Walking in the Light

“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.” (1 John 1:7)

What is it to walk in the Light? It certainly cannot mean a walk of sinless purity and perfection, even with our best behavior because the same text declares that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. What would be the need for cleansing if we could even for a moment have a sinless thought?

Here is a Scripture that requires an understanding of the context to interpret the text. Since the verse begins with the conjunction ‘but’ we need to go back to the previous verses to understand the contrast. The apostle John writes of the fellowship that God’s redeemed, justified and called out elect children enjoy in perfect harmony with His every attribute as God: IN HIS SON JESUS CHRIST, v. 3. To walk in the Light then is to walk in Him Who is THE LIGHT and by the revelation of Him as the Light, God’s children walk in perfect harmony and fellowship with God as HOLY, v. 5.

If we say that we have fellowship [perfect agreement and harmony] in all of God’s attributes as just, holy and sinless yet walk in darkness, that is willful ignorance, attempting to love God and serve Him through self-will and self-righteousness, we lie. Dead works are a refuge of lies: Isaiah 28:17. Those who walk in darkness do not the Truth, v. 6. They are not submitted to the one true righteousness of God established, accepted and imputed in Christ upon completion of His obedience unto death, Romans 10:3.

In connection with this, we then see the context of v. 7 beginning with ‘but’ If we walk in the Light[Christ’s righteousness imputed at Calvary and revealed to the heart in time by the Spirit of God in the Gospel], we have fellowship [oneness, harmony, and agreement] with one another [God’s elect, redeemed and justified ones] and the blood of Jesus Christ [shed and applied to their Spiritual account at Calvary] continues to cleanse us from all sin because that blood was effectually shed once for all and God has effectively put it away.

In the light of His death we enjoy the benefits of that legal state of perfect fellowship with God [justification] and by His Spirit we experience that perfect fellowship with God because Christ has already put away our sins. We don’t pretend that we don’t have sin, like all religious hypocrites, nor do we hide it but we own it and confess it continually, resting in Christ alone and His finished work and righteousness imputed at Calvary as our only Hope.