“God is light” (1 John 1:5-10)

“God is light”

[1 John 1:5-10]

As far as I can remember, in the 39-year history of our church, at least once in the history of our church, the electricity went out and we lit a candle at the early Morning Prayer meeting. At that time, the candles in our church were not the long candlesticks we used in Korea, but rather wide and small candlesticks that were placed as decorations on the table at banquets. So I vaguely remember that I lit several candles but didn’t light up this dark parish.

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world.” And Jesus is telling us, “In the same way, let your light shine before men” (v. 16). “In this way” means “no one we will light a lamp and cover with a vessel.” Rather, we put it on a lampstand and make it shine on everyone in the house (v. 15). Then, as the light of the world, we want to think about three things, focusing on Proverbs 13, how we should shine not only in our homes and in the church, but especially in this dark world:

First, we must light the world with our mouths.

How should we light the world with our mouths? We must light the world by hating lies (Prov. 13:5) and rejoicing in the truth. By speaking the truth with our mouths, we must light the world. God detests lying lips (12:22). But God delights those who do the truth, that is, those who are truthful (v. 22). Therefore, we must speak the truth. And by speaking the truth, we must light the righteousness in this false world. Also, our truthful tongue should bring healing (v. 18), and our kind word should cheer others up (v. 25). Furthermore, we must even rescue people with our upright lips (v. 6). We should receive God's blessing by teaching others the life-giving words of God in His wisdom, giving them spiritual benefit, to the salvation of their souls, and being the guides of their souls. We must guard our lives by guarding our lips. Look at Proverbs 13:3 – “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” We must guard our own mouth. We must be careful with our words. Look at Proverbs 10:19 – “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” Because God gives us wisdom, we must control our lips with God’s given wisdom.

Second, we must light the world with our lives.

We must be diligent in order to light the world with our lives (13:4). What matters is not whether we are rich or poor, but whether we are diligent or lazy. The teaching of the Bible is that we should light the world with diligence. Also, we must light the world with integrity (v. 6). We should seek integrity by fearing God. That is, we must fear and honor God's commandments (v. 13). Also, we must obey God's word, so that all our work should be done in faithfulness (Ps. 33:4). We must light the world by acting wisely. We must walk with knowledge (Prov. 13:16). We must turn aside from the snares of death by teaching them lessons that are the fountain of life (v. 14).

Third, we must light the world by fulfilling our hope and desire.

Look at Proverbs 13:12 – “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” We can be heartbroken when the fulfillment of our hope is deferred. However, we must witness and experience the fulfillment of the hope that God has given us in God's time while praying, expecting and waiting in faith in the faithful God of the covenant. Our God grants our desires so that we may shine in this hopeless world.

The Bible 1 John 1:5 says “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” These are the words the Apostle John heard from Jesus Christ, and the Apostle John tells the twofold truth about God. The twofold truth is (1) “God is light,” and (2) In God, who is light, there is no darkness at all.

First, when I thought of the words “God is light,” I was reminded of what Jesus said in John 9:5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The apostle John, who heard that Jesus referred to himself as “the light of the world” and recorded it in John 9:5, wrote in 1 John 1:5 that “God is light.” What lesson does this teach us? When God the Father, who is the light, sent the Son Jesus into this world, Jesus came as the light of the world. After the Apostle John, who came as the light of this world, said in John 1 that He was the Word in the beginning, God and Creator (Jn. 1:1-3), there was “life” in Him and “that life was the light of men” ” (v. 4). The Apostle John said in John 1:4 that there is life in Jesus Christ and that life is the light of men. And he said in 1 John 1 that Jesus Christ is the Word of Life from the beginning (1 Jn. 1:1) and “eternal life” (v.2). We can summarize that Jesus Christ is the Word of Life, eternal life, and the light of men. Regarding this fact, the Apostle John also spoke in John 1, who said that John the Baptist was the one who came only as a witness to the light Jesus Christ, who is the true light that gives light to every man in this world (Jn. 1:8-9). The Apostle John also says that John the Baptist came to testify concerning that light, Jesus Christ, so that through Him all men might believe (v. 7). In this way, the Apostle John talked about “the light” not only in the Gospel of John but also in 1 John. God is Light. Jesus is the true light, the light of the world and the light of men. When John the Baptist came into the world, he testified about Jesus Christ, the true light that shines on each person, the light of the world, and the light of people, so that everyone can believe in Jesus.

In this way, the Apostle John tells us, “God is light” in 1 John 1:5, the first half of today’s text, and then comes to the second half of verse 5, saying, “In him there is no darkness at all.” What does it mean to say that God, who is light, has no darkness at all? The Apostle John contrasts light and darkness, emphasizing that God, who is light, can never have any darkness. What is light and what is darkness?

First, since the Apostle John said, “that life is the light of men” in John 1:4, and “the Word of Life” and “eternal life” in 1 John 1:1-2, what he meant “light” and “darkness” in “God is the Light, and in Him there in no darkness at all” (v. 5) is that light refers to life or eternal life, and darkness refers to death or eternal death. Also, light is the truth and darkness is lie when we think based on 1 John 1:6, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” The Bible 1 John 2:22 tells us that a liar is one who denies that Jesus is the Christ and one who denies the Father and the Son (Jesus). Also, in 1 John 2:9, since the Apostle John said, “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness,” I think in the words “God is light”, light means ‘love’ and darkness is 'hate'. Look at 1 John 2:9, 11: “The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. … But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” Here, to give an example of one who hates his brother, that is, one who walks in darkness, we can take Cain, whom the Apostle John spoke of in 1 John 3:12 – “not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.” If we consider what light and darkness is based on this word, we can say that light is “righteous” and darkness is “evil”.

First, the children of light have fellowship with God who is light.

In this way, the Apostle John spoke the twofold truth about God in 1 John 1:5. He said in John 12:36 that those who believe in Jesus Christ, who is the light, are also referred to as “sons of Light.” In other words, those who believe in Jesus Christ, who is the true light, the light of the world, and the light of men, are children of light. Then how do the children of light live? I would like to receive a lesson from today's text by meditating on 3 things focusing on 1 John 1:6-10.

Look at 1 John 1:6-7: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Do you have a fellowship with God? What is “fellowship”? What is “fellowship” in the Bible? I found the answer in Acts 2:42 – “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship ….” The Greek word for “fellowship” here is “koinonia”. The word “koinonia” has two meanings: (1) It means sharing and (2) giving what you have to others. Interestingly, in Acts 2:4, looking at the original Greek word that says “the fellowship” has the definite article is attached before the word “fellowship”, that is, “the fellowship.” Here, “the fellowship” refers to “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” If we use the words of 1 John 1:6, we can say that the fellowship is the fellowship with God the Holy Spirit. In the full work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, what about 3,000 new believers shared with them was the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. Therefore, the early Jerusalem church was devoted to the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We too must devote ourselves to the fellowship with the God the Holy Spirit. Then, what is the fellowship with God that the Apostle John is talking about in 1 John 1:6-7? We can think of it in two ways. The Apostle John begins these two ways with “if”:

The first “if” is “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness … ” (v. 6).

In fact, as children of God who is light, if we are having fellowship with Him as children of light, we must walk in the light (v. 7), but there are times when we walk in the darkness. For example, we often lie, hate, do injustice, and sin. If we do that, the Apostle John is telling us that we are lying and don’t practice the truth (v. 6b).

The second “if” is “if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light . . . ’ (v. 7).

Here what does “we walk in the Light” mean? Based on verse 6, I think the meaning of the word that we walk in the light is to practice the truth without telling lies (v. 6b). The Apostle John says that if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (v. 7b).

In order for us to have fellowship with each other in the Lord, we must first have fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, as the Apostle John said in 1 John 1:3 (vertical fellowship). We need to have this vertical fellowship first in order for us to have a fellowship with each other (horizontal fellowship). The priority of fellowship is that we must first have fellowship with the Holy Triune God. We should have fellowship with each other naturally, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. What is important in twofold fellowship is “the fellowship”. Here, the fellowship refers to the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, what is very important in this twofold fellowship is that the Holy Spirit allows us to share the truth in our relationship with God the Father and the Son, and in the Lord we give the truth to each other. Therefore, the important thing in this twofold fellowship is that we do not lie and practice the truth (v. 6).

The Apostle John says in 1 John 1:7 that if we walk in the Light as Jesus Himself is in the Light, not only we have fellowship with one another, but the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (v. 7b). What does it mean when he says “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin”? Haven't we already been forgiven of all our sins by the blood of Jesus' shed on the cross? Look at 1 John 2:12 – “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.” In this verse, the Apostle John says that we, the children of light who believe in Jesus, have our sins forgiven in the name of Jesus. In other words, we who believe in Jesus have already been forgiven of our sins. But the Apostle John says in 1 John 1:7 that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sins of those who believe in Jesus, who walk in the light. Doesn't that mean that we still need a remission of our sins? The reason is because we are still sinning. The reason is because there are times when we don’t live like children of light and walk in darkness. For example, the Apostle John says in 1 John 2:9 – “The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.” According to this word, we still need to receive forgiveness of sins in Jesus name because we are still committing the sin of hating our brothers. If we walk in the Light as Jesus was in the light, the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin (1:7). Not only do we have fellowship with one another, but the Holy Spirit enables us to have fellowship with God the Father and the Son Jesus. Also, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sins if we confess our sins and repent of all the things we do in darkness that aren’t worthy of fellowship with God the Father and the Son.

Second, the children of light do not deceive themselves.

Look at 1 John 1:8 – “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” We must be truthful people. We must avoid lies and live a life that seeks the truth. But the problem is now we are deceiving each other. In loving our neighbor with the love of the Lord, we should show each other our true side. But now we are busy hiding it from each other. We are hiding our sinful hearts. And we are pretending to be holy on the outside. Now we are double-minded that God hates (Ps. 119:113). We speak with a double two heart (12:2). In this way, we who are two faced are always confused and shaken by what we do (Jam. 1:8). Also, the serious problem we are facing now is that we lie lightly and deceive ourselves. Now we are deceiving ourselves because we only hear the word of God and don’t put it into practice. Look at James 1:22 – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” The Bible says that to listen to God's word without putting it into practice is to deceive ourselves. And the Bible also tells us not to deceive ourselves.

In 1 John 1:8, the Apostle John says: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Who in this world can say that he has no sin (v. 8)? Who in this world can say that he has never sinned? (v. 10) Only God, who is light without any darkness (v. 5), has never sinned and has no sin at all. Look at 1 John 3:5 – “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.” The Apostle John says that only Jesus is without sin. But we cannot say that we have no sin. This is what Romans 3:23 says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Look at Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--.” The Bible Psalms 51:5 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Clearly, the Bible says that we had a sinful nature from the moment our mother conceived us and are sinners from birth. Also, the Bible clearly states that everyone has sinned. Therefore, there is no one in this world who can say, 'I have no sin'. The Apostle John says in 1 John 1:8 that we are deceiving ourselves if we say that we have no sin. How can we who believe in God say that we have no sin? Clearly, the Bible says, “God is light” (v. 5) and if we who believe in God who is light walk in darkness (v. 6), that is, if we continue in the dark life of sin, how can the darkness (sin) not be revealed before God who is the light? God, who is light, exposes our sins when we walk not in the light, but in the darkness. Then if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (v. 8).

This is what 1 John 1:10 says: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” If we say, “We have not sinned,” we are making God a “liar”. The Apostle John says in John 8:44 that the devil is “a liar and the father of lies.” But God is never a liar. But the Bible says that if we say we have not sinned, we are making God a liar. Also, the Bible 1 John 1:10 says, “His word is not in us” if we say, “we have not sinned.” The Apostle John said in the second half of verse 8, “The truth is not in us,” but in the second half of verse 10 he says, “His word is not in us.” The Bible says that if we say that we have no sin, or we have not sinned, then the truth, the Word of God, is not in us. The Apostle John says in John 8:44 that there is no truth in the devil. However, the Apostle John says in 1 John 1:8, 10 that if we say that we have no sin, then the truth (the Word of God) is not in us. The Apostle John says that not only the truth is not in the devil, but also there is no truth in he who says that he has not sinned. We who believe in God who is Light are children of light. And the children of light don’t deceive themselves. And the truth (the Word of God) is in us (v. 8). The children of light hear God's word of truth and put it into practice (Jam. 1:22). And the children of light don’t lie and practice the truth (1 Jn. 1:6).

We who believe in the Lord who is Light are children of light. As children of light, we must not deceive ourselves. We should not say, 'I have no sin' or 'I have not sinned' while realizing our sins and the dark things that are revealed in our fellowship with the Lord who is the Light. Rather, we must confess our sins. Then the faithful and righteous God will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (v. 9).

Third and last, the children of light confess their sins.

Look at 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I will never forget this word. The first time I memorized this word was when I was in college when a pastor came to my university campus and led a disciple training Bible study. At that time, as he was teaching the Bible study with me and other seniors, the first thing that pastor taught us was five assurances. Those five assurances are the assurance of salvation, the assurance of answered prayer, the assurance of guidance, the assurance of victory, and the assurance of the forgiveness of sin. I think these five assurances are very important. After I first encountered and learned these five assurances in college, I am actually feeling more and more in my life that each verse is so important as I have been living my life of faith until now:

Assurance of salvation:

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (1 Jn. 5:11-12)

Assurance of answered prayer:

“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (Jn. 16:24)

Assurance of victory:

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Cor. 10:13)

Assurance of guidance:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6)

Assurance of forgiveness of sin:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:9)

Among these five words of assurance, the one that I was most struggled with while meditating recently was Proverbs 3:5-6, which is “Assurance of guidance.” And what I realized while meditating and struggling is that the biggest obstacle to trusting in God with all my heart is relying on my own understanding. In particular, I have come to realize that the more I live the habit (instinct) of relying on my understanding, the more I run the risk of being wise in my own eyes (v. 7). For example, if I pursue these and other things according to my own thoughts, plans, and methods, and things go as planned, I will definitely rely more on myself (my understanding) (that means I don’t trust in God) and I will develop a proud thought that I am wise. At that point, I will never, nor will I ever be able to fully trust God. So, I wrote down the heart's resolution I heard in my wrestling with this word (2015. 7. 9.): ‘Today, without relying on my understanding, I accept with gratitude the things that are not done according to my thoughts, my plans, my way, and my time. The reason is because the more I do that, the more I have no choice but to trust in the Lord. I hope and pray that I will accomplish the Lord’s will in His time, according to His thought, His plan, and His method, relying on and trusting only in the Lord.’ In this way, I have struggled with, and learned about, “Assurance of guidance” recently. But when I learned these five words of assurance in college, the assurance that make me to struggle a lot was “Assurance of salvation” (1 Jn. 5:11-12). Although the Bible says, “He who has the Son has life” (1 Jn. 5:12), for a long time I was not sure whether or not I believed in Jesus, the Son of God. The biggest reason was because I kept committing the same sin against God. So naturally, I must have memorized 1 Corinthians 10:13, the Bible verse of “Assurance of victory,” countless times in my heart. The reason was because I wanted to win the battle against my own habitual sin. But as I continued to lose in my own fight against sin, the assurance of victory in the Bible verses was also a big concern for me. At the same time, I didn’t have “Assurance of answers to prayer”. The reason is because I prayed countless times to God to rescue me from my habitual and sinful life, but my prayers were not answered. As a result, I had no “Assurance of forgiveness of sin.” And since I was not sure of the forgiveness of my sin, I would always struggle with guilt and shame after committing a sin. That “Assurance of forgiveness of sin” is 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Apostle John said, “If we confess our sins . . . ', but what does he mean by "our sins" here? Of course, when we think of “our sins” in the Bible, we think of all the sins that break God’s commandments. But what sin did the Apostle John have in mind when he wrote “our sins” when he wrote the letter of 1 John? I was curious about this, so as I read and read 1 John 1:5-10 again, and I meditated on the Apostle John starting with “if” in verses 6, 8, and 10 as well: (v. 6) “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth,” (v. 8) “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us,” (v. 10) “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” When I meditate on these three verses in connection with verse 9, “our sins” that the Apostle John said is to walk in darkness while saying that we have fellowship with God (v. 6). This is a sin of lying and also of not practicing the truth (v. 6). Also, when the Apostle John said “our sins”, to say that we have not sinned (v. 10) or to say that we have no sin (v. 8) is also “our sins”. It is also “our sin” to deny one’s sins rather than admit them.

What keeps us from acknowledging the sins we have committed and forcing us to deny them over and over again? Why don’t we “confess” our sins? I found the answer in 1 John 2:11 – “But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” The reason we don’t confess our sins is because darkness has blinded our eyes. For example, the Bible tells us to love our brothers. But if we break and disobey it, we are in darkness and we are doing darkness. And we don't know where to go because we are blinded by the dark sin of hate. Just as we lose our ability to see when we are blind, so when we walk in darkness we lose our ability to acknowledge sin as sin. That is why we say that we have not sinned even though we did sin, and don’t feel the need to confess because we think we have no sin. Then, when the Apostle John said that “our sins” were walking in darkness even though we say that we had fellowship with God (v. 6), what does it mean to walk in darkness? It is not keeping the commandments of God. Look at 1 John 2:4 – “The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” More specifically, to walk in darkness is to hate our brothers. Look at 1 John 2:9, 11: “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. … But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.” He who walks in darkness like this is sinning against God, breaking the commandments of God, and yet he doesn’t confess his sin. But he who walks in the light confesses his sin (v. 7). The reason is because he who walks in the light realizes his sin in the light, unlike he who walks in darkness. And the reason he acknowledges and confesses the sin he realizes is because he has the assurance of the forgiveness of his sin. That is, he confesses his sin because he believes that the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, will cleanse him from all sin (unrighteousness) (vv. 7, 9). Also, the reason why he who walks in the light confesses his sin is because he believes and has assurance in the word of 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” He who walks in the light confesses his sin because he believes that God is faithful and righteous to forgive his sin (v. 9). The reason why God cleanses us from all unrighteousness when we confess our sins is because Jesus Christ, the righteous has become the propitiation for our sins (2:1, 2). Look at 1 John 4:10 – “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” And God has reconciled us to God through the physical death of Jesus Christ, so that we may be holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Col. 1:22).

God is light. In God who is light, there is no darkness at all. We who believe in Jesus Christ are children of God. In other words, we are children of light. As children of light, we have fellowship with God. And if we have fellowship with God who is light, then of course we must walk in the light. Also, as children of light, we don’t deceive ourselves by saying that we are without sin. If we, the children of light, say that we have fellowship with God and walk in darkness, it is a sin of lying and also of not practicing the truth. Therefore, as children of light, we confess our sins to God. The reason is because we, the children of light, believe that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I hope and pray that we will live like the children of God, who is the light.

A child of God who is light,

James Kim

(June 30, 2019, Desiring to live like child of light)