By James Riley Strange, Ph.D.
Professor of New Testament, Samford University
SURE OF FORGIVENESS
1 John 1:5–2:2
Today we begin a series of six lessons on the First Letter of John.
In addition to the Gospel and Revelation, three New Testament writings have “John” in the title. This probably refers to the apostle, the brother of James and son of Zebedee, and Christians have understood this since at least the second century A.D.
The style, vocabulary and some themes in the letters resemble what we read in the Gospel, especially in chapters 1 and 13 through 17.
Only Second and Third John follow the conventions for ancient letters; hence, First John might have been a sermon or exhortation written to deal with a schism: some “false prophets” (4:1) or “antichrists” (2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7) left the group (2:19).
What did they prophesy? Probably that Jesus had no body (4:2), and perhaps that Christians did not sin (1:8, 10), could disobey the commandments (to do so was not to sin; 2:3–6) and could hate fellow Christ-followers (2:9–11; 4:20).
If Jesus only appeared to have a body — if His death, resurrection and deeds were illusions — then what we do with our bodies is also meaningless.
We can love “in word or speech” without “truth and action” (3:18), for action requires bodies. We can ignore God’s commandments, for obedience requires bodies. We can hate, for hatred ignores bodies.
John will have none of this. For him, what we do with our bodies matches what we say with our mouths.
First John 1 alludes to John 1, which in turn alludes to Genesis 1: “from the beginning,” Jesus is “the Word of life,” God as “light,” and “there is no darkness” in God. Here we find the first reference to Jesus’ body: “what we … have touched with our hands.”
In John 20:27, the resurrected Jesus offers His body for the disciples to touch.
We are forgiven when we turn from darkness to light. (1:5–7)
Guided by Genesis 1:1–4, John says God is the true source of light. Indeed, God is the light that opposes the darkness.
“Fellowship” is a life shared with others. “Partnership” is an alternative translation, for the word connotes shared goals and deeds. John says we cannot claim to be God’s partners while “walking in darkness,” which has no part in God.
Note again the care for our deeds: “We do not do what is true.”
The remedy is to “walk in the light,” where God is.
Our fellowship with one another and our cleansing originate in our partnership with God.
We are forgiven when we confess our sins. (1:8–10)
John talks about “having sin” (singular) and “confessing our sins” (plural). The distinction may indicate both: a stain that Jesus’ death bleaches out and wrongdoings that require our confession and repentance.
Jesus’ blood cleanses us but does not force right behavior. We must change our behavior, but we cannot cleanse ourselves.
We are forgiven when we depend on Jesus as our Advocate. (2:1–2)
To make his point, John uses hyperbole twice: “so that you might not sin” and “if anyone sins.”
John knows everyone sins and needs Jesus as an “advocate.” He does not, however, dwell on the inevitability of human failure.
Rather, he emphasizes what Jesus Christ has done, not for us alone, but for the entire world.
What a gift. Thanks be to God.
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