1 John 1:6

If [for example] we [including myself] claim that we have fellowship with Him yet we walk in the sphere of darkness [then] We are lying to ourselves and are not practicing the truth [Bible Doctrine].

Introduction To The Alleged Claim

In our last lesson [Topic #16 – The Barriers to Fellowship], we summarized the two great obstacles that hinder our fellowship with God and generally how God removes these barriers. On the Godward side of the equation of fellowship, stands a perfect and Holy God who lovingly invites us to fellowship with Him. This generous offer requires us “to walk in the light as He is in the light.” Following this, John raises the issue of personal sin in the daily walk and life of a believer. We find God’s gracious remedy. We are to maintain our fellowship by confessing our sins to Him, 1 John 1:9. The great warning throughout this section [ 1 John 1:5-2:2] is, if we do not acknowledge our sins to God, we will come under the influence of darkness. So then, the seriousness of personal sin in the life of a born-again believer is being underscored. This section is so important to living the life that is pleasing to God that we must carefully approach this text, “rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”

1 John 1:6 begins the first of three false claims about fellowship. We will cover this verse in three parts noting as we go along the outline: The Alleged claim,” If we claim that we have fellowship with Him”; the Alarming Contradiction, “and yet walk in the darkness”; and the Admonishing Censure, “we lie and do not practice the truth.” This passage is brilliantly conceived and yet sadly and tragically misunderstood. Therefore, it is crucial that we undertake a clarification of the inaccurate interpretations found in the passage.

The Subjects Of The “We”

The first addresses the problem with the interpretation of the first-person plural. When John says, “if WE claim,” does John include himself?” In other words, who are the subjects of this WE? Why is this important? The subjects are “walking in darkness.” For this reason, some interpreters say, “because the subjects addressed are walking in darkness, they can’t be Christians.” At the core of the issue is whether a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can ever walk in darkness. To reject the possibility will significantly undermine the passage.

Since determining this will impact interpreting this epistle, let me state the view of this pastor and what is found in these articles. The “we” is the inclusive use ¹ of the first-person plural and includes John and his audience. The implication of this interpretation declares that any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, at any time, who commits sin or who remains in spiritual infancy can indeed walk in darkness. This admission is hard for some to come to terms with, for they know that walking in darkness means a person is living under the control of Satan, the prince of darkness. Can a believer come under the corrupting influence of Satan and be pulled back into the darkness? Yes, but not everyone holds this view.

For instance, Dr. Wuest, for whom I have tremendous respect, says this about John:

He deals gently and humbly with his readers, including himself in the statement.¹

Dr. Wuest chooses this interpretation for another reason. He writes:

This person is said to be walking in the darkness which is not in God, namely, sin. The verb is present subjunctive which speaks of habitual action. Thus, this person is sinning habitually, continuously, which shows that he is an unsaved person. No child of God sins habitually to the exclusion of righteous acts. [Wuest on 1 John 1:6] ²

This view reduces the WE to others but not John. They say, “John includes himself, but it can never be said of him or any other believer, “they walk in darkness.” Therefore, we must not include John or other believers in this WE. This is interesting, for when does WE not mean WE? From the standpoint of grammar and usage of the first-person plural “WE” can mean one of three things: WE = I [literary WE], WE means author and associates [Exclusive WE], and thirdly WE can mean author and readers [Inclusive WE].³ There is no place in Scripture where an author using the first-person plural means “WE, but NOT ME.” This view changes the meaning of we in order to preserve a false view of the Christian Way of Life. For this reason, in the expanded translation, we translate this, “If we, including myself.”

The context points to the inclusive use of "WE." The first-person plural includes John and his audience. If John wanted to exclude himself from this statement, he could have used the second person plural, "If you (plural) claim." Obviously, he felt strongly about including himself and the audience in stating, “if you walk in darkness you cannot fellowship with God.” This includes everyone, unbelievers, Apostles, and their associates, and the entire Christian Church.

The WE is different in 1 John 1:4. This is an illustration of the exclusive use of the first-person plural, “These things we write.” He is referring to himself and the other Apostles, as a group, who are writing the Scriptures, “author and associates.” Here are some facts:

1. The first-person plural is found 26 times in the first chapter alone (155 times in the entire epistle).

2. Twenty-six times it is embedded in the verbal inflection, and 14 times it appears as a first-person plural pronoun.

3. There are three grammatical categories found in the usage of WE, the exclusive, the inclusive, and the literary.

4. There is no fourth category where WE means everyone, but NOT ME.

Finally, those who reject the inclusive use of WE often based their argument on the present tense connoting habitual action. The present tense has many nuances or aspects, and other kinds of the present are equally viable in the interpretation of the present tense. In fact, the progressive present fits the context much better, which signifies an action in progress or a state of persistence. ⁴ In other words, any believer after salvation is capable of walking in darkness. How? By squandering those things God has provided in grace to help them walk in the light as He is in the light. As in the introduction, we saw that one purpose of this epistle is to root out false doctrine so that we can fulfill the plan that God has for us.

The audience of this letter is again of central importance to interpretation. So let me explain. There are two positions taken that are at odds with one another, and this epistle will be interpreted differently as a result. Is this a case study about unbelievers who think they are saved? They are mixed up about salvation. They are seekers, but not believers. They are professors, but not possessors. They have head knowledge, but not heart knowledge.

We all agree that John is speaking to a church, but in the next statement, unity breaks down. Believers cannot be said to “walk in darkness.” How often I’ve heard the antidote given that in every church there are people that are not saved. John is writing to them. I can testify to the truth of this statement for I attended church for over six months before I accepted Christ as my Savior.

In my opinion, this is a case study about the potential of any believer who is deceived and starts living in the cosmic system. The point I am making is this, true believers can and do revert back to the sinful habits of their past. When this is correctly understood, the idea of a Christian walking in darkness is not so far fetched. Christians sin not just unbelievers! Christians can be deceived! Christians can and do walk in darkness. This is the correct interpretation of these verses in 1 John.

The Significance Of This Epistle Today

The Gnomic Aorist

The alleged claim is not unusual, in fact, “If we claim” is a gnomic aorist. This is the timeless use of the aorist tense. This claim can be made at any time during the Church Age by any believer. Christians can and do walk in darkness, even today.

The Substance of The Claim

Not Salvation, But Fellowship

It is important to note what John did not write, "we have salvation in Him." Is there a difference between salvation and fellowship? ⁵ There is, and for that reason I see this passage talking not about whether or not a person is saved, but rather claiming to be walking with God. Sadly, there is great theological tension here. Some interpret this phrase to mean, "If [for example] we claim that we are saved...". No, no, "having fellowship" is not equal to "having salvation." This interpretation blurs the differences between the two concepts. Salvation is entering into fellowship with God; fellowship is about walking with God. Salvation comes first, then fellowship.

John is not talking about salvation in this passage. Although he will present the gospel throughout this epistle, this letter addresses the doctrinal principles related to the Christian Way of Life. He is talking directly to those who are claiming that they are living for Christ--walking in the light. Going back to my example, if someone claims, I am a Christian, I naturally follow up with the question, "Great, when did you receive Christ?" My next question is, are You walking with Him?” You can see how important it is to get this correct for how to be saved and how to be spiritual are very different doctrines.

Let’s Recap The Difference.

Every one of us who trusted in Jesus Christ did so in a moment of time. The journey to salvation may have taken a long time, it took me twenty-five years, but when you believed in Christ, it is at that moment of time that you were saved. Once saved, salvation is no longer an issue. The moment of faith alone in Christ alone, a new life was given to you--your very own spiritual life. Only you can live it; no one can live it for you. The journey to be saved ends, and a new journey begins until Christ returns. We call this the Christian Way of Life. God designed this life in eternity past; the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated it during His life and ministry. So now, He becomes our example. We are to follow Him, imitate Him, conform to Him, and by so doing, we live in partnership with Him. As we live for Him, we begin to become more like Him. John expected to see Jesus in the character and conduct of the church. However, what he saw was heartbreaking. He writes this section to help them recover from “walking in darkness.”

ENDNOTES

¹ Dr. Wuest on 1 John 1:6. Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Vol. 13, p. 101). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

² Ibid.

³ Grammar Involved in the First Person Plural Constructions: The Scope of “We”

Dr. Wallace warns, “In many situations in the NT, especially in the epistles, the use of WE is not always clear, [Wallace, p.394].” There are three possibilities:

I. THE EDITORIAL or sometimes called the literary WE occurs When We = I, that is the author is referring only to himself. The use of the first-person plural to refer only to the author is also known as the epistolary plural.

Many texts are debatable; the ambiguity in such instances usually has to do with whether the author includes his associates in the first-person plural or is referring only to himself; not infrequently, such passages are triply ambiguous: Does the author refer to himself alone, himself and his associates, or does he include the audience in the we? [Wallace, p.394]

He also says the use of the epistolary plural, though established in the papyri letters, is neither common in the papyri nor the New Testament letters.

Keys to Identification

1. The normal presupposition is that a given first-person plural is not editorial.

2. When an author shifts unexpectedly from the singular to the plural, there are grounds for suspecting an epistolary plural.

3. The context is thus the primary factor involved in determining whether or not WE is an editorial we.

II. THE EXCLUSIVE WE occurs when We = I and my associates.

The use of the first-person plural to refer to the author and his associates as distinct from the audience is called the exclusive “we.”

Example: The Apostolic witness of 1 John 1:1-5.

1 John 1:1

what WE [exclusive use John and the other Apostles] have heard, what WE [exclusive use John and the other Apostles] have seen with our eyes, what WE [exclusive use John and the other Apostles] have looked at and touched with our hands.

1 John 1:2

and the life was manifested, and we [exclusive use John and the other Apostles] and the life was manifested, and WE [exclusive use John and the other Apostles] have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—

1 John 1:3

what we [exclusive use John and the other Apostles] have seen and heard we [exclusive use John and the other Apostles] proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:4

These things we [exclusive use of John and the other Apostles] write, so that our joy may be made complete.

1 John 1:5

This is the message we [exclusive use of John and the other Apostles] have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all.

III. The INCLUSIVE WE occur when We = Author and Audience.

When the first-person plural refers to both the author(s) and his reader(s) is called the inclusive “we.”

These three choices are always difficult to determine, debatable, and yet theologically significant in many passages.

1 John 1:6

If we say that we [inclusive use = Author and Audience] have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we [inclusive use = Author and Audience] lie and do not practice the truth;

⁴ The progressive present is explained in the article Exegesis of 1 John 1:6.

⁵ Others concur with this view:

Sin in the life of the believer breaks the fellowship but does not destroy the sonship. Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (p. 768). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

In 1:6–10, he showed how sin hinders fellowship. Hiebert, D. E. (1988). An Expositional Study of 1 John Part 2 (of 10 Parts): An Exposition of 1 John 1:5–2:6. Bibliotheca Sacra, 145, 330.

It follows therefore that, for John, “fellowship” must be something more than what his readers have automatically acquired as a result of their new birth. It is, in fact, something that is predicated on apostolic instruction—the things the apostles have seen and heard concerning the Word of life (v. 1) and are “sharing” now with their fellow believers (v. 3). Hodges, Z. C. (1972). Fellowship and Confession in 1 John 1:5–10. Bibliotheca Sacra, 129, 51–52.

Thus John’s thought here has its roots in primitive Christianity. Those who have come to faith in Christ must be taught by the apostles of Christ in order that they may have fellowship with them and with God Himself. It may be laid down, then, as an axiom of Christian experience, that all true “fellowship” is predicated on apostolic doctrine. Today, of course, the Scriptures preserve this apostolic voice and continue to furnish the instruction on which such fellowship is founded. Hodges, Z. C. (1972). Fellowship and Confession in 1 John 1:5–10. Bibliotheca Sacra, 129, 52.

But since negatives are best understood in the presence of positives (even in the physical world, darkness is simply the absence of light!), Hodges, Z. C. (1972). Fellowship and Confession in 1 John 1:5–10. Bibliotheca Sacra, 129, 52–53.

Sin enters, and confession is needed to restore fellowship. Ryrie, C. C. (1999). Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (p. 348). Chicago, IL: Moody Press.

Dr. Stott sees the three false claims as denial:

a. The denial that sin breaks our fellowship with God (1:6–7)

b. The denial that sin exists in our nature (1:8–9)

c. The denial that sin shows itself in our conduct (1:10)

Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, p. 59). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

⁶ I have talked about this several times, warning every one of the dangers of confusing the various stages or phases of our relationship to the Plan of God, Titus 2:11-13. See also Topic #1 Introduction to 1 John .