1 John

God Is Light and Christ Is the Way. John begins his letter by directing attention to Christ’s divinity, incarnation, saving death, and intercessory ministry. He also stresses God’s ineffable brilliance (“light,” 1:5) and the ubiquity of human sin.

John affirmed both Jesus’s humanity and his deity. His defense is empirical. John was an eyewitness of Jesus of Nazareth. He had heard, seen, and touched him. This latter idea of touching may seem somewhat strange, but not when considered against the backdrop of the heresy about Jesus that John was countering. Docetism (from the Gk word dokein, meaning “to appear”) denied the incarnation of the Son of God. John countered this with an apologetic rooted in the fact that he had carefully observed the life and ministry of Jesus.

Prologue. A dozen or so first-person plural references (“we,” “our,” “us”) highlight the eyewitness testimony of John and other early Christians, particularly the apostles. They know “fellowship with the Father and with his Son” (v. 3) and yearn to see it extend to readers.

From the beginning could refer to the time of Jesus’ birth or the beginning of his ministry. But it more likely refers to the predawn of time (see John 1:1), just as the Septuagint uses the same expression (Gk. ap’ archēs) to say that the Lord existed “from the beginning” (Hab. 1:12 lxx) and that the origins of the Promised One would be “from the beginning” (Mic. 5:1 lxx). In other words, John is pointing to Christ’s preexistence. seen … looked upon … touched. John was an eyewitness to the physical and historical reality of Jesus’ life on earth. His message is not based on an ecstatic vision, grand idea, or mere human religious conviction.

The repetition of made manifest (publicly seen and known) stresses the revelatory nature of Christ’s coming: he was sent from and revealed by God. Life … eternal life refers to the nature and quality of life in fellowship with God (cf. John 5:24), as revealed primarily in the life of Christ and then experienced secondarily by Christians. Such fellowship grows out of the vital and dynamic existence enjoyed by the Son with the Father.

John is moved to proclaim what he has witnessed in keeping with the commission he and other apostles received (Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 1:8). The purpose of this proclamation is not just forgiveness of people’s sins (as a simplified view of evangelism would have it) but is far richer, for the gospel message binds together those who receive it: so that you too may have fellowship with us. Yet the purpose is still richer than mere human fellowship, for believers’ fellowship is with the Father and with his Son. Such “fellowship” is personal communion with the Father made possible by the mediation of the Son.

writing … so that. One of 1 John’s several stated purposes is to promote joy. Jesus promoted joy as well (John 15:11; 16:24). It is difficult to decide between “our joy” (esv text) and “your joy” (esv footnote), for several very early and reliable manuscripts have one reading, and several have the other (the only difference is one letter in Greek). “Our” probably includes the readers (with the sense “all of our,” cf. 1 John 1:3).

John claimed his teaching came from Jesus himself. The message affirms that the God who is morally pure and holy has revealed himself to humanity. It is possible to know the true God (5:20).

God’s Nature and Human Sin. “God is light” (v. 5) reflects an OT background where “light” symbolizes both knowledge and purity (see notes on John 1:4–5; 8:12). All of John’s writing flows from the reality of God in his spiritual perfection, moral excellence, and utter transcendence—his light (see 1 Tim. 6:16). This will contrast sharply with errant humans protesting their innocence (1 John 1:6, 8, 10).

If we say. John may be paraphrasing what some were falsely claiming. If God is light (v. 5), then those who walk in darkness are not walking with God, no matter what they say.

Walk in the light means to reflect God’s perfection (see v. 5) in the human sphere and includes both correct doctrine (truth) and moral purity (holiness). The symbolism of light as knowledge (see note on vv. 5–10) also implies that when Christians “walk in the light” their lives will be known, and will not contain hidden sins, falsehoods, or deception. Such walking “in the light” results in deep divine and human fellowship (see v. 3) and progressive cleansing from all sin.

have no sin. See note on 3:9–10. we deceive ourselves. The devil (3:8) or the world (2:15) may contribute to human straying, but in the end each individual bears responsibility for his or her own sin. Some sin remains in every Christian’s life (“have,” present tense), even that of the elderly apostle John (“we”).

Christians must confess (their) sins, initially to receive salvation and then to maintain fellowship with God and with one another (v. 3). faithful and just to forgive. God is “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression” (Num. 14:18). Yet John also makes it clear (1 John 3:6, 9) that persistent unrepented sin is not the mark of a Christian—God “will by no means clear the guilty” (Num. 14:18).

have not sinned. See note on 3:9–10. his word is not in us. A person may have heard and assented to the gospel message, but until it brings him to acknowledge his sin, it has not taken root.