John’s agenda is to give us fullness of joy through fellowship with God. So what is God like, and how will that affect our relationship with him? John teaches us that God is light: he is completely pure, completely wise, entirely holy. When we come close to a God like this, it exposes the darkness in us and in our world. But only there do we see Christ taking on our sin and cleansing us to be near God forever.
Application Questions:
1. What do you think fellowship would look like with a God who “is light”? How does that compare to your own relationship with God?
2. Have you experienced God’s light has exposing your own darkness? Are there ways you have avoided God so that you wouldn’t have to deal with exposure like that?
3.John sees confession as freeing because you can be honest before God and be forgiven in Christ. Is that your experience with confession?
