I John

[drummerboy25]

I John 1:6
"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:"

I John 2:3-6
"3. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."

also read verses 7&8 of this same chap.

[HammerRock]

1 John 1

Reading the complete chapter gave me a better understanding of the context of this passage (NIV), especially verses 5 - 10.

5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But 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, purifies us from all sin.
   8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

God is light, so in him there is no darkness. If we claim that we have fellowship with him, but yet walk in darkness, we are deceiving ourselves. Verse 7 speaks about walking in the light, as He is in the light. It continues to say that in doing so, the blood of Jesus will purify us from all sin. Verse 9 talks about confessing our sins for forgiveness, but it also talks about purifying us from all unrighteousness. From verses 7 and 9 we see that there are two things being talked about that we need purification from: sin and unrighteousness.

One question remains: where is 'walking in darkness' defined, or more importantly, how can we avoid walking in darkness? Verse 7 and 9 hold the keys. Verse 7 states that we can receive purification by walking in the light, while verse 9 states that we can receive purification from unrighteousness by confessing our sins.

Because we know this is true, then the inverse is also true. We won't recieve purification by walking in darkness and we won't receive purification by NOT confessing our sins. Therefore, walking in darkness, as referred to in this section of scripture can be equated to NOT confessing our sins, or as verse 8 puts it, "8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

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It's so very important to read scripture in context. It's equally important to rely upon the Holy Spirit to understand what is being said.

Peace...  

[drummerboy25]

Amen 2 that.