First John 1:8-10
8 If we say, “We have no sin,” then we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, because ˹God˺ is faithful and righteous, He forgives us of our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make ˹God˺ the liar and His word is not in us.
Review
In his letter, John addresses the topic of fellowship. His presentation is organized around three “proclamation” sections that focus on the nature of God and the implications for fellowship with God and fellowship with fellow believers. The three proclamation sections are:
– God is Light: Fellowship Depends on Walking in the Light (1:5-2:28)
– God is Righteous: Fellowship Depends on Practicing Righteousness (2:29-4:6)
– God is Love: Fellowship Depends on Expressing Mature Love (4:7-5:4)
Currently these posts are commenting on the First Proclamation section, which is developed around the statement that God is light. It has five units:
A. Theme Statement (1:5)
B. Darkness vs. Light (1:6-2:11)
C. Assurance to Readers (2:12-14)
D. Warning: Love for the World (2:15-17)
E. Warning: Denying the Son (2:18-28)
Click here for a full outline of First John.
Click here to open a PDF document that explains and illustrates the structure of Unit B in more detail.
This post continues with comments on Unit B, verses 1:8-10.
Verse 1:8
If we say, “We have no sin,”
In verse 1:6, John began to counter the claims of the disruptors and make ethical applications. See previous post. In verse 1:8 he introduces a second false claim of the disruptors: “We have no sin”. As noted for verse 1:6, while this statement is probably not an actual quote of the disruptors, it accurately describes what they believed and taught.
The topic of sin links this paragraph closely to the prior paragraph which ended with the word “sin” (see verse 1:7). There John accused the disruptors of claiming to have fellowship with God even though they were “walking in the darkness” – living in ways that were contrary to God’s character of light. John now begins to make a clear connection between walking in darkness and sin.
This second false claim of the disruptors probably means that they thought that they were not guilty of committing sins. They believed that they did not need cleansing (see verse 1:9 below) because they were not committing any sins to be cleansed of, because sin had no power over them. Perhaps they believed that they were incapable of sinning since coming to know God.
Greek Note: Third Class Condition
Like verse 1:6, verse 1:8 in the Greek is an “if…then” condition clause known as a Third Class Condition: “If we say… then we are deceiving…” See verse 1:6 in the previous post for a fuller explanation. Verse 1:8 might function as a mitigated command – a way of softening a command to make it more palatable to the listener/reader. More directly, John could have written: “Do not claim to have no sin and deceive yourself.”
then we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
The simple truth is that the person who claims to have no sin is self-deceived.
The phrases “we are deceiving ourselves” and “the truth is not in us” might be an example of synonymous parallelism. This is the repetition of similar ideas using different words in order to amplify the idea. Those who make a claim to have no sin but walk in the darkness deceive themselves about their relationship with God. They are not living in a way that is consistent with the truth that God has revealed in the Bible which has a moral quality.
Verse 1:9
If we confess our sins, because ˹God˺ is faithful and righteous,
Verse 1:9 makes a counter statement against the second false claim stated in 1:8. As Glenn Barker explains in his commentary:
“Walking in the light is demonstrated not by the denial of sin but by confessing and abandoning it.” [BARKER p. 313]
John does not explain what confession is. He assumes the readers understand confession from what they were taught after they became believers. The New Testament teaches that confession is agreeing with God that what we did was wrong and having the attitude to not sin in that way again.
As we walk in the light, our sins will continually become apparent because the light revealed in God’s word shines on them. We can retreat back into the darkness or stay in the light and deal honestly with our sins through confession, which is needed to maintain fellowship with God. We do not have to fear this process because God is:
(1) “faithful” – He always keeps His promises and He promises to forgive. God is reliable.
(2) “righteous” – He does what is right. It is His nature. It would be wrong of Him to withhold forgiveness. He can be righteous in regards to our sins because He sent His Son to be the sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins.
Greek Note: Third Class Condition
Verse 1:9 in the Greek also contains an “if…then” Third Class Condition clause: “If we confess… then He forgives…” It might also function as a mitigated command: “Confess your sins so that God will forgive and cleanse”.
He forgives us of our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
There are two aspects to what God does as a result of our confession:
(1) “He forgives” because we are guilty and therefore in need of forgiveness. He no longer holds our sins against us.
(2) He “cleanses” because our sins have made us unclean in His sight. This removes any barriers to our fellowship with God. It also results in a life transformation that frees us from that sin.
Forgiveness and cleansing are assured because of God’s character – He is “faithful and righteous“.
Verse 1:10
If we say, “We have not sinned,”
Commentators have attempted somewhat unsuccessfully to find some difference in meaning between the claim in 1:8 (“we have no sin“) and the claim in 1:10 (“we have not sinned“). I think that I. Howard Marshall correctly explains the (non)difference in these claims when he notes in his commentary:
“Perhaps, however, we should regard the two claims as virtually identical; if so, John is making the point that those who make such claims do not merely deceive themselves (v. 8); they actually make God a liar (v. 10) by denying his verdict on men that they are sinners. Paul’s statement that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23) is no isolated remark; it sums up the teaching of Scripture on the universality of sin. Not only so; the scriptural revelation of God emphasizes his character as a God who forgives sin, and this description would be pointless if men had no sins to be forgiven. Those who deny their sin thus fall into the serious sin of making God out to be a liar.” [MARSHALL p. 115]
So the two claims move the paragraph from a person’s self-deception to them actually making God the liar. The focus is more on the results of the claims than on the nuance in meaning between the claims.
we make ˹God˺ the liar and His word is not in us.
The reason this claim makes God the liar is that He says that all have sinned and all do sin. Sin is the reason that Christ died and rose again for all people. Note how the section begins with “we are lying” (verse 1:6) and ends with “we make ˹God˺ the liar” – a reversal of roles.
People who make claims like this are probably not true Christians, thus John can say of such people, “His word in not in us“.
Note the parallel structure in wording of verses 1:8 and 1:10 which begin and end this paragraph:
Your Personal Study
Read First John 2:1-2 below and answer the questions.
2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you do not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate in the presence of the Father – the righteous Jesus Christ. 2 And He is the placater of God’s wrath for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the whole world.
1. Why do you think John addresses the readers as “my little children“?
John says that when we sin, we have an advocate. An advocate is someone who intercedes, mediates, or advocates for the interests of another person before a third party to produce a favorable outcome.
2. According to verse 2, when do we need an advocate?
3. Who is the advocate? Who does he advocate with?
4. What is the character of the advocate? Why is this important?
5. Where is the advocate located? Why is this important?
A placater is someone or something that appeases the anger of an offended person.
6. According to these verses, who is the placater?
7. Why would God be angry and need to be appeased?
First John Translation.
First John Translation with Outline and Notes.
Bibliography of source information used for this series of posts.
Title Slide Image Credit: First John in Codex Alexandrinus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
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