Book of 1 John Chapter 1 Vs. 6

Walking in the Light

1 John 1:6 “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”

If we say... Five If’s of Human Experience.

1. The hypocrite (1Jhn. 1:6). If we say we know God and still walk in darkness, our sins prove we are liars.

2. The Christian (1Jhn. 1:7). If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with the Father and the Son (1Jhn. 1:3) and the blood of Jesus Christ keeps us cleansed from all sin.

3. The self-deceiver (1Jhn. 1:8). If we say we have no sin to confess, that is, we are not sinners, we deceive ourselves because we know better; and we lie. Gnostics and other heretics deny that they are sinners and that Christ’s death atones for sin.

4. The penitent sinner (1Jhn. 1:9). If we confess our sins, that is, if we will be honest and acknowledge we are sinners (Rom. 3:23), God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

5. The willful rebel against God (1Jhn. 1:10). If we say that we have never sinned, we make God a liar and His Word is not in us. In 1Jhn. 1:8 the idea is of contending that we are not guilty before God; here it is that we were never guilty.

If we say (ἐὰν εἴπωμεν)

The subjunctive mood puts the case as supposed, not as assumed.

we have fellowship... Greek: koinonia, used here in 1Jhn. 1:3, 1:6, 1:7. See, 2Cor. 13:14. koinonia, communion (1Cor. 10:16; 2Cor. 6:14; 13:14); communicate (Phlm. 1:6; Heb. 13:16); fellowship (Acts 2:42; 1Cor. 1:9; 2Cor. 8:4; Gal. 2:9; Eph. 3:9; Phlp. 1:5; 2:1; 3:10; 1Jhn. 1:3, 1:6-7); contribution (Rom. 15:26); and distribution (2Cor. 9:13).

Walk in darkness means walking in sin. John may have had in mind people who claimed to be enjoying a close relationship with God, but whose lives were clearly characterized by sin. Such a state of affairs, John says boldly, is impossible, such persons are lying.

Walk in the darkness

The phrase occurs only in John's Gospel and First Epistle. Darkness here is σκότος, instead of σκοτία (1Jhn. 1:5). See on John 1:5. Walk (περιπατῶμεν), is, literally, walk about; indicating the habitual course of the life, outward and inward. The verb, with this moral sense, is common in John and Paul, and is found elsewhere only in Mark 7:5; Acts 21:21.

Walk, in this instance, is speaking of the life that we live every day. To fellowship with darkness, means we are away from the Light. To be part of the dark side of life makes us a part of the devil.

Despite their claims to enlightenment and although the false teachers may have claimed fellowship with Christ, their walking in darkness refuted such claims, and consequently, demonstrated their lack of genuine salvation. The reference to lie (in verse 6b), refers to the claim of fellowship in verse 6a. Do not the truth, points to their habitual failure regarding the practice of the truth.

To say we are a Christian, and live in darkness, makes us a liar. The truth is, we have chosen the devil over God. Life in Christ leaves no room for fellowship with the devil.

We lie and do not the truth

Again the combination of the positive and negative statements. See on 1Jhn. 1:5. The phrase to do the truth occurs only in John's Gospel and First Epistle. See on John 3:21. All walking in darkness is a not doing of the truth. Right action is true thought realized. Every fragment of right done is so much truth made visible (Westcott).

Since God is Light, it follows that a Christian cannot truly claim communion with Him while living in the darkness. As John warned, If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. John knew, as does every perceptive pastor, that Christians sometimes feign spirituality while engaging in acts of disobedience. The Apostle Paul had to deal with a case of incest in the Corinthian assembly (1Cor. 5:1-5) and laid down a list of sins for which church members should come under church discipline (1Cor. 5:9-13). Spurious claims to fellowship with God have been a tragic reality throughout the history of the church.

A Christian who says he is in fellowship with God who is Light but who is disobeying Him walking in the darkness is lying (cf. 1Jhn. 2:4). Ten times John used darkness to refer to sin (John 1:5; 3:19; 12:35 twice; 1Jhn. 1:5-6; 2:8-9, 2:11 twice).