The Pattern of Fellowship—1 John 1:5–7
And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
In these verses, John deals with the pattern of fellowship and points out three things. First is the fundamental presupposition: the nature of God (v. 5). The nature of God that affects the believer’s spiritual life and his fellowship with God the Father is: that God is light. Because God is light, pure light, there is no darkness in Him whatsoever. That is the fundamental presupposition of the nature of God: that God is light, and in him [there] is no darkness.
Secondly, he gives a response that a person can make in light of this presupposition: If we [claim] that we have fellowship with him [but] walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not [speak] the truth (v. 6). This response is a false profession of fellowship. If a person is claiming to have fellowship with the Lord while he is walking in the darkness, while he is walking in sin, then he is not speaking the truth, he is a liar. If our actions are not consistent with our claims, we become liars. Every time we sin, every time we take an action that is not in accordance with our profession, we are lying and we are not doing the truth.
Thirdly, he spells out a truthful practice: if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another (v. 7). This deals with the horizontal relationship, fellowship with other believers. But that is not all. He goes on to say: [that] the blood of Jesus … cleanses us from all sin, which means we also have vertical fellowship; we have fellowship with God the Father. To walk in the light is to expose oneself to God, especially the Word of God. When one exposes himself to the Word of God, he senses his own sin and then he will know how to seek forgiveness. This aspect of fellowship is preventative. It is a way to avoid breaking our fellowship with God, but it is also a condition for fellowship, we must be walking in the light.
Excerpt from Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum:
MBS139 THE SPIRITUAL LIFE AND FELLOWSHIP: Pg 5-6
