We have seen the doctrinal principle of God's holy character and how this sets the standard for fellowship with Him, "God, as to his nature, is Light" 1 John 1:5. It is through the metaphor of light that we learn of the conditions we must meet if we are to walk with Him, “walk in the light as He is in the light” 1 John 1:7. The apostle John presents the concepts of light and darkness as mutually exclusive. There are no grays or mixtures of the two in his teaching. This is the absolute concept of spirituality. So, if we transpose his instructions into a visual expression ¹, it would look something like this:

A second major concept that grows out of 1 John is the teaching that the light and the darkness are spheres or realms. John does not have a chalkboard or a PowerPoint program, but he does have the preposition EN plus the locative case. We bring this out in the expanded translation of 1 John 1:6,7, in the sphere of darkness and in the sphere of light. In figure A, we show light and darkness as two realms ² or spheres ³ , distinct from one another. The believer is to live, to reside, to walk inside the sphere of light. Fellowship with the Lord can only take place in the light. When we are walking in the light, we are in fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Figure B. ⁴

We must reside, live, or connect with our God inside the Circle of Fellowship. As we follow the text, we find John explaining that sin interrupts our fellowship with God. When we are outside the circle of fellowship, we are in the sphere of darkness. We are not living in a manner true to who we are. The result is that we are no longer in fellowship but out of fellowship.

Restoration To Fellowship

Figure D shows the believer restored to fellowship by confessing his sin(s) to God. If God's will for us to be inside the circle of fellowship, then we should expect a revelation from Him on how to maintain our residence inside that circle. He does in 1 John 1:9.

Review

1. John teaches that there are two mutually exclusive fellowships, the fellowship of light or the fellowship of darkness. There is no mixture or any gray areas; it is absolute!

2. The believer lives daily in one sphere or the other. They fellowship with Christ in the light, or they walk in darkness. They are in fellowship or out of fellowship.

3. Unconfessed sin interrupts our fellowship with God and removes us from communion with Him.

4. Fellowship can only be restored when we confess our sin(s) to God.

5. Restoration means we are forgiven our sin and our fellowship, walking in the light as he is in the light, resumes.

Furthermore, this concept of fellowship is taught by Jesus and Paul using different vocabulary. Paul stated this in 1 Corinthians 3:3 when he said to them, "are you not fleshly [under the control of the sin nature] and walking like men [unbelievers]. I mention this passage because 1 John 1:6,7 and 1 Corinthians 3:3 have identical concepts. There is no difference between Paul calling out believers who are living like unbelievers and designating them "Carnal" from John who says some believers are living in "darkness." Paul uses a different vocabulary. Walking by means of the Spirit and walking by means of the flesh, Galatians 5:16-22; Romans 7:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. Although he also uses light and darkness in contrast in Ephesian 5.

This view of fellowship was taught to John by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Upper Room, especially in the powerful illustration of the Vine and the Branches. Jesus stated this principle of fellowship when he said to the disciples, "abide in Me." Jesus used the same preposition with the locative case that John uses. In fact, this word "abide" is found 22 times in 1 John alone. As we will discover, it is a favorite word of John. So, when Jesus says "abide IN me" and John says "walk IN the light,” we are not to treat them as two different concepts but identical and interchangeable, abide IN me or fellowship WITH me or walk IN the light or abide IN the light or even fellowship IN the light. These are not only true statements but equal concepts of fellowship.

For Further Study: Importance of the Circle of Fellowship, read Topic #20 1 John 1:7, The First False Claim - part 4. Click Here

ENDNOTES

¹ The visual ideas come from Pastor R.B.Thieme Jr, the beloved pastor of Berachah Church, Houston, Texas. Now enjoying the glories of eternity.

² Wallace suggests this gloss for the locative, in the realm of. Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (p. 154). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

³ There is no case in Greek more clearly marked in its use than the locative. Its root idea is quite distinct, and the application of the root idea in its various uses is readily discernible. So in simplest terms, we may define the locative as the case of position. H.E. Dana and J.R. Mantey, A Manuel Grammar of the Greek New Testament, The Macmillan company, 1967, fifteenth printing p86, 87.

⁴ Those of you who follow football might have noticed how the commentators have new innovative visual tools at their disposal to help viewers see what is happening on the field. So now they use a tracker. The player they want to follow on the field of play appears in a circle of light. The player is inside that circle, and no matter where they move, they are highlighted. So we live in the circle of light, figure B.