1 John 1:5-10
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - 1 John 1:6-10
1:6 The word we includes both the apostles and their Christian audience. The believer who walks in sin has lost touch with a completely holy God. If he nevertheless claims fellowship with such a God, he is lying. Sinning believers are out of fellowship with Him. The phrase practice the truth (lit., "to do the truth") means "to act consistently with the truth." To claim fellowship with God while walking in darkness is to behave contrary to the truth about God's holiness.
1:7 Instead of walking in darkness, believers should walk in the light, that is, to live in God's presence, exposed to what He has revealed about Himself, and to "walk in darkness" (v 6) is to hide from God and to refuse to acknowledge what is known about Him. The believer who wants fellowship with the Lord must maintain an openness to Him and a willingness to be honest in His presence about everything that God shows him.
The result of walking in the light is that believers have fellowship with one another. That is, they have fellowship with God and He has fellowship with them. Though Christians remain sinful people, while we walk in the light the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin so that they can maintain fellowship.
True, all Christians have already been cleansed (cf. 1 Cor 6:11) and have full forgiveness in Christ (cf. Eph 1:7). So too there is an ongoing cleansing based on Christ's blood that enables imperfect children to have a genuine experience of sharing with a perfectly holy heavenly Father.
1:8 At no point in time can someone rightly claim to have no sin. Anyone who makes such a claim is self-deceived. The words the truth is not in us do not mean that the person in question is not saved. The apostle continues to use first-person pronouns, we and us, just as he has done from v 5 onward. If the truth has its proper effect on believers, they will not fall into this trap. If they do fall into it, the truth is not in us as an active and controlling force that shapes their thoughts and attitudes.
1:9 As long as believers walk in that light, they are in a position to be shown their failures. When that happens, they should confess them. The word repentance is not used here or anywhere in the epistle. In John's usage, Christian repentance is appropriate when a pattern of sin is persisted in and needs to be changed (see Rev 2:5, 16, 21, 22; 3:3, 19). In 1 John 1:9, John is talking about those who discover sin while in fellowship with God, not those who have wandered away. The audience of 1 John is spiritually stable and has nothing to repent of (see 1 John 2:12-14, 21). Their task is to "abide" in Christ and His truth (see 1 John 2:24, 28).
Confession of sin enables believers to remain in fellowship. First John 1:9 is not meant for the unsaved. Nowhere in the Johannine literature is confession of sin given as a condition for obtaining eternal life. Faith is the only condition for salvation (cf. John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; 1 John 5:1, 12, 13).
If believers deny what the light shows them, they cease to be honest and open with God and fellowship will end. But if we confess (homologeĊ, "agree, admit, acknowledge") our sins that the light reveals, they can depend on God, who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Then fellowship continues. The word just (dikaios) means "righteous." Because of the shed blood of Christ (v 7), there is no compromise of God's righteousness when He forgives.
The NKJV places the second our in italics since there is nothing in the Greek that strictly corresponds to it. One could translate "to forgive us the sins," with the implication being "the sins we confess." But what about the sins of which believers are unaware? These are covered by the words and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, whenever a believer makes confession - honestly acknowledging what he knows to be wrong - whatever other sin there may be in his life is totally cleansed away. Nothing is left uncleansed.
1:10 When sin is revealed, believers either confess it or claim that we have not sinned. If they choose the latter, they make Him a liar by denying the testimony of His word and in effect, charging God with untruthfulness.
It is inappropriate here to take the words we have not sinned as a categorical denial that we have ever or at any time sinned. Even while one is in fellowship with God, he is not free from the need for cleansing (v 7). Should he deny that truth, he is self-deceived (v 8). If he confesses whatever sins the light shows him, he is forgiven (v 9). But if he denies what the light shows, he is making God a liar, which proves he does not have fellowship with God (v 6), who is Light (v 5).
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - If We Walk in Darkness, 1 John 1:6, 8, 10
(Salvation) Interpretation: Those who say they are saved but walk in sin or deny they have sin are not saved.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: Those who are saved but walk in sin or deny they have sin are not in fellowship with God.
Are walking in darkness and denying sin tests of salvation or fellowship? John clearly starts this triad of statements with the theme of fellowship in verse 6. In fact, he includes himself with the first person plural "we." These are strong indications that he is giving (Discipleship teaching), especially since the letter is addressed to believers.
What pushes people to a (Salvation) interpretation is the statement about the possibility of walking in darkness and denying sin. Can a believer walk in darkness or deny sin? Later, John says that a believer who "hates his brother, is in darkness until now" (1 John 2:9; 2:11). However, the effect of darkness is to blind and obscure where the believer is going, not send him to hell (1 John 2:11). John is addressing the believer's "walk" or their life before God, not their doctrine or faith. In contrast, those believers who walk in openness and honesty before God walk in the light and are being cleansed with the sanctifying effect of Christ's blood (His sacrifice for sin). Those who are not living honestly before God and others will deny their sin. King David did this for about a year before he confessed his sin to the prophet Nathan and to God (1 Sam. 12:1-14; see also Ps. 51). But before his confession, his experience was spiritually dark (Ps. 32:1-5).
Believers who walk in darkness will stumble about without the clear direction that those in fellowship with God enjoy. When Christians turn their back on God who is light, they will stumble along in their own shadows. That is why the confession of 1 John 1:9 is so important.
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - If We Confess Our Sins, 1 John 1:9
(Salvation) Interpretation: People must confess their sins to be saved and forgiven.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: Believers must confess their sins to be restored to fellowship with God.
Once we understand that the purpose of 1 John is written to Christians about fellowship and not tests of salvation, we can understand the meaning of this verse. In light of John's declared (Discipleship) purpose in 1 John 1:3 and the (Discipleship) understanding of 1 John 1:6, 8, 10, confession of sin must also be (Discipleship teaching). In the immediate context of walking in light and darkness, confession is how a believer can continue to walk in the light. It shows the honesty that a believer has before God that allows him to enjoy fellowship with Him. The word "confess" (from homologeĊ), means to agree with. The believer who sins and confesses it to God is agreeing with God that he has indeed sinned. It would be uniquely strange to frame one's salvation in terms of confessing sin. This language has no soteriological parallel in the New Testament. As previously discussed, confess is mentioned in Romans 10:9-10 as an expression of faith, but that is confession of who Jesus is, not sin.
Any relationship can only be enjoyed when both parties are open and honest with one another. On the human level, parents may always be willing to love and forgive their children, but if a child disobeys them, the enjoyment of that relationship suffers until the child "clears the air" by confessing that sin. Similarly, our position in God's family is not forfeited by sin, but our enjoyment of the relationship (fellowship) suffers when we do not confess our sins to Him.