Calvin

1:5

The point is that to enjoy Christ, we must conform to God's righteousness. Light signifies purity, and the inability of impurity to remain hidden. Our fellowship with God cannot exist unless we join in His purity. Since God is completely devoid of the failures of darkness, it follows that He hates the acts of darkness, and will not tolerate them in His presence.

1:6

What is being pointed out here is that fellowship with God cannot help but show itself in holiness of life, to claim the former without showing the latter would prove itself a lie.

1:7

Where holiness of life shows, there fellowship with God is certain - not because holiness attracts God, but because God generates holiness. Integrity of conscience is alone that which distinguishes light from darkness, not perfect purity in this life, but our striving toward that end. With our fellowship comes forgiveness of sins. Christ redeems only those who turn from their iniquity. Remission cannot be separated from repentance, nor peace of God from fear of God. Forgiveness is a daily need and offer, as sin is a daily failure and separation - even in the strongest believer. Nobody can lay claim to being without a large number of sins, but Christ's redemption holds fast. The whole of redemption is in the blood of Jesus, not in baptisms or works or satisfactions. The faithful are assured of fellowship and forgiveness through the blood of Christ, and nothing but the blood - not the works and lives of the apostles or martyrs, but only Jesus' own life.

1:8

Our lack of innocence is declared in no uncertain terms, that our need of mercy will be made more clear to us. Nobody is exempt from sin. We must confess not for humility's sake, but to guard ourselves from self-deception.

1:9

A conscience that doubts its forgiveness carries hell within it, and cannot grasp the peace of God, but forgiveness is indeed free to those who confess their sins. God would be just even if He were to punish us as we deserve, but has chosen to include mercy in His justice. Confession must be from the heart, and as such must include repentance. Not only is forgiveness attained, but renewal and change. Complete cleansing will not occur while we are in the flesh, but the work begun will be completed (Col 1:22 - reconciled now by His death, so that we can be presented blameless later, Eph 5:27 - this being the endpoint to which the Church is aiming)

1:10

Those who claim themselves pure blaspheme, and are at war with God, rejecting His truth. Progress lies in being humbled by our state, and learning to run to God's mercy.

 

 

Matthew Henry

1:5-7

The apostles act as Christ's messengers to the world, passing on what He has communicated to them. We should be glad to have word from the Word, which in this case is that God is light. The report says that God is free of all defect, that He is morally perfect - and we should imitate Him. His purity of nature includes knowledge of our hearts. Conclusions which can be drawn from the given report: (1) those who claim fellowship with God, but don't live righteously, lie in their claims. (2) As Christ was God's representative, so we - the church - are His. Conformity in practice demonstrates fellowship in truth. Christ's death is effective for us who have fellowship.

1:8-10

John moves to show the dangers of denying sinfulness. (1) Truth flees from those that deny their state - both as they lie to themselves, and as they show God's Truth to be far from them. We must continue in repentance, humiliation and mortification over our state; and in faith, thankfulness, and love for the redeemer, as well as hope for our sin-free future. (2) Denying our sin dishonors God. (Ge 8:21 - God has declared that we were evil from our youth.). This shows that we neither know nor practice His true word. We must confess our sins. Further, we must trust in His faithfulness to forgive and cleanse. God's justice shows also in His honoring of the Son's works (Isa 53:11 - knowing and doing God's will, Christ's work satisfied His just anger towards us in our iniquity). And His justice includes in it grace.

 

 

Adam Clarke

1:5

This is the primary principle of the whole letter, delivered as no other message - by the Son of God: God is the source of all wisdom, knowledge, holiness and happiness; being free of ignorance, imperfection, sinfulness and misery. As light is to the physical world, so God is to the soul - changing a wilderness into a fruitful land.

1:6

Having fellowship with God implies sharing His nature. To continue in darkness clearly indicates no fellowship with light. This fact serves to show the falseness of the Gnostics, who claim purity, but act with dark actions.

1:7

"God and a holy heart are in continual correspondence." Christ's work has cleansed, and keeps clean, those who take hold of His offered sacrifice. This is a necessity for the believer. Christ saves completely, cleansing ALL sin.

1:8

All have sinned and need a Savior. The Gnostics were denying Jesus' manhood, and thus the efficacy of His sacrifice. To believe we have no need for Jesus is the most dreadful self-deception - leaving us to go on to eternal suffering. We further don't grasp the truth of Christ's message.

1:9

If we sincerely humble ourselves - recognizing our neediness - He is faithful. (Ps 32:5 - having confessed his sin, God forgave, Pr 28:13 - The one who hides his sin falters, but the one who confesses and forsakes finds compassion.) Not only to forgive, but to cleanse. Sin in two forms: as guilt requiring pardon, and as pollution requiring cleansing. Guilt needs confessing to be forgiven. Pollution also needs confessing to be cleaned. A man must know his true state before he will confess and receive God's mercy. Few confess, and therefor few are pardoned and purified. Christ's blood purges us of dead works and unrighteousness. To claim not to have sinned is to make God a liar, but to claim Jesus' blood insufficient to cleanse our sins in this life is also to make God a liar. Purity in this life is the birthright of every child of God.

 

 

Barnes

1:5

The summary of all Jesus' revelation to man is that God is Light, signifying purity, truth, knowledge, prosperity and happiness. (Jas 1:17 - all that is good comes from God, Jn 1:4-5 - life the light of men; 1Ti 6:16 - God alone dwells in perfection.) God is perfect, free of all imperfections. God is not, therefor the author of sin and misery. (Jn 1:1-3 - seems to run counter to this claim, since it says Christ created all things).

1:6

The idea being we have claimed to be like Him. Darkness doesn't refer to a lack of religion, but to a state of sinfulness. Interesting quote: "Desirable as it is to have the comforts of religion, yet it is not always true that they who do not are not true Christians." Hmm. Whether knowingly or not, there is deception in claiming Christianity and not walking in it. To do truth is to act according to truth. Quoting again: "How many whose minds are dark on the whole subject of religion, who have never known anything of the real peace and joy which it imparts, who nevertheless entertain the belief that they are the friends of God, and are going to heaven! They trust in a name, in forms, in conformity to external rites, and have never known anything of the internal peace and purity which religion imparts".

1:7

Walking in the light includes: (1) leading lives of holiness and purity; (2) walking in truth, embracing truth in opposition to all error (2Co 4:6 - God Himself gives us to understand Him and His Son, 1Co 2:9-15 - He reveals the truth to us by the Holy Spirit; Eph 1:18 - we need enlightening to know the hope of His calling, and the riches of our inheritance); (3) having the joy which religion imparts to its true friends. (Ps 94:19 - God consoles, Isa 57:8 - a rather poor choice looked at in context, 2Co 1:3 - God is the Father of all comfort and mercy, 2Co 13:11 - and He will be with us.) We ought to resemble God in character and feeling. We ought, also to resemble each other, as we all seek to resemble God. His blood is effective to cleanse any sin, so long as the conditions are met: that we repent and receive Christ as Savior through faith.

1:8

This could have been in reference to the Nicolaitanes, who believed nothing was forbidden, but probably relates the more general truth that none are without sin. This, then, applies not only to past sins, but to the deceptions of perfect, present sanctification. The self-deception may not be willful, but is nonetheless deception. The truth not held, in this instance, applies to the current topic of sinlessness, not to truth in general. The verse gives the lie to the holiness movement's idea of possible purification in this life.

1:9

Pardon presupposes confession. (Ps 51 - David confesses his sin, knowing God's forgiveness will surely follow, Ps 32 - in hiding of sin lies wasting of life, but in confession comes forgiveness, Lk 15:18 - the prodigal son confesses, Lk 7:41ff - the tale of two debtors; a lesson on forgiveness, Pr 28:13 - hiding sin will not prosper, confession will bring compassion) He will do what He has said He will do. Forgiveness is an act of mercy more than an act of justice, as it cannot be demanded as a right, but is given freely, in spite of the evidence against us. Justice here seen as (1) excellence of character, (2) just in that He is true to His promises [more like faithful], or (3) just to His Son in view of His atoning work. There is full assurance that God will pardon the sins of the repentant faithful, and cleanse us by forgiving us, and treating us as if we were righteous.

1:10

Now, the letter turns to time past - showing that past or present, we remain sinful. We make Him out to be a liar, because scripture is clear on the point of our sinfulness. (Ge 6:11-12 - all flesh corrupt, Job 14:4 - nobody can make the unclean clean, Job 15:16 - man drinks iniquity like water, Ps 14:1-3 - nobody does good, all turn aside, Ps 51:5 - sinful even in conception, Ps 58:3 - sinful from the womb, Ro 3:9-20 - all are charged as sinful, Gal 3:21 - righteousness is apart from the works of the law). The whole system of Christianity is based on our need for a Savior, without the admitting of which one cannot possibly be Christian.

 

 

Wycliffe

1:5

The message is from Christ. Holiness is the principal idea of light, and is His very nature.

1:6

'We' includes the author in the possibility of this error. 'Darkness' speaks of being out of God's will. Truth lies in action more than in word.

1:7

God is light. We can only walk in it, allowing His light to reveal our errors, and then responding to His correction. Fellowship and cleansing follow as the consequences of our responding to the light of God. 'Cleansing' is present tense, referring to the cleansing of sanctification (although not complete in this life).

1:8

Here, sin is the very nature or root of sin, denial of which causes us to (a) lead ourselves astray - "doing for ourselves what Satan endeavors to do for us", and (b) shutting out God's light to live in self-made darkness.

1:9

Confession is to God, including a forsaking of the confessed sinfulness. God keeps His word and is just, including the way in which He forgives sins. Forgiveness frees from due punishment, cleansing from sin's polluting effects.

1:10

Knowing the truth of the previous verses, we now need to make it personal. Now sin is the act, not the nature. The word of God in both Old and New Testaments constantly points to the nature of man as being sinful. "The victorious Christian life is a life of no unconfessed sins; and genuine confession includes a forsaking, and thus produces growth".

 

 

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1:5

John passes on the message received. (Jn 15:15 - the apostles were declared friends of Christ. Heb 3:1 - Jesus the High Priest) Light: fount of wisdom, purity, joy, glory, necessary for growth. Absolutely sinless, Christ spoke and lived out the manifestation of God's light.

1:6

The essence of Christian life lies in the inward and outward action, in deed matching word as we speak the truth. (Eph 4:21 - truth is in Jesus. Jn 3:21 - Those who do God's works seek His light.)

1:7

(Eph 5:8 - we are to act like God's children) We are to walk such that the essence of our life is the same as the essence of God. Our fellowship with each other cannot exist without our fellowship with God. "To believe, with John, is eternal life; to love, is blessedness; to serve, is usefulness." Our cleansing comes as a result of walking in His essence. Jesus blood is the means of our gradual cleansing from all sin - not a one-shot perpetual cleansing, but a daily needed and renewed cleansing. Faith applies the cleansing blood.

1:8

Confession is a natural outgrowth of walking in God's light. The sins we either confess or deny are present sins, even though we do our utmost to walk worthy. Denying this is self-deception (Gal 6:7 - God is not mocked, we don't fool Him).

1:9

Confession to be vocal and from the heart. This involves confession to our fellows of our offences against them. God is true to His word, redeeming the believer in Christ justly, showing mercy in His justice. (Ro 3:25-26 - In righteousness God passes over the sins of the penitent believer.) He forgives and cleanses us to further His justice; remitting our guilt and purifying our filthiness - making us more and more free of sin through the Spirit. (Heb 9:14 - Christ's sacrifice cleanses us from dead works to free us for true service.)

1:10

In v8, guilt was the point, now it's the commission of sins. We claim God is a liar by denying the truth of what He has said, and by denying it, drive it from our hearts. (Jn 5:38 - who doesn't believe Jesus doesn't have God's word within.) To reject our true sinful state is to reject God's word, and thus God.

 

 

New Thoughts

How easy it is to slip into those thought-patterns that say we're OK, we're doing all right, we're walking as we should. And yet, God's Word warns us again and again against this very idea - reminding us that saved though we are, our need of salvation never ceases. It's curious to see Clarke look at this section and appear to be saying "see? We must become perfectly pure now!", where everybody else sees proof that such cannot be, and the text itself appears to say the opposite, that if we think we've made it to purity, we lie to ourselves. At this juncture in our church's life, I find this particularly relevant to remember. If there is to be a perfection in this life, it'll be - I suppose - in our dying breath, and no sooner. To me, the idea of perfection connotes the idea that we'll outgrow our need for Christ - which is a horrible thought. While I long for the day when sin's struggles cease, I'd not have it at the cost of my God. I must remain content to lie daily on my need for Him, to find repose only in the assurance of His working in my life. I must continue to daily search myself to seek out the places I've failed, and bring them to Jesus that He might forgive and work the necessary change in me that repeated failure not cause me to wander into darkness. I must remember this. Lord, help me to remember in our daily time together, to search myself as You've commanded - that You may pardon and cleanse me as You've promised. Too often I forget to bring my weakness to You, and just count on You doing Your part anyway. This is not what You've said, but my own weakness showing through. Help me to be strong enough to be honest with myself, Lord - to bring my failures out in the open where You have promised to fix them. Lord, I want to walk with You - free of any fear of reprisals, because I've already brought anything worthy of reprisal to You. I want to hear You whisper in my ear throughout the day, before I slip - warning me away from dangers. I want to hear Your words of love comforting me throughout. I want You.