Tag: special knowledge
Walking in Light
Scripture reading for November 19: 1 John 1
“This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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 cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10
John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. He wrote this letter to strengthen believers in the truth of Scripture concerning their salvation after false teachers had attacked the church with new revelations about Jesus and the ‘knowledge’ required for salvation. These false teachers separated flesh and spirit into two categories. The flesh was evil along with matter. The spirit was good and was where salvation took place through special ‘knowledge’. They taught that Jesus was a ‘spirit’ separate from His physical existence. For some, their ‘knowledge’ led them to believe that it did not matter what was done in the body, they were still saved. Others were involved in severe treatment of their bodies to earn salvation.
John lovingly and firmly addressed the believers concerning the Word of God, Jesus Christ. God is light and has no darkness at all. Sin is darkness and those living in it have not found the light of Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood brings true salvation and fellowship with God and one another. As we walk in the light as Christ is the Light, there is a continuous exposure of sin enabling repentance and deliverance through confession of sin. If we refuse to admit sin but excuse it as unavoidable because of flesh, we are liars and His Word is not a true part of our life. We are dead in sin and the lie we believe holds us in darkness. This was the state of those under the false teaching of John’s day.
How would you evaluate your own knowledge and understanding of salvation? Are there still competing beliefs about how we ‘know’ that we are saved? Using John’s test of ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ concerning your own walk, are you walking in the light as Jesus is the light?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the light of Jesus Christ, the Living Word, shining in my life through the Holy Spirit. Thank You the Jesus is the Way, Truth and the Light, not some special ‘knowledge’ that enables me to justify clinging to darkness. May I glorify God in my body, soul and spirit! Amen.