Talking Or Walking

I am continuing my reading of John's first letter, and maintaining my focus on relationship as the core component to our faith. Reading from 1 John 1:5-7 NIV:

[5] "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. [6] If we claim to (say we) have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. [7] 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, purifies us from all sin."

John is speaking metaphorically here, but the imagery is simple. God is light, pure light with no darkness in Him at all. It is easier to understand that and believe that, than trying to believe there is a being having no dark or bad side to their personality. A light shines forth and penetrates and drives off darkness. The two are in direct opposition to one another.

In verse 6, John is talking about those who are Christian in name only. They say they are Christian, but their actions say otherwise. They are not walking out their beliefs in their daily life. They are fooling themselves possibly, but God is not fooled, and the fruit of their life will be evident.

Finally in verse 7, John speaks as clearly as he can. If we walk, or live our lives, in the light, which is where He is, then we are relationship with Him and all others that are also in the light. John makes a clean distinction between those who say or claim to be Christians, and those who actually are living their lives that way. Early on Christians said they were part of "The Way" (see Acts 19:9 & Acts 24:14) for when John is talking about walking, the Greek word actually translates into following the path or way. You are either on the path or not. You can say you are on the path, but its clear you are not by where you are walking and who you are walking alongside.

I think that it interesting that John speaks about this all as fellowship, or intimate relationship. Those who claim to have fellowship (relationship) with the Father but walk in a way that is evident that they do not have such a relationship are clearly lying. Again, relationship is the key. Its not about rules, following the teachings, but about being in relationship. If we have relationship with Him (God) then we also have relationship (fellowship) with each other. You don't have one without the other. Jesus made it clear when He gave us His command "love one another" (John 15:17) and that if we love Him and keep His commands then He and the Father will come and show themselves ( be in relationship). - John 14:15,21

It is all about relationships, loving God, loving others, walking and living our lives together. Its not about our words, but about our actions. Its not about our intentions, but about efforts and fruit.

Finally, we must not misunderstand John here. He is NOT writing primarily about light and darkness, holiness and sin, but about the difference between talking and walking. Some have taken this verse to say if you have any darkness in your life that you are not in the light or in relationship with God, but that is not what John said at all, if you read it. The Greek words speak about relational position, and some would say they are in the light (relating to the Father) but are demonstrating by their life they are not. Others are demonstrating this relationship by their actions, but John doesn't speak about their lives being perfectly in the light with no darkness (sin). He says it is in this relationship that Jesus blood "purifies us from all sin.". The Greek word here translated purifies is a verb that means to cleanse and purify. This can happen instantaneously or over time like we see in a couple stories from Luke (Luke 5:13; 17:12) where lepers are cleansed, one is instantaneous, the others are cleansed as they walk.

In summary, its all about relationship, or fellowship. Our actions speak louder than our words, and our actions are what God is considering. He knows if we are in relationship with Him or not. We may have just started down the path, or we might have been walking this way for years, but we can never forget its about relationships, not rules, teachings or formulas.