{"id":3601,"date":"2018-08-13T22:58:47","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T22:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takingeverythoughtcaptivetoobeychrist.wordpress.com\/?p=3601"},"modified":"2018-08-13T22:58:47","modified_gmt":"2018-08-13T22:58:47","slug":"light-and-darkness-commentary-on-1-john-1v5-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/light-and-darkness-commentary-on-1-john-1v5-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Light and Darkness: Commentary on 1 John 1v5-7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Verse 5 begins as a link to the previous 4 verses where the apostle John laid a foundation of the person and work of Christ as the foundation upon which what we read here today is built upon. In the opening verses we were also introduced to the theme of fellowship with God and other believers. So in these verses John begins to expound further upon what it means and what it looks like to have fellowship with God and with other believers based on the foundation of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Verse 5 opens, \u201cThis is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you\u2026\u201d Who is it the apostles heard this message from? From the Lord Jesus who John has just talked to us about in the first few verses. This is not the apostles own message that they have come up with, this is not mere human opinion, nor is it speculation; it is the message of Christ. This is not to be a discussion or a suggestion, but it is to be proclaimed with authority from God, for that is where it comes from. This is a message from God; it is not life advice, or tips for moral improvement \u2013 it is a message. And what is that message? It is that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

John states it in the positive: “God is light.” Then he restates it in the negative to further drive home the understanding here: “and in him is no darkness at all.” None at all. Here we are introduced to this theme of light and darkness. This of course is not a new theme in Scripture. In our day, in many of our great stories and films where there is some kind great struggle, it is usually between the two opposing forces of light and darkness. Most often in those contexts the struggle between light and darkness is a struggle between good and evil. I imagine without even thinking much about it, most of us would approach this passage thinking in those terms and definitions \u2013 light and darkness representing good and evil. While that may be an element to what is inferred here, we ought not be content to carry along into the passage with those presupposed definitions. We ought to ask further questions, such as, \u201cWhat is meant by light, when it says that God is light?\u201d When a passage makes a straightforward claim about what or who God is, that ought to be something that we take very seriously and do the best we can to try and understand what exactly the text means, by the help of the Holy Spirit. So what does it mean that God is light?<\/span><\/p>\n

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God is light<\/b><\/p>\n

Truth\/Knowledge<\/p>\n

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To answer this question we must look to the context of the passage itself to understand what exactly is meant. In doing so, I believe there are two overarching aspects to the light. The first is the idea of truth or knowledge. We see in verse 6 that if we say we have fellowship with God while we walk in darkness, we LIE and do not practice the TRUTH. Then in verse 8, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the TRUTH is not in us. Finally in verse 10, if we say we have not sinned, we make him a LIAR, and his word is not in us. Intertwined with this theme of light and darkness we have the theme of truth and lies. So God is not light in some vague sense of good; but as we saw last week, God is objective truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Holiness\/Purity<\/p>\n

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However, we mustn\u2019t stop there. God is not merely on the right side of all the answers to right and wrong. God is light. That is much more than truth or knowledge. 1 Timothy 6v16 says that God \u201cdwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen nor can see.\u201d Psalm 104v1-2 says, \u201cBless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment\u2026\u201d We are talking about God\u2019s holiness here. This passage is not merely about knowing truth and error, but about practicing the truth or walking in the truth. That is what we call holy living. A. W. Pink says, \u201c\u2019God is light\u2019 is a summarized expression of the Divine Perfections.\u201d God is light, as in, God is Holy, and He is a blinding light to a sinful eye, a light that cannot be looked upon. Indeed we may say that this is exactly what John is referring to, for the holiness of God would certainly include all truth and knowledge. Indeed holiness is connected to the themes of truth and lies, and light and darkness. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones states the case, \u201cThere is nothing that exposes the false so much as standing face to face with a holy God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Gnostic heretics of John\u2019s day would certainly love to hear that God is truth and knowledge, for they were all about attaining to some higher elite knowledge. But the holiness of God is a light that exposes their wickedness and unholy lives. Many of them cared not how they lived, for it was all about knowledge for them. John rebukes that teaching by building his case upon the holiness of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fellowship with God begins with God<\/p>\n

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It is no accident that John begins his letter with God. A big portion of the text is all about having fellowship with God. John tells us how to test our lives and our walk to know that we have fellowship with God. But John doesn\u2019t start there. He doesn\u2019t start with our fellowship, with our walk, with anything we do, nor with us at all. He starts with God. He starts with a right understanding that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. Having fellowship with God, fundamentally, begins with God. It does not begin with us and where we are, decisions we need to make, nor things we need to do in order to have fellowship with God. It begins with God and who He is; and we go from there. That is the opening statement he makes as to what the message is that the apostles heard from Christ \u2013 God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

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He is Holy, we are Sinners<\/p>\n

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If we begin with God, as we ought, we begin to realize pretty quick that we have a problem. If we begin with the holiness of God and his radiant, glorious light, and the fact that there is no darkness in him at all \u2013 he doesn\u2019t tolerate it \u2013 we have a problem. But it\u2019s important that we start here because this gets to the heart of the matter. If we begin elsewhere than with God, such as with ourselves, then we begin to address all these other issues and do all these other things, all the while, not dealing with the fundamentals of how we have fellowship with God; and thus do not have fellowship with God. If God is light, and in him is no darkness at all \u2013 or another way to put it \u2013 God is holy, and in him is no sin at all, then we begin to see, if we aren\u2019t liars, that we are not that. So that poses a big question for anyone who wants to have fellowship with God. How in the world are we supposed to have fellowship with a holy God of light that is totally set apart from all sin and darkness, if we are filled with the very sin and darkness that God does not have any fellowship with whatsoever? This is the fundamental question that we must deal with and ask, if we are to get anything else right, if we are to have any fellowship, or any joy, whatsoever, it must be dealt with at this point.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jesus in the Gospel<\/p>\n

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God has dealt with this in the gospel. As John wrote in the opening few verses, the Son of God was made manifest, providing the way of fellowship with God. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the very radiance of the glory of God, yet humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. The Lord Jesus Christ died as a sacrifice for sins, once and for all, putting an end to a need for animal sacrificial system, and by his blood, atoning for sins. How does a holy God have fellowship with sinners? By the blood of Jesus his Son that cleanses us from all sin. That is it. That is how. There is no other way. That is the way that it is done. John witnessed it. And he proclaims it to us. It is not our walking in the light that cleanses us from all sin, it is the blood of Jesus, God\u2019s son, that cleanses us from all sin. Let us not get that wrong. It is through the Lord Jesus Christ and his sacrifice that we have fellowship with God. John writes in his gospel and the 14<\/span>th<\/span> chapter and the 6<\/span>th<\/span> verse, quoting Jesus, \u201cI am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.\u201d There it is. That\u2019s it. It is through Jesus that we know God. It is through Jesus that the apostles have received this message. It is through Jesus and his blood, and if we try any other way, no matter how nice of lives we might think we live, we do not have fellowship with God.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Transferred into Light<\/p>\n

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What does Jesus do for us in our sinful and darkened state when we come to him for salvation and forgiveness of sins? He cleanses us from all unrighteousness and he transfers us into the light. I love the way Colossians 1v9-14 flows with our text here in 1 John, \u201cAnd so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.\u201d Did you catch that part? In Christ, as believers, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of his beloved Son\u2026 That is how God makes fellowship with us. Through the work of his son, his blood cleansing us from sin, and transferring us from darkness to light. This is the foundation upon which we understand the text.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Testing Ourselves, Exposing False Professors<\/b><\/p>\n

We come to verse 6 and we have this test laid out for us. \u201cIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.\u201d So we\u2019ve just been told about this holy God, now how do we know that we have fellowship with God, and that the blood of Jesus cleanses our sin? Put negatively in verse 6, if we say know God, yet walk in darkness, then we know that we don\u2019t have fellowship with God.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is an important test that we must put to ourselves because there have been many throughout the ages who have professed to know God and then end up in hell. This is not a joke or a game. Most of us here probably fall into the category of saying that we have fellowship with God. If we say that, our lives ought to reflect that, or else we\u2019re lying and we don\u2019t know God. This test is for people like us who claim to know God. This test isn\u2019t for those in the world who live wild lifestyles of sin and openly reject God. This is for those who claim to know God! Do we claim to know God, yet walk in darkness?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Walking in Darkness?<\/p>\n

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This leads us to ask a very important question: what does it mean to walk in darkness?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

First of all, this concept of walking implies a way of life or a pattern of life. It implies a continuation in something. It also implies a willful participation in whatever way it is that one is walking. Not a one-time event, or occasional actions, but a pattern of life.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So what is meant then by the darkness? Well, if the light is truth, holiness, and the radiance of the glory of God; then darkness would be falsehood, unholy living, and sin. Are you living a pattern of life that is unholy, or are you continuing in falsehood? As we see in verse 8 this is not talking about sinless perfection, or never falling into sin; but as a pattern of life, do you live in sin?<\/span><\/p>\n

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But there is more in mind here than simply the outward actions of our lives, the things that we do. In John\u2019s gospel he writes that Jesus is the light of the world. In the Psalm we see that God\u2019s Word is a light to our path. So we can say, \u201cOh yes, I believe in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d But if the pattern of our life is us not walking in Christ, and not living our lives by the light of the Word of God, then we are lying, and we do not practice the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Really Moral People can Walk in Darkness<\/p>\n

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This is the danger: really moral people can walk in darkness. We often think of walking in darkness as living a wild lifestyle of sin \u2013 going out and living just like the world. And that is true, but it is only a part of it. For most of us here, that is not the temptation that we face. If any of us here are walking in darkness, and there very well could be some of us in that category, then it is likely going to be found in more subtle forms. As A.W. Pink puts it, \u201cWe must be careful not to restrict the idea of walking in the light unto our external actions. God ever looks first upon the heart, and desires truth in the inward parts.\u201d Are we living our lives coddling secret sins with no godly sorrow that leads to repentance? Secret sins are only secrets to others; before God they are clearly seen and laid bare. Are we living our lives, without a love for the Lord and his people? Are we walking in our power and not in the power of Christ? Are we walking according to our wisdom and not according to the light of God\u2019s Word? Do our lives reflect that we have other treasures in this world that we love more than Christ? <\/span><\/p>\n

Really moral people can live in this kind of darkness, and no one could ever know it. It could be hidden from everyone, everyone except God. A. W. Pink tells us, \u201cit was not the openly wicked and profane which he had in view, but those who unwarrantably bore the name of Christians, those who were in church fellowship.\u201d I can\u2019t help but think of Matthew 7, where it tells us there will be people who claimed to have done many great things in the name of the Lord, but Jesus will say to them, depart from me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Affirming True Believers<\/b><\/p>\n

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With all that said, verse 6 is not meant to terrorize the true believer; rather it is meant to expose the hypocrite, or the false professor. Whereas verse 6 exposes the false convert, so verse 7 affirms the true believer. \u201cBut 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.\u201d Do you love Jesus? Do you strive to live your life according to the light of His Word? Do you obey his commands? Again, we need the reminder always, not perfectly, but is it the pattern of your life, does walking in the light reflect the general tenor of your life? Walking in the light of course walking in truth, in holiness, in love of God, and in obedience. Maybe you feel like you fall way more than occasionally, but constantly. Our walking in the light is not determined by not falling, nor is there a cut off number for how many times we are allowed to fall. But how do we respond to our sin? Do we enjoy it? Or is there a godly sorrow that leads to repentance? Do we go to Christ for forgiveness? Do we continue in the means of grace? A. W. Pink says, \u201cThere is a light by which the Christian walks \u2013 that of God\u2019s Word.\u201d Again, \u201cTo walk\u201d connotes not an occasional step, but a habitual course.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fellowship with One Another<\/b><\/p>\n

What\u2019s interesting to me is that in verse 6 it says that if we walk in darkness then we don\u2019t have fellowship with God. So you would think that in verse 7 it would say that if we walk in light then we have fellowship with God. But instead it says that if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another<\/em>. John is showing us that if we are walking in the light, that of course presupposes that we have fellowship with God; and then he deepens our understanding of what it means to walk in the light, by saying that that means we will not just have fellowship with God, but with one another. Therein lies another test: if we are true Christians we will have fellowship with other believers. We will be committed to the church. Indeed one of the ways we have fellowship with God, in terms of communion with God, is in fellowship with fellow believers. God has given his church as a means of grace to know Him better.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Focus<\/p>\n

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So often when we come to this passage in Scripture we tend to view it and understand the focus of it to be primarily on our walk, in terms of what we do or don\u2019t do. We tend to look at it and say, \u201cOkay, don\u2019t walk in darkness, but instead walk in the light.\u201d And that\u2019s true. But where we truly err is when we understand our walking to be determinate of whether we are in the light or darkness and whether we have fellowship with God or not. We fixate upon our walk as being determinate. But this passage is simply getting at the reality that a tree is known by it\u2019s fruit. The tree doesn\u2019t grow out of the fruit, but rather the fruit tells us what the tree is.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If we say that we have to walk in the light in order<\/em> to have fellowship with God and have our sins forgiven, we are assuming a lot of wrong things. Namely that we have the ability to raise ourselves up from the dead and choose the light on our own. I love A. W. Pink\u2019s comment on verse 7 when it says, \u201cBut if we walk in the light\u2026\u201d Pink says, \u201cFirst, it necessarily presupposes regeneration, for certainly one cannot walk in the light unless he first be in the light, and this none are until they be born again. Then they are effectually called and brought out of darkness into God\u2019s marvelous light.\u201d He of course is referring to 1 Peter 2v9 there which says, \u201cBut you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Realm<\/p>\n

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Martyn Lloyd-Jones actually talks about this passage in terms of which realm we live in. I believe he is spot on. He says, \u201c\u2026the people who walk in darkness are not those who, as it were, are constantly committing some foul sin\u2026 but they are walking in darkness because they are outside the light of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; it is a realm to which people belong. So when it comes to this verse about \u2018walking in the light,\u2019 we interpret it as just the antithesis and the exact opposite of \u2018walking in darkness.\u2019 Therefore it does not mean that I claim absolute perfection; but it does mean that I claim that I now belong to a different realm, to the kingdom of light and to the kingdom of God. So that to \u2018walk in the light as he is in the light\u2019 means that, to use the language of the Apostle Paul in writing to the Colossians I have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The point there is this: our walk does not determine<\/em> whether we are in darkness or light. But rather, the realm or the kingdom in which we live determines our walk. Are we living under the dominion of Satan, following the prince of the power of the air? Or have we been transferred to the kingdom of God\u2019s dear son, into His marvelous light?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is the beautiful thing about the gospel: if we are in the light, then we are in the light. Walking in darkness does not mean that we fall into sin. Walking in the light does not mean that we do something good. The actions that we take at any given moment do not determine whether we are in darkness or light, in the sense that in one moment we could be walking in the light and the next moment be walking in the darkness. That\u2019s not how it works. We don\u2019t go in and out of darkness and light based on our every move. We normally don\u2019t phrase it that way, but that is often how we think of this passage. We don\u2019t go in and out of Satan\u2019s and Christ\u2019s kingdom; but rather we are in one or the other, and we live accordingly. We walk according to the kingdom, or the realm in which we live.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Martyn Lloyd-Jones continues on this, \u201cThe Christian is not a man or woman who ought to be walking the light but who so often is walking in darkness. The Christian is one who, by definition here, is always walking the light even though he falls into sin. By falling into sin you do not return to walking in darkness. The Christian is not a Christian at all unless he is walking in the light.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When a Christian Sins<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A true Christian who sins is still walking in the light. Likewise we could also say that an unbeliever who does good, is still walking in the darkness. We walk according to the realm in which we live. So what happens when a Christian sins? He continues to walk in the light. Verse 7 finishes by telling us that the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s interesting that verse 6 doesn\u2019t mention the blood of Jesus being active for those who walk in the darkness. But in verse 7, there is the blood of Jesus, cleansing those who walk in the light. The blood of Jesus is effectual for His people. This is how the true Christian can sin and remain walking in the light, because the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Thus we see that the determinate factor of being in the light or the dark is not our walk, but rather the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus cleansing us from sin is the difference. We can\u2019t walk in the dark with it, and we can\u2019t walk in the light without it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thus we see clearly that it is not our walk that cleanses from sin, but the blood of Jesus. It is not what you do, it is not how you live; but it is the blood of Jesus Christ poured out for our sins that cleanses us from all our sin. Not some sin, not most sin, not just certain sins, but ALL sin. A total cleansing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hear A. W. Pink on the matter, \u201cCleansing from sin is a sacrificial term, which can be best understood in the light of the Old Testament types, particularly Leviticus 16v30, \u2018For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.\u2019 That cleansing was effected by the shedding of blood. It was in nowise subjective, or something wrought within them, but, instead, a work done for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Charles Spurgeon has something to say on the matter as well, \u201cThe whole process of the removal of sin is here: the blood of Jesus Christ, God\u2019s Son, cleanseth us from all sin. I beg to repeat; neither our walking in the light, nor having fellowship with God, cleanses us from sin: these go with the cleansing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So our message today, and our focus today, is not to fixate upon our walk, but to fixate upon the blood of Jesus that was shed to cleanse us from all sin. It is the blood of Jesus as a sacrificial lamb that makes sinners forgiven and right before a holy God of glorious light. That is the foundation and the fundamentals.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.<\/span> <\/em>What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow, nothing but the blood of Jesus.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

That precious blood has a washing power that puts grace in our legs to get up and walk in holiness, walk in truth, walk in the light as God is in the light with all our effort. If we are washed, our lives will show; we won\u2019t be able to help but to show it. Praise God for his blood.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Verse 5 begins as a link to the previous 4 verses where the apostle John laid a foundation of the person and work of Christ as the foundation upon which what we read here today is built upon. 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Maybe some of you have favorite verses found in this book. Verses like 1 John 1v9, \u201cIf we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/pexels-photo-257360.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/pexels-photo-257360.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/pexels-photo-257360.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3618,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-true-light-is-already-shining-commentary-on-1-john-2v7-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":3601,"position":1},"title":"The True Light is Already Shining: Commentary on 1 John 2v7-11","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"September 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 As we examined the previous verses last week, we saw the moral test for our assurance \u2013 that we can know that we have come to know God if we obey his commandments. Because those that love God obey Him, and walk as the Lord Jesus Christ walked. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/09\/1490894-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/09\/1490894-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/09\/1490894-7.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/09\/1490894-7.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3623,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/because-your-sins-are-forgiven-commentary-on-1-john-212-14\/","url_meta":{"origin":3601,"position":2},"title":"Because Your Sins Are Forgiven: Commentary on 1 John 2:12-14","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"September 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Introduction \u00a0 So here we are now to verse 12-14 of 1 John chapter 2, where John seems to take an interesting break from his flow of thought, as we saw last week how true Christians are those who love one another, and then the following verses after verse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/09\/product-500x500-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3725,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-light-shines-in-the-darkness-john-14-9\/","url_meta":{"origin":3601,"position":3},"title":"The Light Shines in the Darkness: John 1:4-9","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 In him was life,[a]\u00a0and\u00a0the life was the light of men.\u00a05\u00a0The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6\u00a0There was a man\u00a0sent from God, whose name was\u00a0John.\u00a07\u00a0He came as a\u00a0witness, to bear witness about the light,\u00a0that all might believe through him.\u00a08\u00a0He was not the light,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/03\/light-in-darkness.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3608,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-advocate-commentary-on-1-john-2v1-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3601,"position":4},"title":"The Advocate: Commentary on 1 John 2v1-2","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Introduction The last couple weeks, in verses 5-10, one of the things John brought us to examine was the contrast between the life of the unbeliever and the believer: the unbeliever walks in darkness, the believer walks in the light. The unbeliever may deny that he has sin, the believer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/books.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/books.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/books.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/books.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/books.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/08\/books.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3631,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-antichrist-and-the-christ-commentary-on-1-john-218-29\/","url_meta":{"origin":3601,"position":5},"title":"The Antichrist and The Christ: Commentary on 1 John 2:18-29","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"October 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Disclaimer: this post does not cover everything in 1 John 2:18-29, but focuses on the theme of the antichrist within that section. Introduction \u00a0 The word \u201cantichrist\u201d is one of those words that strikes all kinds of emotions and thoughts in the hearts and minds of everyone who hears\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/10\/clouds-like-fire-alexis-keys.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/10\/clouds-like-fire-alexis-keys.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/10\/clouds-like-fire-alexis-keys.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2018\/10\/clouds-like-fire-alexis-keys.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}