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Beginning with this chapter, we will consider the crucial points regarding life and living in every chapter of the Epistle of 1 John. In this chapter we will start with 1 John 1. Whereas every sentence in 1 John 1 is full of the riches of life, we will especially focus on the two lines of life and living in order to receive help on how to read the Bible and how to uncover the important contents when we read it.
First John 1 shows clearly the two lines of life and living, with four main points regarding the line of life. The first point on the line of life is life. First John 1:1 says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life.” The Word of life in this verse can be linked with the Word in John 1. Verse 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and verse 4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Thus, the Word of life in 1 John 1 is the Word in whom was life in John 1. First John 1:2 says, “And the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” Here John seems to say, “This life is a manifested life, a life that we have seen; it is the eternal life, and we are reporting such a life to you.” There is no doubt that the life spoken of in 1 John 1 refers to the Lord Himself, for when He was on the earth, He once said, “I am...the life” (John 11:25). First John 1:2 indicates that the apostles preached the Lord Jesus as life. In the Bible only this verse contains the utterance that in our preaching we preach the eternal life. To preach is not merely to speak doctrine but to convey life, the eternal life, to people. Thus, the first main point in the Epistle of 1 John is life. If we pray concerning the eternal life as revealed in this chapter and contemplate this matter, it will become tremendously rich.
The second point on the line of life is fellowship. First John 1:3 says, “That which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” Once the eternal life is reported to a person, it immediately produces fellowship in that person. Thus, life brings in fellowship. The fellowship that the eternal life brings causes us to have fellowship not only with God but also with all those who are of God. Hence, the eternal life brings in an all-inclusive fellowship.
The word fellowship in the original Greek text of 1 John 1:3 means not only “joint participation” but also “being blended as one.” Genuine fellowship occurs when two entities are blended together as one. When electricity flows through many lamps, it is impossible to differentiate between the electricity flowing in one lamp and the electricity flowing in another lamp, because both are in one current. In the various lamps there is only one flow of electricity. Similarly, since we believers, who are many, share the same life within, among us there is fellowship, which is also called the oneness. Such fellowship and oneness exist not only among the believers but also between each believer and God. Thus, fellowship is the blending, the oneness, between each believer and God and also among the believers.
If we have a proper apprehension of the meaning of the Greek word rendered “fellowship,” we will be full of inspiration. We may say to the Lord, “Lord, I truly worship You. You are life. When You entered into me as life, this life brought in fellowship, causing me to have fellowship with You and with those who belong to You. This fellowship blends us into one. It causes You and me and all those who belong to You to be blended as one.” Even though we may not understand much when we read 1 John 1:3 initially, it does not matter, because we will increase in our understanding when we read it again in the future.
In 1 John 1:4 the apostle John gives a supplementary word, saying, “These things we write that our joy may be made full.” The apostles’ joy is the believers’ joy. When a believer genuinely knows the eternal life and allows this life to bring in fellowship, there will be a great deal of traffic between that believer, God, and all those who belong to Him so that they may all be blended together as one. When we know this fact and have such experiences, we will have joy within, and that joy will be made full.
The third point on the line of life is light. First John 1:5-6 says, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and are not practicing the truth.” The composition of verse 6 uses a negative statement to speak concerning positive things. In other words, it is saying that a believer will spontaneously be in the light and not in the darkness if that believer has fellowship with God, because God is light. This is a certainty; it is as sure as a light bulb spontaneously being in the light when it comes into contact with electricity.
The darkness mentioned in 1 John 1:5 and 6 is the opposite of light. Since light is God Himself, darkness must be Satan. In verse 6 the one who lies is one with Satan, and the truth that is practiced is God Himself. The phrase not practicing the truth means “not walking in the truth, not living in God.” Life causes us to have fellowship with God, who is light, and as soon as we have fellowship with God, we are brought into the light. If we remain in darkness, we are not in fellowship with God but are in fellowship with Satan, and we are blended as one with him, meaning that we are lying and are not in the truth, not living and walking in God.
First John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” This indicates that only when we are completely in the light as God is in the light are we able to have fellowship without barriers with one another. If one party who seeks to have fellowship is not living in God’s light but in darkness, the various parties will be unable to have fellowship. Life brings in fellowship, which causes us to have fellowship with God. When we have fellowship with God, we are instantaneously in the light because God is light. Thus, with life there is no darkness; there is only shining light. Moreover, there is no lie; there is only truth. As we walk in the light, we not only have fellowship with God, but we also have mutual fellowship with God’s children.
The fourth point on the line of life is the cleansing of the blood. The second half of 1 John 1:7 says that “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.” In this verse the function of the blood is revealed. The blood of the Lord Jesus cleanses us from every sin because we are in the light through our fellowship with God. If we do not have the light, we cannot see our sins, but the more we are under the light, the more we will see our defilement, and the more we will seek the cleansing of the precious blood. Once we have the blood, we can maintain the fellowship continually. Thus, there are four main points in the line of life seen in 1 John 1: life, fellowship, light, and the blood.
The line of living in 1 John 1 has three points, and the first is our need to have fellowship. First John 1:6-7 speaks of “fellowship with Him” and of “fellowship with one another,” indicating that we need to have fellowship with God and with the children of God. The first item that a person needs when he or she receives salvation is fellowship. Once we receive the Lord’s life and live in it, this life will bring us into fellowship.
The second point on the line of living is receiving the shining of light. First John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.” Since God is light, we will be in the light and receive the shining of light if we have fellowship with Him. However, if we do not have fellowship with God, we will lose all the shining that is brought in by His being the light. As Christians who have received the Lord as our life and who are led by this life to fellowship with God, we must receive God’s shining and allow Him to make manifest our situation.
The third point on the line of living is confessing our sins. First John 1:8-9 says, “If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Whenever we have fellowship with the Lord, His light shines on us and exposes our sins. After we are shined upon and we see our sins, we must thoroughly confess our sins. For instance, under the shining of the light we may see that we have a proud, unclean heart and that unrighteousness is within us; that we boast in certain spiritual matters; or that we are still pursuing something for ourselves. Once we see such things, we need to acknowledge and confess them to the Lord. Whatever we have been enlightened concerning through our fellowship with God and whatever sins the light has exposed should be confessed so that we may receive forgiveness and cleansing.
All the above points are the seven points concerning life and living in 1 John 1. The four points on the line of life are life, fellowship, light, and the blood, and the three points on the line of living are the need for fellowship, receiving the shining of light, and confessing our sins.
In summary, 1 John 1 reveals that the Lord who enters into us is the eternal life that has become our life. Having entered into us, this eternal life causes us to have fellowship with and become one with God, the Lord, and all those who belong to Him. Moreover, since God is light, if we are in fellowship with Him, we are in the light. When we are in the light, we are exposed, and as a result, we confess our sins. Then we need the blood to cleanse us. This entire process is on the line of life.
On the line of living, since we have the eternal life, we must learn to have more dealings and interactions with the Lord so that we may become closer to Him in and according to this life. Moreover, we must learn to receive the shining of light when we are in fellowship with God. Once we have been shined upon and see our mistakes and sins, we must immediately confess and seek forgiveness. In this way we can truly receive the supply of life. This is a brief presentation of the lines of life and living as revealed in 1 John 1.
