The Light of God
Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group.
1 John Bible Study Format (Bookmark)
Series Overview & Scripture Passages
Sermon Questions
Most people know that John was one of the twelve disciples, and that he wrote one of the four Gospels, right? Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But John also wrote three little letters that are part of the New Testament: First, Second and Third John. Of those three, 1 John is the longest and the most meaty. He probably wrote it about 90AD. And he was writing to a group of people who were struggling with the darkness of the world. Remember, this was only about 60 years after Jesus was executed by the Romans; the Roman Empire was still firmly in power, so it was dangerous to be a Christian. But even within the church there was darkness, because false teachers were rising up and confusing people. So one of John’s main purposes in writing was to clarify the confusion. He wanted people to walk away from this letter with a clear understanding of who Jesus is, what it means to know him, and how to walk with him in a really dark world. I think we need that reminder today, don’t you?
There’s a phrase in the first chapter of this letter that I’m going to use as sort of the Big Idea of this whole series. 1 John 1:7 says: walk in the light, as he is in the light. Can we just say that together? Walk in the light, as he is in the light. That’s the invitation. There is so much darkness in our world; so much confusion; I can’t remember a time when I’ve heard more people say, “I just feel lost. I’m struggling to find meaning.” So as we begin the new year, let’s allow God to remind us where the true light is found. Because when we’re clear on that, it doesn’t just light up our lives; we can then bring light into the lives of other people. And that’s what this series is all about.
As usual, our Adult Discipleship team came up with some great resources to help us get the most out of this series. On your way in (out?), you’ll receive one of these little bookmarks. It has a creative method for studying Scripture. You print out the passage and you mark it up with different colored pencils or pens. And here’s the code: You use red to mark thigs that are repeated—get it? Red, repetition. Green means something that’s great; blue means “I have no clue.” And orange is for opposites. And then it prompts you to answer three questions and write a one-sentence prayer based on that Scripture. Really good stuff. So I encourage you to try it out. And you can find that explanation and other study resources on the Small Groups page of our web site. So thanks to Susan and her team for doing a great job as always.
Let’s read today’s Scripture. 1 John 1, beginning in verse 1. I invite you now to hear the Word of God…
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. This is the Word of the Lord.
I believe that every person who comes into this world searches for light. Because we all want life to make sense, right? Nobody wants to think this is all random and meaningless. So I’m going to mention some of the places I see people looking for light, and I’m not saying any of these things are inherently bad; in fact, they all probably have some good in them. What I’m saying is that all of these things fall short of being the true light that we really need. So as I look around, here’s where I see people looking for light: in fitness culture (think Peloton and yoga), in social justice movements, in academic degrees, in rugged masculinity (think Joe Rogan or Jordan Peterson), in conservative politics, in liberal politics, in leisure activities (country clubs and cruises), in romance, in sex, in party culture. We could keep going, right? When you wake up in the morning, and you’re lying in bed, what is it that makes it worth getting up? What is the light that guides your existence?
And here’s what I’m saying: if we choose any of those things as our ultimate light, it will fail us. There’s only one light that can truly overcome the darkness, and that’s Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else.” In other words, when we walk through life with Jesus as our light, everything else in life gets put into perspective, and life just makes sense.
So as he opens this this letter, John is explaining how Jesus illuminates all of life. Specifically, Jesus brings light to our minds, our relationships, and our conscience. Jesus brings light to our minds, our relationships, and our conscience. Let’s take those one at a time…
First, Jesus Brings Light to our Minds. Look how John begins the letter: no greetings; no niceties. He just jumps in: 1 That which was from the beginning… What’s he talking about? Well, if you’re familiar with the Bible, this should ring some bells. The Bible begins with what three words? In the beginning. John’s Gospel—not his first letter, which we’re reading now; his Gospel begins with what three words? In the beginning. And in both cases, it’s talking about the very beginning. Like before there was any universe in existence. Eternity past. Back when all there was, was God. So when John says, “That which was from the beginning,” he’s talking about God himself. Okay, so what is he saying about God? Keep going…
…which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it… Think about how radical this is: the eternal God, who—even when there was nothing else there, he was there—John says, “We have heard him; we have seen him with our eyes; we have looked at him and touched him with our hands.” How is that possible? Because Jesus was born. In John 1:14, it says The Word became (what?) flesh and dwelt among us. This is the mystery of the incarnation—God became flesh. So here’s what John is saying: when Jesus showed up, God showed up. And the reason I’m qualified to write about this is that I was there! And not just John—did you notice he keeps saying “we”? John and a whole lot of other people spent time with Jesus, and ate with him, and hugged him. They saw him cry and laugh and sleep.
Why does that matter? Because the message in this letter is not based on a vision that John claims to have received. It’s not based on his philosophical ideas. John says, “I’m telling you about a person that
I spent time with—I and a lot of other people actually hung out with Jesus!” So this is eyewitness testimony from someone who was there, and knew Jesus personally. And everything he writes about in this letter comes from that actual relationship with this flesh-and-blood person named Jesus.
And by the way, all through the first century, people like John, who had spent time with Jesus, and who also saw him after the resurrection, were so changed by that, that you couldn’t talk them out of it. And when they were arrested and pressured to recant their faith, thousands of them refused, and they paid the ultimate price. Because when you’ve actually seen Jesus, it changes you.
So here’s the point: everything, not just in 1 John, but in the whole New Testament was written by people who were actually with Jesus, or in a couple of cases, who had personally interviewed people who were with Jesus. Which raises the credibility of the Bible tremendously.
When I think of my own spiritual journey, this is such an important concept. I grew up in a Christian environment, but my parents also taught me to use my mind. And when I did, I started having some serious doubts. So when I left home for college, I was extremely skeptical about this whole Christianity thing. There’s a quote that’s attributed to Galileo: “The heart cannot rejoice in what the mind rejects as false.” And my heart could not rejoice in the Christian faith, because my mind was starting to suspect that it was false. I didn’t know that for sure, but I just didn’t see good reason to believe. There were too many other options. It seemed so narrow.
And I could talk about this for a long time, but over the next 18 months or so, I tried my hardest to find light outside of God. Through school; through sports; through friends; through girls. And none of those things gave me the joy and the fulfillment that I was looking for. So I started pushing into Christianity. I started asking questions of the believers in my fraternity and in my dorm. I started reading and taking religion classes. I started spending more time with Christians. Did I get answers to every one of my questions? Of course not. There are things I still don’t know. But I started realizing that this faith is built on extremely strong historical evidence. And over time, the light started to come on. And my life began to make sense.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for people who use their minds, and who take their doubts seriously. And I think John respected people who used their minds. So at the very beginning of this letter, he says, “Everything I’m about to tell you comes from my firsthand interaction with Jesus. I was there; I saw him; I heard him; you can believe what I’m telling you.”
Some people say, “If you want to be a person of faith, you have to turn off your mind and just take a leap of faith.” No thank you. The Jesus I follow taught us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. That is so important to me. Jesus brings light to our minds.
Secondly, Jesus Brings Light to our Relationships. Look at verse 3: 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that…let me stop there for a minute. What would you expect him to say next? “We’re proclaiming this Jesus that we’ve seen and heard, so that…” what? “So you can know Jesus too, and your sins can be forgiven.” Something like that, right? But look what he actually says: 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. Isn’t that surprising? Somehow, hearing about Jesus would bring them into a new kind of relationship with other people. The Greek word for “fellowship” is koinonia—it means participation or sharing or partnership. John goes on to say And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. In other words, the deepest joy in life comes when we are deeply connected with other people because of our common connection with Christ. Let me say that one more time: the deepest joy in life comes when we are deeply connected with other people because of our common connection with Christ.
Did you know Harvard University has been conducting a study on happiness for the past 80 years? It’s the longest-running longitudinal study on adults ever conducted. So they started with a group of college sophomores 80 years ago, and they have tracked those people over the years to learn what truly makes people happy. So they looked at income level and health and education and occupation—every possible factor. You know what they’ve concluded the number one predictor of happiness is? Healthy relationships. That’s it. The happiest people are people who have close connections with other people. It’s so simple.
I think back to my college experience again. What drew me to Christ was not just the historical veracity of the faith that satisfied my mind; I was also very drawn by the friendships that I saw between believers. When I started spending time with a campus ministry, here’s what I saw: I saw athletes and studious types and fraternity types and white kids and black kids and Asian kids all hanging out together; eating meals together; getting together on weekends. The only thing they had in common was Jesus, and that was apparently enough. I saw how they respected each other and loved each other. And that was extremely attractive to me.
So John is saying, “Look: the deepest kind of connection—this koinonia connection—comes when we have Jesus in common. When we follow Jesus together.” And since my college days, I have found that to be true over and over again.
Why is that? Why does Jesus bring light into our relationships? So many reasons. He teaches us to take our eyes off our personal interests, and consider others more important than ourselves. That’s really good for relationships. He teaches us to stop expecting to be served, and instead, to wash the feet of others—in other words, to serve their needs. That’s so good for relationships. He teaches us what to do when people hurt us or offend us—he says, “Forgive them, just like I forgive you.” Man, that’s good for relationships.
The key to true happiness in life is relationships, and Jesus brings light to our relationships.
And then, one more thing, Jesus Brings Light to our Conscience. Continue reading in verse 5: 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. So this is the core truth about God: he is utterly pure and perfect and holy. Not a hint of darkness in God’s character. And therefore, verse 6: 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. It’s very logical, right? If God is light, then people who claim to know God should be walking in…what? Light! So if we claim to follow Jesus, but our lives look nothing like Jesus, John says we’re just lying.
We all know this, right? Hypocrisy is a bad thing. Nobody likes a hypocrite. In fact, next week’s message is all about hypocrisy and integrity. But you know what the problem is? There is not a person in this room or in this world who walks perfectly in the light of God. Right? Anybody here think you perfectly follow the example of Jesus? Just raise your hand. No darkness, no sin ever—just raise your hand. And if you raise your hand you’ll be sinning, because lying is a sin.
So if no one perfectly follows the example of Jesus, what does it mean to walk in the light? Well, it definitely means that our lives are pointed in the direction of obeying God, and we’re passionate about doing what’s right. But it means more than that. Look at verses 7, 8 and 9: 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, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Do you see what that’s saying? Walking in the light doesn’t only mean that you’re trying to do what’s right. It also means that when you fail, you admit it! When you slip back into that compulsive sin or addiction, you don’t deny it—“no, no—I’m good”; you admit it. When you realize you’ve been a jerk, and you disrespected your wife, what do you do—guys? You admit it! You come clean. You confess. You confess your sin to the people you’ve offended, but even more importantly, you confess your sins to whom? To God.
Walking in the light doesn’t mean you’re perfect; it means you commit yourself to walking in God’s ways, and when you fail, you don’t cover it up or get defensive or live a lie; you confess. You say, “Oh, I don’t like confessing. Confessing is scary!” You have to get over that. There’s really good stuff on the other side of confession. And here’s what I mean—verse 9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. See, God loves to forgive! He’s just waiting for us to confess. And if we get that, it brings incredible light to our conscience. We no longer have to live in the shadows, afraid that we’ll be exposed.
John explains this further in chapter two, verse 1—look at this: 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. In other words, I don’t want anybody getting the idea that I’m encouraging you to sin. Just because God is merciful, doesn’t mean you should go ahead and let loose. You should not sin. We should strive to live lives that are pure and good and holy. We should resist the nonsense of this world, and resist getting dragged into the porn and materialism and sexual confusion of this culture. I’m writing this to you because you shouldn’t sin! But I’m also a realist. [So] if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Listen, when we sin, the reason we should confess—the reason we should come clean as quickly as possible—is because we have an advocate with the Father. What does that mean—that Jesus is our advocate?
Years ago I was living in Dallas, and I got into a bad car accident. Totaled the car; thankfully, I only had some bruises and a broken rib, and the other driver was fine, and we both walked away. About ten months later, my doorbell rang, and I got served papers. The woman from the accident had decided to sue me for all the pain and suffering she supposedly had endured.
So months after that, there was a trial. Jury…judge…the whole deal. And I walked into that courtroom, but I didn’t walk in alone. I walked in with my…advocate. My attorney, who was provided by my auto insurance company. She was my advocate in the courtroom. She represented me. And I needed that! Because she knew what to say and what not to say. She knew how the legal system works, and how judges think. And because she was a very competent attorney, I felt so much more confident facing that judge. (And, by the way, the jury decided that I was only 10% at fault, so I didn’t have to pay a dime. But I’m much more careful going through yellow lights now).
But here’s the point: whenever we sin, if instead of hiding it, we come to God and confess, we have the world’s best defense attorney on our side. Because Jesus, our advocate, is able to say to the Father something like this: “Father, I know Dave messed up. But remember—I went to the cross and spilled my blood for that sin. You’ve already judged me for that sin—and it would be unfair of you to punish two people for the same sin.” And God the Father—who’s not a cranky judge who’s hoping to condemn me, because He planned out this whole system in the first place—is able to joyfully say, “Exactly right. Dave stands forgiven.”
Now: does that conversation actually take place? Probably not! But that’s the spiritual reality that’s going on: God takes my sin really seriously, because he is light. In him is no darkness at all! But he’s
completely satisfied by the payment of Jesus. And the more I believe that, the more quickly I will run to God and confess my sins.
One of the really important habits I’ve developed is to pray through the Lord’s Prayer every morning. So after spending time in the Word, I go out for a 2-mile prayer walk. And I always begin by praying through the Lord’s Prayer, phrase by phrase. And when I get to the line, “Forgive us our debts,” I always take a few minutes to review the previous day, and just confess my sins. “Lord, I confess I was really short-tempered with Norma Jean yesterday. Please forgive me for that.” “Lord, I really should have said something to that person, but I wimped out. I’m sorry.” “Lord, I really dishonored my body by binging on that ice cream last night,” or “I dishonored you by watching that show that was really dark.” I just think through my day and come clean with God, and I thank him for the cross of Christ. And I receive his forgiveness. It’s such a cleansing way to start the day. You should try it.
See, walking in the light doesn’t mean you’re perfect; it means you commit yourself to walking in God’s ways—you pursue holiness—and when you fail, you confess. It’s really good for your conscience.
In just a few minutes, we’re going to walk back into a world that can be really dark. And you’re going to hear a thousand voices telling you where to find light. But I’m telling you there is no light like the light of Jesus Christ. When we follow him, he brings light to our minds, he brings light to our relationships, and he brings light to our conscience. Every other source of light will ultimately fail you; Jesus will never fail.
