1 John Chaper 1

NOTE: 1 John was the first book that Dr. J. Vernon McGee taught when he became pastor of a new church. He opened with this epistle in four different churches.

The Apostle John was the pastor of Ephesus, a mature church during Paul's day, but a church that had "lost its first love" towards the end of the first century. It was the first church mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

Gnostics were sneaking into the churches, teaching that flesh is evil, but the human spirit is good. They taught that man had enough divine spark in himself to seek, understand, and choose God on his own. This is a violation of Romans 3:10-11. which states that no man seeks God. The two groups of gnostics were the Stoics and the Epicureans.

The Stoics taught modern pantheism, meaning that man was an animal, so stay away from emotion. The Star Trek character Spock would be a Stoic.

The Epicureans taught that the flesh was evil, so one should "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." They were similar to the hippies of the 1960's.

Both groups taught that Jesus was divine, but not human. They taught that deity entered into Jesus at His baptism, but left at His crucifixion. The apostles, the church fathers, and many local pastors have fought against this type of heresy. The Jehovah Witnesses are the modern gnostics of today.

There is also gnostic teaching in Masonry, as Masons claim to have a super spiritual knowledge that no one else possesses. This false super-knowledge of religion originated from the Babylon-mystery-religious system that was originally set up by Nimrod and his mother during the Tower of Babel days after the flood.

These three books of John, along with the Book of Revelation, were written around 90 A.D., making them the last four New Testament books written. Afterwards, the canon was closed and there has been no more divine knowledge given directly to men. Beware of anyone today who claims that they have additional direct knowledge from God. This would include modern day prophets, tongue speakers, and words of knowledge.

The Prologue to the Letter

1:1 This is what we proclaim to you: what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and our hands have touched (concerning the word of life –

The "we" were the 12 original apostles. The apostles were proclaiming a doctrinal truth. The apostles were with the Lord Jesus Christ at the very beginning of His ministry. This witness began with the baptism of Jesus until His ascension.  The apostles heard the words of Jesus, They saw Jesus with their own eyes. They touched Him with their own hands. Since the apostles were eyewitnesses and the gnostics were not, then Jesus must have been human and not just a spirit, because they actually knew Him and touched Him. Jesus was more than just a spirit. He was the God-man, both deity and human at the same time. John's testimony was based upon reality, not some kind of made-up super-knowledge of the gnostics.

1:2 and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us).

The life of Jesus was revealed to the 12 original apostles. The apostles actually saw Jesus. They testified about what they saw. The way to eternal life was revealed to the apostles. Now, the apostles were announcing the way to eternal life. 

1:3 What we have seen and heard we announce to you too, so that you may have fellowship with us (and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ).

The 12 original apostles saw and heard the Lord Jesus Christ while He was on this earth. This was an experience that the gnostics did not have, yet they were claiming to have a super-knowledge of these events. The 12 apostles announced to the world what they had witnessed about the life of Christ. They announced these eyewitness reports so that they could have fellowship with other believers. Their fellowship was not a banquet with bad food, corny jokes, and lots of back-slapping. When they had fellowship, all talk centered around the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. When one has fellowship with believers about the Lord Jesus Christ, then he is also having fellowship with the Father and with His Son as well.

1:4 Thus we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

 True believers want to know the mind of Christ. The apostles were writing so that other Christians could know the mind of Christ. Knowing the mind of Christ brings joy to a Christian.

God Is Light, So We Must Walk in the Light

1:5 Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.

God is light. What is light? Is it matter or energy? When light is activated, it dispels darkness. However, darkness cannot dispel light. Darkness cannot conquer light. Light also reveals the nature of other objects, whether they are beautiful or ugly. Light purifies things that are unclean. Many people will place a garment out in the sun to get the odor out of it. Light guides men. Men are walking in darkness, but light will reveal to them the correct path.

Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world". The Lord Jesus Christ is the Shekinah Glory, the brilliant manifestation of God. He revealed Himself in this way at His transfiguration. 

The gospel message is that God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all. He can do anything that He desires. 

1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.

 There are many people who say, "I love Jesus" and "Jesus is my Lord", but is He really? How much time do these believers spend in the Word of God. If a person loves Jesus, he will spend time in the Word of God and he will apply what he learns. Those who have fellowship with Jesus are those who know Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God and apply it. 

1:7 But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

The light is the Word of God, which is the Bible doctrine that God teaches through the Scriptures. Jesus is in the light, because He is the light. The Word of God is His message to men. For believers to have a real fellowship with each other, they must walk in the light of Bible doctrine. They must study and know the mind of God so that they can share this light with others of like-mind. The blood of Jesus cleanses believers of all sin. Afterwards, believers are to walk in this life by studying Bible doctrine. They are to have fellowship with others by sharing this Light.

1:8 If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

The gnostics taught that there was enough good divine spark in man that he could eventually reach God on his own. John, speaking by his apostolic authority, said this was a lie.

1:9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

This is one of the most important verses in the Bible for believers. The Greek word for "confess" is ὁμολογέω (homologeow), a present active subjunctive verb, meaning to voice the same conclusion as God. It means saying to God, "I agree with you that I have sinned. I want to agree with you that it was wrong." The verb is present tense, meaning that the believer is to continually voice the same conclusion as God. The verb is in the subjective mood, meaning that if a believer possibly and continually agrees with God about his sin, then God is faithful and just enough to forgive and cleanse the believer of all unrighteous. This has nothing to do with salvation, but everything to do with cleansing the believer so that he can stay in fellowship with God.

When God calls a believer to salvation, the call is efficacious, meaning that the believer cannot and will not turn salvation away. He will become a believer. He is instantly transported into a circle of fellowship with God. However, once the believer sins, then he moves outside of God's fellowship. He is a dirty vessel. God will not use dirty vessels.

The important spiritual principle (which most believers do not understand) is that the believer must confess his sins in order to move back into the circle of fellowship with God. Once he is back in the circle of fellowship, then God will use the believer to perform divine good works. 

What happens if a believer sins and he confesses, but he forgets to confess all his sins? Is he still in fellowship with God and able to perform divine good works? The answer is yes. When a believer confesses sin, then he is immediately cleansed of all sins. When he sins again, then he needs to confess the sin so that God can bring him back into the circle of fellowship once again. This is a continual lifetime process and it should be a part of the Christian life.

Some believers live their whole life without understanding this spiritual concept. They go through their whole life performing human good works, which are dirty menstrual rags to God. 1 John 1:9 is a Scripture that every believer should memorize and apply as often as possible. 

To perform divine good works, one must study Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God and continually confess his sins when he is out of fellowship with God. He must apply the Bible doctrine that he has learned. Then, he will gain eternal rewards. If a believer says he does care about eternal rewards, then he is either ignorant, a liar, or stupid. Believers receive eternal rewards for doing God's will.

1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

The gnostics thought that they had super-knowledge that no one else possessed. They believed that they had enough good in them that they could find God on their own and possibly become sinless. They were liars. They did not understand the Word of God. John was destroying gnostic false doctrine.