The DOGpreacher's Bible Commentary

                                                1st  JOHN  ..... Chapter 1

 

1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life;

Simple .... God ... in Jesus!

2) (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 

...a continuation of verse 1 concerning the fact that Jesus (the Messiah) had been manifested (made known) to them!

3) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that Ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 

...a continuation of verses 1 & 2.... to include the recipients of these words into the fellowship of the Father & the Son, and their selves!

4) And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 

The Reason: Fullness of Joy.... think on that... NO gaps or lack in your Joy!

5) This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 

The Overall: Darkness is overwhelmed/obliterated/defeated... by THE LIGHT!

6) 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 this ongoing relationship with Him, and yet... we continue a daily walk (lifestyle) in darkness... we are liars, and do not even understand truth, much less live therein.  *darkness*..... "Not doing what He commands us to do, and... doing what He commands us 'not' to do."  

See: 1 John 3:4-10 ..... more specifically, verse 6 !

7) but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

The Prerequisite:   "IF".... Far too often, if someone comes to church a few times, or semi-regularly, they are quickly tagged as "brother/sister" (especially if they become a member), without ANY (or very little) fruit/evidence of actually being a true follower of Jesus Christ!  "...if we walk in the light..." infers an examining of said person to see if indeed their "walk" is truly 'in the light'!

8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If ANYONE besides Jesus has NO sin, then the Gospel/Redemption story is untrue and we are without the Messiah... and hope! The one who says they have NO sin, evidences that they are yet in darkness, and do not know God!
Romans 3:23... shows anyone who thinks they have no sin to be deceived/delusional.

9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The ultimate verse of HOPE!  Once again... "IF"... the prerequisite ...... He has told me here that if I confess my sin to Him, He guarantees that He will forgive me of my sins, and blot out my unrighteousness.... Praise God!

10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Very straightforward, and...once again Rom. 3:23 applies.
 NOW... look at the end of verses 6, 8, & 10...6) "do not the Truth", 8) "the Truth is not in us", 10) "His Word is not in us"!

The teaching/instruction here is...let's go backwards from verse 10, to 8, to 6.... "IF" we put the Word "in" us.... then, the Truth will be "in" us.... and, the Truth will of course come from us as we "walk" this life! We can only "do" the Truth, if the Truth is resident in us, and the Truth will only be resident in us to the degree that we feast/feed on His Word! By the way.....Who is the Word....the Truth?

SUMMATION CHAPTER 1:
     He... which was from the beginning, was manifested to us, and we hereby give testimony that He (this...Jesus) is the Son of the Living God. He is the One who was with the Father... in the beginning! Now... these things we tell you, so that your joy may be full. The message (which we got from Him... no other), is that God is light, and in Him is NO (none/zip/nada) darkness at all. In the closing of chapter 1 ..... If we say that we know Him and have a relationship with Him, but walk/live in darkness... we are not truthful. On the other hand, if we live in & by His light, we have sweet friendship with the brethren, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL sin! AMEN! But, if we claim to have no sin, we are delusional... and know nothing of these things because... His Truth is not in us! He does promise though...that if we will confess our sins, He will totally forgive and cleanse us from them all! Hallelujah! Now... if we say we have not sinned, that's like calling Him a liar. That only proves that His Word (and thus...His Truth) is/are not in us, and we are yet dead in our trespasses and sins!