1 John 1:1-2:2
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life– this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us– we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 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. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
John seems to be making his point in threes. In the first paragraph he stressed their experience of being in the physical presence of Christ three times. In this second paragraph, he is stressing those who take the position of having no sin. He states it three different ways. “If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness”, “If we say we have no sin,” “If we say that we have not sinned,”.
What is interesting to me is that in each way that John expresses this attitude towards having no sin, he follows it up with a statement about deception. In statement number one he is saying that we lie to each other. In statement number two he is saying that we lie to ourselves and in statement number 3 he says that we make Jesus out to be a liar. John also follows each statement with how to deal with our sin. He makes it clear that lying about is not the answer.
So it would seem that in the first scenario where he speaks about walking in darkness vs walking in the light. In walking in the light, we have fellowship with one another. So inversely, walking in the darkness, we isolate ourselves. I am making a connection there that is implicitly stated and it has been my experience that barring narcissists and sociopaths, most of us drift off when we are doing things we know we shouldn’t be and our own consciences separate us from those we share a common faith with. So I think he is saying that if we just start doing right and walking in the light, we will restore fellowship with one another. But there is also a mystery of Christ involved. We come to Christ to be cleansed and healed of our sins when we come to the body of Christ.
In the second way he phrases things, when we try to hide our sins from others, we deceive ourselves! How are we deceiving ourselves? Perhaps we think we got away with it. Perhaps we are deceived into thinking that since there doesn’t seem to be any consequences, its no big deal. We may even begin to believe that God doesn’t know what we’re doing. John makes it clear though that all of that is just us deceiving ourselves. I know all this because I am guilty of it. The way back from this is to confess. It is so hard but so good. Anytime I have tried to deceive others, and then I have to confess its so humbling and embarrassing and yet so healing. Confession is again a place where we meet Christ and we are healed and set free from the sin and lies that we have enslaved ourselves with.
In the third statement, John says something that seems so counterintuitive, instead of saying that we are a liar, he says that we make “him a liar”, meaning Christ. When I am unwilling to deal with my sin, how does that make Christ to be a liar. Maybe it is because He has no effect on us so his words would not ring true. We are claiming to be a follower and a disciple and a christian and yet we are still enslaved to sin so it would seem that Christ doesn’t really set us free. It would seem that Christ really isn’t all powerful. And perhaps His teachings sound good but they don’t really lead to eternal life. If we are living in darkness and yet claiming to be in the light, then those that see us have no choice but to believe that Christ and His words have no effect on us.
In the first statement we are told to repent in order to bring healing. In the second one we are told to confess in order to be restored and in this third statement we are reminded of God’s grace. We have our part that God give us to do that brings healing but ultimately it is God working through all of it to bring the healing. We are brought back to the reminder that God sent Jesus to show us that He loves us. Even when we don’t repent and we don’t confess and we make Jesus out to be a liar, God still loves us and his mercy, grace and forgiveness are always there for us. Christ’s sacrificial love on the the cross can never be undone. There is no greater love than someone laying down their life out of love for another. So even while we have our part, it is still God who did it all for us.
John seems to be exposing the lie that we believe about not dealing with our sinfulness. And in each case the consequences are progressively more devastating. We lie to each other – we lie to ourselves – we make Jesus out to be a liar. John says all this because we do this, all of us. We can make a mess of our lives and feel like its overwhelming to restore things and make things right. But that’s just a lie. Like most things, God points us back to the basics: repent, confess and believe in God’s ever present and abundant love.