“1 John 1:7”

Monday, November 20, 2017

1 John 1:7
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

IMMEDIATE CONTEXT: 1 Jn. 1:5-2:2 or 1:1-2:2.
EXTENDED CONTEXT: 1 Jn. 1:1-3:10

“Fellowship” is a joint participation or sharing in something. Gospel fellowship is always spiritual and never carnal. We share with one another and with God when we walk where God is—the light. There is no darkness in Him and we cannot agree with Him if we are walking in darkness—sin. A walk conveys a manner of life and while it is possible for a Christian to sin, he must with godly sorrow confess it rather than concealing it. Three times we read, “If we say.”

• 1:6, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness we lie and do not practice the truth.”
• 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
• 1:10, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

God demands a consistent likeness to Him and when we fall short, He requires that we confess our faults to Him and repent. Those who sin and refuse to recognize such deceive themselves as well as charge God with being a liar. That is a dangerous position to be in.

The key to walking in the light and keeping fellowship with God is not minimizing sin, but keeping a tender heart where His word abides as an honored guest (1 Jn. 1:10; 2:5, 14). If we want the atoning benefits of the blood of Christ, we must walk in the light.

--Steven J. Wallace

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