John begins 1 John 1:5 with the first test of Christianity. Just because you call yourself a Christian does not mean that you are one. As a result, we must look at the tests of life. Throughout this examination of 1 John, we will identify several tests of the genuine Christian life. The first test we identify in 1 John 1:5-7 is that genuine believers walk in the light.
John begins by summarizing the gospel’s message in a unique and exciting way. He states the sum of the message is that God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. Throughout the writings of John, John describes God’s nature in three ways: God is spirit (John 4:24), God is light (1 John 1:5), and God is love (1 John 4:8).
However, we must pause and note the lack of an article in each of these. John states not that God is the spirit, the light, and the love or even, in all probability, a Spirit, a light, and a love, but rather spirit, light, and love themselves. God is the very definition of these terms. However, we must ask, what does John mean when he states that God is light?
When we think of physical light, we think of that energy by which all else is revealed to our eyes. Intellectually when someone gains light, we mean that they gain knowledge. But when we speak in moral terms, light is purity. Throughout the Scriptures, God and his glory are often described in terms of light (Psalm 27:1; 36:9; 104:1-2; John 1:1-13; 8:12)
When John states that God is light and there is no darkness, John speaks of God’s holiness. God is entirely and whole separate from sin. This reality has two vital results: Those who walk in darkness while claiming to be in the light are not genuine believers; Genuine believers walk in the light.
John begins with the ones claiming that they have fellowship with God. To have fellowship with God is to have a relationship with God and be a believer, a child of God. John, however, continues that these people claim fellowship with God but walk in darkness. The idea of walking in darkness is to have a lifestyle and to live a certain way. And if the light in this text indicates holiness and purity, then darkness indicates sinfulness and impurity.
John states that the test is not your words but your actions. Do you live in a way that separates you from sin? Or do you live so that no one would know that you are a child of God? Do your actions back up what you claim here. When the neighbor is being very unneighborly, when you are having a bad day, when you suffer financial hardship, and when facing legal problems, do you respond in a distinctly and uniquely Christian way? Is your language different, your entertainment different, how you carry yourself different, and your attitude different?
The individuals who had left the churches around Ephesus taught that they could live however they wanted and still have fellowship with God. They followed the line of thinking Paul battled in Romans which forced Paul to ask in Romans 6, should we continue in sin so that we can keep receiving grace? These individuals believed that because they were Christians, it was all good. Sadly, today it is not uncommon for people to claim fellowship with God to see no necessity to go to the cross of Christ for cleansing and forgiveness or to lead a consistently holy life. It’s not enough to claim to know God. A holy life must follow. We must live in light of the truth, practice it, and avoid sin.
Why are these individuals called liars? Because secondly, they do not practice the truth. Jesus states in John 14:6 that he is the truth. He says in John 17:17 that the Word is truth. When we live lives marked by sin, we are not practicing God’s Word.
On the other hand, when one has a relationship with God, they will live a holy life (John 11:9; 12:35). Religious life is not merely a matter of spiritual reflection or intellectual persuasion; instead, it is comprehensive. It is a habit of walking, a way of living (cf. Proverbs 8:20; Isaiah 2:5; Ephesians 5:22).
John gives two results: Fellowship and cleansing. John reminds us again that fellowship with God results in fellowship with one another. When one walks in the light (in fellowship with God), God implants in him a love for the church. I am going to make a pretty dogmatic statement here, but please understand I am stating what John is saying here, a church that does not love one another is a church that is full of unbelievers. One cannot love God and hate God’s body.
When we seek to live holy lives, God has made provision to purify us from whatever sin hinders and mars our fellowship with God or His church. I believe that John is speaking here both of justification and sanctification. God’s blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness in justification once and for all. The eternal penalty of sin, the wrath of God, has been forever removed. When we walk in the light, we demonstrate that we have received the justification of Christ.