Light, 27 April 2025
Light
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
Series: 1 John
April 27, 2025
1 John 1:1-10
Series Big Idea: One of Jesus’ best friends offers timeless teaching on following Jesus.
Big Idea: We need to confess our sins and step into the light of Christ.
Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:5-10
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
Our world is filled with contrasts, whether it’s sweet and savory, up and down, David and Goliath, or Wolverines and Buckeyes! There may be no greater contrast than light and darkness.
My name is Kirk and today we’re beginning a new series going through the first epistle—or short letter—of John. You may recall last fall we went through 2nd and 3rd John, but this one’s quite a bit longer and we needed more time to explore it together.
Most scholars believe John the apostle wrote it—along with 2nd John, 3rd John, the Gospel of John, and the book of Revelation. He knew Jesus personally, as did his brother James. It was written between 90 and 100 CE after the wrote his gospel. He likely wrote it while living in the city of Ephesus in modern day Turkey, one of the most incredible places I’ve been privileged to visit. Like many New Testament writings, the prevailing message is to avoid heresies and remain faithful to the scriptures and their subject, Jesus Christ. You will frequently see the themes of truth and love throughout.
Today we’re talking about light…and darkness. One of my favorite experiences on the subject came when I was a child at Walt Disney World. After I got over my fear of roller coasters—a story for another time—I was excited to ride Space Mountain. Who has ridden it? It’s a wild and exciting ride for one reason…it’s in the dark! By definition, you can’t see in the dark, which means you cannot anticipate the ups and downs, the zigs and zags. It clearly fits the definition of a thrill ride.
But if you were ride Space Mountain with the lights on, the thrill would be greatly diminished. Darkness can be disorienting. It can cause injury, fear, and panic. This is true for physical and spiritual darkness.
In the beginning—the very beginning—everything was dark until God said, “Let there be light” in the third verse of the Bible. Genesis continues…
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:4-5)
John begins his gospel by writing,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
John’s first epistle begins somewhat similarly…
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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:1-4)
This is all about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the way, the truth, the life. John is writing an eyewitness account. He knew the Messiah personally, one of the King’s three closest friends. He reveals the purpose writing 1 John is complete joy. We could all use more of that!
The introduction is complete, and we now come to our scripture reading text for today.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
John heard it. Now he declares it. God is light. Total light. No darkness.
Hundreds of years earlier,
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:18)
And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (Exodus 33:19-20)
That’s serious light! God is light, both physically and spiritually. Perhaps someday we will be able to meet God face to face as Moses desired. What is clear in our text is God is light.
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. (1 John 1:6)
Just because someone says something doesn’t mean it’s true. One of my many flaws is I can be gullible. I’m getting better, but I can be too trusting, believing someone really has ocean-front property in Kansas they will sell me at a good price! And a Nigerian prince e-mailed me to say he’s giving me millions of dollars to pay for it!
People lie! They deceive others. Sometimes they deceive themselves. We can walk in light or darkness. We can know Jesus…or say “no” to Jesus. We all know the right answer on Sunday morning, but this idea of fellowship with God is not a one-and-done proposition. No relationship works like that. They need to be cultivated.
I may be married to Heather, but if I neglect her, eventually we won’t have much of a marriage.
You can call yourself a Christian, but if you aren’t regularly spending time with the LORD, you won’t experience the fellowship He desires.
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. (1 John 1:7)
Here’s a good “but!” This verse is loaded! If I wrote this, I would say, “If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with God,” but that’s not what it says. We have fellowship with one another when we walk in the light, when we follow Jesus. John also says it’s the blood of Christ that purifies us from…ALL sin. Hallelujah! Followers of Jesus are related by blood…the blood of Jesus! Again, I say hallelujah!
In case his message is not clear, John restates the contrast between light and darkness.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)
You sin. I sin. We all sin. We are not to boast in our sin. That would be another sin—pride! We aren’t to shrug our shoulders and say, “What’s the use?” Sin leads to death, and death is not something we should ever pursue, even though it’s inevitable.
Think of it this way—even Michael Jordan missed shots…more than half of them, actually (he shot 49.7%). But how many did he try to miss? Zero! He knew he would miss sometimes, but always tried, always did his best.
Followers of Jesus are called to righteousness, holiness, godliness. The Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome temptation, but we have a role to play. As the late Dallas Willard said, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.”
We sin. We need to acknowledge it. We need to admit it. And…
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I urge you to commit it to memory. What a promise! Thank you, Jesus! That’s why Jesus died and rose from the dead…to offer forgiveness and purification for all of our sins. In case you missed it somehow, John says again,
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:10)
So What?
We all sin and fall short of God’s standard of perfection. He doesn’t grade on a curve.
We need to
a. Confess our sin
b. Receive God’s forgiveness
c. Get back into the light, walk in the light, do life with Jesus
What does that look like? You’ve already taken a great step this week by devoting this hour to God…to worship, prayer, fellowship, and study of God’s Word. Will you walk in the light the rest of this week? Will you surrender your will to the LORD? Will you spend time with God? Will you reach out to others? Will you love your neighbor as yourself?
It’s a new day. It’s a new week. It’s a new opportunity to say “yes” to Jesus, to seek first his Kingdom, his glory, his righteousness. When you fall and sin, don’t let satan fill you with shame. Get up and keep running the race, keep your eye on the prize, keep following Jesus. He created the light. He is the light. Amen!
Kirk Schneemann
College First Church of God
Series: 1 John
April 27, 2025
1 John 1:1-10
Series Big Idea: One of Jesus’ best friends offers timeless teaching on following Jesus.
Big Idea: We need to confess our sins and step into the light of Christ.
Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:5-10
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
Our world is filled with contrasts, whether it’s sweet and savory, up and down, David and Goliath, or Wolverines and Buckeyes! There may be no greater contrast than light and darkness.
My name is Kirk and today we’re beginning a new series going through the first epistle—or short letter—of John. You may recall last fall we went through 2nd and 3rd John, but this one’s quite a bit longer and we needed more time to explore it together.
Most scholars believe John the apostle wrote it—along with 2nd John, 3rd John, the Gospel of John, and the book of Revelation. He knew Jesus personally, as did his brother James. It was written between 90 and 100 CE after the wrote his gospel. He likely wrote it while living in the city of Ephesus in modern day Turkey, one of the most incredible places I’ve been privileged to visit. Like many New Testament writings, the prevailing message is to avoid heresies and remain faithful to the scriptures and their subject, Jesus Christ. You will frequently see the themes of truth and love throughout.
Today we’re talking about light…and darkness. One of my favorite experiences on the subject came when I was a child at Walt Disney World. After I got over my fear of roller coasters—a story for another time—I was excited to ride Space Mountain. Who has ridden it? It’s a wild and exciting ride for one reason…it’s in the dark! By definition, you can’t see in the dark, which means you cannot anticipate the ups and downs, the zigs and zags. It clearly fits the definition of a thrill ride.
But if you were ride Space Mountain with the lights on, the thrill would be greatly diminished. Darkness can be disorienting. It can cause injury, fear, and panic. This is true for physical and spiritual darkness.
In the beginning—the very beginning—everything was dark until God said, “Let there be light” in the third verse of the Bible. Genesis continues…
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:4-5)
John begins his gospel by writing,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
John’s first epistle begins somewhat similarly…
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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:1-4)
This is all about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the way, the truth, the life. John is writing an eyewitness account. He knew the Messiah personally, one of the King’s three closest friends. He reveals the purpose writing 1 John is complete joy. We could all use more of that!
The introduction is complete, and we now come to our scripture reading text for today.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
John heard it. Now he declares it. God is light. Total light. No darkness.
Hundreds of years earlier,
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:18)
And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (Exodus 33:19-20)
That’s serious light! God is light, both physically and spiritually. Perhaps someday we will be able to meet God face to face as Moses desired. What is clear in our text is God is light.
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. (1 John 1:6)
Just because someone says something doesn’t mean it’s true. One of my many flaws is I can be gullible. I’m getting better, but I can be too trusting, believing someone really has ocean-front property in Kansas they will sell me at a good price! And a Nigerian prince e-mailed me to say he’s giving me millions of dollars to pay for it!
People lie! They deceive others. Sometimes they deceive themselves. We can walk in light or darkness. We can know Jesus…or say “no” to Jesus. We all know the right answer on Sunday morning, but this idea of fellowship with God is not a one-and-done proposition. No relationship works like that. They need to be cultivated.
I may be married to Heather, but if I neglect her, eventually we won’t have much of a marriage.
You can call yourself a Christian, but if you aren’t regularly spending time with the LORD, you won’t experience the fellowship He desires.
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. (1 John 1:7)
Here’s a good “but!” This verse is loaded! If I wrote this, I would say, “If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with God,” but that’s not what it says. We have fellowship with one another when we walk in the light, when we follow Jesus. John also says it’s the blood of Christ that purifies us from…ALL sin. Hallelujah! Followers of Jesus are related by blood…the blood of Jesus! Again, I say hallelujah!
In case his message is not clear, John restates the contrast between light and darkness.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)
You sin. I sin. We all sin. We are not to boast in our sin. That would be another sin—pride! We aren’t to shrug our shoulders and say, “What’s the use?” Sin leads to death, and death is not something we should ever pursue, even though it’s inevitable.
Think of it this way—even Michael Jordan missed shots…more than half of them, actually (he shot 49.7%). But how many did he try to miss? Zero! He knew he would miss sometimes, but always tried, always did his best.
Followers of Jesus are called to righteousness, holiness, godliness. The Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome temptation, but we have a role to play. As the late Dallas Willard said, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.”
We sin. We need to acknowledge it. We need to admit it. And…
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I urge you to commit it to memory. What a promise! Thank you, Jesus! That’s why Jesus died and rose from the dead…to offer forgiveness and purification for all of our sins. In case you missed it somehow, John says again,
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:10)
So What?
We all sin and fall short of God’s standard of perfection. He doesn’t grade on a curve.
We need to
a. Confess our sin
b. Receive God’s forgiveness
c. Get back into the light, walk in the light, do life with Jesus
What does that look like? You’ve already taken a great step this week by devoting this hour to God…to worship, prayer, fellowship, and study of God’s Word. Will you walk in the light the rest of this week? Will you surrender your will to the LORD? Will you spend time with God? Will you reach out to others? Will you love your neighbor as yourself?
It’s a new day. It’s a new week. It’s a new opportunity to say “yes” to Jesus, to seek first his Kingdom, his glory, his righteousness. When you fall and sin, don’t let satan fill you with shame. Get up and keep running the race, keep your eye on the prize, keep following Jesus. He created the light. He is the light. Amen!