Here is an excellent article that speaks about 1 John 1:9. I like to use this site sometimes as it looks at things through the finished work of Christ. It also has a place at the bottom where people like all of us can ask questions. I often learn from others there as well as the article itself.
Quote:
Is 1 John 1 for Believers or Unbelievers?
Why do you assume that the first chapter of first John is addressed to unbelievers?”
This question was put to me by a friend after reading my recent post on
1 John 1:9.
Judging by some of the comments that have come up in various discussion threads, it’s a question many of you are asking:
– How can you say that an epistle clearly written for churches was meant for sinners?
– Aren’t you treading on thin ice when you carve up the Bible saying, “That bit’s not for me”?
– Aren’t we supposed to heed the whole counsel of God?
These are all excellent questions and I will try to shed some light by looking at 1 John 1. But let me state up front that I do not
assume 1 John 1 was written for unbelievers – assumptions of that sort are dangerous. Rather I
conclude that it was based on the evidence I will present below.
But first, let me challenge two traditional arguments used to suggest that 1 John 1, and particularly verse 9, is meant for Christians.
1. The New Testament church letters are for saints not sinners
Really? You don’t think they were meant for churches? Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian and in the New Testament churches there were plenty of people who were not saved. I’m thinking of the “false brothers who infiltrated our ranks” (Gal 2:4) and the false teachers, false apostles, and false prophets who seemed to follow Peter and Paul everywhere they went.
We have this rose-tinted view of the early church as a place of harmony and accord. In reality those churches were fractious battlegrounds between Christians, Pharisees, Judaizers, and outright crooks. Read the middle chapter of Peter’s second letter and you will find repeated warnings pertaining to false teachers who deny the sovereign Lord, who live in error and are slaves of depravity. Where are these heretics? They are not out in the world; they are in here “among the people” (2 Pet 2:1).
How about the antichrist? I bet you can’t guess where he lives. Well for starters, there’s more than one antichrist since anyone who denies Jesus is the Christ is an antichrist (1 Joh 2:22). You may be surprised to learn that these antichrists aren’t found in Rome or Washington DC but are among the church. “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us” (1 Joh 2:18-19).
The wonderful thing about church groups is that they are open. Everyone is welcome. But not everyone who comes loves Jesus. Every preacher knows this and tailors their message accordingly. They’ll have something for the saint and something for the sinner. The epistle writers are no different.
2. “John says ‘we’ a lot. That doesn’t sound like he’s talking about them but us.”
Indeed, John says “we” 20 times in chapter 1! But is he referring to “We-believers” or “We-people” or “
We-his-royal-self”? I think it is a huge mistake to assume that “we” always refers to a particular set of people in every single instance. We need to consider the context. This is how I read it:
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Verse[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]We-himself[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]We-people[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]1[/TD]
[TD]That which was from the beginning, which
we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked at and our hands have touched—this
we proclaim concerning the Word of life.[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]2[/TD]
[TD]The life appeared;
we have seen it and testify to it, and
we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]3[/TD]
[TD]
We proclaim to you what
we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]4[/TD]
[TD]
We write this to make your joy complete.[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[TD]This is the message
we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]If
we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not live by the truth.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]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.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]8[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]If
we claim to be without sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]9[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]If
we claim
we have not sinned,
we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
It seems clear to me that for the first part of the chapter John is doing a fair impersonation of Prince Charles by referring to himself in the majestic plural. Don’t laugh: this habit actually originated with the kings and princes of the Old Testament. (See
2 Samuel 16:20 for an example.) But halfway through John switches to Thomas Jefferson adopting a “we-the-people” voice. This begs the question, Who are
the people? Who is John referring to?
Why do I think 1 John 1 is addressed to unbelievers?
To answer this question we need to look at the “you” that John singles out in verse 3. Who are “the you”? What are they like? Well in the following verses John gives us a very comprehensive description. Let us consider how this group – whoever they are – compares with the typical Christian.
See if you can spot the difference…
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Verse[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]John’s audience (the “You”)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Christians[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]3[/TD]
[TD]They do not have fellowship (
koinonia) with us as we have with God; they alienated from the life of God (Eph 4:18)[/TD]
[TD]We have fellowship (
koinonia) with Christ and all the members of His body (1 Cor 1:9, 1 Jn 1:7)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[TD]They need to hear the message that John has heard[/TD]
[TD]We have heard and believed the message (Rom 10:17)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[TD]They walk in darkness[/TD]
[TD]We walk in the light (Joh 8:12)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[TD]They lie and do not live by the truth[/TD]
[TD]We have met the Truth and walk in the truth (Joh 14:6, 2 Jn 1:4)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[TD]They need to be purified from all sin[/TD]
[TD]We have been purified from all sin (Heb 10:10)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]8[/TD]
[TD]They are deceived[/TD]
[TD]We are filled with the Spirit of Truth (Jn 14:17)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]9[/TD]
[TD]They need to be purified from all unrighteousness[/TD]
[TD]We have received the gift of forgiveness and have been made righteous (1 Cor 6:11, Eph 1:7)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[TD]They are calling God a liar[/TD]
[TD]We agree with God (Rom 10:9-13)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[TD]God’s word has no place in their lives[/TD]
[TD]His word lives in us (1 Th 2:13)[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
As you can see, the group on the left is nothing like the group on the right. Indeed, the people in this group are the exact opposite of what the Bible describes as a Christian. Hmm. I guess that means that
they – those John is addressing in chapter 1 – are not Christians. They are not the “dear children” John begins to address in chapter 2.
Was that so hard?
Here’s the punch-line: If you think the whole Bible was written for you, you’re going to end up confused, messed up, and in serious trouble.
We need to have a whole Bible theology but that does not mean “read everything indiscriminately and hope for the best.” That would be like going to the drug cabinet in the local hospital and
swallowing every pill in sight. A whole Bible theology means you read the written word through the lens of the Living Word. It means
filter everything you read through the finished work of the cross.
If, after reading this post, you still think 1 John 1:9 is addressed to believers, that’s fine. You could be right. The real question here is not
Who? but
What? This is why I say it is essential, when reading this scripture, that we
ask the right question!
Unquote:
Here is the website if anyone is interested in the questions asked.
https://escapetoreality.org/2012/06/14/is-1-john-1-for-believers/