Walking in the Light

"God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:5b-7

If we were to summarize John’s point in these verses, we might say: wrong belief leads to wrong living, whereas right belief leads to true life. In other words, when we accept and understand that Jesus was/is God in the flesh, it should change how we live. It should change how we see ourselves and our sin, how we see our position with God and with others, and how we engage with this world around us. Having right belief leads to proper discernment, which leads to repentance and mercy towards others. It leads to right living. Even more so, it leads to right-standing with God, as we see in verse 7 and in the assurances of our salvation found in 1 John 5.

The key to right belief seems to be held in the concept of the incarnation. As John mentions at the start of 1 John, he was a witness to Jesus’ life. It should be remembered that the disciples traveled with Jesus 24/7. They followed Him everywhere. They stayed where He stayed, slept where He slept, and ate where He ate. In this way, they were able to not only hear His teachings but also see how He lived His life. They were learning both from His words and His actions. They sat at the feet of God Himself! This is significant on many levels. They were able to see if He truly practiced what He preached. They were learning not only right belief but right living. They were absorbing through their time spent with Him how they were supposed to live their lives.

The secret of the incarnation is not only that God came in the flesh to Earth through Jesus, but that God now dwells in us – in believers. When we choose to follow Him and put our faith in Him, His Spirit dwells within us. With God in us, we cannot possibly walk in darkness any longer, because there is no darkness in God. We now walk in the light of His truth, mercy, and goodness. This walking in the light requires staying close to Jesus. Similar to how the disciples traveled with Jesus 24/7, we must also aim to be with Him consistently, that He might be reflected through us. On our own, we can do nothing, achieve nothing, earn nothing, nor save anyone. Only with the Spirit in us can we take the light of God into the dark places of the world and share His light with others.  

Another note of theological significance here is the emphasis on fellowship with other believers. Verse 7 clearly states, “If we walk in the light… we have fellowship with one another.” 1 John 2:9 goes even farther, stating, “Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness.” We struggle with this. We pit ourselves against Christians with different theology or of different denominations or even of different political parties. We do a lot of “us” versus “them.” John says it shouldn’t be this way. Christians should love one another.

Why this emphasis on fellowship and love for one another? I believe there are a few reasons. One, we need each other. Our brains are literally wired for connection with others, and when we are isolated or alone for too long, our brain tissue can actually wither up and die! Human beings were created for fellowship with others. We literally need it to survive. Two, together we are stronger. We are able to do more, serve more, care for more, and encourage more. Together we can build up each other’s faith. The strong lead the weak so no one gets left behind. Three, a united community is a powerful witness to an unbelieving world. The fact that there are tens of thousands of Christian denominations and fighting constantly happening across the aisle is to our shame. These types of divisions ruin our witness.

Therefore, if right belief leads to right living, then we should demonstrate our faith not only through our individual lives, but also through our lives in community with other believers. Our walk should demonstrate our love for God and our love for others. Our walk should look like Jesus. “Whoever says, ‘I abide in him,’ ought to walk in the same way as he walked.” (1 John 2:6) When outsiders look at our lives, they should see God reflected through us. Furthermore, if God is in us, we cannot walk in the darkness any longer. We must turn and repent from the ways of the darkness and abide in the light.

DID YOU KNOW... You can subscribe to my blog through Substack? No membership required and free! Check it out, here: https://substack.com/@jadedevangelical.