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1 John 1:5-7

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Author Topic: 1 John 1:5-7  (Read 2288 times)
sarahmae
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« on: January 06, 2009, 05:52:56 am »

Okay, I haven't dug in yet but I'm about to! 
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"I don't claim to have found the truth but I know it has found me."  Sara Groves

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RobinM
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« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2009, 07:30:43 am »

I was looking at the fact that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all and cross-referenced to I Timothy 6:15-16.

"...King of king and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen."

Unapproachable light! 

This word light in I Tim. is the same Greek word for light in I John.

We are told to "walk in the light as He Himself is in the light" and then we will have fellowship with one another.

For me, the hope I find is that because we have been told to do this, we CAN do this very thing.

To walk in the light is to walk in truth.  To capture the "little foxes that spoil the vine".  To uncover and share with one another those "seeds of doubt" that the enemy loves to whisper in our ears to cause us to question God's love and the love we have with the brethren.

We have all heard so many sermons on "walking in the light", and it is a deep well to search out, but it is also simply put by John.  If I get up in the middle of the night and don't turn on the light, chances are I may stumble into something.  When I turn on even a tiny nightlight, suddenly I am safe from falling or hurting myself.

And if I "walk in the light as He Himself is in the light", I won't hurt anyone else!

Have a beautiful day, ladies!  Thank you for letting share what was pouring out of my heart this morning.

RobinM
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AmyS
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« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2009, 07:37:40 am »

darkness- disbelief, lack of direction, blinded from truth, lost, confusion
John 11:10
"It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

light- truth, freedom, forgiveness, direction, sight, JESUS, purity

In God there is no darkness at all.  Our sin/imperfects are made bare (seen) in the light.  Forgiveness is found in the light.

Walking is an action.  We must walk out our faith.  We must choose to walk with Jesus every day.  We must choose to walk in His forgiveness, not allowing our past failures to confuse or blind us from the truth of Christ.

Do I stumble around in my life, not knowing where I'm going?  If so, I must reexamine myself.  Am I not able to see b/c sin has crept in and is blinding me?  Am I making a conscious decision to walk WITH Jesus (in the light) today?
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sugarmommy
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« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2009, 08:13:26 am »


We have all heard so many sermons on "walking in the light", and it is a deep well to search out, but it is also simply put by John.  If I get up in the middle of the night and don't turn on the light, chances are I may stumble into something.  When I turn on even a tiny nightlight, suddenly I am safe from falling or hurting myself.

And if I "walk in the light as He Himself is in the light", I won't hurt anyone else!

Have a beautiful day, ladies!  Thank you for letting share what was pouring out of my heart this morning.

RobinM

I love your thoughts here, Robin! Thanks for sharing.

What I love about the Word is that it is chock full of eye witnesses. We, in our humaness, cannot believe if we haven't seen or heard or know someone who did. All the more reason to proclaim and declare the message!

Vs. 5 states that they heard "the message from Him" that "God is light" and "in Him there is no darkness at all". To me that means that He is all Truth. There is no deception, no cloudiness, and He is always apparent.

So, as it says in Vs 6, if we are claiming to "fellowship" with Him, but are not walking with Him, then we cannot be living by Truth. We are decieving ourselves, and others, and there is no way that we will have an honest fellowship Christ or other believers when deception is involved. And, therefore, by not fellowshipping Him and with other believers we cannot experience the true joy that comes from our fellowship with one another (as is discussed in vs. 4).

Okay, I have more thoughts but must stop here as I'm being summoned to make breakfast!!
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SugarMommy
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« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2009, 10:59:40 am »

I am sooo glad you are all sharing your thoughts.  I have taken some of them and added them to my notes so I'll have them in the future.  Great insights.  This is what fellowshipping is all about, huh?

I had so many observations, thoughts, and applications this morning!

First, I LOVE that just as Genesis starts with God in the beginning creating light, John, in both this letter and his gospel, start immediately with Jesus - in the beginning with God - who is light.  All three books start out immediately with God and light, and I know this is not a coincidence.  I just love that John is not only an incredible man and witness, but also a brilliant writer! 

I read something really cool in my ESV study Bible this morning:

"The references to life, light, and darkness continue to draw on Genesis motifs... Against this background Jesus as the "light" brings to this world true knowledge, moral purity, and the light that shows the very presence of God."  (italics mine)

The study Bible pointed me to these verses in Ephesians that I just love:

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
   "Wake up, O sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you."  (Ephesians 5: 8 - 14)

What I keep seeing over and over is that light brings knowledge of truth and purity.  To walk in the light means that we actively seek truth and live it out in purity ("find out what pleases the Lord").  Such good thoughts!  I can already see how, in my commitment to rise early and seek my Lord these last several weeks, I am living differently and shining brighter.  I am finding out what pleases the Lord and shining light into the dark corners of my heart.  I still mess up, snap at my husband, catch myself being lazy, and do other things that are disobedient, but I'm more aware of them than I was and my heart earnestly desires to change.
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Janellybelly
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« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2009, 04:23:17 pm »

I have heard this verse before, but It struck me today that if we are walking in darkness we not only have broken fellowship with our Lord and Savior, but we have broken fellowship with one another as well. 

Vrs.7.  "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,"

That is so true...when you are backslidded or know of others who are, the last thing they (or we) want to do is have fellowship with our Lord or our other Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  It truly effects every aspect of your life!

Love, Janell
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DomRegPet
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« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2009, 07:35:43 pm »

The verse that really struck me is vs. 9.  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  This seems an extension of the light idea.  That we can not live in the light unless we come out of the darkness with our sins and expose them, honestly and openly especially to a good spiritual director.  It is always amazing to me that others don't want to share their sins with other people, the idea of confessing only to God seems "dark" to me.  I want everyone around me to know my weaknesses so they can call me out on them.  But on top of all that a just and faithful God that will call me on and forgive me and let me start new at that moment is so reassuring every time I fall and it is often.
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"To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living but existing." -Pier Giorgio Frassati
BethF
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« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2009, 08:22:07 pm »

I love learning more about God's character! He IS light....just like He is love and He is truth. Light refers to His character...holy, untouched by sin. He CANNOT sin! Walking in darkness is walking contrary to the character of God. Since its against His character to have any darkness at all, we cannot fellowship properly if we aren't recognizing our sin. When we are in fellowship with God, we walk in the light and the light ALWAYS reveals sin. Light means illumination! It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. His grace is sufficient and in my weaknesses, He is strong...He is glorified when I show that I can't do life without Him. When I bring my sin to light, I can show others that I am not strong on my own. I NEED HIM! I need the fellowship with Him! When we share our weaknesses with each other, we allow them into our spiritual walk and they get to see how God works in our lives. It also gives us the opportunity to pray for each other, have accountability, encourage one another and serve one another. Its not always easy and it can be embarrasing, but we know that fellowship with God and believers brings joy. We can know that for sure because God's word says it does...and He cannot lie.

Fellowship with other believers can make us realize that we aren't alone in our struggles. And we can even offer comfort and biblical advice. A lot of times it helps to get other's perspective b/c they are not in the emotional situation. The light does reveal our sin....but what if we are so far in the darkness that we can't see anymore? We have justified our behavior so much that it doesn't SEEM wrong anymore? We need believers to come to us with a flashlight to shed a little perspective on our situation.

God is so good and its so humbling and comforting to know that I can come to Him with anything....I can bring anything into the light and know that fellowship can always be restored!
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~BethF
BethF
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« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2009, 08:37:06 pm »

One more thing....this passage also reminded me of Charlie Hall's "Marvelous Light"

Sin has lost it's power,
death has lost it's sting.
From the grave you've risen
VICTORIOUSLY!

Into marvelous light I'm running,
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way
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~BethF
becca banana
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« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2009, 10:56:19 pm »

This is fantastic, rich discussion!  I seem to speed read the Bible and seeing your thoughts and reflections are so wonderful.  Thank you!
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