John began his letter with a clear statement on who Jesus is. He is with the Father (i.e. God), the Word of Eternal Life and He came in the flesh that he could touch, see and hear. Jesus came in the form of a real human being. God visited His creation.
The Gospel and Its Purpose
The good news, proclaimed by John, is that we can have fellowship Jesus, the Father and us (human beings) forever. We all can enjoy the goodness of God through Jesus.
Fellowship with Jesus is the Key for Victorious Living and staying sin free
A key attribute of God is Light (1:5). There is no darkness or sin with God. The key point is for us to come the light. The light will expose our sins. We can then confess our sin. without fear, to God because God is love and through Jesus' completed work on the cross Jesus has already saved us from our sins. There is no fear in love. We can be honest with God and with ourselves. Admitting our sins allows us to face it boldly and with Christ's grace be changed and be freed for victorious living. See Heb 4:16. Facing our sins allows us to be freed from them through applying the power from God. The secret for breaking away from sins is to walk in the light, have close relationship with Jesus.
Focus on fellowship and walking with Jesus keep us freed from the influence of sin.
Don't focus on the sin but focus on Jesus. Our preoccupation with Jesus will free us from the temptation of sin. Nevertheless, if we do sin, we can face it immediately and be freed from it. We cannot continue in our sin if we want to have fellowship with Jesus.
While Jesus has paid for and forgive our sins, the society that we live in does not. While spiritually there is no punishment for our sins, we still have to pay the penalties that our society levies on us for our sins. A thief can be forgiven in Christ but he may still need to face the punishment of imprisonment or fines.
v1:9 has been used by some to say that unless we confess our sins, our sins will not be forgiven. But v9 follows from v7 which says that as we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. My personal view on confession of sin is that we must admit and face it to change and it was not for forgiveness as Christ had redeemed us from all sin. There are sins that we are not aware (unless someone or the Holy Spirit tell us), and hence we are not able to confess them. Does that mean if we die we could not go to heaven because of unconfessed sins? Certainly not. But unconfessed sins hold us in bondage and defeat. As we grow up into maturity in the likeness of Christ, we shall be aware of our other inadequacies as we conquer over them, one step at a time.
Questions for Reflections
- Who is Jesus?
- How do we have fellowship with Jesus?
- What is the secret of victorious sin-free living?
- What can I do to have closer fellowship with Jesus?
- Write down an action plan to develop the relationship with Jesus. Be outcome(fruit of the Spirit) focus rather than just effort focused.
Next: Bible Study 1 John Chapter 2 The Stages of Spiritual Growth
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