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1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 If we confess STATE our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse purify us from all unrighteousness.


Refilling of the Holy Spirit Mechanics

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.


Walking in the Light or Darkness

FIRST AND FOREMOST "walking in darkness" does NOT refer to an unbeliever or that you're not saved. You will hear countless Christians misinterpret the analogy frequently. If you're not saved you're not even on the map.

Walking in the Light = refilled with the Holy Spirit

Walking in Darkness = unfilled with the Holy Spirit

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

And the 'blood of christ' refers to Christ's thinking.


Gnosticism or CARNALITY?

A common interpretation is that John is addressing "gnosticism" instead of carnality (through means of 'dualism' with light/dark, various aspects of physicality and sin). The problem is, right again "darkness" is being interpreted as being unsaved and CARNALITY IS IGNORED. When you're not in fellowship it never refers to being unsaved. This can easily be proved with the dynamics of inheritances, the dynamics of sinning after post-salvation, the dynamics of salvation being permanent, etc.

If someone says 'darkness' is referring to unbelievers, they effectively BREAK the entire analogy and so many systems and verses.


Wood, Hay & Stubble without 1 John 1:9

1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Corinthians 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

1 Corinthians 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

1 Corinthians 3:13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

1 Corinthians 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.


John's Sandwich

What about Christians who don't use 1 John 1:9? John outlines two major outcomes on either side of 1 John 1:9: much like a sandwich with verse 8 and 10 being the 'buns'.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:9 If we confess STATE our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

With a quick diagram, we can more fully see the outcome of this phenomenon:

This is also why many Christians enforce the whole "you must stop sinning" mentality. They're carnal, not using 1 John 1:9, and doing exactly what John has pointed out. The most severe case is on verse 9 for Christians who say they have 'not sinned', this is indicative of extreme arrogance and may indicate that they have never believed in Christ PAYING for their sins and as a result, not saved. Why would someone need a saviour if they haven't sinned?

Change is not instant: with 1 John 1:9 and learning the Bible, you'll naturally sin less as you mature (and for that manner actually learn the sins that you're doing-- for we generically associate what we THINK is a sin from cultural perspectives). Forcefully trying to make yourself stop sinning will just cause more sinning and you'll want to stop sinning MORE than you want God.


1 John 1:9 required to keep salvation?

One misreading of 1 John 1:9 is that this is actually tied in with salvation and not carnality. So every time someone sins they "lose their salvation", of course that contradicts with being born again and having Christ's righteousness imputed to you: but in this case these people don't understand the concept of the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the refilling of the Holy Spirit. This is actually very similar to the Catholic view of 'Last Rites'.


1 John 1:9 reserved for unebelievers?

Another misreading is that 1 John 1:9 refers specifically to unbelievers who haven't been saved-- or more specifically haven't "confessed" or "acknowledged" their sins. However this then damages the mechanic for post-salvation sin. What HAPPENS when you sin after salvation? God chooses not to be in the presence of sin, so while He dwells in you at the same time, something will have to happen: and the re-filling resolves this problem.


Misc

2 Corinthians 6:14 Don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness?


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