If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and don’t tell the truth.If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
5 sermons cite this verse
… double-mindedness Matthew 7 18 a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 1 John 1.6, if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and we don't practice the truth. It's impossible. It's impossible for those two things to live in the same place. And David says, this is what you want, God, integrity. What I say, what I do. Paul in Romans 6 tells us what happens when we're truly united to Christ in his death. He says it's impossible for us who have died to sin to still live in it. And then he goes on in Romans 6.6 to say, Your old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing. Sometimes, here's what happens. Sometimes we attempt to keep our old self on life support. Maybe down in our spiritual basements. We make sure the old self is not quite fully dead. We give it enough oxygen down there, maybe a little IV to keep it running, so that when we feel the urge to indulge, we go down to our spiritual basement and we revive the old self. …
Thank you, God, for your word. What we just read, the first chapter, the first 10 verses of this book, is essentially the book in miniature. Now, to understand that, let me back up. Out of all the 66 books of the Bible, 1 John is very unique for a number of reasons. One is it is written by the oldest person who, at the time they wrote a New Testament book, penned it. The author is pushing as many as 95 years of life, which is amazing. Go John, right? That's incredible. The year is 95 AD, give or take a few years in either direction. So it's the end of the first century. So to anchor that in your mind, Jesus Christ died and rose somewhere around 33 AD, a few years, give or take on the other side. And now it's only some 60 years later that this book is being written. And it is one of, if not the last book of the New Testament to be written. The one with the pen in his hand is John, the same John who in his youth was nicknamed a son of thunder by Jesus and was one of the two who were called Boanerges, Him and his brother James, they were not only apostles, but they were two of the inner circle, which was Peter, James, and John, who didn't just get to see Jesus' ministry. They had a front row seat, bro. They got to go with him to the stuff that even the other disciples couldn't go to. …
(2.) These gracious exercises and affections differ from the other in their tendency to destroy Satan’s interest; and that in two respects: First, in the person himself. They cause the soul to hate every evil and false way, and to produce universal holiness of heart and life, disposing him to make the service of God, the promotion of his glory and the good of mankind, the very business of his life: whereas those false discoveries and affections have not this effect. There may indeed be a great zeal, and a great deal of what is called religion; but it is not a truly Christian zeal: it is not being zealous of good works. Their religion is not the service of God; it is not seeking and serving God; but indeed seeking and serving themselves.—Though there may be a change of life, it is not a change from every wicked way to a uniform Christian life and practice, but only turning the stream of corruption from one channel to another. Thus the apostle James distinguishes, in our context, a true faith from the faith of devils; James ii. 19, 20. “Thou believest that there is one God. The devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” And thus the apostle John distinguishes true communion with God; 1 John i. 6, 7. “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” By this he distinguishes true spiritual knowledge, in verses ii. 3, 4. “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” And hereby the same apostle distinguishes true love, in verses iii. 18, 19. “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed (in work, as the word signifies) and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.” …
3. In the preface he describes the authority by which he wrote and spoke, (1 John 1:1–4, ) and expressly points out the design of his present writing. To the preface exactly answers the conclusion of the Epistle, more largely explaining the same design, and recapitulating the marks of our communion with God, by, “we know,” thrice repeated. (1 John 5:18–20.) 4. The tract itself treats, First, severally, of communion with the Father; (1 John 1:5–10; ) of communion with the Son; (1 John 2 and 3; ) of communion with the Spirit. (1 John 4.) Secondly, conjointly, of the testimony of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; on which faith in Christ, the being born of God, love to God and his children, the keeping his commandments, and victory over the world, are founded. (1 John 5:1–12.) 5. The recapitulation begins, (1 John 5:18, ) “We know that he who is born of God,” who sees and loves God, “sinneth not,” so long as this loving faith abideth in him. “We know we are of God;” children of God, by the witness and the fruit of the Spirit; “and the whole world,” all who have not the Spirit, “lieth in the wicked one.” They are, and live, and dwell in him, as the children of God do in the Holy One. “We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us” a spiritual “understanding, that we may know the true One,” the faithful and true witness. “And we are in the true One,” as branches in the vine. “This is the true God, and eternal life.” …
3. As an earnest and assurance to our own spirits, that we have a title to eternal happiness. And, First, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God, by our receiving his real stamp upon our souls; being made the partakers of the divine nature, and “meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.” This is, indeed, the design of his dwelling in us, to heal our disordered souls, and to restore that image of his upon our nature, which is so defaced by our original and actual corruptions. And until our spirits are, in some measure, thus renewed, we can have no communion with him. For “if we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” But by the renewal of our minds in the image of Him that created us, we are still more capable of his influences; and by means of a daily intercourse with him, we are more and more transformed into his likeness, till we are satisfied with it. …