In this letter, John offers the life of God through two great truths: God is light (1:5) and God is love (4:8). 

The light of God shines into our lives and will increasingly show up the dirty recesses of our inner reality. It would be inconsistent, and therefore wrong, to claim to be in fellowship with God but actually to live in darkness (1:6). Yet some people were denying the reality of Christ’s mission in this world and claimed that they were without sin (1:10). By this, they showed that they did not have a superior spirituality – they did not have God’s Word in them at all.

So what are we to do when the light of God reveals more and more grime in the back corners of our inner life? We should remember God’s plan for our sin – the death of Jesus on the cross (1:7). We should confess our sin so that he might continue to forgive and purify us (1:9) and we should rest not in our sin, nor in our push for perfection, but in God’s perfect plan to deal with it (2:1,2).

‘My chains fell off, my heart was free; / I rose, went forth and followed thee.’¹ Thank you, Lord, for cleansing me from sin’s power.

John’s theme of light versus darkness links his letter with his Gospel.² ‘God is light; in him there is no darkness at all’ (v 5) is refreshingly clear. We have become hardened to the shadow side of leadership today and saddened by its consequences. We shrug our shoulders as the evidence of human frailty in political and church leaders is exposed, wishing it were not so. In God, however, we have one who is called ‘the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows’.³ There is not a hint of abusive intent or darkness of motive or action in him. Even though God ‘lives in unapproachable light’,⁴ he invites us into fellowship with himself and his Son, Jesus Christ. Walking in the light produces the amazing benefit of cleansing us from all sin, not just a few kinds of wrongdoing. Darkness cannot overcome light.

John wants his readers to walk in the light (v 7) and gain the benefits thereof. In verse 6 he warns that if we walk in darkness we ‘do not live out the truth’. He calls us to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Christians are to be known by their love, having fellowship with one another and with the Lord. If, on the other hand, we have hatred towards a brother or sister, this would be evidence of continuing to walk in darkness (2:9).

When we do sin (and which of us can claim to be without sin?), thank God that there is a way back. Confession leads to forgiveness and cleansing, introducing us to the ministry of our divine advocate, Jesus Christ. He provides not only the sacrifice for our sins, but also the intercession with the Father that is effective for sin on a global basis.

Read Psalm 51 and ponder the extent of David’s repentance and confession. Praise God for the joy of being washed ‘whiter than snow’ (v 7).

¹ Charles Wesley, 1707–88, ‘And can it be’  ² John 1:4,5  ³ James 1:17  ⁴ 1 Tim 6:16