The Character of God and The Life of Discipleship

The first letter of John and chapter 1 and we can read at verse number 5.

! 1 John 1 at verse number 5.

! This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

And so on down to the end of this chapter.

When we read our Bibles and we learn our Bibles, we understand that the Bible is about God's mission for his world.

And all of the books of the Bible give expression to that mission in different ways.

And when we read different books of the Bible, they give expression to the mission of God based upon the needs of those who are going to hear these letters read as they were or who are to read these letters in later generations.

Letters are designed for particular people in particular situations so that they will understand the mission of God and so that they will come to understand the grace of salvation.

This letter is exactly like that.

It is of course in line with the mission of God.

And it is in line with the mission of God because John wants people to know that they are the children of God.

And when we read through the letter, we understand that the reasons that he is writing the way that he is, is because there was a lot of misunderstanding.

There was a lot of misunderstanding.

There was a lot of misunderstanding with regard to who Jesus was.

There was a lot of misunderstanding with regard to how they should live their lives as the children of God.

There was the misunderstanding as to how they should live their lives in relation to each other.

And all of these three elements, they are not exclusive to those who are going to hear the letter from John.

They are elements that we face and are challenged with in the whole life and the experience of Christ's church in the world.

And John, in addressing the needs of the people, we could say that he has a double focus in this letter.

And the first of these is, in the verse that we read, God is light.

And then we have, in chapter 4, the whole idea that God is love.

And these two great proclamations of these, God will hang everything that he is going to say that should affect their thinking,

should affect their living, and should affect their relationship with the Lord Jesus.

And when we look even further behind the issues that the hearers are facing in their lives,

we understand the way in which John, in particular, in these verses and these strands are through,

that in particular, he wants to remind them what faith means,

and what it means for those who have a faith,

that there is a particular lifestyle and living that is essential,

and is also confirmation of the very life of the children of God in their hearts.

And we read through the letter, and it's full of John's love for the people,

his pastoral care, he's speaking to his family,

because he cares for them.

And today, from these words, we want to think of the character of God and the life of discipleship.

And the first thing we want to notice is the perspective,

how we view objects in relation to one another.

And the perspective is the character of God,

that in verse 5, God is light.

He is absolute illumination.

The psalmist tells us in Psalm 104 that he is clothed about with light as with a robe.

Wherever we are going to find God,

he is the God who is light.

Paul speaks in writing to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 6,

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

that God dwells in an approachable light.

It's the brightness and the glaring of light that the human eye cannot behold.

And as we read our Bibles,

we see that the light that is God,

that it shines and makes itself known in two particular ways.

It makes itself known, first of all, in the work of creation.

There was darkness, there was chaos, there was confusion.

And God said, let there be light, and there was light.

The Spirit of God hovering over the water brought about order,

brought about light,

and continued to bring about the beauty of God's creation.

When I hear that God is light,

I think of the name of God made known to me in the work of creation.

He separated light from the darkness.

He is the God who is light.

But when I read my Bible also,

I'm reminded that I see the light of God

in his salvation.

And we saw that in the Psalms that we sang.

Psalm 27,

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The same psalmist in Psalm 43 prays,

Send your light forth and your truth.

God is light.

God is light in his salvation.

He shines into the world

because of his desire to save.

And the third way in which we recognize

the Bible speaking about God as light,

it is with regard to his relationships

with the people that he has created.

The light speaks of his holiness,

of the brightness of the shining of his character.

And I read about Isaiah in chapter 6,

and he saw the brightness of the shining of God

and as soon as he was aware of the brightness

and the holiness of God,

he cried out,

I am lost because of a man of unclean lips.

He was a sinner.

He was confronted with the light of the glory of God.

Whatever God shines in his light,

as he did also on Mount Sinai

with regard to the children of Israel,

he was going to come down

and he was going to shine brightly.

And he told Moses,

tell the people not to come near this mountain

because I am coming down

in case they perish.

The God who is light,

who shines brightly in creation,

who shines brightly in salvation,

and who shines brightly in his relationship

with all of his created creatures.

That's the perspective.

And God wants us today to recognize that

so that wherever I go in life,

I'm going to view every object before me.

I'm going to view everything that I do.

I'm going to view the places that I go to

all under the perspective that God is light.

Under the perspective of the shining of his beauty

in creation,

under the perspective of his promised salvation,

and under the perspective that

everything that I do

has to do with my relationship with God.

And the great display of the light,

of the character of God,

we have, of course,

in the passion of the Lord Jesus.

We may think of the distribution of light.

We may think of connectivity.

But there is distribution and connectivity

when God sends his Son into the world,

into the darkness of the world.

The light shone in the darkness,

and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Jesus says,

I am the light of the world.

He knew who he was.

And John tells us in John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

that no one has ever seen God,

that the only Son has made him known.

In him was life,

and his life was the light of men.

The perspective of the God who is light,

now brought into close proximity with us

in the oppression of his Son.

And that's why Jesus says,

in that chapter that we read,

in John chapter 12,

John 12 · chapter mention

and also in John chapter 3,

John 3 · chapter mention

he speaks of the way in which,

if they will follow me,

they will not walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.

Light illuminates.

The other thing that light does,

it unveils our true identity.

Because under the perspective that God is light today,

God wants us,

and Jesus wants us to understand,

that our response to God being light,

is to become disciples of the Lord Jesus,

and as soon as we do so,

that we walk in his light.

And if we are not doing so,

and if we don't do so,

then we continue to walk in darkness.

The light of God revealed to us

in the passion of the Lord Jesus,

embodied in his passion and in his work,

that reveals and unveils your identity.

And as we move on,

that today is critical.

If we are to understand the mission of God

in building his church,

in forming his own family,

in having children in the world

that are going to be in his eternal family home,

it is critical

that as surely as John's hearers

we're going to understand

that this light shows them

the kind of people that they are,

we need to understand

that as we worship God,

we need to ensure

that we are not confused in our thinking,

but that we let the light of God

through Jesus and through his word

penetrate our lives

and show to us

whether a relationship with God today

is the right one

in the sense of being at peace with God

or whether it is the wrong one,

alienated from God

and described by Paul

in Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

enemies of God.

The perspective.

Let's not think

it's for 60 minutes

on the morning of the Lord's Day

that we think of

God as light

as our perspective.

It's a perspective

for the whole of life

and it shines into our lives

to prove who we are

and to enable us

to see the things

that are around us.

The perspective.

That leads me secondly

to participation.

If light is in Jesus

and God's kingdom is in light

and disciples are to understand

who Jesus is,

then how do we participate?

How do we become part of God's family?

John uses a word

which speaks to us

of coming together.

In verse number 7,

he speaks about

having fellowship.

It's having

something in common.

Something that we have

a shared interest in.

Something that is

really precious to ourselves

and precious to other people.

And in a wider world

in which we live,

people will use

the idea of fellowship

for so many different things

beyond the Bible.

There's a fellowship

because we gather

around a particular constitution

or a particular organization

and we share

the same interest

and we gather together

to discuss these interests.

That is a fellowship

that speaks of relationships

out in the world.

But here,

there is a fellowship

which is

with the Father

and with the Son,

Jesus Christ.

This is the true use

of the word fellowship.

fellowship

that we have

a shared interest

in God

as the Father

who sent His Son

and God

as the Son

who came into the world

and in God

as the Holy Spirit

who shows

Jesus

to us.

It's a fellowship

of sharing

that unites

the people of God

in order to

give expression

to the faith

that they have

and the love

that they have

for God.

And perhaps

at a general way

of gathering

to worship God

on the Lord's Day

is that sense

of fellowship.

We have a shared interest,

we have a common interest,

a common desire

to gather together

before God.

We are here

because of that

shared sense

of our need

to come

to worship God.

and that in itself

of course

is to be encouraged

and is commendable.

But we understand here

that those to whom

John was writing

that they were

confused.

They were confused

about what it meant

to live as the children

of God.

In verse number 6,

if we say,

this was their claim,

if we say

we have fellowship

with him

while we walk

in darkness,

we lie

and do not

practice the truth.

They were making

a claim.

They were basically

making a claim

that they were

the children of God.

And in making

that claim,

their lives

were lived

in a particular way.

They were walking

in darkness.

The whole idea

of walking

in the Bible

in very simple terms

is to walk

about on my patio.

In other words,

it's walking

about in my space

in the world.

And wherever I go,

I have my space

and I do certain

things in my space.

My patio

is the way

that I live my life.

The way that I walk

around in the world.

And my patio

should be

the kind of

area to live

in my life

and that is

there as sanctioned

by God

and by the Word

of God

so that I walk

around in that space

where God's light

shines on my life

and where I'm

walking in that light.

But they are

claiming that they

have fellowship

and yet

they are walking

in darkness.

The space

that they occupy

in this world

is a life

lived

in the service

of darkness

with no light

of salvation

with no light

of God

with no light

of Jesus

walking about

doing the things

of this world.

And John speaks

throughout this

lecture

of the way

in which

the love

of the world

and the things

of this world

they are not

the things

that are of God.

They are the things

that belong

to the devil

himself

the God

of this world.

And immediately

we have

not only confusion

but a complete

contradiction

that they are

claiming one thing

and living their lives

in another way.

And John tells them

that

they are lying

and they do not

practice

the truth.

Not simply

that

they are not

agreeing

with what

the Bible says

but living

their lives

in complete

opposition

to what

the Bible

says.

And God

wants

you and I

today

to be

on our guard

with regard

to this

very thing

that we may

make a claim

that we are

the children

of God.

We may make

a profession

that we are

the children

of God.

but we need

to be

on our guard

that our lives

are not lived

in a way

that contradicts

that.

That the space

that I occupy

in life

is no different

to the space

occupied by those

who have no faith

and who have no God

and have no desire

for God.

And if I

say today

that I am a child

of God

and I am so

immersed

and blended in

with a lost world

in its darkness

that there is

no distinction

then I am

getting confused

and I am

risking

the whole

of my salvation

because of my

confusion.

It is not

something that

was alien

or specific

to those

who were

hearing this

letter from John.

It is something

that appears

time after time

in the history

of the church

that you

and I

can be

so confused

in our thinking

that we think

we can become

Christians

and be Christians

and our lives

don't change

at all.

The confusion.

There must be

conformity

in order

to prove

participation

in salvation

and to confirm

that we are

the children

of God

in verse

number 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

son cleanses

from all sin.

If the space

that I occupy

is light

and when I

think of that

space that I

occupy

which is

light

I think

of three

particular

sources

that give

light

into my

space

that govern

my thinking

and govern

the way

that I

live

and I

think of

the God

who is

light

who speaks

through creation

who speaks

through his

relationships

with me

I think

of the God

who is

light

I also

think of

the sun

who is

the light

of the world

and all

that he is

in his

passion

and all

that he has

done

in his

work

that is

the light

that shines

into my

space

and thirdly

I have

the light

of the

word of

God

so that

there are

three

closely

linked

sources of

light

radiation

of light

into my

life

that

enable me

to walk

in a way

that is

in harmony

with God

consistent

with the

word of

God

and the

means of

establishing

that

fellowship

that

communion

that

walking

with

God

that

not only

confirms

that I'm

the child

of God

but where

I find

the blessing

Abraham

was a

friend

of God

God

told Abraham

in Genesis

17

walk before

me and

be perfect

occupy

the

sun

in this

world

defined

by me

walk in

that

place

be

perfect

go on

in your

relationship

with me

the Bible

also tells

us

with regard

to Enoch

in Genesis

Genesis 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

that Enoch

walked with

God

and he

was not

because

ultimately

God

took him

to be

with himself

it is

that sense

of friendship

with God

that sense

of communion

with God

it is

that sense

of having

our lives

permeated

by the

word of

God

walking

in the

light

we have

fellowship

with one

another

and notice

he does

not say

that we

have

fellowship

with the

father

and with

the son

we have

fellowship

with each

other

and here

is the

formation

of God's

family

who are

the others

who is

going to

have

fellowship

it is

John

and the

other

apostles

with all

of the

people

in the

churches

that they

are

speaking

to

it's

the

gathering

of people

around

the Lord

Jesus

and around

the word

of God

we have

fellowship

with

each

other

and that's

what

defines

ourselves

today

as the

people

of God

that because

of the

way in

which the

light shines

into our

lives

because we

are persuaded

to be

disciples of

the Lord

Jesus

that because

of that

we have

fellowship

with each

other

we worship

God together

we talk to

each other

about God

we talk to

each other

about our

experiences

as the

children of

God

we have

fellowship

with

each other

and there

is a

vital

ingredient

at the

very

center

of that

participation

which

ensures

that our

participation

in the

fellowship

and in the

communion

goes on

forever

dare I

say

wherever

there is

fellowship

wherever

there is

commonality

or community

there will

be

issues

and problems

and John

wants them

to understand

here that

that will

surely be

the case

in the

relationship

with God

because of

the kind

of people

they are

but he

says

the blood

of Jesus

son

cleanses

us

from all

sin

my walk

with my

God

and with

my

savior

in the

zone

defined

by him

and my

relationship

with my

God

is

maintained

by God

through the

passion of

Jesus

and through

the cross

of Jesus

that my

heart is

washed

continually

by the

blood of

Jesus

so that

the sin

that would

separate me

from God

and does

separate me

from God

is removed

and wiped

away

so that

there is

continuity

not only in

my relationship

but in my

friendship

with God

and in my

walk with

God

participation

how much

does

the space

that you

occupy

how much

is it

filled with

God

and with

Jesus

and with

his word

and how

much is

the space

that you

occupy

filled with

a sense

of growing

appreciation

of the

preciousness

of the

cross of

Jesus

that wipes

away your

sin every

day

and how

much is

your space

filled

with a

sense of

marvelling

that

the God

who is

light

that he

is also

the God

who is

love

and that

he

pours that

out into

your life

every day

there is no

participation

if we're

walking in

darkness

walking in

the light

confirms

our part

in the

family of

God

and gives

to us

every day

a sense

of belonging

a sense

of care

and a

sense

of God's

love

for us

perspective

participation

and finally

prescription

they were

confused

about the

kind of

life that

they should

live

they were

also

confused

about

their

sinnership

and in

verse 8

and in

verse 10

we see

two aspects

of that

confusion

and in

verse 8

we read

if we

say we

have no

sin

they

didn't

understand

that they

were sinners

by nature

as David

learned

they didn't

understand

that they

had a

sinful

condition

at all

living

life

oblivious

to the

fact

that by

nature

they were

sinners

in the

sight of

God

and in

verse 10

they are

saying

if we

say we

have not

sinned

the two

things

they

didn't

have a

sinful

condition

and they

didn't

practice

sin

every day

total

confusion

about the

thing that's

at the

center of

the

breakdown

of their

relationship

with God

and that's

where we

can be

today

they were

here

as part

of the

Christian

community

that John

was writing

to

and despite

being part

of the

Christian

community

have an

understanding

of the

word of

God

despite all

of that

they were

confused

about their

status

and they

were confused

about their

practice

as sinners

and it

is a

fearful

thing

that you

can be

here today

and be

equally

confused

unmoved

by the

very mention

that you

are a

sinner

unmoved

by the

very mention

that you

sin

in thought

word

and in

deed

confused

into

the sense

of

dismissing

and going

to

as far

as

making

God

a liar

it's not

a means

of

sitting

on the

fence

or being

neutral

when I

don't

recognize

my

sinnership

when I

don't

recognize

that I

sin

I

am

saying

that

God

is

a

liar

and

that's

a

serious

matter

that I

can

live

my

life

that

everything

that I

do

and

practice

every

day

of my

life

that it

speaks

out

against

God

that it

says

that God

is a

liar

because

I

fail

to

conform

what

is the

prescription

in

verse

number

nine

if we

confess

our

sins

he is

faithful

and just

to forgive

us our

sins

and to

cleanse

us

from all

unrighteousness

if we

confess

our

sins

to put

it simply

it is

saying

the same

thing

about

something

as someone

else

it comes

with that

sense

of agreement

and so

in the

context

here

it is

saying

something

about

my

sin

that

someone

else

God

says

about

my

sin

and it

is

with

regard

to

my

sin

there

is

an

agreement

between

what

God

says

and

what

I

say

with

regard

to

my

sin

and

using

that

triangle

and

these

points

on that

triangle

that's

where

my

confession

comes

I

see

my

sin

and

I

begin

to

see

it

the

way

God

sees

it

I'm

seeing

it

through

the

eyes

of

God

because

of

the

word

of

God

and

because

of

the

spirit

of

God

and

what

God

says

with

regard

to

my

sin

that

it

is

worthy

of

eternal

punishment

then

I

agree

with

that

I

say

the

same

thing

as

God

and

in

the

whole

idea

of

confession

it

is

not

enough

to

think

the

same

thing

as

God

because

the

very

heart

of

confession

and

of

turning

away

from

my

sin

is

to

verbalize

what

I

think

of

my

sin

and

to

take

what

I

think

of

it

in

the

light

of

what

God

has

said

and

to

say

the

words

over

to

my

God

because

God

wants

to

hear

me

verbalizing

my

changed

attitude

to

my

sin

and

when

I

do

that

God

is

pleased

God

promises

to

forgive

my

sin

to

carry

away

the

guilt

to

remove

the

burden

that

David

had

in

Psalm

32

which

we're

going to

sing

shortly

the

burden

that he

had

because

the

hand

of

God

was

heavy

upon

him

and

he

went

on

to

lay

bare

his

sins

before

God

he

went

on

to

speak

of

the

guilt

that

lay

within

him

being

carried

away

and

that's

the

center

the

heartbeat

of my

relationship

with

God

that it's

concerning

my

sin

that I

confess

my

sin

to

God

say

the

same

thing

about

my

sin

as

God

does

see

what

God

says

about

my

sin

with

regard

to

its

condemnation

and

see

what

God

says

about

my

sin

with

regard

to

the

cross

of

Jesus

and

when

I

see

both

these

things

and

say

these

things

then

God

in

his

grace

and

consistent

with

his

character

he

takes

my

sin

away

and

today

as

we

close

and

we

leave

this

building

let's

think

of

this

prescription

and

let's

think

of

not

just

leaving

a

building

but

let's

think

of

leaving

our

sin

behind

because

God

has

taken

it

away

and

let's

verbalize

our

sense

of

sinnership

in a

heartfelt

way

so

that we

may

come

to

wonder

and

to

find

peace

and

joy

in

having

our

sins

forgiven

there

is

no

greater

joy

than

to

have

that

burden

of

guilt

taken

away

and

to

have

peace

with

God

and

may

God

help

us

today

to

go

forward

with

the

perspective

of

the

fact

that

he

is

light

on

regard

against

being

confused

about

what

living

as

a

Christian

might

mean

and

being

on

regard

against

the

confusion

about

our

sin

and

ensuring

that

we

are

on

the

same

page

as

God

with

regard

to

our

sin

and

on

the

same

page

as

God

with

regard

to

the

cross

of

Jesus

and

then

we

have

peace

then

we

are

children

then

we

know

who

we

are

and

we

know

where

we

are

going

may

God bless

his

word

let us

pray

most

grace

God

we

rejoice

in

every

way

in

which

you

speak

into

our

lives

we

give

thanks

to

you

for

your

light

we

give

thanks

to

you

for

your

light

and

the

person

of

your

son

give

thanks

to

you

for

the light that shines from the darkness of Calvary's cross

and help us today, O Lord God, to have the light of your truth

upon our hearts, the light of your spirit upon

the person of your Son as Savior and bring us to that place

where we embrace him and receive him and accept him

as our own personal Savior for today and for life and for

eternity. So hear our prayer and accept us for Jesus' sake. Amen.

So our closing psalm is

Psalm 32 and we're singing it in Sing Psalms.

It's on page 38

and the tune is Arlington. Psalm 32

at verse 1.

How blessed the one who has received

forgiveness for his sin, whose sins are covered from God's

face, whose debt is cancelled in God's grace, there's no

deceit in him. We stand to sing from verse 1 to verse

Mark 6 to God's praise.

How blessed the one who has received forgiveness for his sin, whose sins are covered from God's

from God's grace, whose death is cancelled in God's grace, there's no deceit in him.

When I kept silent all my bones, whose death is cancelled in God's grace, there's no deceit in him.

When I kept silent all my bones, with gold in God's grace, there's no doubt beneath your heart.

When I kept silent all my bones, with gold in God's grace, there's no doubt beneath your heart.

When I kept silent all my bones, with gold in God's grace, there's no doubt beneath your heart.

When I kept silent all my bones, with gold in God's grace, there's no doubt beneath your heart.

When I kept silent all my bones, with gold in God's grace, there's no doubt beneath your heart.

When I kept silent all my bones, with gold in God's grace, there's no doubt beneath your heart.

I felt in trouble, O day and night my strength was up,

As in the summertime, Then I lit bare my sin to you,

The guilt that lived within.

I said, O Lord, I have transgressed,

And you forgive when I confess,

You pardon all my sin.

So let the calling bring to you,

While you are to be found.

Surely when waves are sweeping past,

On mighty waters rising past,

You'll keep them safe as come.

So please allow me to go to the main door after the benediction.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

The love of God, the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,

Be with you all now and forevermore.

Amen.