What a precious and tough verse. I don’t know about you, but in the past I have tended to breeze past those first words to get to the last. I like that Jesus cleanses me from sin.

What a shame to have missed those first words. Or did I simply ignore them? I mean, I even missed that it is the very BLOOD of Jesus that cleanses me from sin.

Realizing I’ve missed the richness of 1 John 1:7 all these years sends me to the various versions to learn more.

The Orthodox Jewish Bible translates what our English versions translate to “fellowship” as “hitkjabrut.” In English that means “joining, adhesion, fellowship.”
We also see those last words telling us the blood (dahm) of Jesus “gives us tohorah from kol chet.” Tohorah translates to “purification, cleansing.”

We’re still addressing the matter half of the verse more than the first.

The Amplified Version translates this verse:

“But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].”

Wow! Powerful, convicting words.

Let me turn some of them around. If my relationships with other believers is broken, the first thing I need to check is if I’m really living and walking in the Light.

Uh-oh. That would mean that
sometimes it’s not them, it’s ME!

But that person who SAYS she’s a Christian offended me!

Okay. A person living and walking in the Light would forgive her; have you?

John 13:34-35 tells believers that when unbelievers see our love for one another – other believers, they will know we are Christ’s followers. That’s a pretty big deal, this unbroken fellowship.

All we have to do is focus on living and waking in the Light – in Jesus and the relationships are a byproduct.

In this digital age, this extends globally. It’s no longer confined to our local community. We must allow the Light to determine what we post or share on whatever our social media choice is.

Now, let’s revisit those last words in the Amplified: “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].”

Wow. Wow! The blood our Savior shed as He was beaten and crucified REMOVES US FROM SIN.

Removes us from sin? When He cleanses is from all unrighteousness, He removes us from the sin?

Parents, have you ever lifted your toddler away from the electrical outlet they’re determined to access only to see them return to it?

Isn’t that a picture of us? We get all cleaned up, removed from that sin, then before long, we’re rushing headlong right back into it. We need to recognize the beauty of the power of the Savior’s shed blood! It doesn’t just wipe us off and leave us standing in the midst of the sin we have loved. It REMOVES us from the SIN. (Can I get a hallelujah?)

Finally, the blood of Jesus removes us from all guilt, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations.

Then why do we end up where we started in that same sin and guilt? Simply put, we listen to the voice of the enemy instead of listening to the Light. We hear that we’re not really cleansed, that God will still hold that against us. We hear that we’ve got to work hard to make this cleansing happen. We hear that our sin is too much for God to forgive. We hear that this step back toward that sin won’t really matter.

We hear lies and we believe them because the Liar is so doggone convincing. (He’s had lots of practice.)

What if we believed this verse in its fullness? What if we started really living and walking in the Light? How different would the world be if all believers loved one another and maintained healthy relationships?

What if we accepted the power and results of the blood of Jesus on us? What if we believed that we have been removed from all sin and guilt? How different would the world be if we lauded that truth like the lepers Jesus healed showed off their fresh, new, living skin?

We must choose who and what we will believe. Today and every day.

Coffee, Bible, Journal.

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© 2019 Faye Stoeffler Bryant