Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 145:579 (Jul 1988)
Article: An Expositional Study of 1 John Part 2: An Exposition of 1 John 1:5-2:6
Author: D. Edmond Hiebert

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BSac 145:579 (Jul 88) p. 329

An Expositional Study of 1 John
Part 2:
An Exposition of 1 John 1:5-2:6

D. Edmond Hiebert

Professor Emeritus of New Testament
Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Fresno, California

And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but 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. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 John 1:5–2:6).

Following the weighty and difficult opening paragraph (1:1–4), John launched into his discussion. It is exceedingly difficult to present a logical analysis of the body of the epistle (1:5–5:12). Attempts to analyze its contents are like attempts to analyze the face of the sky: “There is contrast, and yet there is harmony; variety and yet order; fixedness, and yet ceaseless change; a monotony which sooths without wearying us, because the frequent repetitions come to

BSac 145:579 (Jul 88) p. 330

us as things that are both new and old.”1

Attempts to produce a logical analysis of its contents have yielded widely varying results.2 John’s method was not that of syllogistic logic but of categorical affirmation. His thought moved in cycles rather than straight lines. It seems best to seek to trace the flow and aim of John’s thought in the light of his purpose stated in

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