonly uses par' aujtou. See on Joh 6:46 The phrase here points to the ultimate and not necessarily the immediate source of the message. Not only John, but others in earlier times had heard this message. Compare 1Pe 1:10, 11. Apo points to the source para to the giver. Thus, Joh 5:41, "I receive not honor from [παρα] men." They are not the bestowers of honor upon me. Ver. 44, "How can ye believe which receive honor from [παρα] one another;" the honor which men have to give, "and seek not the honor that cometh from [παρα] God;" the honor which God alone bestows. On the other hand, 1Jo 3:22, "Whatsoever we ask we receive from [απο] Him," the ultimate source of our gifts. So Mt 17:25 : "Of [απο] whom do the kings of the earth take custom - of [απο] their own children or of [απο] strangers ?" What is the legitimate and ultimate source of revenue in states ?

Declare [αναγγελλομεν] . Compare the simple verb ajggellein to bring tidings, Joh 20:18, and only there. 'Anaggellein is to bring the tidings up to [ανα] or back to him who receives them. Apagellein is to announce tidings as coming from [απο] some one, see Mt 2:8; Joh 4:51. Kataggellein is to proclaim with authority, so as to spread the tidings down among [κατα] those who hear. See Act 17:23. Found only in the Acts and in Paul.

God is Light [θεος φως εστιν] . A statement of the absolute nature of God. Not a light, nor the light, with reference to created beings, as the light of men, the light of the world, but simply and absolutely God is light, in His very nature. Compare God is spirit, and see on Joh 4:24 : God is love, 1Jo 4:8, 16. The expression is not a metaphor. "All that we are accustomed to term light in the domain of the creature, whether with a physical or metaphysical meaning, is only an effluence of that one and only primitive Light which appears in the nature of God" (Ebrard). Light is immaterial, diffusive, pure, and glorious. It is the condition of life. Physically, it represents glory; intellectually, truth; morally, holiness. As immaterial it corresponds to God as spirit; as diffusive, to God as love; as the condition of life, to God as life; as pure and illuminating, to God as holiness and truth. In the Old Testament, light is often the medium of God 's visible revelations to men. It was the first manifestation of God in creation. The burning lamp passed between the pieces of the parted victim in God 's covenant with Abraham. God went before Israel in a pillar of fire, descended in fire upon Sinai, and appeared in the luminons cloud which rested on the mercy - seat in the most holy place. In classical Greek fwv light, is used metaphorically for delight, deliverance, victory, and is applied to persons as a term of admiring affection, as we say that one is the light of our life, or the delight of our eyes. So Ulysses, on seeing his son Telemachus, says, "Thou hast come, Telemachus, sweet light [γλυκερον φαος] " (Homer, "Odyssey," 16 23). And Electra, greeting her returning brother, Orestes, "O dearest light [φιλτατον φως] " (Sophocles, "Electra," 1223). Occasionally, as by Euripides, of the light of truth (" Iphigenia at Tauris, "1046). No modern writer has developed the idea of God as light with such power and beauty as Dante. His" Paradise "might truthfully be called a study of light. Light is the only visible expression of God. Radiating from Him, it is diffused through the universe as the principle of life. This key - note is struck at the very opening of" the Paradise. "

" The glory of Him who moveth everything Doth penetrate the universe, and shine In one part more and in another less.

Within that heaven which most His light receives Was 1 "" Paradiso," 1, 1 - 5.

In the final, beatific vision, God Himself is imagined as a luminous point which pours its rays through all the spheres, upon which the spirits gazed, and in which they read the past, the present, and the future.

"O grace abundant, by which I presumed To fix my sight upon the Light Eternal, So that the seeing I consumed therein! I saw that in its depth far down is lying Bound up with love together in one volume, What through the universe in leaves is scattered; Substance, and accident, and their operations, All interfused together in such wise That what I speak of is one simple light." " Paradiso, " 33, 82 - 90.

"In presence of that light one such becomes, That to withdraw therefrom for other prospect It is impossible he e'er consent; Because the good, which object of will, Is gathered all in this, and out of it That is defective which is perfect there." " Paradiso, " 33, 100 - 105.

"O Light eterne, sole in thyself that dwellest, Sole knowest thyself, and, know unto thyself And knowing, lovest and smilest on thyself!" Paradiso 33, 124 - 126.

Light enkindles love.

" If in the heat of love I flame upon thee Beyond the measure that on earth is seen, So that the valor of thine eyes I vanquish, Marvel thou not thereat; for this proceeds From perfect sight, which, as it apprehends, To the good apprehended moves its feet.

Well I perceive how is already shining Into thine intellect the eternal Light, That only seen enkindles always love. "" Paradiso," 5, 1 - 9 See also "Paradiso," cantos 30, 31.

In Him is no darkness at all [και σκοτια ουκ εστιν εν αυτω ουδεμια] . It is characteristic of John to express the same idea positively and negatively. See Joh 1:7, 8, 20; Joh 3:15, 17, 20; Joh 4:42; Joh 5:2 4; Joh 8:35; Joh 10:28; 1Jo 1:6, 8; 1Jo 2:4, 27; 1Jo 5:12. According to the Greek order, the rendering is : "And darkness there is not in Him, no, not in any way." For a similar addition of ouJudeiv not one, to a complete sentence, see Joh 6:63; Joh 11:19; Joh 19:11. On skotia darkness, see on Joh 1:5.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Now he entereth into a question, whereby we may understand that we are joined together with Christ, to wit, if we be governed with his light, which is perceived by the ordering of our life. And thus he reasoneth, God is in himself most pure light, therefore he agreeth with them, which are lightsome, but with them which are of the darksome he hath no fellowship.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

First division of the body of the Epistle (compare Introduction).

declare--Greek, "announce"; report in turn; a different Greek word from Jo1 1:3. As the Son announced the message heard from the Father as His apostle, so the Son's apostles announce what they have heard from the Son. John nowhere uses the term "Gospel"; but the witness or testimony, the word, the truth, and here the message.

God is light--What light is in the natural world, that God, the source of even material light, is in the spiritual, the fountain of wisdom, purity, beauty, joy, and glory. As all material life and growth depends on light, so all spiritual life and growth depends on GOD. As God here, so Christ, in Jo1 2:8, is called "the true light."

no darkness at all--strong negation; Greek, "No, not even one speck of darkness"; no ignorance, error, untruthfulness, sin, or death. John heard this from Christ, not only in express words, but in His acted words, namely, His is whole manifestation in the flesh as "the brightness of the Father's glory." Christ Himself was the embodiment of "the message," representing fully in all His sayings, doings, and sufferings, Him who is LIGHT.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. This then is the message] This is the grand principle on which all depends, which we have heard of απαυτου, FROM him; for neither Moses nor the prophets ever gave that full instruction concerning God and communion with him which Jesus Christ has given, for the only-begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, has alone declared the fulness of the truth, and the extent of the blessings, which believers on him are to receive. See Joh 1:18.

God is light] The source of wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and happiness; and in him is no darkness at all-no ignorance, no imperfection, no sinfulness, no misery. And from him wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and happiness are received by every believing soul. This is the grand message of the Gospel, the great principle on which the happiness of man depends. LIGHT implies every essential excellence, especially wisdom, holiness, and happiness. DARKNESS implies all imperfection, and principally ignorance, sinfulness, and misery. LIGHT is the purest, the most subtile, the most useful, and the most diffusive of all God's creatures; it is, therefore, a very proper emblem of the purity, perfection, and goodness of the Divine nature. God is to human soul, what the light is to the world; without the latter all would be dismal and uncomfortable, and terror and death would universally prevail: and without an indwelling God what is religion? Without his all-penetrating and diffusive light, what is the soul of man? Religion would be an empty science, a dead letter, a system unauthoritated and uninfluencing, and the soul a trackless wilderness, a howling waste, full of evil, of terror and dismay, and ever racked with realizing anticipations of future, successive, permanent, substantial, and endless misery. No wonder the apostle lays this down as a first and grand principle, stating it to be the essential message which he had received from Christ to deliver to the world.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5 This then is the message, or promise. I do not disapprove of the rendering of the old interpreter, “This is the annunciation,” or message; for though ἐπαγγελία means for the most part a promise, yet, as John speaks here generally of the testimony before mentioned, the context seems to require the other meaning, except you were to give this explanation, “The promise which we bring to you, includes this, or has this condition annexed to it.” Thus, the meaning of the Apostle would become evident to us. For his object here was not to include the whole doctrine of the Gospel, but to shew that if we desire to enjoy Christ and his blessings, it is required of us to be conformed to God in righteousness and holiness. Paul says the same thing in the second chapter of the Epistle to Titus, “Appeared has the saving grace of God to all, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live soberly and righteously and holily in this world;” except that here he says metaphorically, that we are to walk in the light, because God is light.

But he calls God light, and says that he is in the light; such expressions are not to be too strictly taken. Why Satan is called the prince of darkness is sufficiently evident. When, therefore, God on the other hand is called the Father of light, and also light, we first understand that there is nothing in him but what is bright, pure, and unalloyed; and, secondly, that he makes all things so manifest by his brightness, that he suffers nothing vicious or perverted, no spots or filth, no hypocrisy or fraud, to lie hid. Then the sum of what is said is, that since there is no union between light and darkness, there is a separation between us and God as long as we walk in darkness; and that the fellowship which he mentions, cannot exist except we also become pure and holy.

In him is no darkness at all. This mode of speaking is commonly used by John, to amplify what he has affirmed by a contrary negation. Then, the meaning is, that God is such a light, that no darkness belongs to him. It hence follows, that he hates an evil conscience, pollution, and wickedness, and everything that pertains to darkness.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

This then is the message,.... Of God by his Son the Word, or from Christ by his apostles. The Syriac version renders it, "this is the Gospel"; which is good news from a far country, a message sent from the King of kings to sinful men: or this is the annunciation, or declaration; that is, the thing declared, or showed. Some render it, "this is the promise", that whereas God is light, such who walk in the light shall have communion with him, and others shall not:

which we have heard of him; of Christ, who has declared him, that he is light without any mixture of darkness; that is a pure Spirit, and must be worshipped in a spiritual way; and that only spiritual worshippers are such as he seeks, and admits to communion with him. Moreover, they might hear and learn this of Christ, by his telling them that he himself was light, who is the image of the invisible God, insomuch, that he that has seen the Son, has seen the Father also. Wherefore, if the one is light, the other must be likewise; nor is there any coming to the Father, and enjoying communion with him, but through Christ; all which our Lord told his disciples. The Ethiopic version reads, "which ye have heard", very wrongly; for the words regard the apostles, who made a faithful declaration of the message they heard, and had from Christ, which is as follows:

and declare unto you that God is light; that is, God the Father, as distinguished from "him", Christ, of whom they had heard this message, and from Jesus Christ his Son, Jo1 1:7, what is declared of him, agreeably to the report of Christ, is, that he is "light"; that is, as light is opposed to the darkness of sin; he is pure and holy in his nature and works, and of such pure eyes as not to behold iniquity; and so perfectly holy, that angels cover their times before him, when they speak of his holiness: and as light is opposed to the darkness of ignorance, he is wise and knowing; he knows himself, his own nature, being, and perfections, his Son and Spirit, and their distinct modes of subsisting; he sees clearly all things in himself, all things he could do, or has determined shall be done; he has perfect knowledge of all creatures and things, and the darkness and the light are alike unto him, nor can the former hide from him: he is knowable, and to be discerned; he is clothed with light, and dwells in it; he may be known by the works of creation and providence; even the invisible things of him, his eternal power and Godhead, may be clearly seen and understood by them, and especially in his word, and most clearly in his Son; it is owing to the darkness of men, and not to any in and about God, who is light, that he is so little known as he is: and, like the light, he illuminates others; he is the Father of lights, the author and giver of all light; of the light of reason to men in general; and of grace here, and glory hereafter, to his own people, which are both signified by light; in whose light they see light; and he refreshes and delights their souls with the light of his countenance now, and with his glorious presence in the other world:

and in him is no darkness at all; no darkness of sin; nothing is more contrary to him, or more distant from him: nor any darkness of error and ignorance; what is unknown to men, as the times and seasons; what angels were ignorant of, and even Christ, as man, as the day and hour of Jerusalem's destruction, were known to the Father; in him is no ignorance of anything whatever; nor is there any variableness or shadow of turning in him, as there is in the luminous body of the sun; but God is always the same pure and holy, wise and knowing Being. It is usual with the Cabalistic Jews (e), to call the supreme Being light the most simple light, hidden light, and infinite light, with respect to his nature, glory, and majesty, and with regard also to his grace and mercy, justice and judgment; though, as R. Sangart says (f), this is to be understood of him figuratively.

(e) Lex. Cabalist, p. 63, 64. (f) Sepher Cosri, par. 2. sect. 2. fol. 61. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Ver. 5. That God is light] He is αυτοφως, light essential, and they that walk with him must be as so many crystal glasses with a light in the midst; for can two walk together, and they not be agreed? Amo 3:3. That was a devilish sarcasm of the Manichees, that God (till he had created light) dwelt in darkness, as if God were not eternal light, and dwelt in light unapproachable, 1Ti 6:16. But what madmen were the Carpocratian heretics, who taught (even in St John’s days, as Epiphanius testifieth) that men must sin, and do the will of the devils; otherwise they could not enter into heaven! These might well be some of those Antichrists he complaineth of 1Jn 4:3; 1Jn 4:6, and of those libertines and liars he here argueth against.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This then is the message which we have heard of him - This is the substance of the announcement (ἐπαγγελία epangelia) which we have received of him, or which he made to us. The message here refers to what he communicated as the sum of the revelation which he made to man. The phrase “of him” (απ ̓ αὐτου ap' autou) does not mean respecting him, or about him, but from him; that is, this is what we received from his preaching; from all that he said. The peculiarity, the substance of all that he said, may be summed up in the declaration that God is light, and in the consequences which follow from this doctrine. He came as the messenger of Him who is light; he came to inculcate and defend the truths which flow from that central doctrine, in regard to sin, to the danger and duty of man, to the way of recovery, and to the rules by which men ought to live.

That God is light - Light, in the Scriptures, is the emblem of purity, truth, knowledge, prosperity, and happiness - as darkness is of the opposite. John here says that “God is light” - φῶς phōs - not the light, or a light, but light itself; that is, he is himself all light, and is the source and fountain of light in all worlds. He is perfectly pure, without any admixture of sin. He has all knowledge, with no admixture of ignorance on any subject. He is infinitely happy, with nothing to make him miserable. He is infinitely true, never stating or countenancing error; he is blessed in all his ways, never knowing the darkness of disappointment and adversity. Compare the Jam 1:17 note; Joh 1:4-5 note; 1Ti 6:16 note.

And in him is no darkness at all - This language is much in the manner of John, not only affirming that a thing is so, but guarding it so that no mistake could possibly be made as to what he meant. Compare Joh 1:1-3. The expression here is designed to affirm that God is absolutely perfect; that there is nothing in him which is in any way imperfect, or which would dim or mar the pure splendor of his character, not even as much as the smallest spot would on the sun. The language is probably designed to guard the mind from an error to which it is prone, that of charging God with being the Author of the sin and misery which exist on the earth; and the apostle seems to design to teach that whatever was the source of sin and misery, it was not in any sense to be charged on God. This doctrine that God is a pure light, John lays down as the substance of all that he had to teach; of all that he had learned from him who was made flesh. It is, in fact, the fountain of all just views of truth on the subject of religion, and all proper views of religion take their origin from this.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

God is light,[3] &c. We cannot have this fellowship with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, if we walk in the darkness of sin: we must walk as the children of light. (Witham)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Deus lux est; (John i.) erat lux vera. [that was the true light. (John i. 9.)]

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

It being the professed scope and design of his writing, to draw men to a final participation and communion with God in his own blessedness, he reckons nothing more necessary to it, than to settle in their minds a right notion of God. Which, that it might be the more regarded, he introduces with a solemn preface;

This then is the message, & c., (though the word also signifies promise, it here more fitly bears this rendering), to notify:

1. That this which follows was not an imagination of his own concerning God, but his true representation of himself.

2. That it was given him in charge to be delivered and communicated to others; a message a man neither hath of himself, nor is to reserve to himself,

we have heard it of him, and declare it to you, as (consonantly hereto) he speaks. It is the Divine pleasure it should be published to the world, and that all men should know that as from him, i.e. that he is not a Being of mere power, as some, or of mere mercy, as others, are apt to fancy of him, either whereof were a very maimed and most disagreeable notion of the Deity: power without goodness were apt to run into fury; goodness without wisdom and righteousness would as naturally turn to a supine indifferency, and neglect of distinguishing judicially between good and bad; things neither suitable to the Governor of the world, nor possible to the absolutely perfect Being.

God is light; in God all true perfections and excellencies must be understood eminently to concur; and of them more could not have been comprehended under one word, (especially that belong to him considered relatively to his creatures, of which perfections it concerns us to have more distinct, formed, positive conceptions in all our applications to him), than are here some way represented or resembled by light, viz. that he is a Being of most lively, penetrative vigour, absolute simplicity, immutability, knowledge, wisdom, sincerity, righteousness, serenity, benignity, joy, and felicity, and especially of most bright and glorious holiness and purity; and in whom

is no darkness at all, nothing contrary or repugnant hereto.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This verse constitutes the text and basis of this division of the Epistle, especially on its positive side. And the message which we have heard is this. Again we have a remarkable parallel between Gospel and Epistle; both begin with a kai (which connects the opening with the introduction in a simple and artless manner), and with the same kind of sentence: "And the witness of John is this." The reading ejpaggelia (1Jn_2:25, and frequent in the New Testament) must be rejected here anda 1Jn_3:11 in favour of ajggeli (which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament), on overwhelming evidence. jEpaggelia in the New Testament means "promise," which would be almost meaningless here. The change from ejpaggellomen (verses 2, 3) to ajnaggellomen is noteworthy: the one is "declare," the other "announce." The message received from Christ, the apostle announces or reports (renunciat) to his readers. He does not name Christ ajp aujtou; he is so full of the thought of Christ that he omits to name him. (cf. Joh_20:7, Joh_20:9, Joh_20:15) jAnaggellw is used of authoritative announcements; of priests and Levites in the LXX; of the Messiah; (Joh_4:25) of the Spirit; (Joh_16:13, Joh_16:14, Joh_16:15) of theapostles (Act_20:20, Act_20:27; 1Pe_1:12) St. John speaks with authority. God is light; not the Light, nor a light, but light; that is his nature. This sums up the Divine essence on its intellectual side, as "God is love" on its moral side. In neither case has the predicate the article: oJ Qeon oJ Qeoph ejstin. Light and love are not attributes of God, but himself. The connexion between this message and the introduction is not at first obvious. But St. John writes with his Gospel before him, and the prologue to that supplies the link. There, as here, three ideas follow in order: logov zwh fwv. There, as here, fwv immediately suggests its opposite, skotia. It is on the revelation of the Logov as fwv, and the consequent struggle between fwv and skotia, that the Gospel is based. And this revelation is the highest: men alone are competent to receive or reject it. Other organisms exhibit the creative power as life: none but men can recognize it as light. And to know the Logov as light is to know the Father as light; for the Logov is the Revelation of the Father"s nature. That God is, in his very nature, light, is an announcement peculiar to St. John. Others tell us that he is the Father of lights, (Jam_1:17) the Possessor of light, (1Pe_2:9) dwelling in light; (1Ti_6:16) but not that he is light. To the heathen God is a God of darkness, an unknown Being; a Power to be blindly propitiated, not a Person to be known and loved. To the philosopher he is an abstraction, an idea, not directly cognizable by man. To the Jews he is a God who hideth himself; not light, but a consuming fire. To the Christian alone he is revealed as light, absolutely free from everything impure, material, obscure, and gloomy. Light was the first product of the Divine creative energy, the earnest and condition of order, beauty, life, growth, and joy. Of all phenomena it best represents the elements of all perfection. "This word "light" is at once the simplest and the fullest and the deepest which can be used in human discourse. It is addressed to every man who has eyes and who has ever looked on the sun." It tells not only "of a Goodness and Truth without flaw; it tells of a Goodness and Truth that are always seeking to spread themselves, to send forth rays that shall penetrate everywhere, and scatter the darkness which opposes them" (Maurice). In like manner, darkness sums up the elements of evil foulness, secrecy, repulsiveness, and gloom. In all but the lowest forms of existence it inevitably produces decay and death. Everything of the kind is excluded from the nature of God. And hence St. John, in his characteristic manner, immediately emphasizes the great announcement with an equivalent negative statement: Darkness in him there is not any at all. (comp. verse 1Jn_2:4, 1Jn_2:23, 27 3:6 4:2, 3, 6-8 5:12) He does not say, "in his presence," but "in him." Darkness exists, physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual; there is abundance of obscurity, error, depravity, sin, and its consequence, death. But not a shade of these is "in him." The Divine Light is subject to no spots, no eclipse, no twilight, no night; as a Source of light it cannot in any degree fail.

The great message.

then is the message which we have heard of him," etc. Notice two preliminary points.

1. That the Christian minister has received message from the Lord Jesus Christ. He spoke to his apostles and to many others. He revealed unto them God the Father, and the great truths concerning human redemption. He still speaks to us through the sacred Scriptures.

2. That the Christian minister should announce this message to others. It is his duty not to preach the theories of men, but the truth of God, and especially the truth revealed by Jesus Christ. There has been too much preaching of our ecclesiastical and theological-isms instead of the great and gracious truths of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour. In our text St. John briefly announces the great message which he had received from his Divine Master: "that God is Light, and in him is no darkness at all." Light is frequently associated with the Divine Being in the Bible. It is his vesture. "Thou coverest thyself with light as with a garment". (Psa_104:2) It abides with him. "The light dwelleth with him". (Dan_2:22) He abides in it. "Dwelling in light unapproachable." It accompanies his manifestations. "His brightness was as the light". (Hab_3:4) He is the great Source of all illuminations. "The Father of lights". (Jam_1:17) He calls his people to dwell and to walk in light. "Who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light"; (1Pe_2:9) "Ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light". (Eph_5:8) Our Lord claimed to be "the Light of the world". (Joh_8:12) His "life was the light of men". (Joh_1:4) But in our text light is said to be the essence of the Divine Being. "God is Light." Of all material things light is most fitted to set forth truth and holy spiritual being. "It unites in itself," as Alford says, "purity, and clearness, and beauty, and glory, as no other material object does." And Milton, "Light ethereal, first of things, quintessence pure." The emblem suggests

I THE INFINITE INTELLIGENCE OF GOD. He is the Omniscient. "No intellectual ignorance can darken his all-embracing survey of actual and possible fact." "Unto him all hearts are open, all desires known, and from him no secrets are hid." "O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising," etc.; (Psa_139:1-6) "He telleth the number of the stars," etc.; (Psa_147:4, Psa_147:5) "He knoweth the secrets of the heart"; (Psa_44:21) "God knoweth all things"; (1Jn_3:20) "I know thy works," etc.. (Rev_2:2, Rev_2:9, Rev_2:13, 19 3:1, 8, 15) Every sparrow is known unto him. (Luk_12:6, Luk_12:7) Let us endeavour to personally realize this great and solemn truth: God knows me always and thoroughly.

II THE ENLIGHTENING INFLUENCE OF GOD. He created the light of the material universe. "God said, Let there be light: and there was light." He is the great Fountain of all intellectual and moral light. He inspired Bezaleel to devise and execute skillful handiwork. (Exo_31:1-5) The scientist, the metaphysician, the statesman, the poet, the artist, each and all derive their light from him. He communicates religious truth to man. He inspired, and still inspires, the great religious thinkers, and the far and clear-sighted spiritual seers of our race. By his Son Jesus Christ he "lighteth every man". (Joh_1:9)

III THE LIFE-GIVING AND INVIGORATING INFLUENCE WHICH GOD EXERTS. Light cannot create life; but it quickens, develops, and strengthens it. "Physical light," says Ebrard, "appears to be the producing, forming, quickening principle of all organization, in its essence self-communicative, and the stimulating principle of all physical organic functions of life." Light is essential to every kind of life with which we are acquainted. Without it our world would speedily become one vast, dreary, dread abode of the dead. Great forces also of various kinds are produced from light. As George Stephenson pointed out, it is light which propels so swiftly our long and heavy railway trains. "It is light bottled up in the earth for tens of thousands of years, light absorbed by plants and vegetables being necessary for the condensation of carbon during the process of their growth, if it be not carbon in another form; and now, after being buried in the earth for long ages in fields of coal, that latent might is again brought forth and liberated made to work, as in that locomotive, for great human purposes." God is the great Author of all life and of all force. He created the physical universe, and he sustains it. The forces of nature are expressions of his awful or beautiful might. Evolution is a mode of Divine operation. And the life and strength of souls he inspires and renews. He inspires the soul with life. "You being dead in your sins hath he quickened". (Col_2:13) The true Christian "is born of the Spirit"; (Joh_3:8) he "is born of God". (1Jn_3:9) And God imparts and renews strength to his people. "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength," etc.. (Isa_40:29-31)

IV THE EXISTENCE OF GOD AS A TRINITY IN UNITY. This is at least suggested by speaking of him as Light. In two ways does light suggest the triunity of God. "The researches of Young and Helmholtz," says Mr. Sugden, "have proved beyond the possibility of doubt that the three primary colours are red, green, and violet, and that by various combinations of these three all the colours with which we are acquainted are produced; whilst the combination of all three in equal proportions gives white light, apparently one simple and homogeneous sensation, but in reality a compound of three. Have we not here a most striking illustration, if not more than an illustration, of the Christian truth about the nature of God, which teaches us that he is a Trinity in unity three Persons, and one God? As Luthardt well says, "God has, in the history of salvation, revealed himself in a triune manner as Father, Son, and Spirit; and we, in that work of appropriating salvation, through which we become Christians, have experience of God according to this distinction, viz. as him to whom we are reconciled, and as the Spirit who has inwardly appropriated to us the grace of reconciliation, and made it the power of a new life to us. Thus do we become certain that there are distinctions in the Godhead, that God is the triune God. Light suggests the same truth in another way. It is thus stated by Professor Lias: "When we reflect on the threefold nature of light, its enlightening, its warming, its chemical powers, we are reminded of the Holy Trinity the unapproachable Light himself; his eternal Revealer, bringing light to earth, and quickening by his genial warmth the frozen hearts of men; and the eternal Spirit, dwelling in their hearts, and slowly bringing his healing influences to bear upon their diseased souls.

V THE PERFECT HOLINESS OF GOD. Light is pure and purifying. It visits scenes of corruption and decay, and exercises a cleansing and healing influence there, and pursues its glorious course without having contracted any taint, still absolutely pure. Fit emblem of the infinite holiness of the great God. "No stain can soil his robe of awful sanctity." He is preeminently "the Holy One." "Thou only art holy." The highest intelligences ceaselessly praise him, crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." "His name is holy, and he dwells in the high and holy place." His holiness is the glory of his Being. He is "glorious in holiness." As if to set forth the entire purity and perfection of the Divine nature considered as light, St. John says, "And in him is no darkness at all." No kind of darkness whatsoever has any place in him. "Neither ignorance, nor error, nor sin, nor death" is found in him.

CONCLUSION.

1. Let us reverence this great and holy Being.

2. Let us seek his life-giving, enlightening, and invigorating influences. W.J.

Vers. 5-10.

Message from Christ brought to bear on fellowship with God.

I NATURE OF GOD, "And this is the message which we have heard from him, and announce unto you, that God is Light, and in him is no darkness at all." Christ"s message is supported by the conviction that he has a message to deliver. The apostolic message, which has still to be delivered, was received directly from the lips of Christ. It has particular reference to the nature of God, viz. his being Light, with which we are to associate infinite clearness of truth and infinite purity. He is Light, to the absolute exclusion of darkness, there being in him not the slightest trace of error, not the slightest speck of impurity. The light of the sun is a fit, though only an imperfect, symbol of his truth and purity. Christ may have given the revelation in these words, though they are not to be found in the Gospels. It is implied in his being the Light, while at the same time the. (Joh_1:1-9) It was because he manifested the essential light-nature of God that he was Light-bringer to men. We do not have here the good message (language which John nowhere uses), viz. mercy to men, though there may be suggestion of this in the great diffusiveness of light. We have that which mercy presupposes in God and seeks to diffuse among men.

II THREE FALSE CONDITIONS CONDEMNED, AND THE THREE OPPOSED POSITIONS JUSTIFIED.

1. First false position.

(1) Stated. "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in the darkness." The three hypothetical sayings, introduced in the same way ("if we say"), are unchristian. As one who would be warned as well as others, John includes himself. Christians, according to the conception in verse 3, are those who say that they have fellowship with God. The position supposed here is saying this while we walk in the darkness, i.e., while we habitually move in this element while we keep our life away from true and pure influences, loving error and impurity.

(2) Condemned. "We lie, and do not the truth." Our lie is saying that we have fellowship with God. Our doing not the truth evidences our lie. We make our life a contradiction of the nature of God, which is light, and thus necessarily unfit ourselves for fellowship with God; for what concord hath light with darkness? It cannot be held that we can be indifferent to our manner of life and yet maintain friendship with God.

2. First opposed position.

(1) Stated. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light." This is the Christian supposition opposed to the other. As one who would be confirmed, John includes himself. Let us also include ourselves. Light is the Divine clement; let it also be ours. God is in the light, i. e., has absolute fixedness in it. We are to walk in the light, i. e., to throw our life open to all true and pure influences, thus moving forward toward his fixedness.

(2) Justified. One good consequent. "We have fellowship one with another." This results from our walking in the light. Having a common clement for our life, and therefore common sympathies and antipathies, the foundation is laid for our having fellowship one with another. This, according to the Johannine teaching, is closely related to our having fellowship with God. But how are we to be fitted for this higher fellowship? The answer is given in what follows. By walking in the light, we come within the influence of the blood of Christ. Another good consequent. "And the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

(a) A present power. The blood of Christ refers to the death of Christ, but is to be distinguished from it in marking it as having p resent virtue. It is a great living reality of the present. It is mentioned, along with other verities, in the twelfth of Hebrews: "Ye are come to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

(b) A human-Divine power. It is the blood of Jesus, and therefore human blood; but it is also the blood of God"s Son, and therefore blood of infinite virtue.

(c) A cleansing power. It is blood that cleanses, because it was shed in satisfaction for sin. The cleansing is with a view to our having fellowship with God. There was constant instruction in this truth under the Jewish dispensation. The cleansing, in accordance with verse 9, is to be referred to sanctification. Even after we have been cleansed from guilt, we need to be cleansed from impure thoughts and desires, in order that we may be fitted for fellowship with him who is Light. Our whole dependence for sanctification must be on the efficacy of the blood, along with the agency of the Spirit.

(d) A universal power. It is blood that cleanses from all sin. The light-nature of God is constantly revealing the presence of sinful elements in our nature. We have the remedy in the blood of Christ, which will gradually remove all sinful elements, until, thoroughly purified, we are as fitted as creatures can be for holding converse with him who is a consuming fire to all sin.

3. Second false position.

(1) Stated. "If we say that we have no sin." This goes back on the previous thought, viz. the cleansing away of the remaining impurity, until we are completely fitted for fellowship with God. What if this is unnecessary? if our sanctification is already completed? This is the supposition which is now made.

(2) Condemned. "We deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." It is too violent a supposition to be entertained in ignorance. It can only be entertained where there has been a considerable amount of self-activity in the way of presenting to the mind deceitful appearances sophisms, such as the Gnostic idea of superior enlightenment. While there is the activity of self-deception, there is not the activity of the truth. If it were active in us, it would show us that there was much remaining evil to be overcome.

4. Second opposed position.

(1) Stated. "If we confess our sins." The precise converse would have been saying that we have sin. There is a going beyond that to the practice of the Christian duty of confession, which is literally," a saying along with," i.e., along with God. It is a duty which cannot be performed unless with feelings of penitence, arising from a proper view of what we are and have done. What we are to confess is not merely that we have sin, i.e., have the taint still in us, are not completely sanctified; but we are to confess particular manifestations of sin. "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil." David had his sin brought home to him very pointedly, "Thou art the man!" and he did not then hide it, but confessed, "I have sinned against the Lord." "It is much easier to make pious speeches to the effect that we are sinners in a general way, and expressive of general deep contrition, and of the misery engendered by sin, than to acknowledge the particular wrong we have done, and to endeavour as far as possible to repair it. Many who are ready enough to admit generally that they are sinners would be the first hotly to repel a charge of sinfulness on any one special point, so deep is the self-deception of the human heart, which is often furthest from God when the lips are busiest in honouring him." Let our confessions have the particularity which is here suggested. Let them be founded on self-knowledge, and on self-knowledge in particular manifestations. The sorrow that prompts to confession cannot be all that it should be unless we clearly realize wherein we have violated the spirit of the Divine precepts and especially of the gospel.

(2) Justified. "He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." When particular sins are in question, there is brought in the blessing of forgiveness as well as of cleansing. God has pledged his word to forgive us our sins: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." He has also pledged his word to advance our sanctification: "I will put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts." This Scripture itself is a distinct promise. If, then, we walk in the light, and fulfill the specific condition, viz. confess our sins, we may with the utmost confidence look to God to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness of disposition which would lead to the commission of sin. He not only holds himself bound by his promise, but the promise is thoroughly in accordance with his nature. In view of what he has done in redemption, he regards it as not only a gracious thing, but even a righteous thing, to attach the double blessing to confession of our sins. Doing, then, what he commands, we can appeal to him, even as righteous, to bless us.

5. Third false position.

(1) Stated. "If we say that we have not sinned." This is a very large assumption, even if we do not take into account our pre-Christian state: "We have never committed sin since we entered into union with Christ. It is going beyond the previous assumption, inasmuch as this involves complete sanctification from the beginning. This, then, is the most thorough-going perfectionism. Thus perfect, we may say with Christ, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" But what is said about the assumption?

(2) Condemned. "We make him a liar, and his Word is not in us." The wildest assumption receives the severest condemnation. The blood of Christ is for our continual cleansing. God is therefore dealing with us on the supposition of our partial sanctification. To claim complete sanctification is to make him a liar, i.e., to contradict this supposition. It can be said, further, that his Word is not in us, i.e., is not evidenced in our consciousness in what it says about our state. We do not need to go beyond the petition which Christ put into the mouth of disciples, "Forgive us our sins." It is the height of presumption to imagine that we can here outgrow the Lord"s Prayer. R.F.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And this is the sum of the message which we have heard of him - The Son of God. That God is light - The light of wisdom, love, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye. And in him is no darkness at all - No contrary principle. He is pure, unmixed light.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Walking in the light, cleansed by Christ’s blood:

v. 5. This, then, is the message which we have heard of Him and declare unto you, that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

v. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth;

v. 7. 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.

The apostle now launches forth in his letter proper, developing, first of all, his topic that God is Light: And this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light and that darkness is in Him in no way. St. John desires to make an announcement, a declaration, to deliver a message. It is not a message or philosophy which he has thought out himself; he is not offering the result of any research of his own. What he writes, what he proclaims, is the truth of Christ, of God; he is a messenger of Christ, a minister of salvation, as every true pastor is intended to be. God is Light, and darkness—in Him there is none. Light is purity, holiness; He is the Source of all true knowledge, wisdom, happiness, and holiness. There is no darkness, no ignorance, no imperfection, no misery, no sinfulness in Him. As light is the symbol of purity, goodness, and perfection, so, on the other hand, darkness symbolizes ignorance, sinfulness, misery, corruption.

Upon this fact the apostle bases a conclusion regarding the conduct and life of the Christians: If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we are liars and are not practicing the truth. That we have fellowship with God as our heavenly Father by faith the apostle had just stated. But if we now, who profess to be Christians and thus to be united with God in the most intimate union, live and behave ourselves as though we were still in darkness, if we are addicted to sin, if we in any way serve sin and corruption, then our entire life is a lie. We may be self-deceived, under circumstances, but the lie is there nevertheless. We are then not doing, practicing, the truth, which demands that we live a pure and holy life, according to the will of our heavenly Father. To walk and live in sins while professing to be children of God is to brand ourselves as liars and hypocrites.

St. John describes the conduct of the Christians as it should be: But if we walk in the light as Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. We are a light in the Lord through faith, and therefore it behooves us to walk as the children of light, Eph 5:8. God, our heavenly Father, is in the light, His entire essence is holiness, everything that He does is pure and holy. Of this nature we partake by faith, and our conduct should give evidence of the faith that has made us children of the light and enables us to walk as the children of light, according to God’s good pleasure and will. If thus we live a holy and righteous life, deriving continual light, power, and life from Him, then there will be two happy consequences of such behavior. In the first place, we have the assurance that we have fellowship with one another: we are closely connected with our heavenly Father by faith; we are united with the holy apostles and with the Christians of all times by the bond of this same faith. Just as an unholy, sinful life, a conduct of sin and shame, excludes the perpetrator from all communion with the saints of God and with God Himself, so a righteous and holy life, lived by the power of God through faith, binds us ever more closely to the Lord and to one another. At the same time we are also assured that the blood of Jesus, our Savior, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin. In spite of the weaknesses and imperfections of this earthly life, in spite of the many accusations and temptations on the part of the devil and the children of this world, we have forgiveness of sins. Jesus, the true Man, our Brother according to the flesh, but at the same time the Son of God, the eternal God Himself, has shed His blood for us once, yet His sacrifice has eternal validity and power by virtue of that mysterious, wonderful personal union of the two natures. Always, every day, without ceasing, we have forgiveness of sins, we are righteous and just and holy before God through the blood of Jesus Christ, which is always effective; in the case of every sin we have forgiveness, which is always and ever again offered and transmitted to us in the Word and in the Sacrament and accepted by us in faith.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, "This is the sum and substance of the gospel of Christ’s doctrine, and our message, to teach us to know what God is, namely light, that is,a being of infinite knowledge, wisdom, and purity; and that there is no darkness in him, no darkness of error, no darkness of ignorance, no darkness of falsehood, impunity, and sin, found with him, or can be pleasing to him."

Note here, 1. The gospel is a message, a special and gracious message, sent by God to a lost world. The ministers of the gospel are messengers sent of God, to make known this message; and if so, then they must receive their mission from God, then their message depends not upon their own, but God’s authority; then their people are to receive it, not as the message and word of man, but as it is indeed the word of God. This is the message that we have heard, and declare unto you.

Observe, 2. The metaphor which which St. John makes choice of, to set forth the nature of God by.

He describes him, 1. Affirmatively, God is light, his nature and attributes are (though darkly and imperfectly) resembled by it; the light, as it was the first of all creatures, shadows forth the eternity of God’s being, who is the First and the Last; light, of all bodies, is the most immaterial and uncompounded, denoting the spirituality and simplicity of God’s nature.

Is the light diffusive, and cannot but impart itself for the benefit of others? so is God communicative of his goodness to all persons, shining upon the just and upon the unjust.

But according to the apostle’s intendment here, light is of a pure and undefiled nature, it is a bright and spotless splendour; though it shines upon a dunghill, it contracts no pollutions; this represents the perfect purity and unspotted holiness of God.

2.Negatively, In him is no darkness at all; that is, God is so pure, that not the least impuirty can cleave unto him; so holy, that no sin can be found in him, and consequently no darkness of sin or impunity can proceed from him.

Learn we then, always to entertain high and holy thoughts of God, and to conceive of him as a being that hates sin, and all the works and workers of darkness, Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee: sinners shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Psa 5:4

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

ARGUMENT 2

GOD IS LIGHT

5. “That God is light, and there is no darkness in Him.” From this beautiful scripture we see that light, like life, is original only in God, and imparted pursuant to His sovereign will. The light of the material world, illuminating irresponsible beings, both animate and inanimate, is a fixture of the divine administration. Meanwhile, with all responsible probationary intelligences, as in case of life, it is dependent on the divine presence, and determined by the free and untrammeled volition of the recipient.

6. Pursuant to these great cardinal facts of life and light, John here gives us a grand and convincing antithetical argument; 1Jn 1:6; 1Jn 1:8; 1Jn 1:10 revealing the sin side of the antithesis, while 1Jn 1:7 and 1Jn 1:9 set forth the grace side, the two standing out in vivid contrast, sin and darkness, light and salvation being inseparable concomitants.

7. Of course all who are in the light are the children of God, having been truly regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and saved not only from condemnation, but from the commission of sin. Now if such will walk in all the light God gives them, revealing their inbred sin, pursuant to their humble, doubtless faith, the blood cleanseth them from all original sin, surviving justification. This is a glorious latitudinous truth, extending to every human being in heathendom as well as Christendom, promising not only pardon but purity to every human being walking in all the light God gives.

8. “If we may say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” This verse, with the sixth and tenth, has been appropriated by many foolish people as an apology for sin, to their own destruction; whereas it simply reveals the sin side of the antithesis, to the magnification of the grace side. You see this verse forever sweeps Zinzendorfianism from the field, anathematizing the man who says he has no remaining sin to be

removed by the cleansing blood after conversion, as a “liar,” deceiving himself and destitute of truth.

9. Here we have the whole plan of salvation focalized in a nutshell, the Holy Ghost promising us pardon and purity on the isolated condition of a full confession of our sins, actual and original. Such a confession involves repentance, faith, prevailing prayer and obedience.

10. This verse drops back on the sin side of the antithesis, convicting every human being who has reached responsibility unregenerated, and anathematizing all gainsayers as “liars,” destitute of God’s Word.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5–7. This then is the message. The message heard from Christ, now declared, is that God is light. The source whence all light, whether it be physical, or moral or spiritual, comes; the Enlightener of the universe. The term denotes luminous clearness, the free and benevolent source from whence flow light, intelligence, purity and blessing, absolutely free from alien intermixture, since in him there is no darkness at all. Light represents truth, knowledge and holiness. Darkness represents ignorance, error, falsehood and sin.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

From here into the next chapter, John writes about fellowship—close relationships with God and other believers.

General Information:

Here the words "we" and "us" refer to all believers, including the people to whom John was writing. Unless otherwise stated, that is the meaning for the remainder of this book. (See: Inclusive "We")

God is light

This is a metaphor that means that God is perfectly pure and holy. Cultures that associate goodness with light may be able to keep the idea of light without explaining the metaphor. AT: "God is purely righteous like pure light" (See: Metonymy)

in him there is no darkness at all

This is a metaphor that means that God never sins and is not evil in any way. Cultures that associate evil with darkness may be able to keep the idea of darkness without explaining the metaphor. AT: "in him there is nothing that is evil" (See: Metaphor)

walk in darkness

Here "walk" is a metaphor for how a person lives or behaves. Here "darkness" is a metaphor for "evil." AT: "do what is evil" (See: Metaphor)

walk in the light as he is in the light

Here "walk" is a metaphor for how a person lives or behaves. Here "light" is a metaphor for "good" or "right." AT: "do what is good as God is perfectly good" or "do what is right as God is perfectly right" (See: Metaphor)

the blood of Jesus

This refers to the death of Jesus. (See: Metonymy)

Son

This is an important title for Jesus, the Son of God. (See: Translating Son and Father)

translationWords

God

light

darkness

fellowship

walk

true

blood

Son of God

clean

sin

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

5-2:28.] First Part of the Epistle: the message, that, if we would have communion with Him who is Light, we must walk in light, keeping His commandments. See the discussion on the division of the Epistle, in the Prolegomena.

5.] In each of these divisions, the first verse contains the ground-tone of the whole. And so here—God is Light. And (καί is not a sequence on what goes before (igitur, Beza) any further than it refers back by the words ἀγγελία ἣν ἀκηκόαμεν to ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν ἀπαγγέλλομεν above. It serves to introduce the new subject) the message (De Wette supposes ἀγγελία to be a correction from the more difficult ἐπαγγελία. But as Düsterdieck has well argued, the great manuscript authority for ἀγγ., combined with the fact that in ch. 3:11 ἐπαγγ. is also read, and with this also, that ἐπαγγ. is a very common word in the N. T., whereas ἀγγ, occurs only in these two places, precludes De W.’s supposition. The correction from ἀγγ to ἐπαγγ. was very obvious from ch. 2:25, which also suggested transposing ἔστιν αὕτη to αὕτ. ἐστ.) which we have heard from Him (viz. from Christ), and announce to you (“quod filius annunciavit a patre, hoc apostolus acceptum a filio renunciat nobis.” Erasm. Düsterd. remarks that St. John seems every where to observe the distinction between ἀν- and ἀπ-αγγέλλειν, to announce and to declare. And to this distinction ἀγγελία here exactly corresponds (as Bengel, “quæ in ore Christi fuit ἀγγελία, eam Apostoli ἀναγγέλλουσι: nam ἀγγελίαν ab ipso acceptam reddunt et propagant”); whereas ἐπαγγελία, which means in the N. T. nothing but “promise” (neither in 2Ti 1:1, nor in Act 23:21 has it any other sense; see note on the latter place), seems to carry no meaning here, and has, as above, evidently crept in from ch. 2:25), is this (αὕτη predicate, as always in such sentences): that God is light (not, as Luther, “a light:” φῶς is purely predicative, indicating the essence of God: just as when it is said in ch. 4:8, ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν. There it is true the predicative is purely ethical, and thus literal, when used of God who is a Spirit, whereas here, φῶς being a material, not an ethical object, some amount of figurative meaning must be conceded. But of all material objects, light is that which most easily passes into an ethical predicative without even the process, in our thought, of interpretation. It unites in itself purity and clearness and beauty and glory, as no other material object does: it is the condition of all material life and growth and joy. And the application to God of such a predicative requires no transference. He is Light, and the Fountain of light material and light ethical. In the one world, darkness is the absence of light: in the other, darkness, untruthfulness, deceit, falsehood, is the absence of God. They who are in communion with God, and walk with God, are of the light, and walk in the light), and there is not in Him any darkness at all (it is according to the manner of St. John, to strengthen an affirmation by the emphatic negation of its opposite; cf. ver. 8: ch. 2:4, 10, 27, &c. Of the ethical darkness here denied, the Schol. says, οὔτε γὰρ ἄγνοια, οὔτε πλάνη, οὔτε ἁμαρτία, οὔτε θάνατος. The οὐδεμία strengthens the negative—“no, not even one speck.” The Greek expositors ask the question respecting this message, καὶ ποῦ τοῦτο ἤκουσε;—and answer it, ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ χριστοῦ, ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου λέγοντος. Their reply is right, but their reference to those words of our Lord is wrong. It was ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ χριστοῦ: viz. from the whole revelation, in doings and sufferings and sayings, of Him who was the ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης of the Father. With that revelation those His words admirably and exactly coincided: but they were not the source of the message, referring as they did specially to Himself, and not directly to the Father. In His whole life on earth, and in the testimony of His Spirit, ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο αὐτόν. So that this message is the result of the whole complex of ver. 1).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.