I Want To Fellowship With You, God

Good Evening to All!

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ... but if we walking the the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. . . . My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
1 John 1:3-5, 7-9, 2:1 NIV

(3) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (4) And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (5) This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:3-5 KJV

Reference: NKJV--The primary reason that John writes is to provide his readers with an understanding of what they must do to have fellowship with the apostles and God. Fellowship carries the idea of a positive relationship that people share as well as a common interest and common and a common goal.

This brings to mind the reason God wrote " forsake not the assembling of yourselves" in reference to church attendance. It isn't to say whoever doesn't go to church will not get into heaven. No, not at all. Going to church helps to keep us on the "narrow path" to heaven. We are less likely to be easily influenced by the "outside" or "worldly things if we attend church and stay rooted in God's Word. He constantly is reminding us how the devil is the "ruler of this world" and how subtle he is about twisting God's Word around to deceive us. Going to church also involves us in the lives of other Christians and positive influences. Church functions are a way to fellowship with our "church family" to unite in a common bond which is Christ oriented. God says to "be ye perfect as I am perfect. In other words we are to strive to take on the attributes of Christ, meaning the "fruits of the Spirit". So you might say we are suppose to become more like Christ. The only way to do this is to concentrate on Spiritual things and not worldly desires and attitudes. This is another way fellowshiping with other Christians and going to Church helps.

(7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Reference: NKJV--To walk in the light is to live in such a way that one is enlightened b y the truth of who God is. When a Christian's conduct reflects God's moral character, then real fellowship is possible with other Christians, but it may be that "one another " also refers to fellowship with God rather than fellowship with other believers. Our fellowship with God is dependent on walking in God's light, where sin is revealed. Such revelation enables us to see our sins and brings us to Jesus to see salvation. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from all sin, making it possible for imperfect believers to have fellowship with a holy God.

The second false claim (see also v. 6) is that we have no sin. The idea would be that our sin nature is completely gone. To say this is to deceive ourselves (see 2 Chronicles 6:36 and John 9:41)The truth is God's revelation, which says just the opposite. To have no sin is to have no need of a Savior, which would make the coming of Jesus unnecessary.

Now, before I go on to the next verse to be referenced, I must say the above paragraph has me a little baffled. I have heard the hymn about Jesus washed me white as snow talking about cleansing away my sins. I have also read in God's Word where when we repent and ask for forgiveness God casts our sins into the "sea of forgetfulness" and remembers them no more. I have also read that NO SIN IS ALLOWED IN HEAVEN. Needless to say the way this reference was worded confuses me a bit.

I know that we will always have to be on guard and flee from temptation and sin, but it is possible as long as we keep God first in our lives and constantly in the forefront of our conscience. This is not saying we will NEVER do anything wrong again, just that we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit and follow God's leading hand. Another important thing is to know enough to be humble enough to go to God and repent and ask for forgiveness when we do mess up.

Though John uses "we" mostly to refer to himself and the other apostles as eyewitnesses of Christ (verse 1), here in verse 9 the term includes all believers who confess (acknowledge) sin. God says that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. To confess is to agree with Him, to admit that we are sinners in need of His mercy. If a believer confesses his or her specific sins to God, He will cleans all unrighteousness from that person. Forgiveness and cleansing are guaranteed because God is faithful to His promises. Those promises are sure, because God is just. He can maintain His perfect character and yet forgive us because of the perfect and righteous sacrifice of Jesus.

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1

With fatherly concern, the aged apostle John addresses his readers affectionately as children. John's statements about sin (1:8, 10) were designed to make believers aware of sin's ever-present danger and to put them on guard against it.

We must all be diligent in our walk with God and be aware of our surroundings, our friends and their actions, as well as their influence on our actions. It is very easy to fall into a trap of peer pressure, or developing habits of friends. Unfortunately, for some reason bad habits are much easily copied than good ones so we must be constantly keeping a check on ourselves.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!