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Light
1 John 1:5-11

• 1 John is a masterpiece on love for God and people!

• It is the epistle of love, written by the apostle of love.

• John is the last remaining apostle; the other 11 apostles have died for their faith.

• John is writing to counter the rise of false teaching that infiltrated the church.

• This false teaching called Gnosticism, was teaching that Jesus never really came as fully human, but was a kind of mirage, a spirit that was god-like only in that He was spiritual and only “appeared” to be a man.

• John begins by proclaiming that Jesus certainly was fully human, fully a man, and that he had known and walked with Jesus.  John had seen, talked to, and knew Him fully as a man.

Vs. 1-4
• The main message of this great epistle is of love, fellowship, kononia with God.  God’s family is the central key to lasting, deep joy!

• If you want joy, walk in intimacy with God and people.

• The Greek word here, kononia, “fellowship,” means “intimacy”!  Intimacy is the central point to joy.

• This is, quite frankly, why so many people don’t have joy, because we don’t have holy intimacy.  The key adverb is “holy intimacy.”

• Holy intimacy with deep relationship, deep vulnerability, emotionally and spiritually, with God and others, this is where real joy is found!

• Now, John moves into another great theme: Light.

Vs. 5
• The Greek word for “light” is phos, where we get word “photograph.”

• The idea that “God is light” came from prophecies of the coming Messiah.

• These prophecies happened before Jesus had promised that this light was coming into the world.

Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

• Jesus spoke of Himself as the light that had come into the world.

John 3:19-21
“…the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

• It is interesting that Jesus correlates light with truth; both have a moral and ethical content.

• Truth and light are not just to be known about, but to be walked in.

• We are not just to know the light or see the light, but to do it, walk in it.

• We are not just to know the truth, but to do it, to walk in it.

• Some of the early Gnostics were guilty of “antinomianism,” which believed that the body was only an envelope covering the spirit, which they said was inviolable and could not be corrupted.  Under their belief, it didn’t really matter what you did, as long your spirit was right.

• John is saying, “it’s not good enough to just say you are in the light, you must live it out, walk it out.”

What does light do in our lives?  Characteristics of all Light:

• Light Always Dispels Darkness - when you turn on the light in a dark room, the darkness flees.  This is a moral truth too!

o When righteousness shines into our hearts, unrighteousness flees.  Corruption has a hard time with the light of righteousness.

o When we begin to let the light shine, God begins to drive corruption and immorality out of our lives.

• Light Produces Life - when you begin to let light shine, life can happen! 

o Ex. This is why we have “greenhouses,” because they let light in, and things that could not otherwise grow, begin to grow with light. Seeds that could not germinate and grow because of the weather, can now grow and flower and produce fruit.

o When you begin to allow the light and love of Jesus into your hearts, you begin to grow.  Yes, really grow in the fruit of the spirit.

o You could not grow before.  You could not change because you had no light, but now you have light and you have a “spiritual greenhouse effect” in your life.

• Light Gives Vision - you can see into the darkness and your path is illuminated!

o Ex. When I go out at night, I always take along a flashlight in order to see my path, my route, and it saves me from running into things.

Psalms 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.

o The light shines into our dark future and guides us away from the trees, stumps, and holes that we would otherwise fall into.

• Light Can be Seen by Others - it is like a Lighthouse on the sea shore; it is like a street lamp; it is like the light of a plane flying above late at night; it is the oncoming vehicle on a dark road.

o People can see you as God’s light in their darkness.

Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Vs. 5-6
• We must walk out the light; we must live in the light.

• It is as we live in the light that we have kononia.  When we have intimacy with the Lord, when we talk to the Lord, listen to the Lord, have a relationship with the Lord, this is when our light shines.

• If we begin to choose the darkness, then we lie to the truth that lives within us.

• Our passage says we must “practice the truth.”

Hebrews 5:14
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

• You learn to discern light and darkness through practice, through experience with God.

• Ex.  It is said that people, or even animals, that have been in darkness for long periods of time, can’t handle the light.  It hurts them.  But, those who live in the light can recognize darkness quickly.

• Healthy people quickly recognize unhealthiness!  Unhealthy people can’t discern unhealthy from healthy because they haven’t had their senses trained.  It’s hard to reason with people who can’t see their darkness because they actually really love their darkness and don’t know any other way but unhealthy relationships.

Vs. 7
• We must first take our sin and our hurt to the Lord!  If we take it first to the cross of Christ and beg for forgiveness, He will forgive us and heal us.

• But, if we begin to hang out with healthy people, godly mature people, who walk with God daily, we can change!

• We get healthy because we start hanging out with healthy people.

• It is possible to get healed of your darkness but you need healthy, free people to walk with you!

Vs. 8
• But don’t be deceived; none of us are perfect!  All of us are still sinners, and we are always struggling with our own dark passions.

• If you are always right in your disagreements with people, if you can’t say “I’m sorry” fairly regularly, then you are deceived.

• Deception means to “be lead astray,” and it seems that pride is the biggest culprit to this weakness.

Jeremiah 49:16
Your fierceness has deceived you,
The pride of your heart,
O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Who hold the height of the hill!
Though you make your nest as high as the eagle,
I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.

• Ex.  To be deceived that you are never wrong is the beginning of all sin.  This is was what brought Satan down, pride in his heart; the temptation of Eve was that she “could be like God.”  Pride was the temptation.

• Ex.  Over the years I have found that pride is our downfall.  Humility is really hard, but humility, the willingness to recognize that we are wrong, is the route to great success and new light.

• We all need “new light” not just the old light; this is why Paul prays in Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:16-18
…do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…

• We need new enlightenment and fresh revelation!

Vs. 9-10
• It is with humility that we can recognize our sin and admit that we are wrong.

• It is in keeping short accounts that we keep long relationships!  No relationship/friendship is perfect.

• Ex.  Once Liz and I were given a list of sins from our lives, a list that went back almost 7 years.  A couple had kept a running diary of how we had “let them down” and disappointed them.  Never once in the 7 years of our friendship were any of these issues ever brought to our attention.  It broke our hearts.  After hearing this litany of our sins, we profusely asked for forgiveness and explained that we had no idea.  No forgiveness was extended, and the relationship ended.  None of us have “telepathy,” but most of us want to have lasting friendships.

• It is in keeping short accounts (sharing your hurt and pain) that we keep long, healthy, growing relationships!

• The word confess is the Greek word, homologeo, meaning homo (same) and logos (word), meaning to agree, to acknowledge the same thing, to agree with God that we have sinned.

• It has the deeper meaning of being “in harmony” with the one who you are confessing to, both agreeing about something.

• Confession means to “be in harmony” with God and the offended person.

• It takes two parties, both walking in humility, for real forgiveness to come.

• When we aren’t willing to confess, our hearts hurt, our whole lives are affected negatively.

Psalm 32:3-6
When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.
 
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.

Proverbs 28:13
He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

Matthew 5:23-24
“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

• And so, when we take communion, the choice is before us.  Don’t take communion if you are holding anger, resentment, and bitterness in your heart for a brother or sister.