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1 John 1 Authorized (King James) Version
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 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.
See also this Scripture passage in the Living Bible Version:
1 John 1
Living Bible
1 Christ was alive when the world began, yet I myself have seen him with my own eyes and listened to him speak. I have touched him with my own hands. He is God’s message of life. 2 This one who is life from God has been shown to us, and we guarantee that we have seen him; I am speaking of Christ, who is eternal Life. He was with the Father and then was shown to us. 3 Again I say, we are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may share the fellowship and the joys we have with the Father and with Jesus Christ his son. 4 And if you do as I say in this letter, then you, too, will be full of joy, and so will we. 5 This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in him is no darkness at all. 6 So if we say we are his friends but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. 7 But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned.
Are you filled with regret for disobeying the Lord? Today, the Lord showed me something about 1 Jn. 1 that I want to tell you, so that you can learn how to obey the Lord and get that bitterness and guilt-trip cleansed through prayer.
The first thing that God showed me in 1 Jn 1, is verse five. God is Light. The Apostle John is saying in this verse, that the theme message that the Son of God showed them while He was on Earth, about God, is not that Jesus loves you, which is a good message. And, it wasn't that God forgives you. Nor, that Jesus died for you and then rose from the dead for you. Which are all true and good messages. But the theme message that the Son of God gave to the Apostles, is that GOD IS LIGHT. That's what verse five is saying.
This message is important for our fellowship with God because it teaches us how to come out of darkness. By fellowship, I mean having no problems with backsliding and the guilt associated with backsliding. The result of being in darkness, or, backsliding, is that pain, regret, bitterness and guilt that you feel over backsliding.
You have been born again, and the proof of that, though you've been backsliding, is that you NEED to obey God. It's more than "a want", or a desire. It's a need. Like you need air to breathe and food to live. Like biological needs, it's a spiritual need to live with God. You can't live and breath without air in your lungs and food, and you can't be happy without pleasing God because you've been born again.
You're full of guilt over backsliding. That shows that you are indeed born again (Rom. 7).
To be born again, means that God has given you a brand new heart and spirit with new and godly desires (Eze. 36:25-27). The born again desire that you're feeling regret over, is "to please God". God is calling you to come out of darkness today. So let's minister to you. God is Light. Today, God will show you what it means to live in the Light so that you can obey God and get rid of the guilt. Is that what you want? Then this message is for you from God.
To understand the significance that God is Light, you first need to understand what darkness is.
What Is Darkness?
John 3:19-21
Authorized (King James) Version {Paraphrased}
19 {Jesus said} And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
See also this Scripture passage in the Living Bible Version:
John 3:19-21
Living Bible {Paraphrased}
19 {And Jesus said} Their sentence is based on this fact: that the Light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 They hated the heavenly Light because they wanted to sin in the darkness. They stayed away from that Light for fear their sins would be exposed and they would be punished. 21 But those doing right come gladly to the Light to let everyone see that they are doing what God wants them to.”
Can you see that darkness are things that people do that they don't want others to know about? We know this today as "Skeletons In the Closet". Things that people like to do, they enjoy doing these things. But they don't want to get caught. Forbidden relations. I agree with the Apostle Paul that it is a shame to even mention these works of darkness in the light of the public eye...
Ephesians 5:11-13
Authorized (King James) Version
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
See also this Scripture passage in the Living Bible Version:
Ephesians 5:11-13
Living Bible
11 Take no part in the worthless pleasures of evil and darkness, but instead, rebuke and expose them. 12 It would be shameful even to mention here those pleasures of darkness that the ungodly do. 13 But when you expose them, the light shines in upon their sin and shows it up, and when they see how wrong they really are, some of them may even become children of light!
John 3:20 says that people hate the Light of God, they hate God, because they love to do those wicked things. They don't want to be exposed. They want to keep doing them even though they know that they are wrong and immoral. But God shines the light of exposure on them and they hate it because they enjoy it!
The murderous adulteress, for example. Who takes pleasure in a forbidden affair with her husband's cuter and younger brother. Because she enjoys it, she, in her guilt, kills her husband, who's done nothing wrong to her, to keep the adulterous relationship going. Today, we know these types as "Basket Cases". People who have seared their own conscience with the hot iron of sin.
1 Timothy 4:1-3
Authorized (King James) Version
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
See also this Scripture passage in the Living Bible Version:
1 Timothy 4:1-3
Living Bible
1 But the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some in the church will turn away from Christ and become eager followers of teachers with devil-inspired ideas. 2 These teachers will tell lies with straight faces and do it so often that their consciences won’t even bother them. 3 They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat meat, even though God gave these things to well-taught Christians to enjoy and be thankful for.
Have you been feeling guilty for disobeying God? I want you to look within yourself and see that what you are feeling guilt over, is not loving other people, as a Christian should do. You're feeling guilty because you have not been spending time with your family as you should. You haven't been helping your neighbors either. You've been seeing old people who need help and you left on your way, all the while looking at them while the guilt grows. Knowing that you should have stopped and assisted them for the Lord. But you didn't. You didn't spend time with your grandchildren either when you should have. You just wanted to be by yourself for a while. Solitude is good. But not in place of loving your family. What else? You saw a child getting beat and you did nothing....you saw a pretty woman getting abused and you left her...Whatever the sin was, the guilt is coming from not loving others for the Lord. By not listening to the Lord and loving others, your heart is becoming seared and hardened. The Lord has warnings for you about a hard heart in Hebrews chapters 3, 6 and 12. Please read these chapters at the first chance that you get to help yourself get back in the Light.
What Is Light?
Now that we understand what darkness is, let's see what Light is so that we can get back into the Light. Light is doing those things that are approved of by God (Jn. 3:21). Those things that you haven't been doing, that are causing you guilt. To be in the Light means to love others. To obey those God given desires to spend time with your family. To help the elders. To help defenseless children and women. To be in the Light means to start doing those things that you haven't been doing. Which are going to come down to loving others.
We walk in the Light by confessing our sins against God and other people. Which means to repent of sin, and the result is that we have fellowship with one another instead of fights. And only by walking in the Light like this, does Christ's Blood cleanse our sins before the Father.
1 John 1:6-10
Authorized (King James) Version
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.
See also this Scripture passage in the Living Bible Version:
1 John 1:6-10
Living Bible {Paraphrased}
6 So if we say we are {God's} friends but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. 7 But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him,[a] he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.* 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned.
Footnotes
1 John 1:9 confess our sins to him, implied; literally, “confess our sins.” Christ died to wash away our sins, literally, “he is . . . just."
If you want to get rid of that guilt and bondage to sin and the forbidden works of darkness, walk in the Light. Repent. Confess that sin to God. Start loving your people. Listen to the Holy Spirit in your heart when He tells you to help others and spend time with them. Love your people.
When you repent and walk in the Light like this, you'll have no problem hiding any skeletons in the closet because you'll have none. And you'll want the Public to see that what you do is done in God instead. Obeying God makes you happy because you fulfill that need to please God in your born again heart. Start loving others and you'll get rid of that guilt and will become happy in the Light with nothing to be exposed and corrected by the Lord Jesus. Nothing to hide.
John 3:21
Authorized (king James) Version {Paraphrased}
21 {And Jesus said} But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
See also this Scripture passage in the Living Bible Version:
John 3:21
Living Bible {Paraphrased}
21 {And Jesus said} But those doing right come gladly to the Light to let everyone see that they are doing what God wants them to.”
John 8:12
Authorized (King James) Version
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.
John 8:12
Living Bible
12 Later, in one of his talks, Jesus said to the people, “I am the Light of the world. So if you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, for living light will flood your path.”
John 1:1-5
Authorized (King James) Version
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John 1:1-5
Living Bible
1-2 Before anything else existed,[a] there was Christ,* with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. 3 He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. 4 Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. 5 His life is the light that shines through the darkness—and the darkness can never extinguish it.
Footnotes
John 1:1 Before anything else existed, literally, “In the beginning.” Christ, literally, “the Word,” meaning Christ, the wisdom and power of God and the first cause of all things; God’s personal expression of himself to men.
If you want help in repenting of not loving others as a Christian, I give you Psalm 51. This is a Psalm that King David created a long time ago and sang to God after he murdered Uriah for his wife Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11). Make this your prayer. Then sing it to God with "Create In Me A Clean Heart" by the late prophet, Keith Green, in the attachment below. Keith Green's song is taken from Psalm 51:10-12.
Play that song and sing it to God in repentance over and over...I guarantee you, the Holy Spirit is going to bring tears of repentance the second you play the song...God speed. Amen.
Psalm 51
Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 51 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
Psalm 51
Living Bible
1 Written after Nathan the prophet had come to inform David of God’s judgment against him because of his adultery with Bathsheba, and his murder of Uriah, her husband.
O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions. 2 Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again. 3 For I admit my shameful deed—it haunts me day and night. 4 It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just. 5 But I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6 You deserve honesty from the heart; yes, utter sincerity and truthfulness. Oh, give me this wisdom. 7 Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood[a] and I shall be clean again. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 And after you have punished me, give me back my joy again. 9 Don’t keep looking at my sins—erase them from your sight. 10 Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires. 11 Don’t toss me aside, banished forever from your presence. Don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 13 Then I will teach your ways to other sinners, and they—guilty like me—will repent and return to you. 14-15 Don’t sentence me to death. O my God, you alone can rescue me. Then I will sing of your forgiveness,[b] for my lips will be unsealed—oh, how I will praise you. 16 You don’t want penance;[c] if you did, how gladly I would do it! You aren’t interested in offerings burned before you on the altar. 17 It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore. 18 And Lord, don’t punish Israel for my sins—help your people and protect Jerusalem.[d] 19 And when my heart is right,[e] then you will rejoice in the good that I do* and in the bullocks I bring to sacrifice upon your altar.
Footnotes
Psalm 51:7 Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood, literally, “Purge me with hyssop”; see Exodus 12:22; Hebrews 9:18-22.
Psalm 51:14 forgiveness, literally, “righteousness.”
Psalm 51:16 penance, literally, “a sacrifice.”
Psalm 51:18 and protect Jerusalem, literally, “do good in your good pleasure unto Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.”
Psalm 51:19 And when my heart is right, implied. then you will rejoice in the good that I do, literally, “then you will delight in the sacrifice of righteousness.”
"Create In Me A Clean Heart" (Keith Green)