1 John 1:5-10
When I was in my early twenties, the church that I attended hosted a weekend retreat for the men. One of the speakers was a guest from another church. Without even introducing himself, our guest stood up and told us that he wanted to teach us how to apologize. Then he walked us through the process of apology step by step.
That practical walk-through on apology has stayed with me throughout my life. It has helped me more than once when I have had to confess my faults to another individual and ask for forgiveness.
In this blog, I want to share the fruits of this wise man’s contribution toward apology, forgiveness, and restoration.
The Apostle John’s Message
In 1 John 1:5-10, the Apostle John writes a brief paragraph about our fellowship with the Father and the way it affects our fellowship with each other. He begins, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
The statement is simple in its wording, but profound in its implications. Essentially, it consists of two parts. The first has to do with the message regarding our relationship with God. John and the other apostles have received a message from the Father, and John proclaims it to his audience. Knowing God is not a secret reserved for a select few. It is for everyone to hear.
Second, the message is set in bedrock. God is light, and no darkness exists in him. In other words, God sets the gold standard for purity. If we want an objective criterion by which to examine our lives, we find it in God’s character.
Five Relationship Truths
From this brief opening, John moves to five issues that grow out of the basic truth. These deal not only with our relationship with the God who is light, but also with our brothers who walk in God’s light.
John’s points take the form, “If this, then that.” The five statements alternate between negative and positive truths.
First Truth—Negative: Claiming to Know the Father while we walk in Darkness
The first statement focuses on our relationship with the Father. John writes, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice he truth” (1 John 1:6).
In John’s writings, light signifies truth, fellowship, and righteousness. Conversely, darkness encompasses falsehood, broken relationships, and sinfulness.
Fellowship with the Father grows in light. This is only logical because God is light and truth and righteousness. Therefore, if we claim to possess this kind of fellowship while we live as though no such fellowship exists, we lie about our basic identity with the Father.
Second Truth—Positive: Light and Interpersonal Fellowship
The second truth moves from our essential relationship to the Father to our equally important relationships with each other. “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
As we would expect, walking in the light with the Father—the vertical dimension of our relationship—guarantees a healthy horizontal relationship with each other. But notice that “healthy” never promises perfection. None of us is sin-free.
Instead, “Jesus’ blood cleanses us from sin.” In other words, a healthy vertical relationship allows cleansing from sin to take place in our horizontal relationships. It allows apology, forgiveness, and restoration to take place on a human level.
Third Truth—Negative: Self-deception
John’s third point tells us the truth about lying to ourselves. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
The moment we begin to think we are all right, we blind ourselves to a basic reality. No one is all right all the time. Every human relationship develops cracks over time.
In the book of 1 John, our relationship with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ is as important as our relationship with Christ. Neither can exist without the other.
Therefore, just as we are called to examine our relationship with our heavenly Father from time to time, we also have to mend our relationships with our earthly brothers and sisters. If we do not watch over the earthly dimension, we will damage the heavenly.
Fourth Truth—Positive: Confession and Cleansing
Healing in relationships does not come when we apply patches. It occurs only when we confess or faults. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
We all know this verse, but we need to understand it from the horizontal perspective as well as the vertical. Confession of sins must occur between me and my brothers as well as me and my God.
Fifth Truth—Negative: Making God a Liar
The last truth is the strongest. “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10).
Relationship is not about arrival. It never has been, and it never will be. Relationship is a living entity that must be nurtured.
No one can say, “Finally, I am free from sin.” The moment we do, we make God out to be a liar, and we negate his word in us. Restoration takes place when we confess.
Doug Knox