The Christian walk: Walking in light (1 John 1:5-9)

THE CHRISTIAN WALK IN JOHN'S EPISTLES:
Walking in Light (1 John 1:5-9)
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Dr. Paul Manuel—2009

We usually do not appreciate the value of something we never had. In 1983, when I was in my first year of seminary, some of the students were raving about a product that had recently appeared on the market—the personal computer. Not being familiar with this new device, I did not realize the potential benefits it offered...until I got one. Even after we acquire some new gadget, though, we may not grasp its true significance.

When electricity first came to a little Scottish village, almost everyone switched from propane lanterns as soon as they were connected. The oldest couple in the village was the last on the line and had to wait for the installation of poles and wire to reach their cottage. The day finally came and, as it completed the modernization of the entire village, was a festive event for which everyone gathered. The old man waited until it got very dark, then told his wife to turn on the switch. When she did, light filled the room, and everyone cheered. The old man, grinning from ear to ear, picked up a propane lamp and said, "It sure makes lighting this easier." ...He then lit the lamp and turned off the electricity. (Adapted from Hodgin 1994:210-211)

Even after we acquire something new, we may not grasp its significance. Light, electric and natural, is truly wonderful because it enables us to penetrate the dark that obscures our vision and to see what we could not otherwise. Spiritual light is similar, but better still, because it enables us to penetrate the dark that obscures our thinking and to understand what we could not otherwise.

Late in the first century, a quasi-religious movement arises that challenges Christianity. This movement is called gnosticism, from the Greek word gnosis, which means "knowledge." It purports to have a better way to reach God, based on special information (or "knowledge") that only the initiated possess. They alone walk in the light, because they alone know the truth. Everyone else walks in the dark.

Gnosticism also claims that the physical realm counts for nothing, that only the spiritual realm is important. Hence, the very idea that God, who resides in the spirit realm, would assume human form and enter the physical realm is absurd. God wants nothing to do with this place, which was actually created by a lesser deity, and cares nothing about what happens here. Christianity claims that what separates us from Him is our sin, an erroneous notion (according to the Gnostics) that our deeds in this world affect our standing in the other world. There is no such thing as sin, and it matters not how we behave. What matters, what gets us to where God resides, is not what we do but what we know.¹

For Christians in Asia Minor, this movement is causing quite a stir. Is gnosticism right? Are those who believe in Jesus actually in the dark? Is sin something that should concern them? To answer these and other questions, the apostle John writes a series of letters in which he exhorts them about how they are to live, using a common metaphor—walking. He advises these early believers that they should be...

• Walking in light (1 John 1:5-9),
• Walking in love (1 John 2:3-11),
• Walking in obedience (2 John 4-6), and
• Walking in truth (3 John 3-8).

In each case, he urges his readers to behave in a certain manner, then he provides an explanation with examples of what that behavior should entail.

John opens the first of these epistles by stating that what they have accepted derives not from philosophy but from reality, not from speculation about God but from what he (John) and others have actually witnessed.² Follow with me, as I read from...

1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

John's confidence in this matter rests squarely on events in the physical world: "what we have heard [and] seen"—the teaching and miracles of Jesus—as well as "what we have looked at and touched"—the resurrected body of Jesus. The Gnostics have nothing like them, no tangible proof to support their views.

John goes on to say that accompanying this physical manifestation of God is a verbal revelation from God, the divine explanation about these events and about their importance for man.³

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

To ensure that his readers understand the significance and superiority of what they believe, John presents this explanation using some of the same contrasting categories the Gnostics use:⁴ There is, indeed, a difference between light and dark, between what is true and what is false, between righteousness and wickedness. Despite what gnosticism claims, your walk or conduct in the physical world does matter for at least two reasons. The first reason Walking in the Light matters is because...

I. It affects (influences) relationships.

The Gnostics assert that special insight about God gives them special access to God. They allege that it is possible to ignore sin and still know God. John disagrees, stating that the proof is in the practice.

1 John 1:6 If we say that WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM and [yet] walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 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 His Son cleanses us from all sin.

There can be no relationship with God for those who deny the requirements of God. To suggest otherwise, especially in light of what He has revealed, is foolishness. It is darkness, affecting more than those who make this assertion, because...

A. Those who walk in the dark deceive others (1 John 1:6).

1. They do not practice the truth.
2. They claim to know God but are still estranged from Him.

A relationship with God is only for those who accept the requirements of God. They, alone, walk in the light of what He has revealed, and...

B. Those who walk in the light have fellowship (1 John 1:7).

• They commune with the Father and with the Saints.⁵

When John says that walking in the light leads to positive relations with others,⁶ he exposes a particularly pernicious implication of the Gnostic system. If how people behave in this life has no bearing, positively or negatively, on their place in the next life, then that includes how they behave here toward others. They can be insensitive or rude or abusive or exploitative—in a word: selfish. They can do whatever serves their temporal interest without concern for eternal repercussions.

I wish I could say civilization has evolved beyond this basic tenet of gnosticism. Alas, that is not the case. There are still elements of society that care nothing about others. They are not Gnostics, but in this respect they behave like them. Christians, of course, are different. In fact, they—you—should be noticeably different. Non-Christian acquaintances may not recognize your fellowship with the Father, but John cites a gauge of your walk in the light that is obvious: "fellowship with one another."⁷ As Jesus said...

John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Paul, likewise, said...

Gal 6:10 ...let us do good...especially to those who belong to the family of believers.⁸

This is how you validate the truth of Christianity in a world that often has accepted the lie of Gnosticism. Some people may be insensitive or rude or abusive or exploitative, but you who walk in the light must not allow their bad behavior to affect to way you act, especially toward believers. The testimony of your "fellowship with one another" is often more powerful than anything you might say.

This is the first reason your conduct in the physical world matters, because Walking in the Light affects (influences) relationships. The second reason conduct in the physical world matters is that...

II. It effects (produces) righteousness.

As I said, the Gnostics assert that how we behave in this life has no bearing on our place in the next life, that right and wrong are arbitrary concepts, and that there is really no such thing as sin. Again, John disagrees,, stating that such a notion cuts us off from the very thing we need most in this life.

1 John 1:8 If we say that WE HAVE NO SIN, we...deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 But If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There can be no redemption from sin for those who deny the reality of sin. To suggest otherwise, especially in light of what God has revealed, is foolishness. It is darkness, affecting most profoundly those who make this assertion, because...⁹

A. Those who walk in the dark deceive themselves (1 John 1:8).

1. They do not possess the truth.
2. They claim to be without sin but are still encumbered by it.

Redemption from sin is only for those who accept the reality of sin. They, alone, walk in the light of what God has revealed,¹⁰ and they alone can replace their unrighteousness with God's righteousness, for...¹¹

B. Those who walk in the light have forgiveness (1 John 1:9).

• They confess their sin and are thoroughly cleansed from it.

Walking in the light produces a realistic view of human nature, one that recognizes the presence of and difference between good and evil in the world. Gnosticism would eliminate this problem simply by denying its existence. Such a solution robs people of the ability to make judgments on the actions of others, to identify deeds as right or wrong.

I wish I could say we have evolved beyond this basic tenet of gnosticism, that moral clarity has replaced moral confusion. Alas, that is not the case. There are still elements of society that blur the distinction between good and evil. They are not Gnostics, but in this respect they behave like them.

The Gnostics were not the first to obscure, even erase the difference between right and wrong. Centuries earlier, Isaiah refers to those in his day who did the same and whom God condemned for it.

Isa 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

The Gnostics were not the first; they were also not the last.

The head of Reuters news agency objected to the U.S. government's labeling Osama bin Laden a terrorist because that term, the executive claimed, lacks objective meaning: "We all know that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." (Any time some one starts a sentence with "We all know," he is trying to stack the deck in favor of his opinion.) William Bennett, whose book, Why We Fight, addresses this timely issue, had this response:

The last time I looked, there was a crystal-clear distinction between a terrorist and a freedom fighter, and it had to do with the morality of means: A freedom fighter does not massacre innocent civilians in pursuit of his ends. As for the grotesque idea that bin Laden was fighting for "freedom," try telling that to the people of Afghanistan...groaning under the heel of his friends the Taliban....

There is a formal name for the view that what is true for me is not necessarily true for you—and that name is relativism. Extended outward, from the meanings of words to the values of a whole society, it implies that we have no basis for judging other peoples and other cultures, and certainly no basis for declaring some better than others, let alone "good" or "evil." (2002:46)

Christians, of course, are different. In fact, they—you—should be noticeably different. Some people may be reluctant to make judgments about the actions of others, but you who walk in the light should not, especially when those actions are in clear violation of God's standards. While Gnostics and their successors would ignore or excuse sin, you must acknowledge and condemn sin. As Paul says...

Eph 5:11 Have nothing to do with the...deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

God has given us spiritual light, enabling us to penetrate the dark that obscures our thinking and to understand what we could not otherwise. Some people, like the old Scottish gentleman, may not grasp the true significance of that illumination and hang on to the darkness of the past. I trust that you appreciate its importance and, following John's admonition, are Walking in Light, for that is what affects (influences) your relationships and effects (produces) your righteousness.

For the Bibliography and Endnotes see the pdf here.