1 John 1:5–2:2

1:5 The message John and others heard from Jesus centered on holiness. There is a note of authority here once again. This message came from Jesus himself (“we have heard from him”) and is now proclaimed by John to his readers. To disregard John’s message, then, is to disregard Christ.

“Light” and “darkness,” as used here, are moral categories. This usage is found elsewhere in Scripture (Job 18:5–6, 18; 30:26; Isa. 5:20; Luke 11:33–36; Acts 26:18), including in John’s Gospel (1:5; 3:19; 12:46). To say that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” is to say that God is utterly holy.

1:6 This verse draws an inference from the preceding verse. Since God is utterly holy, one cannot be in fellowship with him and also walk in sin (“darkness”). To claim to do so is to lie. The verb “walk” (peripateō) is commonly used to refer to one’s lifestyle (e.g., Rom. 14:15; Eph. 5:2). Thus John is not saying that any individual act of sin puts the lie to a claim to know God, but that a lifestyle characterized by ongoing, unrepented sin proves one is not converted.

This understanding is further affirmed by the opposite of walking in sin: practicing the truth. What is expected of believers is the ongoing practice, the living out, of the truth. The use of “practice” here is similar to our use when we say a doctor “practices medicine”—it is his manner of life.

1:7 In contrast to the warning of verse 6, walking in holiness (“the light”) confirms a profession of knowing God. In this case we have fellowship with believers (“one another”) and thus, it is implied, with God (as John said in 1 John 1:3). John once again explicitly roots the call to holiness in the character of God. We should walk in the light because God is in the light (similarly 1 Pet. 1:15–16).

Walking in the light has two consequences. First, as mentioned, we have fellowship with “one another,” i.e., other believers and the apostolic witness. We must not miss how John says that holiness produces fellowship. Legalism and casual acceptance of sin will kill fellowship, but true holiness unites us with fellow believers. The second consequence is that “the blood of Jesus . . . cleanses us from all sin.” This does not mean our holy behavior earns us such cleansing. Rather, walking in the light shows that we are among those who have been cleansed.

The “blood of Jesus” refers to his sacrificial death, using terms in keeping with the OT sacrificial system, which underlies the consistent biblical discussion of Jesus’ work. John stresses the comprehensiveness of this cleansing, noting that believers are cleansed from “all sin.”

1:8 The previous “If we say” comment (v. 6) was an attempt to claim fellowship with God while remaining in sin. Now, in verse 8, we encountered the claim to have no sin to begin with. But, John says, a claim to sinlessness is simply self-deception. Such self-deceived people do not have the truth in them, which means they are not converted. The possibility of self-deception concerning one’s spiritual state is sobering, and the comfort is that the truth, if received, will set us free from such deception.

1:9 The structure noted above (“If we say,” followed by a response) shows that this verse stands in contrast to the preceding one. If, rather than trying to hide or deny our sin, we confess it, we can know cleansing. This is a truth clearly taught in the OT (e.g., Ps. 32:5; Prov. 28:13). The temptation to hide our sins rather than confess them arises from the fear of how the offended person will respond. John assures his readers that God, the one whom ultimately all sin offends, is “faithful and just” (the faithfulness of God is the consistent appeal of Psalm 32).

We might wonder why the faithfulness and justice of God would lead him to forgive our sins, for justice seems to require his punishing our sins. No doubt the broader truth of God’s new covenant with his people established by the work of Christ is in view. Those who repent and believe have been united with God in Christ and have been promised forgiveness of sins and cleansing. Because Christ has taken their punishment and has promised them his righteousness, this forgiveness and cleansing is the just and faithful thing for God to do. We then rest in the covenant promises of God.

1:10 This verse is in many respects a restatement of verse 8. Various suggestions have been made for postulating a difference between the statements in verse 8 and verse 10. It seems best to take this as a summarizing, general statement. The use of the perfect tense could broaden the statement from verse 8, not merely prohibiting the denial of currently having any particular sin but also rebuking the idea of being in a general state of sinlessness. Regardless, the overall point is clear: no Christian should expect sinless perfection in this life.

If we claim sinless perfection, we make God to be a liar, denying his clear statements of humanity’s sinfulness and need of redemption. A claim of sinlessness also reveals that God’s word is not in us, because the claim is a denial of God’s word (“truth” [v. 8] and “his word” [v. 10] are parallel with one another). This is a striking contrast to verse 9, where, by confessing sin, we found God to be faithful and just. By denying our sin we instead make out God to be a liar, untrue to his word.

2:1 This verse begins as a parenthetical statement, as John pauses before responding to the “if” clause (v. 10) as he has done each time previously. This shift is marked by his use of a direct personal address, “my little children.” This form of address produces an affectionate earnestness. Having just urged his readers to recognize the reality of their sin, John pauses to make clear that confessing our sin is not the same as condoning it. While hiding the reality of our sin is unwise, he is not calling us to the opposite evil of becoming complacent about it. Instead he pauses to state that his very purpose in writing is to help his readers not to sin. This is the third purpose for writing that John has mentioned (cf. 1:3 and 1:4), and these purposes are directly related. John wants his readers to demonstrate the reality of their conversion, demonstrating that they are in fellowship with God and his apostle, which will involve fighting sin. This will then lead to their collective joy.

Thus John calls for his readers to avoid sin, while also recognizing the reality of sin. The conditional “if anyone does sin” does not suggest it is possible to attain a state of sinlessness this side of heaven. Rather, the Greek construction suggests that the action discussed (“sin”) is probable.¹ John writes to help his hearers fight sin, but when they do sin, they must turn to Jesus, their advocate with the Father. This develops what John said in verse 9. The new information concerns the specific role of Jesus in obtaining our forgiveness. In 1:9 the covenant faithfulness of the Father was the basis of our confidence in turning to God in confession; here it is the intercessory work of Christ. He is our “advocate.”

The Greek word used here (paraklētos) is the same one John uses for the Holy Spirit in his Gospel (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7). In John 14:16 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “another Helper,” implying that he, Jesus, is one as well. This word refers to one who is an “intercessor” or “mediator,” one who might help with a legal issue or gain access for another to a prominent person. John reminds his readers that Jesus is this “advocate” for us to the Father when we sin. If this letter is any indication, John’s preaching had already made clear to his readers that sin separates us from God and incurs his holy wrath. Thus, when we sin, we might be driven to despair. But, John says, while sin is heinous, we have an intercessor to help us deal with this fact and to keep us close to God. This intercessor is further described as “righteous,” as the Father was described in 1:9. Because he is righteous, he can be trusted and can stand before the Father even though we, in our lack of righteousness, cannot. How this advocate deals with our sin is treated in the next verse.

2:2 Jesus can help us with our sin because he is “the propitiation for our sins.” The word “propitiation” (hilasmos) refers to a sacrifice that turns away wrath.² The reason Jesus can be our advocate despite our sin is that he has borne, on the cross, the punishment required for the sins of all who believe. Since he took that punishment, meaning that our sins have been judged, he has turned away the wrath we deserve so that we can now be reconciled to God (cf. Romans 3). This “sin-bearer” now stands as our advocate, and so we can turn to him.

John goes on to say that Jesus dealt with not only “our sins” but also the sins of “the whole world.” Some have suggested this means that all people will be saved whether or not they repent of their sins and trust Jesus. However, the burden of this letter is to discern true believers from false ones. John’s letter would be pointless if all are redeemed anyway. John has declared various groups of people to be out of fellowship with God, not recipients of the propitiating work of Christ. He is, then, not contradicting himself here. The point, rather, is that Jesus is the one sacrifice available for the world. The message of this salvation is not to be restricted to one group but is to be proclaimed boldly to all people everywhere.