1 João 1

John Phillips · Citado em PreceptAustin

1 João 1:1

Phillips: We are writing to you about something which has always existed yet which we ourselves actually saw and heard: something which we had an opportunity to observe closely and even to hold in our hands, and yet, as we know now, was something of the very Word of life himself! (

1 João 1:2

Phillips: For it was life which appeared before us: we saw it, we are eye-witnesses of it, and are now writing to you about it. It was the very life of all ages, the life that has always existed with the Father, which actually became visible in person to us mortal men. (

1 João 1:3

Phillips: We repeat, we really saw and heard what we are now writing to you about. We want you to be with us in this - in this fellowship with the Father, and Jesus Christ his Son. (

1 João 1:4

Phillips - To be brought into fellowship with the various members of the Godhead, and with true believers everywhere, was not only good news, it was glad news (Ed: News that brought "joy"). David Guzik discusses some "joy stealers" and our great need to continually "fight for joy" - The Christian's joy is important, and assaulted on many fronts. External circumstances, moods and emotions, or sin can all take away our joy. Yet the Christian's joy is not found in the things of this world, as good as they might be. When John wrote about these things, he wrote about this relationship of fellowship and love we can share in with God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ (1Jn 1:3-note). Too many Christians are passive in their loss of joy. They need to realize it is a great loss and do everything they can to draw close to God and reclaim that fullness of joy. (Ed: A good "antidote" for a low "joy quotient" would be to take time to prayerfully pondering the truth in this epistle, not reading some "self help" book that claims to be able to rejuvenate your joy!) (1 John 1 Commentary) (Bold added) J Ligon Duncan calls our attention to the intimate relationship of what John has just stated to what he states in verse 4 - Notice the order. Verse 1—message; verse 3—shared life; verse 4—joy. Gospel proclamation leads to true fellowship, leads to true joy. Gospel proclamation, true fellowship, true joy. True joy comes in shared life with Christians rooted in the shared life of God. This is the life that is the life of joy. This is how the proclamation issues forth in a life of joy. The life of faith is the life of joy, and is experienced only by those who respond to the proclamation of the Word… Notice the order. Verse 1—message; verse 3—shared life; verse 4—joy. Gospel proclamation leads to true fellowship, leads to true joy. Gospel proclamation, true fellowship, true joy. True joy comes in shared life with Christians rooted in the shared life of God. This is the life that is the life of joy. This is how the proclamation issues forth in a life of joy. The life of faith is the life of joy, and is experienced only by those who respond to the proclamation of the Word. (1 John 1:1-4 The Word of Life Appeared to Us) Steven

1 João 1:4

Phillips: We must write and tell you about it, because the more that fellowship extends the greater the joy it brings to us who are already in it. (

1 João 1:5

Phillips: Here, then, is the message which we heard from him, and now proclaim to you: GOD IS LIGHT and no shadow of darkness can exist in him. (

1 João 1:6

Phillips: Consequently, if we were to say that we enjoyed fellowship with him and still went on living in darkness, we should be both telling and living a lie. (

1 João 1:6-7

Phillips: But if we really are living in the same light in which he eternally exists, then we have true fellowship with each other, and the blood which his Son shed for us keeps us clean from all sin. (

1 João 1:6-7

Phillips: Consequently, if we were to say that we enjoyed fellowship with him and still went on living in darkness, we should be both telling and living a lie. (

1 João 1:7

Phillips writes John's teaching on the cleansing power of the blood of Christ …has to be one of the most comforting verses in the whole Bible. It is a truth taught from Genesis to Revelation—blood cleanses sin. A skeptic challenged a believer: "How does blood cleanse sin?" he demanded. The believer replied with a counter question: "How does water quench thirst?" he asked. The skeptic replied, "I don't know, but I know that it does." "Just so," said the believer, "I don't know how blood cleanses sin, but I know that it does—God says so." (Exploring the Epistles of John) Not All the Blood of Beasts --Isaac Watts Not all the blood of beasts, On Jewish altars slain, Could give the guilty conscience peace, Nor wash away one stain. But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, Took all our sins away; A sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they. H A Ironside (Illustrations of Bible Truth) - The Blood Counts for Something A friend of mine, himself an evangelist, lay for many weary months in a Roman Catholic hospital in the city of Oakland, California, because of injuries received in an automobile accident. On a nearby bed lay a young priest, evidently a sincere and earnest man, but he was greatly troubled in view of possible death. An aged priest came from time to time to hear his confessions, and to grant him absolution. My friend longed to speak to him, but found him very difficult to approach. One day, however, as the older priest was about to leave, he overheard the young one say to him, something like this, "Father, it is very strange: I have done everything I know to do. I have sought to carry out all that the church has asked, and yet I have no peace. How can I be sure that God has put away my sins?" The other looked at him compassionately, and then exclaimed, "Surely the blood of Christ ought to count for something!" As though a flash of divine light had entered his soul, the young priest's countenance changed. He looked up eagerly to exclaim, "Ah, yes, it counts for everything. I can trust that." And it was evident afterwards that his soul had entered into peace. Can you trust the precious blood shed by that Holy Son, who drank the cup of judgment for your sins upon the cross? If so, God declares that your sins which are many are all forgiven. Thus, redeemed to God and justified, you will enter, as never before, into the inner meaning of the garden and the Cross. "Gethsemane, can I forget, Or there Thy conflict see, Thine agony and blood-like sweat, And not remember Thee? When to the Cross I turn mine eyes, And rest on Calvary, O Lamb of God, my sacrifice, I must remember Thee." Jesus His Son - Notice John's purposeful designation of Jesus, His human name and Son His divine origin. So even in this short phrase we see John's refutation of the false teaching that Jesus is not really God (See Docetism for example or What is Docetism? | GotQuestions.org). Marvin

1 João 1:8

Phillips: If we refuse to admit that we are sinners, then we live in a world of illusion and truth becomes a stranger to us. ( Phillips: Touchstone) WBC: If we claim to be sinless, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth has no place in us. (Word Biblical Commentary)

1 João 1:9

Phillips: But if we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable and straightforward - he forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil. ( Phillips: Touchstone) WBC: But if we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and righteous, so that he will forgive our sins and purify usb from every kind of unrighteousness. (Word Biblical Commentary)

1 João 1:9

Phillips - God does not cleanse us because He is indulgent and easygoing but because He is faithful and righteous, that is, He is faithful to His promises, and He does what is right. It is right that He should cleanse us because God is just and because Jesus has paid the full price of our sin and of all our sins at Calvary. God has accepted the blood of Christ as full payment for both our sinful condition and our sinful conduct. Faithful (4103)(pistos from peitho = to persuade - induce one by words to believe, have confidence) is something or someone who is worthy of faith or keeps promises. As the Greek wordsmith Marvin

1 João 1:10

Phillips: For if we take up the attitude "we have not sinned", we flatly deny God's diagnosis of our condition and cut ourselves off from what he has to say to us. ( Phillips: Touchstone) WBC: If we claim that we have not sinned we are making him out to be a liar, and his word has no place in us. (Word Biblical Commentary)

1 João 1:10

Phillips writes that… All that deceit and wickedness is proved when a person says that he or she has no sin. Such people prove themselves to be wicked by calling God a liar. "His Word is not in them," John says. Such people refuse to believe the Bible and deny the Holy Spirit's thoroughgoing exposure of the corruption and crookedness and criminality of unregenerate human behavior. The first great work of the Holy Spirit in a human heart, after all, is to convict us of "sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8-11)—of the nature of sin, the need for righteousness, and the nearness of judgment. The person who says he or she has no sin is evidently a person in whose heart the Holy Spirit has not done even His initial work. THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFESSION - John MacArthur (Borrow ) “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” 1 Jn 1:10 Confession is the first step toward defeating sin. It is often true that the hardest part of dealing with a problem is admitting that you have one. Beginning with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:11–13), people have denied responsibility for their sins, and our generation is no exception. To acknowledge that one is a sinner, guilty of breaking God’s holy law, is not popular. People call sin by a myriad of other names, futilely hoping to define it out of existence. They do so, motivated by their innate awareness that there is a moral law and that there are consequences for violating it (Rom. 1:32). But God’s people have always recognized the necessity of confession. After committing the terrible sins of adultery and murder, David acknowledged to Nathan the prophet, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). Later he cried out to God, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight” (Ps. 51:3–4). Faced with a vision of the awesome majesty and holiness of God, Isaiah declared, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). Daniel was a man of unparalleled integrity, yet part of his prayer life involved confessing his sin (Dan. 9:20). Peter, the acknowledged leader of the apostles, said to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8). The apostle Paul, the godliest man who ever lived (except for Jesus Christ), wrote this about himself: “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Tim. 1:15). The examples of those godly men illustrate a fundamental biblical truth: constant confession of sin characterizes true Christians (1 John 1:9). Those who claim to be believers but refuse to confess their sins deceive themselves (1 John 1:8) and make God a liar (1 John 1:10). Suggestions for Prayer: Confess and forsake your sins today, and experience the blessedness of God’s forgiveness (Prov. 28:13). For Further Study: Read and meditate on Nehemiah’s masterful prayer of confession in Nehemiah 1. WE MAKE HIM A LIAR: pseusten poioumen (1PPAI) auton : we say: 1Jn 1:8 Ps 130:3 we make: 1Jn 5:10 Job 24:25 1 John 1 Resources DENIAL OF SIN: FIRST SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE: GOD MADE A LIAR! We make Him a liar - In simple terms, we make God a liar when we deny in thought, word or deed that what God states about Himself (including His abject hatred of sin) and about our innate tendency to commit sins, something every human being has done, is doing and will do! Sin is a clenched fist and a blow in the face of God. -- Joseph Parker Compare a similar use of pseustes in chapter 5… 1 Jn 5:10 The one who believes (present tense) in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not (absolute negation) believe (present tense) God has made Him a liar, (pseustes) because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. Comment: Notice that John says that making God a liar is associated with not believing in Jesus which is clearly a description of a non-believer. In other words the unbeliever is the one who makes God a liar! In 1John 5:10 he makes God a liar by not believing in the "Word of life", in Whom alone is eternal life! Here in 1John 1:8 he makes God a liar by not believing His Word about his sinful state! J B Phillips paraphrase hits the proverbial "nail on the head" (and hopefully "the sinner in his heart") "For if we take up the attitude "we have not sinned", we flatly deny God's diagnosis of our condition and cut ourselves off from what He has to say to us."