1 John 1:6-7 - Homilies By W. Jones

The condition and consequences of fellowship with God.

"If we say that we have fellowship with him," etc.

I. THE CONDITION OF FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD . St. John states this condition both negatively and positively.

1 . Negatively. "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.

2 . Positively. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." "This walking in the light, as he is in the light," says Alford, "is no mere imitation of God, but is an identity in the essential element of our daily walk with the essential element of God's eternal Being; not imitation, but coincidence and identity of the very atmosphere of life." "The light" denotes "the sphere of the manifestation of the good and the God-like." The words of St. Paul, in Ephesians 5:8 , Ephesians 5:9 , considerably elucidate this verse: "Ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth)." As Meyer says, the "whole of Christian morality is here presented under its three great aspects—the good, the right, the true." If we would express the meaning of the apostle's phrase, "walking in the light," in a single word, "holiness" is the word best suited to that purpose. We discover three ideas in this expression of St. John.

II. THE CONSEQUENCES OF FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD .

1 . Fellowship with the saints. "We have fellowship one with another." The reality of our communion with God is attested by our communion of love with those who are his. Walking in the sphere of truth, righteousness, and love, we have fellowship with all those who walk in the same sphere. All who walk in the light are one in their deepest sympathies, in their most steadfast principles, in their most important aims, and in their highest aspirations; they are one in character, in service, and in destiny. Hence their communion with each other is genuine, vital, and blessed.

2 . Sanctification through the Saviour. "And the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin." This implies that even they who walk in the light need cleansing from sin. "The requirement that we walk in the light, is confronted by the fact that in us there still is sin and darkness." Notice:

Let our earnest endeavour be to walk in the light, and to trust in the great and gracious Saviour - W.J.