1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.[b]
Living in the Light
5 This is the message we heard from Jesus[c] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
John is trying to correct two things in this book. One is Gnostic (nostic) beliefs that were becoming predominant in a small group but was spreading out to the general public. Most likely one person in particular one named Cerinthus (Sir-rin-thus), that said Jesus was only a spiritual aspiration; that Jesus wasn’t a real person with flesh, bone and blood. That Jesus didn’t have a physical body. With them believing and teaching this John believes they took away the actual cleansing of sin on the cross by Jesus born of a human mother and the Holy Spirit which means a human physical death on the Cross.
Thesis of the Apostle John's message:
Gnostic beliefs saw no cleansing of sin because if no human part of Jesus actually died then there is no forgiveness of sin (no actual sacrifice).
Christian beliefs the Apostle John was trying to reveal to them: Just because we are cleans from our sin by Jesus Christ and no record to hold us accountable nothing will stop us from entering into eternal glory with our Perfect God. The Apostle John was saying we still sin and its all around us.
There is forgiveness and cleansing and no guilt as a Christian. You get to God by faith in a human Jesus that died for us. There is no forgiveness as a Gnostic. You take your dirt with you as you learned supposedly secrets to get to God.
Could it be John is talking more about sin in the world and around us than on accountability on just an individual bases. Gnostic beliefs just won’t work as forgiveness for the world as did Jesus.
-If it is individual forgiveness then it could be conceivable that we are killing Jesus on the Cross all over again if we aren't careful. Sinning on purpose or without thought about what we are doing to us and to other people. But if it is for the whole world that Jesus died then there is a new perspective here.
-Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
*We can't sin in the eyes of God (so killing Jesus over and over isn’t possible) but we do sin and won't suffer for it.
-I John 2:2 (KJV) and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
*propitiation-Jesus was the only worthy one that could died for us. He had no sin.
-Hebrews 10:12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.
-There is a continual war in us and around us in every form conceivable between the flesh and the spirit.
John Gills a noted Theologian said this: though *a Christian sins are all pardoned, and they are *judged innocent from all things by the righteousness of Christ, yet they are not without sin; though they are freed from the guilt of sin by God, and are under no obligation to punishment on account of it, yet not from the being of sin.
Why is the Apostle John trying so hard to convince us that we have sin in our lives even through we are pardoned by the Blood of Jesus Christ?
-It can sound like double talk sometimes so let's look at it:
Yes he was confronting the Gnostic beliefs that learning secret words, phases, and incantations could get you to heaven with your dirt/sin not because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Old Rugged Cross. In Gnostic beliefs Sin or cleansing had nothing to do with it only what secrets you knew to pass through different gods/stages to get to the senior God. As is most of the beliefs today that forgets Jesus sacrifice on the Cross for us and the world. People can’t make their own way to heaven. They can't be good enough to get there.
Apostle John is pointing out that there is sin in our lives and we can't do anything about it. Learning incantation, secret words and phases won’t work for salvation. The way is through Jesus the Christ. Sin has been with us since the beginning. Satan was in the Garden with Adam and Eve. Sin is with us today. Personal sin radiates out and affects others negatively and the sin around us does the same thing to us.
Seeing sin in us and all around us should make us appreciate what a human Jesus did for us! Not an aspiration of our minds. That Gnostic aspiration of Jesus could never completely rescue us from a vengeful God because there would be no human death on the Cross and no forgiveness for our sins.
We sin in our own lives, (sin is in us, around us, and sin is everywhere) so we should have mercy on those that aren't sinless; just like we aren't sinless. We can see: Sin has consequences, Yes! Many see it as God punishes. (God plans and manipulates situations to punish for sins committed.) Others see it as God allowing life to deal out the consequences to the sin. Could it be John isn't talking about individual sin but total sin in the world. Either way “there can be consequences to sin here on earth. But is John talking about individual sin or the sin that is everywhere?
What is the Apostle John trying to get us to see?
Chapter 1,Verse 9 surmises and starts talking about asking forgiveness for the sins we do. How come? We believers are cleans by the Blood of Jesus Christ from his death on the cross when we believe on Him. He has just said that.
Chapter 2, verse 2 says this: and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
-Listen to this now: Could it be John isn’t talking about keeping up with our personal sins we commit so much as we recognize that we live in sin; live in a sinful world. It's all around us. I have sin. You have sin. The government has sin. The Church has sin. Families have sin. The places we work has sin. Sin is everywhere and can be seen if we just look. Especially looking with spiritual eyes.
If sin is everywhere and we can’t do anything about it then we should be merciful and caring when we see people sin because we have sin too. We fell from God’s grace in the Garden of Eden when they ate the fruit. We are really messed up people wouldn't you say?
If sin is everywhere and effects everyone then it should make us draw closer to God through our Jesus and the Holy Spirit. If sin is everywhere then we should drop down on our knees and thank God for what our human Jesus did for us on the Cross.
Listen now: If we can't stop sin but we have no guilt/judgment because of Jesus' propitiation and death on the cross shouldn’t we be concerned about the sinner and help them to believe in Jesus who gives no judgment and always forgives Sin. So they can have what we have: no guilt or judgment by a perfect God. If sin is everywhere then shouldn't we be reaching out to the people that are sinning just like us. Shouldn't we be explaining who Jesus is and how this sinfulness is cleans by the human Jesus that died for us. Their way, any of the other ways proclaimed will not give them what they need to get to our eternal God.
All that don't know Jesus as savior that are living in a sinful world we should be reaching out to them. We should reach out and show mercy. If we are telling about Jesus then why aren't our churches full of forgiven people living in a sinful world. If sin is everywhere then why aren't we merciful instead of judgmental? We aren't Gnostic! We can’t learn special words and phases to get us to heaven or make up our own way or learn some other way than Jesus. We must know one man died for our sins and it is that belief that drives us to Jesus for the full and complete forgiveness and non judgment he only can give.
