1 John 1:6

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM () - the essence of the Christian life. WALK in inward and outward action WALK - in inward and outward action. IN DARKNESS (Greek, 'in the darkness') - opposed to "the light" (cf. ; ). LIE - (.) DO NOT - in practice, whatever we say. THE TRUTH - (; .)...

6_If we say _It is, indeed, an argument from what is inconsistent, when he concludes that they are alienated from God, who walk in darkness. This doctrine, however, depends on a higher principle, that God sanctifies all who are his. For it is not a naked precept that he gives, which requires that our life should be holy; but he rather shews that the grace of Christ serves for this end to dissipate darkness, and to kindle in us the light of God; as though he had said, “What God communicates to us is not a vain fiction; for it is necessary that the power and effect of this fellowship should shine forth in our life; otherwise the possession of the gospel is fallacious.” What he adds, _and do not the truth_, is the same as if he had said, “We do not act truthfully. We do not regard what is true and right.” And this mode of speaking, as I have before observed, is frequently used by him....

5-10 A message from the Lord Jesus, the Word of life, the eternal Word, we should all gladly receive. The great God should be represented to this dark world, as pure and perfect light. As this is the nature of God, his doctrines and precepts must be such. And as his perfect happiness cannot be separated from his perfect holiness, so our happiness will be in proportion to our being made holy. To walk in darkness, is to live and act against religion. God holds no heavenly fellowship or intercourse with unholy souls. There is no truth in their profession; their practice shows its folly and falsehood. The eternal Life, the eternal Son, put on flesh and blood, and died to wash us from our sins in his own blood, and procures for us the sacred influences by which sin is to be subdued more and more, till it is quite done away. While the necessity of a holy walk is insisted upon, as the effect a...

Verse 6. _IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP_] Having fellowship, κοινωνια, _communion_, with God, necessarily implies a _partaking of the Divine nature_. Now if a man profess to have such communion, and _walk in darkness_-live an irreligious and sinful life, _he lies_, in the profession which he makes, and _does not the_ _truth_-does not walk according to the directions of the Gospel, on the grace of which he holds his relation to God, and his communion with him. The _Gnostics_, against whose errors it is supposed this epistle was written, were great pretenders to _knowledge_, to the highest degrees of the Divine illumination, and the nearest communion with the fountain of holiness, while their manners were excessively corrupt....

IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP UITH HIM - If we reckon ourselves among his friends, or, in other words, if we profess to be like him: for a profession of religion involves the idea of having fellowship with God, (compare the notes at 1 John 1:3), and he who professes that should be like him. AND WALK IN DARKNESS - Live in sin and error. To “walk in darkness” now commonly denotes to be in doubt about our religious state, in contradistinction from living in the enjoyment of religion. That is not, however, probably the whole idea here. The leading thought is, that if we live in sin, it is a proof that our profession of religion is false. Desirable as it is to have the comforts of religion, yet it is not always true that they who do not are not true Christians, nor is it true by any means that they intend to deceive the world

EXPOSITION 1 JOHN 1:1 1. THE INTRODUCTION. It declares the writer's authority, based on personal experience; announces the subject-matter of his Gospel, to which this Epistle forms a companion; and states his object in writing the Epistle. These opening verses help to raise the reader to the high frame of mind in which the apostle writes. Emotion, suppressed under a sense of awe and solemnity, is shown by the involved construction through which his thoughts struggle for utterance. We are reminded of the introduction to the Gospel, especially in the first clause. Both announce to us the subject of the writing which follows—the Word who is the Life. Both set before us, in the simplest language, truths of profoundest meaning. But while in the Gospel he seems to lose sight of his readers in the magnitude of his subject,

IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM,.... The Alexandrian copy reads, "for if we say": that is, if any profess to be partakers of the divine nature, to be like unto God, and to have communion with him, to have the light of his countenance, and the discoveries of his love: AND WALK IN DARKNESS; in the darkness of sin, ignorance, and unbelief, or are in a state of unregeneracy and blindness; whose understandings are darkened, and they know not God in Christ, nor have any true sight and sense of themselves, their sin and danger; and are ignorant of Christ and his righteousness, and the way of salvation by him; and are strangers to the Spirit of God, and the work of his grace; and are unacquainted with the truths of the Gospel; and not only so, but go on in darkness more and more; prefer it to the light, love it, and the works of it; have fellowship with them, and choose them; take pl...

1 John 1:1. _That which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;_ You know who that is, who it is that John had heard, and seen, and looked upon, and handled, even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. 1 John 1:2. _(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us), that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ._ The Father delights in his risen Son, no more to suffer and to die, having accomplished all his work; and I am sure that we h

II. LIGHT AND DARKNESS AND THE TESTS Chapter S 1:5-2:17 _ 1. God is light; walking in darkness and in light (1 John 1:5)_ 2. What the light manifests (1 John 1:8) 3. The advocacy of Christ to maintain the fellowship (1 John 2:1) 4. The tests of fellowship (1 John 2:3) 1 John 1:5 The message they had heard of Him and which they declared to others is, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Light, perfect, pure light is God's nature; He is absolutely holy, with no darkness in Him at all. That God is light was manife

1 JOHN 1:5 TO 1 JOHN 2:2. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD REQUIRES A RIGHT VIEW OF SIN. 1 John 1:5. Spiritual fellowship depends on moral affinity. Hence since Jesus has declared the holy perfection of God, we cannot truthfully claim fellowship with Him, and at the same time be habitually committing sin. Only as we Christians constantly aim to be like God have we fellowship with Him and with one another, our sinfulness being cleansed by the blood of Christ. To deny that we are sinful or that we have committed sin proves self-deception, ignorance of moral facts, and of God's message to us in the Gospel. Our duty is to confess our sins to God and thereby secure from Him forgiveness and cleansing. Thus does John deal with _the view_ which re