1 John 1:4

John wrote this letter as if he were an agent for all those other witnesses. ‘These things’ are all that is in the letter. He writes so that both he and the readers may have much joy. It would give them all much joy if they believed the message of the *gospel. The purpose of the letter is that the readers would share the same life as John and his friends. God gives this *eternal life to those who believe in his Son.

God is *light and we should walk in the *light (1 John 1:5-10)

v5 This is the message that we have heard from him. And we declare it to you. God is *light. There is no *darkness at all in him. v6 We may say that we share this life with God. But if we walk in *darkness, we are telling a lie. We would not be doing what is right and true. v7 Instead, we should live in the *light, as God is in the *light. Then we share in life with each other. And the blood of God’s Son, Jesus, washes all our *sins away.

v8 We may say that we have no *sin. If we say this, we lie to ourselves. There is no truth in us. v9 We must confess our *sins to God. If we do, he will be kind to us. He will forgive us all our *sins. And he is right to do so. He will make us *clean from all the wrong things that we have done. This is what he has promised to do. v10 We may say that we have not *sinned. But such words suggest that God has lied. Anybody who says this has not believed his word at all.

Verse 5

God is perfect. So people who know God must not do evil deeds.

John did not invent the message. He says that he received it from the *Lord Jesus. The *Lord Jesus taught those who were with him. He showed them how to know God. He then sent them to teach this to other people. In this way, these people may know God as well. This is the message that John heard from the *Lord. He declared that God is *light.

God is *light by nature. As light shines, so God shows himself. All light comes from God. God created it. John uses the word *light to mean all that is good, *holy and right. This message shows something about God’s character. God is good. He is always right, and *holy. God, who is *light, sees all things. We can hide nothing from him. John uses the word *darkness to mean evil acts, *sin and error. There can be nothing bad in God. He is perfect and he can do nothing wrong.

Some people may turn from the *light. They love *darkness more than the *light. This is because their actions are evil (John 3:19-21). There can be no *darkness in God. Those people who do evil acts cannot share life with God. Those who believe God must live in the *light.

Verse 6

People who do evil things do not share God’s life

John now shows how this message should affect our lives. In the next five verses, there are three false things that some people say (verses 6, 8 and 10). After each of these false things, John shows us what the truth is (1:7, 9; 2:1). The effect of what they say is that *sin does not affect them. So, it does not matter what we do. They say that they are united with God. But they continue to *sin.

The *Lord Jesus gives a new life to those who believe. This life is from God. This life is unity with God. But there can be no unity between *light and *darkness.

A person may say that he lives with God. But if that person does evil acts, then he lies. His actions are not right. Those actions are *darkness and not *light. That person is like someone who walks in *darkness. *Darkness and *light cannot be in unity. That person does not share the life from God.

The false teachers said that they walked in the *light. However, what they did were works of *darkness.

They did not do what was right. They did not obey the truth. John believes that the test of truth is not just belief. Truth is not only in what we say. Our belief will affect what we do. We show our belief in God by good and right acts.

Verse 7

God has provided a remedy for our *sins

There is a contrast here. The person who does the wrong things lives in *darkness. But the person who does the right things lives in *light. This is how God wants us to live. He wants us to believe the *gospel. And we should live to please him. God is *holy. He always does what is right. God is in the *light because he is *light. To live in the *light is to be true to God. This is to live in the same manner as God lives.

Real Christians live in the *light. They believe in the *Lord Jesus Christ. They all share the same life. This unity among Christians shows that they belong to God. They are united with each other. They are united with God. John desires that the readers will come into that same unity.

The word ‘blood’ here means the death of Jesus. The *Old Testament says that the life is in the blood. Jesus gave his life for us. By his death, Jesus has taken away our *sins. He removes all *sin from us. But we must believe in him. Nobody can be perfect while he is here on earth. But God forgives those who believe. He makes them *clean from all *sin.

God has made the remedy for our *sin. By this, he can make us *clean from all *sins. So, we can keep our unity with him. This remedy is the blood of his Son Jesus Christ.

Some people taught that the human Jesus was not the Son of God. They taught that the human Jesus died. However, they said that God the Son did not die. John makes it plain that Jesus as God the Son did die for our *sins.

Verse 8

People who deny their *sin are lying to themselves

Some people said that they did not need the *Lord to remove their *sin. They thought that they did not have any *sin. This is not true and is itself a *sin.

We may say that there is no *sin in us. That would be false. It would be to say that we are already perfect.

Those who say this have chosen to forget their *sin. They refuse to agree that all people have *sinned. It is human to *sin. They do not live by the truth that God has shown us. They deny the basic fact of their *sin. Truth as a principle of life is not in them. They do not share in the reality of God. Jesus showed us that God is the truth. The truth of God is not in these persons.

Verse 9

God forgives us when we confess our *sins

In contrast to them are those people who say that they have *sinned. *Sin is something that affects all our lives. But *sin does not have to spoil our unity with God. We should say that we have *sinned. We should confess our *sins to God. When we do so, God will forgive us.

God has promised to forgive us and he will keep his promise. He cannot just forget our *sin as if it was not there. He is good and *holy. *Sin cannot remain with him. He had to remove it from his people.

God achieved this by putting all our *sin on the *Lord Jesus. The *Lord Jesus took the punishment for our *sin. He died for this purpose. Now God can forgive those who confess their *sins.

God forgives our *sins and he makes us *clean as well.

We must confess all the *sins that we know about. Then God will forgive us. He makes us completely *clean. He takes from us all the wrong things that we do not yet know about. Those things that we do not know will not damage our unity with God.

Verse 10

People who deny their *sin do not believe God’s word

Some people say that they have not done anything wrong. They say that they have not *sinned. But God says that all have *sinned. This is the reason that Jesus had to come. He came to die for the *sins of all people. If we had not sinned, Jesus would not have died. What God has said would not be true.

Those who say that they have not *sinned cut themselves off from God. They have not believed the word of God. They do not know the *Lord Jesus. They have not believed the truth of the *gospel. They cannot have the new life that the *Lord Jesus gives. He gives this life to those who trust in him.

apostle ~ someone whom God sends; especially one of the 12 men that Jesus chose to be his helpers.
gospel ~ the good news about Jesus; or, one of the first 4 books in the New Testament.

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus.
faith ~ to trust someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true.
Christ ~ Jesus is the Christ. The word ‘Christ’ means that God appointed Jesus to save us from our sins. And the word ‘Christ’ reminds us that, even in this world, Jesus was full of God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Son of God. But some people taught that Jesus was only an ordinary man. They said that he was not always the Christ. In this letter (1 John), John explains why these people were wrong. John also writes in 1 John about ‘false Christs’. These false Christs are ordinary men. The devil, not God, appointed them. False Christs also speak by spirits. But they do not speak by God’s Holy Spirit. The spirits that control false Christs come from the devil.
save ~ rescue from the influence and result of sin.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do.
spirit ~ spirits are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits usually called angels. Bad spirits (also called evil spirits, or demons) live in the air round us. Satan is their leader.
Satan ~ God’s chief enemy; the Devil.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do.
Lord ~ name for God in the Bible; name that we use for Jesus when we obey him; a title for Jesus, to show that he is over all.
brother ~ John uses the word ‘brother’ to describe other Christians. Other Christians are like our relatives, because all Christians are children of God.
eternal ~ without end.
light ~ John uses the word ‘light’ to mean everything that is good, holy and right.
holy ~ perfect, without sin.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do.
spirit ~ spirits are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits usually called angels. Bad spirits (also called evil spirits, or demons) live in the air round us. Satan is their leader.
Satan ~ God’s chief enemy; the Devil.
faith ~ to trust someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true.
world ~ all that opposes God, the church, and Christians.
Father ~ God the Father.
gospel ~ the good news about Jesus; or, one of the first 4 books in the New Testament.

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus.
creation ~ the act of God when he created the world and everything that there is; everything that God has made.
eternal ~ without end.
darkness ~ John uses the word ‘darkness’ to mean sin, error, and evil acts.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do.
clean ~ perfect, without sin.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do.
holy ~ perfect, without sin.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do.
darkness ~ John uses the word ‘darkness’ to mean sin, error, and evil acts.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do.

'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before the life of Jesus.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do.