1 John 1:8-10
“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.”
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The Bible plainly says, “ALL have sinned and come short of God’s glory. There is none righteous; no, not one.” True! When you and I first came to faith in Christ, that’s how we came: In our sinful state.
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Jesus Is Our Covering.
Yes, it’s true, we all still have sin IN us because of our flesh. We are resurrected spirits in an unresurrected body. If we deny THAT FACT, we deceive ourselves. Our spirits, though, are completely cleansed, once for all time. Otherwise, the Holy Spirit could not live in us. He would have to come and go, as though there was a revolving door. But of course, thank God, there is no revolving door.
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As we walk through life, however, occasionally we commit sins. They are immediately cleansed as if we were living under a waterfall. Jesus is our covering and our advocate with the Father, Who judges us not guilty. Therefore, the Father always sees Jesus when He looks at us.
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Misunderstood Scipture.
The opening passage of scripture, unfortunately, has been misunderstood and thereby misapplied to mean something it does not. Paul never intended to imply that believers are cleansed of their sins in the past up to their conversion, then must confess their sins again and again from then on to be made right with God. That is not accurate. Jesus made us right with God permanently the day we received Him as our Savior.
#2. To whom was it written.
#3. Why was it written.
#4. When was it written.
#5. Historical and cultural influences at the time it was written.
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If you would like a more complete study on rightly dividing, please follow the link below:
https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/part-1-of-16-introduction-to-rightly-dividing-the-word-of-god/.
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Misunderstood Scriptures.
The 1st chapter of 1st John isn’t the only text that has tripped people up. Hebrews has some perplexing passages of its own, particularly chapters 6 & 10. We’re not going to go into Hebrews here. Follow the links below if you are interested in studying those chapters:
https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/never-means-never/
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The Apostle John.
John was the only one of Jesus’ disciples who wasn’t martyred. You recall that he was the youngest of all, too. He lived to a ripe old age because, after Paul’s death, many false doctrines were going to arise. Gnosticism was one that spread far and wide.
Many would assert that Jesus came “In spirit,” not in the flesh. John was alive to serve as an eye witness of the truth to combat those false doctrines.
Apostles To The Jews.
All three Apostles: Peter, James and John, the Apostle of love who wrote 1st John, ministered primarily “To the Jews.” Their names are always listed in that order and not by accident! Their names mean, “Rock or stone, Usurp or replace, and grace,” respectively. It’s a message to us! “The law has been replaced by grace!” And who lived under the Law for 1500 years? The Jewish people!
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The good news is that you and I, Church, NEVER AGAIN have to ask God to forgive us of our sins for the rest of our lives from the moment we were saved because of Jesus’ FINISHED work. Once you have come to faith in Christ, confessed your sins, and received the gift of righteousness, THAT WAS THE END OF YOUR SIN DEBT BEFORE GOD. As far as He is concerned, it’s a done deal.
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Under the New Covenant, we confess our faults and failings to God because we already are forgiven. We tell them to Him so that He can help us overcome the sinful behaviors with which each of us personally struggle because of our sinful flesh. That is what “Working out your own salvation,” means. Your struggles will be different from your neighbor’s.
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Under the Old Covenant when a man brought his lamb to the priest, he didn’t look at the man. Why would he do that when it was obvious why the man was there. No. The priest checked over his lamb.
Under the Old Covenant, they had to offer right sacrifices over and over again because their forgiveness was only temporary and their sins only covered. That’s the meaning of the word, “Atonement: To cover.” The sacrifice offered on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, for the whole nation covered them for the next 12 months!
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More About 1 John.
John wrote his epistle about 60 years after the birth of the church. We know he was speaking to NON-believers because all of the apostles were in the habit of addressing the Church as either “Beloved” or “Little children” or they would expressly say they were writing to the Church of…”Whatever.” (Step 1)
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If this practice was really all that important that they really needed to know, PAUL SHOULD HAVE SAID SO. HE DID NOT.
Just in case there are a few skeptics out there, let’s examine the Greek text, too. The word for “Forgive: aphiémi,” and the word “Cleanse: katharisē,” are in the 3rd person active aorist tense. This means they are ONE-TIME, NEVER-TO-BE-REPEATED ACTS with ongoing effectiveness, DONE TO YOU. It has nothing to do with your human working.
As a believer, you are completely and irrevocably cleansed of all sins for your ENTIRE life, not just your past sins up to the present. From now until eternity, the number of times we will have to ask God to forgive us our sins is…….yep; you guessed it: NEVER AGAIN.
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