This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1: 5-7 ESV

     I enjoy light; and if Mary would let me, I’d have almost every light in the house on when it is dark outside. Darkness restricts our ability to see the good and bad that surrounds us, and without light we tend to stumble and move slowly. This is true both spiritually and physically. In the spiritual application, God is light, and sin is darkness, of which Satan is the father. Light, in the physical world, dispels darkness and a person can move through a room or area with ease, seeing all the obstacles that could trip them or cause them harm. Darkness, on the other hand, will cause a person to move very slowly and can cause you unnecessary pain if you fall or trip over unseen obstacles. To be spiritually blind is to walk in perpetual darkness, but to walk in light is to have the ability to see that which is only explainable by God. This is why John Newton, in his song Amazing Grace, wrote the lyrics “I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see.” To know God is to understand that He is the light of the world, and when creating the physical world, he separated light from darkness. (Genesis 1:4 16-18) The spiritual light rules over darkness just as the physical light we see with our eyes rules over the darkness described in Genesis. This is the message of 1 John, and is our message to the world today – that…..

God Is The Light:
     Not much has changed in Satan’s schemes in the world or church concerning false teachings. False teachings and lies were part of the concerns and reason for John writing 1, 2, & 3 John. John started where God started in the very beginning of all things…. with light. God was and is the beginning of all things, and is eternal, for in him is no darkness. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the LIGHT of men. The LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1: 1-4. ESV …… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the father, full of grace and truth. John 1: 14 ESV  One of the false teachings was that Jesus was not God’s son, and attempts were made to dispel him as the Messiah. As Christians, we know this is false because the light of God dwells and shines in our hearts. (2 Corinthians 4:6) To deny this is to not be of Him, for Jesus, in the Christian, will not deny Himself. Light has revealed this to the Christian and in this light is no darkness.

Fellowship With Darkness:
     The real lie is to say you have fellowship with God, yet walk or continually practice a sinful lifestyle. God did not bring the Christian into the light to embrace sin but to reveal sin that we might confess it and then walk in love for God. It should be frustrating for the Christian to sin, for the practice of sin will without exception separate you from fellowship with God. God does not have fellowship with darkness for He is light, and just as in Genesis- He separated them from each other. ( 1 John chapter 3)

Fellowship Because Of Jesus:
     The light of fellowship is a reality; for when we walk in the light, we have fellowship with others who do the same. Jesus recognizes Himself within fellow believers. God chooses to dispel Spiritual darkness by His collective light in believers perhaps much like the stars of the heavens do in the darkness of night. Take away the stars, and all you have is darkness. The stars in the darkness enabled sailors to navigate through the oceans. Christians should so shine in the darkness that it enables those who are lost to navigate to God. Fellowship with one another in love shows the world that we are different because of Christ living in us, or at least that is the way it is suppose to be. It should be this way because the blood of Jesus cleansed us from all sin, and we are to no longer walk in that sin. Loving your sin will keep you from God, but loving God will keep you from sin.

     Let this be a challenge for you this week. Evaluate your life to see if any sin is causing your fellowship with God to be diminished. If it be so, then confess it. Live as a Christian who is called to walk in the light and fellowship with God. Jesus said these words in Matthew 5: 14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good words and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”  The light in us for the world to see is the light of God. May your life truly give evidence of His light.

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David