1 John 1:5-2:6: Faithful He is, and Just

And this is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] the message that we have heard [1Pl Perf. Act. Indic.] from him and we proclaim [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.] to you [Pl.], that God light is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.], and darkness in him not is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] not at all. 6If we say [1Pl Aor. Act. Subj.] that fellowship we are having [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.] with him and/but in darkness we walk [1Pl. Pres. Act. Subj.], we lie [1Pl Pres. Mid. Indic.] and we do not do [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.] the truth. 7But if in the light we walk [1Pl Pres. Act. Subj.] just as he is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] in the light, fellowship we have [3Pl Pres. Act. Indic.] with each other and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] us from all sin. 8If we say [1Pl Aor. Act. Subj.] that sin not we have [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.], ourselves we deceive [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.], and the truth not is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] in us. 9If we confess [1Pl Pres. Act. Subj.] our sins, faith he is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] and just, that he will forgive [3S 2 Aor. Act. Subj.] us sins and cleanse [3S Aor. Act. Subj.] us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say [1Pl Aor. Act. Subj.] that we have not sinned [1Pl Perf. Act. Indic.], a liar we make [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.] him, and his word not is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] in us. My little children, these things I am writing [1S Pres. Act. Indic.] to you in order that you might not sin [2Pl 2 Aor. Act. Subj.] And if someone sins [3S 2 Aor. Act. Subj.], Advocate we have [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.] before the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. 2And he the propitiation is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] concerning our sin, not concerning ours only, but also concerning the whole world. 3And in this we know [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.] that we have come to know [1Pl Perf. Act. Indic.] him, if his commandments we keep [1Pl Pres. Act. Subj.]. 4The one who says [ho legon MS Nom. Pres. Act. Part.], I have come to know [1S Perf. Act. Indic.] him and his commandments not keeping [MS Nom. Pres. Act. Part.], liar he is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] and in him the truth not is [3S Pres. Act. Indic.]. 5Whoever keeps [3S Aor. Act. Subj.] his word, truly in this one the love of God has been perfected [3S Perf. Pass. Indic.], in this we know [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.] that in him we are [1Pl Pres. Act. Indic.]. 6The one saying [MS Nom. Pres. Act. Part.] in him to abide [Pres. Act. Inf.] ought [3S Pres. Act. Indic.] just as that one walked [3S Aor. Act. Indic.] also he [in the same way] to walk [Pres. Act. Inf.].
2:1 5

Outline of the 1 John 1:5-10: y y y Thesis: God is light (1:5) Corollary: In God there is no darkness, none at all. (1:5) If we say that (1:6) 1) We have fellowship with him (Claim) 2) But we walk in the darkness (Deception) 3) We lie and do not do/practice the truth (Relation to truth) But if we walk in the light just as he is in the light (1:7) 1) We have fellowship with one other (Blessing) 2) And the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin (Cleansing) If we say that... (1:8) 1) We do not have sin (Claim) 2) [Then] we deceive ourselves (Deception) 3) And the truth is not in us (Relation to truth) If we confess our sins (1:9) 1) Faithful he is and just to forgive us our sins (Blessing) 2) And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (Cleansing) If we say that (1:10) 1) We do not sin (Claim) 2) [Then] we make him liars (Deception) 3) And his word is not in us (Relation to truth)

Themes: y Light/Darkness y Fellowship with God and others y Sin/Cleansing y Truth/Lie Admonition: If you say that you have no sin, you lie. Corollary: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Outline of 1 John 2:1-6: y so that you may not sin. (2:1) o But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous o Jesus is the propitiation for our sins, but also for the whole world (2:2) And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments (2:3) o Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him (2:4) o Whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected (2:5) By this we may be sure that we are in him: o Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked (2:6)

Themes: y Sin vs. our Advocate/Righteous/Propitiation y Knowing him = Keeping his commandments and word/Love of God perfected/In him/Walking in the same way in which he walked y Not keeping commandments = Liar/Truth not in him

Admonition: If you do not keep Gods commandments, you lie. Corollary: If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. The Message of 1 John 1:5-2:6: The dilemma of the Christian life is that we are liars if we deny our sinfulness AND we are liars if we do not walk in the same way in which Jesus walked. The gospel of the Christian life is that we are forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Jesus when we confess our sinfulness, and that we have an Advocate before the Father ifwhenwe do sin. Comment 1:5: This is the thesis of the entire section, and its significance is further reaching than seen at first glance. Not only is God light, in whom there is no darkness whatsoever (the Greek is very emphatic on the lack of darkness in God), but because there is no darkness in God, several other things are true. Among those truths: y We cannot have fellowship with him if we walk in darkness (1:6) y If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with others who walk in the light, since he is in the light (1:7) y If we say that we have no sin (i.e., that we walk in the light, and that there is no darkness in us), such statement is so significant that we are actually calling God a liar, since on he can claim that for himself (1:10) y Because we are indeed sinners, we need an advocate and a propitiation: Jesus Christ, the righteous, who is (implicitly) also in the light and without any darkness whatsoever (2:1-2) y Whether or not we genuinely know God can be determined by whether or not we keep his commandments and walk in the same way in which he walkedthat is, we have fellowship with him by walking in the light (2:3-6; cf. 1:6) 1:6: Walking in the darkness is incompatible to fellowship with God, since God is light, and in him in no darkness whatsoever. To claim the latter while practicing the former, John redundantly says that (1) we lie; and (2) we do not practice the truth. In other words, such a contradictory situation is absolutely impossible to rectify. This is the first of the three If we say statements (1:6, 8, 10). 1:7: On the other hand, if we do walk in the light, John simply assumes fellowship with God, and so he moves on to stating a different benefit: we have fellowship with one another, or, in other words, those who also walk in the light. What is even more significant, however, is Johns statement in this passage is that the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. In other words, walking in the light is NOT a Pelagian activity, requiring a perfect effort on our part to accomplish. Walking in the light is something that happens as the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Think about thatthose who walk in the light and those who walk in the darkness commit the same sins. The difference is in the fact that the blood of Jesus cleanses the former, but not the latter.

1:8: In the If we say statement in v. 6, we are the one doing the deceiving: If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. In v. 8, however, John argues that we ourselves are the ones who are deceived as well as the deceivers: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. This is a profound statement on the self-delusion of sinsin is so deceptive, that we often do not even realize that we are, in fact, sinning. Then, when we claim not to have sin, it is not as though we are consciously lying about the issue. Instead, we have simply deceived ourselves about our own depravity. This self-deception does not mean that we are innocent of lying; quite the opposite, in fact. The point is that we have become so sinful and twisted up in our own sinfulness that we can no longer recognize the sin that we practice. We deceive ourselves because we are bad, not because we innocently hope that we are, in fact, good. 1:9: This is the gospel: when we confess our sins to God, he is both faithful AND just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The question should be asked, though: How can God be faithful to forgive sin (that is, faithful to act contrary to what justice demands) while yet remaining just in his forgiveness? Any judge who regularly pardoned the guilty would be kicked off the bench for subverting justice. What makes God different? We find the difference in the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus, though innocent, was found guilty because of our sin. We should have been the ones to shed our own blood for our sins, but Jesus shed his own blood instead. Because God has already punished his own Son, he can faithfully forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness while yet remaining just. Notice the interplay between v. 7 and 9: both begin with an If we statement, then state a blessing, and then state that we will be cleansed from our sin/unrighteousness. (See diagram above.) We are meant, then, to read v. 9 with v. 7. Read together, we get further confirmation of what we discussed for v. 7: that our walking in the light depends on our being cleansed of our sin and unrighteousness by the blood of Jesus Christ. This cleansing requires confession of our sins to God, and God here promises to faithfully forgive us all that we confess to him. 1:10: This is the third If we say statement in this passage, and the issue of lying again takes a different nuance. Not only do we lie and deceive ourselves when we claim to be without sin, but now we read that we also make God out to be a liar. God, who is light, and in whom there is no darkness whatsoever, has declared that all have sinned. To deny this means that we are not in the light, that we do not have fellowship with him, and that we believe that God himself is lying to us. No one can think this if Gods word has penetrated his heart, confronting, convicting, and converting him to repent from his sins and flee to Christ for mercy. 2:1: Johns purpose in writing this is that you might not sin. Yet, if someone does sin, we have an Advocate (Parakleton Helper, Comforter) before the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Why is it significant that Jesus Christ is the righteous [one]? Because Jesus Christ is not someone who cuts deals for us with the Fatherhe is the righteous one who has taken the punishment for our sins. God is righteous to forgive us our sins (1:9), Jesus Christ is righteous (2:1), and we are cleansed from all unrighteousness by the blood of Jesus Christ (1:7, 9).

2:2: In other words, Jesus is our propitiationthat is, he is our appeasement before the Father. We have sinned, and the Father was angry with our sin, but Jesus Christ has appeased the Fathers wrath by his blood. And he is not the propitiation concerning our sins only, but also concerning the sins of the whole world. There is no one who, if they flee to Christ, will not find mercy with the Father. 2:3: And this is how we know whether we have, in fact, come to know him: whether or not we keep his commandments. Now, this should scare us to death, because John just wrote in 1:5-10 that no one keeps the commandmentsall walk in darkness, and all have sin. If anyone says something different, that person is a liar, he has deceived himself, and he has even called God a liar by saying such a thing! 2:4: But there is another who is a liar: whoever claims to have come to know God, but does not keep Gods commands, that one is a liar and the truth is not in him. So, if you claim to have no sin, you are a liar; however, if you claim to know God and still have sin, then you are also a liar. 2:5: And, whoever does manage to succeed in keeping Gods word, in that one that love of God is perfected. In this way, we know that we are in him. 2:6: And, if we claim to abide in him, we ought to walk in the same way that he walked. But remember Johns words: My little children, I am writing these things to you in order that you might not sin. But if someone sins, we have an Advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not only our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world. John did not say, So, if someone sins, they are out. Nor did he say, But if someone sins, they had better fix things before they end up in hell. Instead, he points sinners to Jesus Christ the Righteous, our Advocate and our Propitiation before the Father. We ought to walk as he walked. We do lie when we claim to have fellowship with God, but do not keep his commandments. But for sinners in need of mercy, we have Jesus Christ the Righteous. This is the gospel, pure and simple. So, as we review what John writes, we find out that he does not mean that walking as Jesus walked, or keeping Gods commandments, means that we are to perfectly keep the law. Rather, keeping Gods commandments means a life of repentance from our sin and faith toward Jesus Christ. Remember what it means to walk in the light: If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Walking in the light means seeking the cleansing of Jesus blood from our sin.