But if we walk in the light

.... as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son keeps on cleansing us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Of the nineteen times the Greek word koinonea (translated here as fellowship) appears in the New Testament, four of them are here in this short chapter.  Koinonea is a deep hearted participation, connection and  sharing with another. At the birth of the church it expressed itself in converts selling property and possessions to give to anyone who had need (Acts 2:42). John, one of the inner three of the twelve disciples  uses the word to describe his relationship with Jesus (verse 3), and Paul could speak of the fellowship of his suffering with Him (Philippians 3:10).   John is writing these things to us, so that we may share (fellowship) in  the fellowship he has with the Father and the Son (and with each other), and that our joy may be full (verses 3, 4, 7).

The Kingdom is primarily about koinoinea relationships, it is about moving towards the openness, vulnerability and transparency of the relationship Adam and Eva had with each other before the fall. It is the reality of the agape love within such relationships,  that Jesus gives the World permission to judge whether or not,  we are His disciples (John 13:35).  The depth of this koinonea fellowship that we have with God and the depth that we have with each other, are directly related, they go hand in hand.  And both are related to our walking in the light. We could even speak of this as having fellowship (or not) with the light!

But what does it mean to walk in the light? David could say “the entrance of Your Word brings light (Psalm 119:130). And it was said of Daniel that the Spirit of the Holy God and light and understanding and wisdom were in him (Daniel 5:11). So to walk in the light is to daily discipline ourselves to allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word,  and to walk in obedience to what He shows us. It is to refuse to compromise or rationalize away our behaviour,  or to be conformed to world,  or even to the poor behaviour of other Christians. To do these things is to lie to ourselves and to not practice truth (reality verse 6). We need to blood of Jesus Christ to keep on cleansing us (verse 7), because as we walk in the light, He  reveals our secret sins, sins hidden many times even from ourselves.  And then when they are brought to the light we confess them and forsake them, and they are then all covered by His blood. He even cleanses our consciences from the pollution of it all (verse 9).

Father, this kind of fellowship and joy go hand in hand (verse 4). John tells us “this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). And if we are finding them burdensome, we have failed to understand what it is we should do.  Thank You Lord that You have already poured out Your love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). And it seems that walking in the light is about making sure that there is nothing hindering our experiencing it. So help us Lord to abide in that love (John 15:9),  and we will give You the glory in Jesus Name Amen