Verses 1-4
-
Jesus is God and eternal life manifested in physical form. It is our privilege to have access to fellowship—a true relationship—with God and with Jesus Christ.
-
Keep your focus on pursuing intimacy with God. Don't think of it as an empty religion.
-
Read the Word like you're listening to Jesus speak to you. Pray and take times quiet yourself and simply listen. These deepen relationship with God.
-
-
Following Jesus is not meant to feel like a rote, robotic exercise, but a living, breathing, personal interaction with the Holy Spirit and with the Word of God.
-
Verses 5-10
-
If you want to have a true relationship with God and with other believers, turn away from the darkness of sin and walk in the light of confession and repentance (see John 3:19-20). Sin harms relationship. You should want to turn away from sin so that you do not damage your closeness with God and with your fellow believers.
-
-
To walk in the light, when you sin, confess it to God and to any person you've hurt, and forsake that sin by not doing it again (Proverbs 28:13). Live righteously now.
-
Know that God is gracious and forgiving. If you are honest and repentant when you come to Christ, God will forgive you and cleanse you of sin so that you can live righteously.
-
-
-
As unbelievers, in order to be saved, we must admit to being a sinner. If we do, and we repent, God will forgive us.
-
But once we are saved, we are forgiven of all past sin (Colossians 2:13). And after being saved, you do not lose salvation when you sin once, and then have to confess that sin in order to regain salvation. John's point is that when you first come to Christ, to be forgiven, we have to admit to being a sinner.
-
Overall, as a practice of life, be honest with yourself, with others, and with God when you make a mistake.
-