The book of 1 John starts out in a similar fashion as John’s gospel, identifying Jesus as having been present at creation as well as calling out his identity as the Word. John also masterfully testifies on behalf of himself and others as to having personally seen and touched Jesus. To me, that fact alone is mind-boggling. This author hung out with Jesus and knew Him well.
How else does John describe Jesus to his audience? Jesus is: (1) “life itself,” (2) “the one who is eternal life,” (3) “with the Father,” and we can fellowship with Jesus and the Father, just like John and the others. John hopes that by knowing and experiencing Jesus, we can know and experience the same joy. It’s true what we’ve heard that there is joy in the Lord. Even Nehemiah proclaimed, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10)
John shared a very important message directly from Jesus about us. We can know if we are true followers “if we” act in certain ways. Did you notice the “if we” statements? I always appreciate those and feel like they really help me to know who Jesus wants me to be, that is, wants all his followers to be. Our actions set us apart from those who have not chosen Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
One of those “if we” statements goes like this. “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” That is powerful! John also said that God is light, so Jesus wants us to live in the Father. In the Father, there is hope, peace, comfort, strength, wisdom, and joy, to name only a fraction of the benefits.
John warns us that we may think we’re living in God, but we aren’t. That was a bit startling and should make us want to look in the mirror. When we look at ourselves, do we see Jesus working or shining through us?
The other “if we” statement is just as reassuring. “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” We can be forgiven and free. But there is a catch, an action on our part. We must confess our sins to God. That may seem strange since God knows all, but that’s not why he wants to hear our confession. We can show God that we know we’ve messed up and have a repentant heart. That’s what God wants our response to be. Sometimes it’s hard to admit those wrong things, especially the sins we do without realizing. Clearly, we don’t want to call God a liar by thinking we’re sinless and perfect.
We all mess up and fall short. But there is comfort that we have an advocate who has taken all of our sins upon himself. Not only does Jesus plead our case, but he is the atoning sacrifice.
Another way we can stand out as Christ followers is to obey his commandments. That’s what we do to please Jesus. What parent or teacher doesn’t eat it all up when their children obey and follow directions? People who think they are being held back from enjoying life by those commandments will not enjoy the benefits of living a God-honoring life. I feel sad for them. I pray regularly for those who are far from Jesus.
How would you answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” I asked the girls at the orphanage that very question this week. I told them to tell me who Jesus was as if I didn’t already know. The first response given was profound. “Jesus is the one who died on the cross to forgive my sins.” Other responses were that Jesus was loving, powerful, Healer, Savior, and King. I loved how they knew Jesus so well. How about you?
Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, I am so glad that I met you. I treasure each moment I spend in your Word, learning more about you every time. Thank you for how you spoke truth and made it easy for us to follow you. Help me to obey your commandments and do what is pleasing. I am so grateful for the sacrifice you made for me. I love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
