NOTES for Jo1 1:5

The words of John's letter seem paradoxical at first glance. On the one hand, he states that as Christians we must not be involved in sin, because the blood of Christ cleanses us from every sin (1 John 1:6-7). On the other hand, according to his own words, we are by no means sinless, and we had better not deceive ourselves about this (1 John 1:8).

Meanwhile, this paradox, or rather this antinomy, describes the phenomenon of biblical righteousness, known even in pre-Christian times. Sober-minded people who sought genuine spiritual life and, accordingly, firm relations with God never considered themselves perfect or sinless. And biblical righteousness was never equated with sinlessness. There is no darkness in God; in Him there is only light (1 John 1:5). This truth was known to believing Jews in every age. Righteousness is not light emitted by a person, but God's light reflected by him. Such is human righteousness, and this is exactly how the authors of the Old Testament books describe it.

In this respect nothing has changed: after the coming of Christ, the human being remained what he had been. Neither before nor now is anyone born into the world free from sin. But with the coming of the Messiah, something did change. New possibilities opened up. Formerly the Kingdom was beside the world. The prophets of Israel sometimes saw it as if through a transparent but insurmountable barrier. Many, not only among the Jewish people but throughout the world, sensed its breath.

But for the transformation of the world, for a complete and qualitative change in its nature, for its final liberation from the power of sin and death, this was not enough. The Kingdom had to enter into the world in all its fullness, inevitably colliding in doing so with the evil in which, according to the word of the Gospel, the fallen world lies. This collision, its first and chief blow, was taken upon Himself by the One who brought the Kingdom into the world, the Savior Himself. It was His blood that opened the road into the Kingdom for us. But not only that: it also opened the road for the Kingdom into our hearts. Formerly those who sought the path of righteousness strove to become a perfect reflection of God's light, in spite of their sinfulness, which remained unconquered to the end. Now those who seek the path of the Kingdom can become an open door through which the breath of the Kingdom enters the world being transformed. This happens in spite of their own sinfulness, which, however, has become conquerable thanks to what the Savior has done for us. And now the path of the Kingdom, beginning in our world that has not yet been transformed, is completed in the fullness of that Kingdom. In the fullness that will be revealed to the world on the day of the Savior's return. His return in glory.

In today's reading from the letter of the holy apostle John, an interesting logical connection can be traced. John writes that God is light, and therefore if we are in darkness, this is a sure sign that we are not in communion with Him. This is understandable. But he continues: if we are in the light, then we have fellowship with one another. That is, the condition of this fellowship is being in the light. What kind of fellowship is this? It is entirely obvious that one can communicate with people while in a state of sin of any gravity, while being a militant atheist, and so on. One cannot claim that non-Christians do not communicate with one another.

Apparently John is speaking of a special kind of fellowship whose condition is being in the light of Christ. He probably has in mind the fellowship, the bond of people in the Church, when our relationships are determined first of all not by likes and dislikes, but by that for which, or more precisely around Whom, we are gathered: the person of Christ. His light enlightens and heals all relationships.

The beginning of the letter echoes the beginning of the Gospel written by John, which in turn recalls the beginning of the book of Genesis. At first glance, there is also a difference: there the foundations of the world's order are narrated, while here John reminds us that he is a witness of what he is writing about. But his witness is not reduced merely to a formal confirmation of facts. It consists in proclaiming that John knows the essence of what he saw: the coming into the world of the Source of life. The purpose of the letter is precisely that people may have fellowship with Him and with one another, not secular socializing or the bustle of "hangouts," but an inexpressibly mysterious union with God and with brothers who have also entered into union with Him and with one another.

The criterion of the authenticity of such union should be the qualitative changes taking place in people, and not only formal membership in the brotherhood. But is there not a contradiction in saying that those who walk in the light cannot remain in darkness, if no one can claim to have no sin?

No, because it is only thanks to the light that one can see one's own sinful darkness. Having seen it, one should not hide back in the darkness, but on the contrary, go boldly with repentance toward the light that delivers from sin.