1 JOHN 1
God wants you to have a living fellowship (vv. 1–3) with Him and His children. In Jesus Christ, He has revealed what true life really is. Even though you cannot see Him and touch Him as the apostles did centuries ago, He can still be real to you as His Holy Spirit opens the Word to your heart.
He wants you to have a joyful fellowship (v. 4). It is not the fellowship of a slave with a master but that of a child with a parent. God delights in His children (
He wants you to have an honest fellowship (vv. 5–10). This means “walking in the light” and dealing honestly with sin. Salvation is a matter of life or death, but fellowship is a matter of light or darkness. If you lie to God, to others, and to yourselves, you will lose your fellowship with God and your character. A godly character does not develop in the darkness.
“Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God’s people.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
His Life Was Manifested
Manifest is one of John’s favorite words. Jesus was manifested that He might reveal God’s life (1 John 1:2), take away our sins (