John continues with a truth that he along with the apostles had heard from Jesus, “that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” God is perfectly holy and exists with absolutely no moral impurity at all. If we claim to live in fellowship with God and yet walk in darkness, that is to disobey Him and continue with some known sin, then we are living a lie and not living in truth. But if we walk in the light, where He is, then we have fellowship with one another (us and God). To live in the light is to live lives illuminated by truths revealed in His word. To live like that makes clear to us who God is and the reality of who we are, including our ongoing sin. It is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin and allowed for that fellowship in the first place and continues to maintain that fellowship. If we claim to have no sin then we are living in deception and the truth is not in us. Our fellowship with God is not because of our sinlessness but because of the continual cleansing work of Jesus Christ. If we are walking in the light, then that light will reveal our sins to us. When that happens and we confess our sins, when we acknowledge that sin to God, then He is faithful and just and forgives us from that sin. But what about the sin that we are not aware of? As we confess what we are aware of, God in His faithfulness cleanses us from all our unrighteousness. If the word reveals sin to us and we deny that and claim not to have sinned, then we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
It’s important to note that throughout this passage, John uses the pronouns “we” and “us.” This makes it clear that John is writing to believers and is not discussing confession for salvation but ongoing confession to reestablish fellowship. When we believe, we are saved once and for all and become part of God’s family. That positional truth will never change. But just as in any family, we can cause grief to our Father when we sin against Him (Psalm 51:4). We need to acknowledge that sin and come to Him for forgiveness in order to restore intimacy with Him.

The only way to have fellowship with God is to walk in the light with Him. Any sin you are aware of and continue to hold on to, whether it is something you pretend never happened or something you continue to do, no matter how hidden you think it is, keeps you in the darkness and away from fellowship with God. What is it that you need to confess today so you can return to walking in the light?