Walking in the Light | 1 John 1:6-10 Meditations

1 John 1:6-10
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that 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 that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Walking in the Light - I'm sure most, if not all of us want to do it. But how?
How can I walk in the light? I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean flipping on all the light switches upon entrance into a room or carrying an ever-shining flashlight. 

Incredibly, though, 1 John 1:8 tells us how (God must have known I would be wondering:) - to walk in the light, as He is in the light. But then again, how is He in the Light? 

Whereaupon this thought, the "I Am" statement in John 8:12 was brought to mind. He IS the Light Himself. So, does that mean I should be a light as well? It's preposterous almost to think about, but then there's Matthew 5:14-16... Wow. This thought almost blew me away. God has also called me a light and and has commanded me to shine. 

But wait... Though I'm a light, I can't produce light on my own. The only way is Him shining through me. Which goes back to the message of John 15:5. (I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.)

Wow. 

So as I abide in Christ, the Life-giving Vine, the Light, He brings forth fruit through me - He makes me to shine as lights in the world. To do all things without murmurings and disputes so that I can blameless and harmless, the son of God, without rebuke, in the midst of this crooked and perverse nation, among whom I shine as lights in the world (Phil. 2:15, paraphrased). 

And right there in Philippians 2:15 is a practical application of the walking in the Light/shining as lights topic: to do all things without murmurings and disputes. What convicted me as I read that was my attitude toward spending time with God. Not murmuring to have to spend time with God, but delighting in Him for this privilege. 

But before we get any deeper into this topic, let me tell you a story. 

As an Orthodox Jew was explaining his attitude toward God's law and all the rules they had, he recounted a story. (Paraphrased version below - details may not be completely accurate) 

"When my wife was pregnant with one of our children, she started craving an orange in the middle of the night. 
'Would you please get me an orange?' she asked me. So I, being the loving husband I was, wanting very much to please her and make her glad, went out to the market, very late at night. However, I didn't just buy one orange for her, I bought forty whole oranges. 
She was very glad to see the oranges! It only took one orange, however, to satisfy her craving, so the rest were discarded. But did that matter? No! I loved her and I wanted to do over and above all that she requested. 

I love my wife and my children, and I can show them my love by fulfilling and 'over-fulfilling' their 'commands'. The same way with God. For example, He commands us to have a palm branch for Sukkot (the Feast of the Tabernacles), but because of our zeal, we want to give him the straightest, the greenest, the best palm branch we can." 

As Christians, we're not under the law, but under grace. However, how much do I actually desire to please God? 
It's not how much I necessarily do for God, but how much I love Him. Naturally, then, loving will translate into doing. Fulfilling His commands shouldn't be drudgery, and much less should spending time with Him. 
And I've found that when I have this perspective, no longer am I tempted to do other things when I'm spending time with Him.

It's not just a duty to read His Word, to pray, to memorize, to have communion with Him, but a privilege. 
What a privilege it is. To delight in abiding in Him. To walk in His Light.



Thoughts, Notes, Lists, and such. Disclaimer somewhere in here.

Attributes of the Father:

• Able to be "fellowship-ed"
• Is in the Light
• Is faithful 
• Is just
• Cleans us from all unrighteousness
• Speaks (has word)

Attributes of the Son:

• Jesus' blood cleans us from all sin

Cross-References:

vs 7 --> John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

vs 7 --> Matt. 5:14a, 16 Ye are the light of the world... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

vs 7 --> Phil. 2:14-15 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

vs 8 --> John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

vs 9 --> Rev. 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

vs 9 --> Rom. 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 

vs 10 --> Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Thoughts:

How many times do I fool even myself into thinking I have fellowship with Him when I'm walking in darkness? What does it mean to walk in darkness?
I love Isaiah 50:10 - "Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God."
To trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon my God. It's back to abiding. Abiding in the Light so I can walk in it. Pretty obvious, but I miss so much so often.
How can I trust in His name? How can I stay upon Him?
I can stay in Him during calamity - "They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay." (Ps. 18:18)

Mini Study - Walking in Darkness:

Who/what walks in darkness?

• Pestilence (Psalm 91:6)
• The evil man, the man that speaks froward things (Pro. 2:12-13)
• The fool (Eccl. 2:14)
• Those who hate their brother (1 John 2:11)

What are characteristics of those who walk in darkness?

• They don't know or understand (Psalm 82:5)
• They leave the paths of uprightness to walk in darkness (Pro. 2:13)

Interesting Verses/CRs

• "Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness." (Is 59:9 - read in context)
• "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth." (John 12:35)
• "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." (Rom. 13:12)
• "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:" (Eph. 5:8)
• "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Eph. 5:11)

What God has done for those who walk in darkness:

• "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." (Is. 9:2)
• "Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God."(Is. 50:10)
• "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)