The Keys to Spiritual Growth: Unlocking the Riches of God by John MacArthur

Author:John MacArthur [MacArthur, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: GoodNewsPublishers - A
Published: 2001-05-24T00:00:00+00:00

CLEAN! CLEAN!

The why of confession will be considered in the remainder of this chapter. I warn you—it is a very heavy sea we are sailing through, so grab the railing and hang on!

We have to tackle three vital words that describe every Christian, taking as our text 1 John 1:5—2:2. The first word is cleansed. “If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1:7).

That is a fantastic description of a Christian. The Greek word translated “walk” is in a present-tense subjunctive, which means it speaks of continuous, habitual action. John is giving us an index of our true character. We might translate the first part of the verse, “If you are habitually in the light.” Who is in the light? The Christian who has been placed in the light—the Christian who is sharing God’s light and life. If you are in Him, then it follows that you are dwelling in the light.

The fact that Christians are living in light is very clear in Scripture. God is light, and no darkness is in Him. We are in His light. That is an absolute. No believer in Christ can step out of the light. We might occasionally return to the deeds of darkness, but those deeds are contrary to our new nature. We dwell in the light.

From the intellectual side, light refers to truth (see John 12:35, 36, 46; Acts 26:18, 23; 2 Corinthians 4:4, 6). From the moral side, light refers to holiness or purity (see Romans 13:11-14; Ephesians 5:8-14; 1 John 2:8-11). God is truth and holiness, and no sin touches Him. And we are in Him. What a thought!

Since we are walking in the light, “we have fellowship with one another.” You might think “one another” refers to other Christians, but it doesn’t. It refers to God and us. That is not evident in the English text, but it is in the Greek. As you walk in the light, you have fellowship with God, and He has fellowship with you. The word fellowship means “partnership.” You are partners with God, sharing common life.

What is the result of this? “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” We touched on that issue a few pages back. It is worth looking at in greater depth here. “The blood” is the symbol of Christ’s death. Peter wrote, “You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18, 19). The blood symbolizes the Savior’s death. His blood that was shed is a constant provision for our cleansing. That is, Christ needed to die only once to save us from our sins forever. He doesn’t need to pay the price every time we sin anew. That once-for-all atonement keeps on cleansing us from our sin.

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