1 John · Chapter 1

V. 1. That which was-Here means, He which was the Word himself; afterwards it means, that which they had heard from him. Which was-Namely, with the Father, 1 John 1:2, before he was manifested.

From the beginning-This phrase is sometimes used in a limited sense; but here it properly means from eternity, being equivalent with, "in the beginning," John 1:1.

That which we-The apostles.

Have not only heard, but seen with our eyes, which we have beheld-Attentively considered on various occasions.

Of the Word of life-He is termed the Word, John 1:1; the Life, John 1:4; as he is the living Word of God, who, with the Father and the Spirit, is the fountain of life to all creatures, particularly of spiritual and eternal life.

Verse 1. That which was from the beginning] That glorious personage, JESUS CHRIST the LORD, who was from eternity; him, being manifested in the flesh, we have heard proclaim the doctrine of eternal life; with our own eyes have we seen him, not transiently, for we have looked upon him frequently; and our hands have handled-frequently touched, his person; and we have had every proof of the identity and reality of this glorious being that our senses of hearing, o akhkoamen, seeing, o ewrakamen toiv afqalmoiv hmwn, and feeling, kai ai ceirev hmwn eyhlafhsan could possibly require.

Verse 1. That which was — That is, as the expression here means, the word which was, namely, with the Father, (verse 2,) before he was manifested; from the beginning — This phrase sometimes means the beginning of the gospel dispensation, as 1 John 2:7, 8, and is thus interpreted here by Whitby, Doddridge, and Macknight. But if the apostle be speaking, as the context seems to show he is, of the eternal Word, the Son of God, he could not mean to tell us merely that he existed from the beginning of the gospel, for who needed to be informed of that? since it was well known by all professing Christians, that, even as to his human nature, he had existed near thirty years before the gospel dispensation was in any degree opened by the ministry of his forerunner, John the Baptist. The expression, from the beginning, here seems to be equivalent with in the beginning, (John 1:1,) and therefore to mean from the beginning of time, or rather, from eternity; that which we — The apostles; have heard — Most credibly attested by authentic witnesses; nay, have heard discoursing to us times innumerable; which we have seen with our eyes — And that not only daily, for three years before his crucifixion, but repeatedly after his resurrection from the dead; which we have looked upon — Eqeasameqa, have contemplated; the word is different from that rendered we have seen, in the former clause; and denotes their beholding him attentively, and considering maturely and diligently his person and conduct, his words and actions, his doctrine, sufferings, and miracles, and all the other particulars by which he manifested the reality and extraordinary nature of his life in the flesh. And our hands have handled, &c. — Here the apostle seems chiefly to allude to what Christ said to his disciples when he appeared to them after his resurrection, and said, Handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have, Luke 24:39. On many other occasions, however, the disciples had an opportunity of handling their Master, and knowing that he had a real body. For example, when he washed their feet; when he took Peter by the hand to prevent him from sinking as he walked on the water; when the disciples gave him the loaves and fishes, and when he, after multiplying them, put them into their hands to be distributed to the multitude. John, in particular, had an opportunity of feeling Christ’s body when he leaned on his bosom during the last passover supper, John 13:23. Of the Word of life — He is termed the Word, John 1:1, the Life, John 1:4, as he is the living word of God, who with the Father and the Spirit, is the fountain of life to all creatures, particularly of spiritual and eternal life.

Verse 1. That which was from the beginning. We have before observed that the neuter gender is often preferred by the Greeks, and with great propriety, when speaking of the Divinity. L’ETRE Suprême, pere de tout ce qui existe, sera du genre masculin, cependent comme cette idée est relative à celle de feminin, et qu’en Dieu il n’ y a nul raport pareil, quelque peuples feront la Divinite du genre qui n’ annonce ni masculin, ni feminin, afin d’en donner une idée plus sublime. — Gram, univ. par Gebelin, p. 74. Paris, 1781.

Thus the Messiah is called the Holy One of Israel, and the Holy One of God. Luke 1:35. O agiov, the Holy — that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. The Word of Jehovah, by whom the heavens were made. The wisdom of God, whom the Father possessed in his bosom. Proverbs 8:22. The Son, who has life in himself, who was from the beginning the rock and the hope of all the ancient church. Our hands have handled the eternal life, revealed in the flesh, and our eyes have contemplated with unutterable delight, his glory as the only-begotten of the Father. And this mystery of godliness, the eternal life manifested in the flesh, we publish abroad to illuminate the world, and call sinners back to communion with God.

1. That—A highly inverted sentence embracing the three verses. The commencing verb is in the third verse, declare we. Of this verb the which, thrice expressed and once implied in the first verse, are the objectives; and the true order is this: We declare unto you that (real, bodily personality) of the Word of life which was from the beginning, which… heard, which… seen, which… looked upon, and which our hands have handled. The reason why St. John uses the neuter that which, (which might as well have been the English compound relative what,) instead of the masculine him whom, is because the heretics questioned not that he, Christ, really appeared, but questioned his nature. He was, they said, a docetic, incorporeal phantom; or the Jesus was a mere man upon whom the superhuman Christ descended and rested. From the beginning—This phrase, in application to his readers, St. John uses in 1 John 2:7, 13, 24; 3:11 of the beginning of the preaching of the gospel; but in 1 John 3:8 of an ante-mundane beginning of Satan. And so here we have the same ante-mundane beginning as in the first verse of St. John’s Gospel, where see notes. The same is the ante-mundane existence of the “Son” in Hebrews 1:3, where see notes. We—John and the other apostles. St. John’s we (verse 3) includes himself personally, and all the apostles representatively, whose office it was to be witnesses of what Jesus said, and did, and was. Note on Luke 1:2. We, apostles, are original authorities; whereas the heretics are strangers, basing their speculations on third or fourth hand testimonies, supplemented by their own fancies. And as we saw his miracles, heard his own account of himself, and handled his very physical body, so our account is original and ultimate, the first and last word. Have—The Greek uses the perfect tense of the first two verbs, have heard and have seen; but the aorist, without the have, of looked upon and handled. This is a significant change of tense, lost in our English translation. It indicates that the apostles are persons who have seen and have heard, and that remains in its effect the permanent fact. But they also specifically and at the moment looked upon, that is, contemplated and deeply studied, the inner nature, and also felt, so as to deeply cognize the bodily substance of the Lord. This specialty is increased from the fact that the first was done with our bodily eyes, and in no dream, and the last with our hands, the surest instruments of touch. Though he was from the beginning, and was truly the Word of life, he submitted himself to our most bodily perceptions that we might most surely declare his determinate personality. Of—This preposition does not here represent, as usually, the Greek genitive, but the preposition peri, in the sense of pertaining or belonging to; as in Luke 22:37: Philippians 1:27; Colossians 4:8. The Word of life—That Word whose property was life so essentially that he truly called himself “the Life.” “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4, where see notes. These first three verses are an essential reference to John’s Gospel, especially its first four verses. They evince that both Epistle and Gospel were by the same author; and John truly bases the doctrines of this Epistle upon the facts and declarations of the Gospel.

V. 2. For the life-The living Word.

Was manifested-In the flesh, to our very senses.

And we testify and declare-We testify by declaring, by preaching, and writing, 1 John 1:3,4. Preaching lays the foundation, 1 John 1:5-10: writing builds there on.

To you-Who have not seen.

The eternal life-Which always was, and afterward appeared to us. This is mentioned in the beginning of the epistle. In the end of it is mentioned the same eternal life, which we shall always enjoy.

Verse 2. For the Life was manifested] The Lord Jesus, who is the creator of all things, and the fountain of life to all sentient and intellectual beings, and from whom eternal life and happiness come, was manifested in the flesh, and we have seen him, and in consequence bear witness to him as the fountain and author of eternal life; for he who was from eternity with the Father was manifested unto us his apostles, and to the whole of the Jewish nation, and preached that doctrine of eternal life which I have before delivered to the world in my gospel, and which I now farther confirm by this epistle.

Verse 2. For the life — The living Word; was manifested — In the flesh to our very senses; and we have seen it — In its full evidence; and bear witness — Testify by declaring, by preaching, and writing, verses 3, 4. Preaching lays the foundation, writing builds thereon: and show unto you — Who have not seen; the eternal life — The eternal Word and Son of God, who lives himself for ever, and is the author of eternal life to us, John 10:28; Hebrews 5:9; which was with the Father — John 1:1, 2; in his bosom, John 1:18; of the same nature and essence with himself, and was with him from eternity; and was manifested to us — With all the genuine characters of the Son of God and the promised Messiah. That the apostle speaks of his eternity a parte ante, (as they say,) and as from everlasting, is evident, in that he speaks of him as he was in and from the beginning; when he was with the Father, before his manifestation to us; yea, before the making of all things that were made, as John 1:2, 3. So that he is the eternal, vital, intellectual Word and Son of the eternal, living Father. Now here was condescension and kindness indeed! that a person possessed of eternal, essential life, should put on flesh and blood, or the entire human nature; should assume infirmity, affliction, and mortality, in order to visit sinful mortals, to dwell among and converse with them; to reveal to them, procure for them, and then confer on them, eternal life; even felicity and glory unspeakable with himself for ever!

2. For—St. John interrupts himself with this parenthesis to guard us against supposing, for a moment, that his material phrases overlook the true eternal spiritual nature of Christ. He holds that the apostles handled that eternal Word, existing even from the beginning, when they touched his bodily person. Word of life, I say, for that essential life which he originally was became corporeally realized in him to whom we bear witness. That eternal life—A life which has neither beginning of existence nor end. And this light was so manifested that we saw it and touched it as a human person. With the Father—Just as in John 1:1, the “Word” was “with God.”

V. 3. That which we have seen and heard-Of him and from him. Declare we to you-For this end.

That ye also may have fellowship with us-May enjoy the same fellowship which we enjoy.

And truly our fellowship-Whereby he is in us and we in him. Is with the Father and with the son-Of the Holy Ghost he speaks afterwards.

Verse 3. That which we have seen and heard] We deliver nothing by hearsay, nothing by tradition, nothing from conjecture; we have had the fullest certainty of all that we write and preach.

That ye also may have fellowship with us] That ye may be preserved from all false doctrine, and have a real participation with us apostles of the grace, peace, love, and life of God, which communion we have with God the Father, who hath loved us, and given his Son Jesus Christ to redeem us; and with his Son Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for the life of the world and through whom, being God manifested in the flesh, we have union with God, are made partakers of the Divine nature and dwell in God, and God in us.

Verses 3, 4. That which we have seen — Him, I say, of whom we have such infallible knowledge, or that which we have seen and heard from him and of him; declare we to you — For this end; that ye also may have fellowship with us — May enjoy the same fellowship which we enjoy; or, in other words, that, being fully satisfied and firmly persuaded of the truth of our testimony, and laying hold on him by a lively faith, you may have fellowship with God and with Christ, such as we apostles, and other faithful Christians have, and may partake with us of the benefits and privileges we enjoy thereby. And truly our fellowship — Whereby he is in us, and we in him; is with the Father — We are savingly acquainted with, have access to, and intercourse with, the Father, and partake of all those blessings which God the Father has promised to those that are in covenant with him; and with his Son Jesus Christ — And we partake also of all those privileges Christ has purchased for his members, namely, pardon, reconciliation, the divine favour, adoption into God’s family, the Spirit of adoption sent into our hearts, regeneration, sanctification, a lively, joyful hope of the heavenly inheritance, and an earnest of that inheritance by his Spirit dwelling in us, whereby we sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. And these things write we unto you — We not only declare them in word, which might soon escape from your remembrance, but we put them down in writing, that you may frequently peruse and consider them; that your joy may be full — So our Lord also, John 15:11; 16:22; that is, to confirm you in the faith, and direct you into that way, wherein you may have an abundant source of comfort. There is a joy of faith, a joy of hope, and a joy of love. Here the joy of faith is chiefly intended: and the expression, your joy, chiefly means your faith, and the joy arising from it. It likewise, however, implies the joy of hope, and the joy of love.

Ver. 3. Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. This communion is built on all the divine illumination declared above, on all the sweet attractions of grace, followed by a full consent of the will, by which the Father and the Son, the whole deity, comes into our heart, and makes his abode with us. Then we participate in all his communicable perfections, in knowledge, in righteousness, and eternal life. The precise idea of this fellowship, is that of the members of the body with the head, or the living branches with the living vine. In this view, as the father of the family, Christ will sup with us, and we shall sup with him. He will be poor in our poverty, and weep in our tears. This is an ever-subsisting communion in a daily walk with God, and in all the exercises of devotion.

3. That which… seen… heard declare we—St. John resumes the connexion interrupted by the parenthesis by bringing down and repeating that which of verse 1, to make them the objective of declare. It should be noted how earnestly and persistently he repeats the evidence of his senses in perfectly knowing Jesus. This is because he makes that absolute ocular and tactual ascertainment of Jesus the foundation of his authority for the announcements of doctrine in this epistle. Standing on this foundation as an original bodily witness, he will not argue, prove, and refute by a series of logical inferences; but he will declare—will dogmatically pronounce— what the truth in Jesus is. He pronounces because he knows. Unto you— Primarily, the public mind of Ephesus; inferentially, the whole Christian world, and the whole world that should be Christian. Fellowship—That is, communion, common participation. It is a life that we declare, and the purpose of our declaring is, that the universal you may be common sharers in that life. Our fellowship is with the Father, and… Christ—The receiver of the witness shares not barely the truth, but the mystical participation of a common life with God and Jesus. The nature of that communion, and how it is allowed and retained, and how the opposite sin and error are to be avoided, are the sum total of this epistle.

V. 4. That your joy may be full-So our Lord also, John 15:11; 16:22. There is a joy of hope, a joy of faith, and a joy of love. Here the joy of faith is directly intended. It is a concise expression. Your joy-That is, your faith and the joy arising from it: but it likewise implies the joy of hope and love.

Verse 4. That your joy may be full.] Ye have already tasted that the Lord is good; but I am now going to show you the height of your Christian calling, that your happiness may be complete, being thoroughly cleansed from all sin, and filled with the fulness of God.

Verses 3, 4. That which we have seen — Him, I say, of whom we have such infallible knowledge, or that which we have seen and heard from him and of him; declare we to you — For this end; that ye also may have fellowship with us — May enjoy the same fellowship which we enjoy; or, in other words, that, being fully satisfied and firmly persuaded of the truth of our testimony, and laying hold on him by a lively faith, you may have fellowship with God and with Christ, such as we apostles, and other faithful Christians have, and may partake with us of the benefits and privileges we enjoy thereby. And truly our fellowship — Whereby he is in us, and we in him; is with the Father — We are savingly acquainted with, have access to, and intercourse with, the Father, and partake of all those blessings which God the Father has promised to those that are in covenant with him; and with his Son Jesus Christ — And we partake also of all those privileges Christ has purchased for his members, namely, pardon, reconciliation, the divine favour, adoption into God’s family, the Spirit of adoption sent into our hearts, regeneration, sanctification, a lively, joyful hope of the heavenly inheritance, and an earnest of that inheritance by his Spirit dwelling in us, whereby we sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. And these things write we unto you — We not only declare them in word, which might soon escape from your remembrance, but we put them down in writing, that you may frequently peruse and consider them; that your joy may be full — So our Lord also, John 15:11; 16:22; that is, to confirm you in the faith, and direct you into that way, wherein you may have an abundant source of comfort. There is a joy of faith, a joy of hope, and a joy of love. Here the joy of faith is chiefly intended: and the expression, your joy, chiefly means your faith, and the joy arising from it. It likewise, however, implies the joy of hope, and the joy of love.

4. Joy… full—And the object of so certifying his readers of this glorious truth is their joy. If all doubt is removed, and they know on his authority from Christ himself that this fellowship with God is a reality, a joy full and inspiring will fill their hearts and strengthen their souls for all goodness.

A preliminary summary of the entire epistle, 5-10.

Our apostle now summarizes the substance of his message or epistle, by unfolding the true Christian doctrine of purity from sin in opposition to the errorists’ theory of purity in sin. God is absolute purity, and the only method of coming into oneness with his purity is, by absolute confession of sins, repentance, the atonement, the pardon, and the sanctification. Every other method is a fatal falsehood.

V. 5. And this is the sum of the message which we have heard of him-The Son of God.

That God is light-The light of wisdom, love, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye. And in him is no darkness at all-No contrary principle. He is pure, unmixed light.

Verse 5. This then is the message] This is the grand principle on which all depends, which we have heard of apauJtou, FROM him; for neither Moses nor the prophets ever gave that full instruction concerning God and communion with him which Jesus Christ has given, for the only-begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, has alone declared the fulness of the truth, and the extent of the blessings, which believers on him are to receive. See John 1:18.

God is light] The source of wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and happiness; and in him is no darkness at all-no ignorance, no imperfection, no sinfulness, no misery. And from him wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and happiness are received by every believing soul. This is the grand message of the Gospel, the great principle on which the happiness of man depends. LIGHT implies every essential excellence, especially wisdom, holiness, and happiness. DARKNESS implies all imperfection, and principally ignorance, sinfulness, and misery. LIGHT is the purest, the most subtile, the most useful, and the most diffusive of all God’s creatures; it is, therefore, a very proper emblem of the purity, perfection, and goodness of the Divine nature. God is to human soul, what the light is to the world; without the latter all would be dismal and uncomfortable, and terror and death would universally prevail: and without an indwelling God what is religion? Without his all-penetrating and diffusive light, what is the soul of man? Religion would be an empty science, a dead letter, a system unauthoritated and uninfluencing, and the soul a trackless wilderness, a howling waste, full of evil, of terror and dismay, and ever racked with realizing anticipations of future, successive, permanent, substantial, and endless misery. No wonder the apostle lays this down as a first and grand principle, stating it to be the essential message which he had received from Christ to deliver to the world.

Verses 5-7. This then is the message — That is, one part of it; which we have heard of him — The Son of God; that God is light — The light of truth, wisdom, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye; and in him is no darkness at all — Not the least mixture of ignorance or error, of folly, sin, or misery; if we say — Either with our tongue, or in our heart; if we endeavour to persuade ourselves and others, that we have fellowship with him — If we pretend to, or make a profession of it; and walk in darkness — Live in a state of ignorance, error, folly, or sin, which things are as contrary to his wise and holy nature, as darkness is to that of light, whatever professions we may make of our acquaintance with Christianity, and of being zealous for its interests; we lie, and do not the truth — Our conduct shows that our professions are false, and that the truth is not in us. But if we walk in the light — In the way of truth, knowledge, and holiness; as he is (a deeper word than walk, and more worthy of God) in the light — Is essentially and perfectly wise and holy, then we may truly say, we have fellowship one with another — God with us, and we with him; for that is the fellowship the apostle is speaking of verse 6, namely, fellowship or intercourse between the head and the members of the community: a fellowship which consists in the Father’s bestowing blessings on us through the mediation of Christ, and in our receiving these blessings from the Father and the Son with thankfulness. As if the apostle had said, We who have seen, and you who have not seen, do alike enjoy that fellowship with God and Christ, the imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son — With the grace purchased thereby; cleanseth us from all sin — Taketh away all the guilt, and therewith all the power of sin, both original and actual. There is also a cleansing from all sin in a higher sense, even from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, (see 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:25, 26; Colossians 1:22; Titus 2:14,) from whatever is contrary to the mind of Christ and the image of God, which may be experienced in the present life, by the blood of Christ, who, having died to procure for us the influences of the Spirit for fully sanctifying our nature, may be truly said to cleanse us from all sin by his blood. Of this cleansing, however, the apostle does not speak directly in this verse, but he speaks of it verse 9.

Ver. 5. God is light; a Being of infinite knowledge, wisdom and purity; and in him is no darkness at all. Neither darkness of error, ignorance, falsehood, or impurity of sin, can be found in him, or be pleasing to him. The reason why this is introduced here with so much ceremony, is to give it the greater force against the gnostics, who allowed and practised all manner of impurities, living in a sink of uncleanness; yet nevertheless called themselves perfect and knowing men, beyond all others, and said they had not sinned. See the notes on John 1:9. 7:12. 9:5, and 12:35.

5. This… message—Message is the noun of which declare, or announce, in verse 3, is the verb, and includes the entire doctrine of the epistle. Heard… and declare from Christ unto you. God is light—As perfect universal truth and purity; yet not universal so but that there is an opposite darkness. Yet the darkness is not in him, but is the perfect reverse of him. Truth and falsehood, love and malignity, light and darkness, are the intensest possible opposites. They may mix, but cannot be identified.

V. 6. If we say-Either with our tongue, or in our heart, if we endeavour to persuade either ourselves or others.

We have fellowship with him, while we walk, either inwardly or outwardly, in darkness-In sin of any kind.

We do not the truth-Our actions prove, that the truth is not in us.

Verse 6. If we say that we have fellowship] Having fellowship, koinwnia, communion, with God, necessarily implies a partaking of the Divine nature. Now if a man profess to have such communion, and walk in darkness-live an irreligious and sinful life, he lies, in the profession which he makes, and does not the truth-does not walk according to the directions of the Gospel, on the grace of which he holds his relation to God, and his communion with him.

The Gnostics, against whose errors it is supposed this epistle was written, were great pretenders to knowledge, to the highest degrees of the Divine illumination, and the nearest communion with the fountain of holiness, while their manners were excessively corrupt.

Verses 5-7. This then is the message — That is, one part of it; which we have heard of him — The Son of God; that God is light — The light of truth, wisdom, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye; and in him is no darkness at all — Not the least mixture of ignorance or error, of folly, sin, or misery; if we say — Either with our tongue, or in our heart; if we endeavour to persuade ourselves and others, that we have fellowship with him — If we pretend to, or make a profession of it; and walk in darkness — Live in a state of ignorance, error, folly, or sin, which things are as contrary to his wise and holy nature, as darkness is to that of light, whatever professions we may make of our acquaintance with Christianity, and of being zealous for its interests; we lie, and do not the truth — Our conduct shows that our professions are false, and that the truth is not in us. But if we walk in the light — In the way of truth, knowledge, and holiness; as he is (a deeper word than walk, and more worthy of God) in the light — Is essentially and perfectly wise and holy, then we may truly say, we have fellowship one with another — God with us, and we with him; for that is the fellowship the apostle is speaking of verse 6, namely, fellowship or intercourse between the head and the members of the community: a fellowship which consists in the Father’s bestowing blessings on us through the mediation of Christ, and in our receiving these blessings from the Father and the Son with thankfulness. As if the apostle had said, We who have seen, and you who have not seen, do alike enjoy that fellowship with God and Christ, the imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son — With the grace purchased thereby; cleanseth us from all sin — Taketh away all the guilt, and therewith all the power of sin, both original and actual. There is also a cleansing from all sin in a higher sense, even from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, (see 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:25, 26; Colossians 1:22; Titus 2:14,) from whatever is contrary to the mind of Christ and the image of God, which may be experienced in the present life, by the blood of Christ, who, having died to procure for us the influences of the Spirit for fully sanctifying our nature, may be truly said to cleanse us from all sin by his blood. Of this cleansing, however, the apostle does not speak directly in this verse, but he speaks of it verse 9.

6. If we say—The errorists who say this are never, in this epistle, far out of John’s sight. Thrice in this brief summary does he allude to them with an if we say. Fellowship with him… walk in darkness—The vital heresy of the errorists; claiming that divine communion is perfectly compatible with wicked conduct; professing that they “know God,” and are thereby relieved from all obligation to do right. We lie—It is a guilty error, not a mere mistake. We say it in order to claim holiness, and yet indulge in sin. Do not—Practise not. The truth—The moral truth of the divine commandments reproduced in the gospel.

V. 7. But if we walk in the light-In all holiness.

As God is (a deeper word than walk, and more worthy of God) in the light, then we may truly say, we have fellowship one with another-We who have seen, and you who have not seen, do alike enjoy that fellowship with God. The imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him.

And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son-With the grace purchased thereby. Cleanseth us from all sin-Both original and actual, taking away all the guilt and all the power.

Verse 7. But if we walk in the light] If, having received the principle of holiness from him, we live a holy and righteous life, deriving continual light, power, and life from him, then we have fellowship one with another; that is, we have communion with God, and God condescends to hold communion with us. This appears to be the intention of the apostle; and so he was understood by some versions and MSS., which, instead of metaJllhlwn, with each other, have metauJton, with him. Those who are deeply experienced in Divine things converse with God, and God with them. What John says is no figure; God and a holy heart are in continual correspondence.

The blood of Jesus Christ] The meritorious efficacy of his passion and death has purged our consciences from dead works, and cleanseth us, kaqarizei hmav, continues to cleanse us, i.e., to keep clean what it has made clean, (for it requires the same merit and energy to preserve holiness in the soul of man, as to produce it,) or, as several MSS. and some versions read, kaqariei and kaqarisei, will cleanse; speaking of those who are already justified, and are expecting full redemption in his blood. And being cleansed from all sin is what every believer should look for, what he has a right to expect, and what he must have in this life, in order to be prepared to meet his God. Christ is not a partial Saviour, he saves to the uttermost, and he cleanses from ALL sin.

Verses 5-7. This then is the message — That is, one part of it; which we have heard of him — The Son of God; that God is light — The light of truth, wisdom, holiness, glory. What light is to the natural eye, that God is to the spiritual eye; and in him is no darkness at all — Not the least mixture of ignorance or error, of folly, sin, or misery; if we say — Either with our tongue, or in our heart; if we endeavour to persuade ourselves and others, that we have fellowship with him — If we pretend to, or make a profession of it; and walk in darkness — Live in a state of ignorance, error, folly, or sin, which things are as contrary to his wise and holy nature, as darkness is to that of light, whatever professions we may make of our acquaintance with Christianity, and of being zealous for its interests; we lie, and do not the truth — Our conduct shows that our professions are false, and that the truth is not in us. But if we walk in the light — In the way of truth, knowledge, and holiness; as he is (a deeper word than walk, and more worthy of God) in the light — Is essentially and perfectly wise and holy, then we may truly say, we have fellowship one with another — God with us, and we with him; for that is the fellowship the apostle is speaking of verse 6, namely, fellowship or intercourse between the head and the members of the community: a fellowship which consists in the Father’s bestowing blessings on us through the mediation of Christ, and in our receiving these blessings from the Father and the Son with thankfulness. As if the apostle had said, We who have seen, and you who have not seen, do alike enjoy that fellowship with God and Christ, the imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son — With the grace purchased thereby; cleanseth us from all sin — Taketh away all the guilt, and therewith all the power of sin, both original and actual. There is also a cleansing from all sin in a higher sense, even from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, (see 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:25, 26; Colossians 1:22; Titus 2:14,) from whatever is contrary to the mind of Christ and the image of God, which may be experienced in the present life, by the blood of Christ, who, having died to procure for us the influences of the Spirit for fully sanctifying our nature, may be truly said to cleanse us from all sin by his blood. Of this cleansing, however, the apostle does not speak directly in this verse, but he speaks of it verse 9.

Ver. 7. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. That is, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have a conscious ness of the full remission of all our sins; and this remission, connected with the cleansing from all unrighteousness, is founded on the merits of the Son of God, as the Redeemer of the world. The glory of his person confers availing efficacy on his passion. It cleansed David’s house, it washed Jerusalem’s scarlet stains, and purged the foul offenders of Corinth, and all the gentile multitudes, who are now before the throne. 1 Corinthians 6:11. Revelation 1:5. 7:14.

7. Walk in the light—A beautiful image of a true and holy life. It implies purity, truth, transparency; and all these are as light, identified in thought with the blessed nature and substance of God himself. Fellowship—I, we, and God have a common fellowship and threefold oneness in this one common light. We are all light unified. Blood… cleanseth—We must beware of the great error of making this wonderful image of being washed and cleansed in the blood of Jesus a literality. There is no vat of actual blood into which our bodies or souls are plunged. And there is no literal cleansing. This glowing imagery so reigns in parts of the New Testament, especially in John’s writings, as well as in our sermons and hymns, that many Christians pass their whole lives without once looking through the figure into the literal. They are thence liable to be deceived by arguments based on the figure which have no base in the literal. This figure simply means, first, that our sins are, upon our faith, forgiven us on account of the death of Christ; and, second, that the Holy Spirit being given in consequence of that death, does, in the completeness of that work, so strengthen and energize our moral and spiritual powers that we are able to reject temptation and avoid sin; and just in the measure and fulness of that power in exercise is the entireness of our sanctification. When that divinely-bestowed power is complete, the sanctification is entire. But it is to be noted, that while our pardon is immediate from Christ’s blood, our sanctification is mediate through the Spirit purchased by his blood. We are justified by Christ; we are sanctified by the Spirit. All sin—That is, from all guilt and practice of sin, not from all sinward liability or tendency, so but that apostasy is possible.

V. 8. If we say-Any child of man, before his blood has cleansed us. We have no sin-To be cleansed from, instead of confessing our sins, 1 John 1:9,

the truth is not in us-Neither in our mouth nor in our heart.

Verse 8. If we say that we have no sin] This is tantamount to 1 John 1:10: If we say that we have not sinned. All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; and therefore every man needs a Saviour, such as Christ is. It is very likely that the heretics, against whose evil doctrines the apostle writes, denied that they had any sin, or needed any Saviour. In deed, the Gnostics even denied that Christ suffered: the Æon, or Divine Being that dwelt in the man Christ Jesus, according to them, left him when he was taken by the Jews; and he, being but a common man, his sufferings and death had neither merit nor efficacy.

We deceive ourselves] By supposing that we have no guilt, no sinfulness, and consequently have no need of the blood of Christ as an atoning sacrifice: this is the most dreadful of all deceptions, as it leaves the soul under all the guilt and pollution of sin, exposed to hell, and utterly unfit for heaven.

The truth is not in us.] We have no knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus, the whole of which is founded on this most awful truth-all have sinned, all are guilty, all are unholy; and none can redeem himself. Hence it is as necessary that Jesus Christ should become incarnated, and suffer and die to bring men to God.

Verses 8-10. If we say — Before Christ’s blood has cleansed us; that we have no sin — To be cleansed from; or if, even after we have experienced the cleansing virtue of his blood, and are acquitted through the merit of it from all past guilt, and saved from all evil tempers, words, and works; if, even after this, after we are both justified, regenerated, and sanctified, we say we have no sin, but are perfectly sinless, and that our spirit and conduct can bear the scrutiny of God’s holiness and justice, as exhibited in his spiritual and holy law; we deceive ourselves — And that in a very capital point; and the truth is not in us — Neither in our mouth nor in our heart; we must be destitute even of that self-knowledge which, in the nature of things, must necessarily precede every other branch of experimental and practical religion. If we confess our sins — With penitent and believing hearts; he is faithful — Having promised this blessing by the unanimous voice of all his prophets; and just — Surely then he will punish: no; for this very reason he will pardon. This may seem strange, but, upon the evangelical principle of atonement and redemption, it is undoubtedly true. Because when the debt is paid, or the purchase made, it is the part of equity to cancel the bond, and consign over the purchased possession; both to forgive our sins — To take away all the guilt of them, and to give us peace with himself, and peace of conscience; and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness — From all iniquity of heart and life, and to purify our souls from all vile affections and unholy dispositions, from every thing contrary to the pure and perfect love of God. Yet still we are to retain, even to our lives’ end, a deep sense of our past sins: still, if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar — Who saith, all have sinned; and his word is not in us — We give it no place in our hearts.

8. If we say—As the Nicolaitans (or antinomian Gnostics) do. See notes on Revelation 2:15, and Introduction to this epistle. Have no sin— Whether we say by denying we have done wrong, or by affirming that no wrong we commit is sin. Deceive ourselves—We are not merely mistaken or deceived, but we are also our own deceivers. We are the deceived and deceivers in one. We have the misfortune to be mistaken, and the guilt of framing the deception by which we mistake. The truth—It is not said that there is not truth in us, for all men have some truth. But the divine truth of pure fellowship with God through Christ is not in us, the only truth by which we are saved. Huther and Alford maintain that this saying, we have no sin, refers even to the true Christian. But, 1. Surely of a Christian who is by forgiveness freed from all guilt of sin, and by sanctification cleansed from all unrighteousness, it may be truly said in an evangelical sense that he has no sin. God imputes to him no sin. And to say that such a non-imputation to the Christian of sin makes God a liar, is, to say the least, very severe language. 2. Very plainly, the apostle is showing how the sinner may come into fellowship with the divine light. He tells such sinner that it is not by denying his sins, but by confessing them, that he can become right. The deceive ourselves refers to the man, therefore, before justification. 3. But in truth, the four instances in this chapter of if we say, are quotations of the language of Nicolaitan antinomians, who maintained that however bad their conduct they were still sinless.

V. 9. But if with a penitent and believing heart, we confess our sins, he is faithful-Because he had promised this blessing, by the unanimous voice of all his prophets.

Just-Surely then he will punish: no; for this very reason he will pardon. This may seem strange; but upon the evangelical principle of atonement and redemption, it is undoubtedly true; because, when the debt is paid, or the purchase made, it is the part of equity to cancel the bond, and consign over the purchased possession.

Both to forgive us our sins-To take away all the guilt of them. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness-To purify our souls from every kind and every degree of it.

Verse 9. If we confess our sins] If, from a deep sense of our guilt, impurity, and helplessness, we humble ourselves before God, acknowledging our iniquity, his holiness, and our own utter helplessness, and implore mercy for his sake who has died for us; he is faithful, because to such he has promised mercy, Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13; and just, for Christ has died for us, and thus made an atonement to the Divine justice; so that God can now be just, and yet the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus.

And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.] Not only to forgive the sin, but to purify the heart.

OBSERVE here, 1. Sin exists in the soul after two modes or forms: (1.) In guilt, which requires forgiveness or pardon. (2.) In pollution, which requires cleansing.

2. Guilt, to be forgiven, must be confessed; and pollution, to be cleansed, must be also confessed. In order to find mercy, a man must know and feel himself to be a sinner, that he may fervently apply to God for pardon; in order to get a clean heart, a man must know and feel its depravity, acknowledge and deplore it before God, in order to be fully sanctified.

3. Few are pardoned, because they do not feel and confess their sins; and few are sanctified or cleansed from all sin, because they do not feel and confess their own sore, and the plague of their hearts.

4. As the blood of Jesus Christ, the merit of his passion and death, applied by faith, purges the conscience from all dead works, so the same cleanses the heart from all unrighteousness.

5. As all unrighteousness is sin, so he that is cleansed from all unrighteousness is cleansed from all sin. To attempt to evade this, and plead for the continuance of sin in the heart through life, is ungrateful, wicked, and even blasphemous; for as he who says he has not sinned, 1 John 1:10, makes God a liar, who has declared the contrary through every part of his revelation; so he that says the blood of Christ either cannot or will not cleanse us from all sin in this life, gives also the lie to his Maker, who has declared the contrary, and thus shows that the word-the doctrine of God is not in him.

Reader, it is the birthright of every child of God to be cleansed from all sin, to keep himself unspotted from the world, and so to live as never more to offend his Maker. All things are possible to him that believeth; because all things are possible to the infinitely meritorious blood and energetic Spirit of the Lord Jesus. See the notes on the parallel passages in the margin; and particularly in St. John’s gospel, John i.

I JOHN

Verses 8-10. If we say — Before Christ’s blood has cleansed us; that we have no sin — To be cleansed from; or if, even after we have experienced the cleansing virtue of his blood, and are acquitted through the merit of it from all past guilt, and saved from all evil tempers, words, and works; if, even after this, after we are both justified, regenerated, and sanctified, we say we have no sin, but are perfectly sinless, and that our spirit and conduct can bear the scrutiny of God’s holiness and justice, as exhibited in his spiritual and holy law; we deceive ourselves — And that in a very capital point; and the truth is not in us — Neither in our mouth nor in our heart; we must be destitute even of that self-knowledge which, in the nature of things, must necessarily precede every other branch of experimental and practical religion. If we confess our sins — With penitent and believing hearts; he is faithful — Having promised this blessing by the unanimous voice of all his prophets; and just — Surely then he will punish: no; for this very reason he will pardon. This may seem strange, but, upon the evangelical principle of atonement and redemption, it is undoubtedly true. Because when the debt is paid, or the purchase made, it is the part of equity to cancel the bond, and consign over the purchased possession; both to forgive our sins — To take away all the guilt of them, and to give us peace with himself, and peace of conscience; and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness — From all iniquity of heart and life, and to purify our souls from all vile affections and unholy dispositions, from every thing contrary to the pure and perfect love of God. Yet still we are to retain, even to our lives’ end, a deep sense of our past sins: still, if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar — Who saith, all have sinned; and his word is not in us — We give it no place in our hearts.

9. If—In verse 7 St. John, beginning with the final result of unity with the divine light, ends with the instrument by which that unity is accomplished, namely, Christ. He now states the condition, once for all, by which that instrumentality becomes available, namely, reliant confession of our sins in view of the blood. That is, the flinging ourselves as confessed sinners upon Christ and his propitiation for pardon and purity. Confess our sins— Confess not only that we have done wrong, but that all our wrong-doings are sins. St. John, in specifying the faith-condition of salvation, emphasizes confession, because the uttered denial of sins, even though they committed misdeeds, was the fatal error of his opponents. That confession, however, includes a faith in view of the atonement and justification for which the confession is made. And this faith-confession, it must never be forgotten, underlies this whole epistle, as it does the whole gospel. He—God; who is the pardoner of sins, as Christ is the mediator of the pardon. Faithful—As having promised. No confessor need ever doubt the divine trueness. Or, we may say that pardon, justification, as the invariable sequent of true faith-confession, is the law of God’s spiritual kingdom, and to it he will be faithful. Just—But in what sense can God be called just in forgiving the confessor? Not, certainly, because justice requires that a transgressor should be forgiven because he is penitent. No human or divine law holds a guilty man to become innocent because he repents. Indeed, true repentance acknowledges the permanent justice of penalty. God is called just in forgiving in this passage because the atonement makes satisfaction, so that God can be “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:26. Alford is strenuous in maintaining that such an idea does not fairly lie in the present current of thought. But Huther well remarks, that “God punishes as just, but he also blesses as just, and, indeed, the aim of realizing his kingdom is, that he should assign victory to goodness over badness.” Forgive—Forgiveness holds the transgressor constructively as if he had never sinned, so far as penalty is concerned. Sins—Transgressions of God’s law in thought, word, or act, as well as those permanent states of mind voluntarily retained adverse to the law. These are pardoned in our justification. Cleanse us—Under the image that unrighteousness (that is, an inward preference for that which violates the law) is an impurity impregnating our being, the blood, through the Spirit, is said to cleanse the impurity away. By the Spirit, that is, the love of God is poured into the soul, and the love of the unlawful is neutralized by the power of that holy affection. Yet our free agency for sin, our sensitivities to temptation, our need of vigilant exertion of power over sin, our capabilities of apostasy, are never removed until we attain paradise.

The distinction between the forgive and the cleanse should be carefully retained. Forgiveness removes guilt and penalty for past sins; sanctification inspires to future sinlessness. One looks back, and the other looks forward. One says, “Thy sins be forgiven thee;” the other says, “Go, sin no more.” A father may forgive a wicked son, and the son remain as wicked as before. But when our heavenly Father pardons us, he breathes into our hearts a spirit of obedience, which, if we obey, we never need incur his displeasure.

V. 10. Yet still we are to retain, even to our lives' end, a deep sense of our past sins. Still if we say, we have not sinned, we make him a liar-Who saith, all have sinned.

And his word is not in us-We do not receive it; we give it no place in our hearts.

Verses 8-10. If we say — Before Christ’s blood has cleansed us; that we have no sin — To be cleansed from; or if, even after we have experienced the cleansing virtue of his blood, and are acquitted through the merit of it from all past guilt, and saved from all evil tempers, words, and works; if, even after this, after we are both justified, regenerated, and sanctified, we say we have no sin, but are perfectly sinless, and that our spirit and conduct can bear the scrutiny of God’s holiness and justice, as exhibited in his spiritual and holy law; we deceive ourselves — And that in a very capital point; and the truth is not in us — Neither in our mouth nor in our heart; we must be destitute even of that self-knowledge which, in the nature of things, must necessarily precede every other branch of experimental and practical religion. If we confess our sins — With penitent and believing hearts; he is faithful — Having promised this blessing by the unanimous voice of all his prophets; and just — Surely then he will punish: no; for this very reason he will pardon. This may seem strange, but, upon the evangelical principle of atonement and redemption, it is undoubtedly true. Because when the debt is paid, or the purchase made, it is the part of equity to cancel the bond, and consign over the purchased possession; both to forgive our sins — To take away all the guilt of them, and to give us peace with himself, and peace of conscience; and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness — From all iniquity of heart and life, and to purify our souls from all vile affections and unholy dispositions, from every thing contrary to the pure and perfect love of God. Yet still we are to retain, even to our lives’ end, a deep sense of our past sins: still, if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar — Who saith, all have sinned; and his word is not in us — We give it no place in our hearts.

10. This concluding verse is added, as parallel and completing to verse 8, in order to emphasize the fact that not only is the denial of sin as a state, but of sin as an actual commission and practice in the past, flagrantly false. Have not sinned—The applying this to the Christian (as Alford and Huther) is, as above on verse 8, clearly erroneous. If the supposition be that the Christian says, I have not sinned since my conversion, no sensible Christian ever said that, and the admonition is absurd. If it be, I have not sinned in a particular case, it may be true. Clearly, John is laying the foundation of conversion of sinners to Christ in deep confession of sin both of character and act. Make him a liar—For both the universal condemnation of men and their universal redemption through Christ, is based upon the assumption that all men, of full responsible age and powers, have sinned.