1 John 1:5–10

Other biblical writings tell us a lot about what God does, but 1 John focuses on who God is. While other writers wrote of God’s power, His work, His will, and His way, John went back again and again to who God is in His nature. In the opening sentence of this letter, John stated that God is life. God is the source of life, the One who originates life, who gives eternal life, and who made Himself known as “the Word of Life” (1 John 1:1). While exulting in the memory of having seen Jesus, heard Him, and touched Him, the aged apostle stated that it’s this One whom “we proclaim to you” (1:3). All of that prompted John to announce the message he wanted his readers to know—that God is light. That descriptive term represents, vertically, the truth and the purity of God in heaven. And John also addressed a practical or horizontal dimension regarding God’s light. It plays a crucial role in distinguishing genuine faith from counterfeit claims made by people on earth. As we shall discover, God’s light penetrates behind the words we say and reveals if, in fact, truth and purity are realities within us.

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