The Promise in 1 John 1:9

     I've heard it said that a tiny piece of insulation can block the flow of electricity. It amazes me that something so seemingly small could block something so powerful.  I thought about that when I was reading chapter 6 of the Life-Study of 1 John because Witness Lee mentions that our sin can frustrate the flow of this divine fellowship within us.  But it doesn't have to block it forever because of this verse in 1 John:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9

   
      All of this made me think about a conversation we had  a month ago with a college student who told my husband and I that he was troubled because he wondered how often God would forgive him. So we opened up 1 John 1:9 and read it with him. My husband told him this was a promise. Together we read it phrase by phrase and even made it our prayer.  

  
      We could also tell that Satan was dumping accusation on him, so we turned to Revelation 12:10b-11 which is another favorite of ours and read:  "…for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night, And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death."  It would almost seem we don't stand a chance against Satan's 24/7 accusation, but this verse shows us that the blood of Jesus is powerful enough to shut his mouth!

   Witness Lee’s fellowship on the blood of Christ and confession has been a great help to my Christian life.  It’s important to know the truth that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all the sins we commit  even after we’re saved. On page 107 in chapter 12 of the Life-Study of 1 John, he shares how God's faithfulness and righteousness secure our forgiveness:  

The promise in 1:9 should never be misused as an encouragement to sin. This means that we should not think that we may continue to commit sin and then confess and receive the Lord's cleansing….Because we still have sin in our nature, it is always possible for us to sin. If you sin, you need to confess your sin to God. He has promised in His gospel to forgive us, and He will be faithful to His word. Furthermore, in redemption, God judged Christ on our behalf. This means that He will not judge us for our sins if we confess them through the redemption of Christ.  As the righteous God, He will surely cleanse us from our unrighteousness. In this way we may preserve our fellowship with Him and enjoy Him day by day (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of 1 John.  Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry. Print, 1983).  

      At the end of our conversation with this student, we flipped back to Matthew 4:4 to point out that if Satan still accuses us after we confess our sins, we need to do what the Lord did. When the Lord was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He  proclaimed, “It is written man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.  We shared with him when Satan accuses you for what you’ve already confessed, you just need to speak back 1 John 1:9! 

I enjoy listening to live excerpts and the commentary on these Life-Studies on the  Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee while I'm cooking, cleaning, and typing.   

Other Posts on 1, 2, 3 John and Jude:

What Does the Greek Word for Fellowship Mean in 1 John 1:3?
What Does 1 John 1:8 Show Us About Sin?
The Promise in 1 John 1:9
What is the Anointing in 1 John 2:27?
Taking a Closer Look at Abiding in 1 John 2:26
God's Love in 1 John 4 Seen in the Life of John Newton
What is the Key to Overcoming in 1 John 5:4?
Touching Account From Church History on the Apostle John