May 11, 2025

“WALKING IN THE LIGHT”

GOD’S LIGHT REVEALS OUR DARKNESS”

1 JOHN 1:5-10

John 14:16-17 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

John 14:25-26 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

John 15:26-27 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

John 16:13-14 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

As we continue in 1 John 1, John casts the message he received from Jesus in the terms of Light and Darkness. The principles are clear and straightforward:

1.  God’s Character Is Holy And Pure- 1 John 1:5

1 John 1:5 “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

All of this prompts him to announce “the message” he wanted his readers never to forget, that God is Light (1:5). “Light” is a single term that captures the essence of God’s nature. It represents the holiness and purity of God. 

God is ALL LIGHT, ZERO DARKNESS.

What does this mean?

This is vitally important because without His light of purity and holiness in our lives, we dwell in constant spiritual darkness.

2.   Our Nature Is Dark And Depraved- 1 John 1:6-7

1 John 1:6 “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

Here John begins a series of three “if we say” clauses that take us to the end of the chapter.

*The Claim- “if we say that we have fellowship with Him…”

*The Contradiction- “and walk in darkness”

*The Conclusion- “we lie and do not practice the truth.”

What’s the solution to a life of total contradiction between what you say, and what you do?

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

We have the contrast, if we walk in the Light, as God dwells in Light, two things happen. First, we enjoy intimate fellowship with our fellow believers who are walking in the Light. Second, we experience continual cleansing of our lives through our intimate fellowship with God.

But what does it mean, practically, to “walk in the Light?” The Greek word translated “walk” (peripateo) literally means “to walk around”;

Matthew 4:18 “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.”

Romans 6:4 “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Ephesians 4:1 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”  

3.   Our Hope Is In Confessing And Cleansing- 1 John 1:8-10

1 John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

*Claim- “If we say that we have no sin..” vs.8

*Conclusion- “we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” vs.8

*Claim- “If we say that we have not sinned..” vs.10

*Conclusion- “…we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” vs.10

The truth is, we do have sin. And because of this sin nature, we commit actual sins, even as believers.

Let me share just three verses that establish the fact that we are bad off as we can be with regard to our own righteousness and right standing with God:

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.”

Romans 3:10-12

Ephesians 2:1-3

It’s no wonder John declares that if we claim we haven’t sinned, “…we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” vs.10

The antidote to denying our sin is to do exactly the opposite: confess it. John assures us that our loving God offers a glorious promise of mercy and grace:

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

The term “confess” Greek word (homologeo), a compound word that literally means, “to say the same thing, to agree with God about our sins. To confess our sins is to concede that something is factual or true. We agree with what God says about our sinfulness, not what we would prefer to be true or what the world says.

The God who is Light wants us to walk in the Light, not in darkness. He wants us to have constant closeness with Him.

Application: Intimacy is rooted in honesty!

1. Determine to Walk in the Light everyday, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
2. When I fall in the darkness, I will confess my sin quickly.
3. As I finish the day I will thank Jesus for seeing me through.