HOW ABOUT 1st JOHN 1:9 (part-2)
We continue from yesterday. Recall that John has two audiences in mind when he wrote that epistle. We identified that we are of the audience who have eternal life and fellowship with the Father.
1st John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
Observe very carefully that there was a change of tone. The audience actually changed. How?
• Verse 6: “if we say”
• Verse 7: “if we walk”
• Verse 8: “if we walk”
• Verse 9: “if we confess”
Who was John referring to by saying “We”?
Note: First, he was not specific but when he wrote to believers he was very specific.
• 1st John 1:4… I write unto you
• 1st John 2:1….I write unto you Children
• 1st John 2:7…..I write…
• 1st John 2:12-14…..I write unto you fathers, young men and little children
So who are the “We”?
Verse 6-7-8 gives us a lead:
• They were still in darkness
• They were still in sin
• They have no fellowship with the father, the son and other believers.
Hence, he told them in Verse 7….WHY a man has fellowship with the Father, son and other believers or WHY a man is cleansed from his sins “…..by the blood of Jesus”.
VERSE 9
John now told them how:
That is, HOW a man has fellowship with the father, the son and other believers; and HOW a man is cleansed from his sins.
1st John 1:9 if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
Now, was John teaching confession of sins to God? Definitely NOT.
In the light of all that has been explained so far about confession; Jesus was the emphasis and when he talked about sins, his emphasis was on the blood of Jesus.
Let us therefore rearrange the text and re-punctuate it as well to enable us understand what John was indeed talking about.
The original Greek manuscripts did not include punctuation marks; neither chapters nor verses. They were introduced by the translators while translating from the original language to modern day language.
So, let us therefore explain by replacing the comma, to be immediately after ‘confess’ and not after ‘sins’ like it appears in the King James Version of the books of the bible.
If we confess, our sins he is faithful and Just to forgive us, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
So what were they to confess?
VERSE 7
• They were to confess what the blood of Jesus has done, how that it has cleansed man from his sins
• They were to confess Jesus as the propitiation for sins (1st John 2:2)
Hence anyone who therefore does not agree with the above fact of what Jesus’ blood has done (forgiveness; cleansing and propitiation for sins) are those addressed from verses 6 to 8.
• They were still in darkness
• They were still in sin
• They have no fellowship with the father, the son and other believers.
He later goes further in 1st John 2 and 1st John 4, to call them as “antichrist.”
1st John 2:18 little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1st John 4:3 and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
• They denied the Deity and Humanity of Jesus
• They do not believe that Jesus’ blood is the propitiation for Sins
1st John 5:5 who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 this is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
Obviously the church he wrote to had people in their midst who believed but taught otherwise and as such misled people.
John wrote to them (believers) to clear the confusion, explaining how a man who is saved, has eternal life and has fellowship with the Father, the son and other believers by faith and faith alone in the blood of Jesus.
CONFESSION: I confess that Jesus died for me and therefore I am saved eternally. The word is true and I am what the word says I am.