Text: 1 John 1 (English Standard Version)
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life–2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us–3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
- According to one search I did, the word “beginning” is used 91 times in the Bible. I appreciate the fact that we are reminded that even though the Bible is made up of 66 books written by a variety of writers, there is always a connection to other parts of God’s story. The individual books of the Bible do not stand alone, they are meant to be together.
- God is the Father of light and can have no fellowship with darkness. That means that I should have no fellowship with darkness…or even shady things!
- Verse 9 is one of the most encouraging verse in the Bible because it proclaims the free gift of forgiveness offered to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.