Oftentimes we hear a testimony from someone about a certain event, yet they were never there, and we can’t be certain that what they said was true or not. In the decades following the Resurrection of Jesus, after churches were being established throughout the Mediterranean world, false doctrines and beliefs about Jesus were beginning to be spread. Many of the twelve apostles had been martyred and were no longer around, nor other eyewitnesses to Jesus’ message. The Apostle John, the last remaining apostle, as one of the few remaining eyewitnesses, sought to correct false teachings. He had been there. He had heard first-hand what Jesus said, and saw what Jesus did. Let’s see what John has to say in the opening verses of his first Epistle.
John the Apostle testified that he saw Jesus with his own eyes, talked with Him, and knew that He was present in a human body (vs. 1-3). One heresy that was spreading around at this time was the Gnostic heresy, which said that Jesus did not truly come in the flesh, that God did not take on a human body. John was with Jesus from the time of His baptism and through His trial and crucifixion. He saw evidence of the resurrection, and saw Jesus afterwards. He saw Him ascend into heaven. John also knew that Jesus was simultaneously divine, and that He had co-existed with the Father in heaven for all eternity past (vs. 2).
John tells us that as an eyewitness, his message came from God and not man (vs. 5). God and His message is light, is truth, holiness, and purity. It is not from darkness, and has no error, falsehood, or sin in it. God is all truth. He is holiness and perfection. Jesus is perfectly holy and true, and He alone can guide us out of the darkness of sin.
Another falsehood that was spreading which John wanted to refute was those who deny the existence of sin, or that sinful behavior does not really matter in the life of those who call themselves Christians. We see this today, as well. These false teachers may claim to walk with Jesus, but their darkness shows they are not saved (vs. 6). They do not practice Biblical truth. False teachers will say we can still have fellowship with God, while walking and living in sin. No one can claim to be a Christian and still live in evil and immorality. If someone never admits to being a sinner, and refuses to take sin seriously, is not a true believer. We can’t love God and love our sin at the same time. John identifies two types of liars here - ones who claim to have fellowship with Jesus but still walk in darkness, and ones who claim they haven’t sinned, especially those who redefine sin according to culture’s standards. To say that we have no sin is to say God is a liar and to blaspheme.
A true Christian will make it a habit to walk in God’s light and truth, and not in sin and darkness, and will seek forgiveness from sins they do commit (vs. 7). For those who are truly saved, sin puts up a barrier to our fellowship with God. Confession will remove that barrier. A true Christian will regularly come to God and confess his sins to Him (vs. 8-10). When we do, God will graciously forgive him and cleanse him from all sin. This is a characteristic of a true believer. They recognize and acknowledge that they are a sinner needing forgiveness and cleansing. Confession of sin should not give us a license to continue to sin, though. Sin can be conquered through the power of the Holy Spirit which we have all received at salvation.
Because Christians will continue to fall into sin as long as we remain on this earth, Satan will jump on us in attack. Like an overzealous prosecuting attorney, he brings our faults and failures before us and God. However, believers have a Divine Defense Attorney, Jesus Christ, who is also our Great High Priest (vs. 2:1-2). He both acquits us of sin because of His shed Blood for us, and He also cleanses us from the stain and penalty of that sin. The word “propitiation” means appeasement or satisfaction (vs. 2:2). The sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross satisfied the demands of God’s holiness for the punishment of sin.
These are some of the testimony that John had which refuted false doctrines going around, both back in his day, and which continue today. Jesus did come in the flesh, was both completely human and completely divine. And sin does exist, and does matter in one’s life and in society. We need to turn to Him for cleansing from sin, and be washed in the Blood of the Lamb.
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