Metaphors Of Darkness

1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. This verse starts with a very declarative statement of “this is the message.” This serves as the foundation for the rest of the paragraph. John then states that the message readers are about to encounter is one from Jesus Himself, as stated in the part where it says, “we have heard from him and proclaim to you.” The “we” that is stated in this verse includes John and his friends, not the entire audience of the letter. They are claiming, when they say this is message heard from Jesus, to have had an experience with Jesus Himself. This part of the verse is just reiterating the fact that John experienced Jesus in the …show more content…
This refers to how God’s identity is revealed in terms that God is righteous. According to early Greek, light refers to the “sphere of ethical good” (). On the other hand, the bad things took place in darkness. Darkness is symbolic of evil forced that do not like God and His nature. Darkness is also involved in the metaphor that God is light. Darkness is always being used in biblical literature as a symbol of evil. Since God is a righteous being, again meaning that he stays true to his nature, darkness cannot be found in him or even near …show more content…
Before “we” stood for John and his friends. Now, “we” stands for John, his friends, and the audience of the epistle. “We” is used in a way for John to identify himself with the readers and to express that He is a Christian as well. The “we” can be taken as Christians in general. If Christians claim to “have fellowship with him” while they walk in darkness, they are lying and do not practice the truth within God. The “with him” in this statement refers to having a fellowship with God. Having this relationship with God tells about a Christians association to God. Fellowship means that one has something in common with God. We are being renewed in God’s image, being justified by Him and made righteous. We have this relationship because God forgives our sins and welcomes us into His home. The phrase “while we walk in darkness” refers to how we cannot claim to have a fellowship with God if we live within our sin. The word “walk” in this statement refers to the role of our daily life. To walk in darkness means to allow darkness to take over, allowing evil to oppose God and his nature. It could also mean living in sin and not obeying God’s revelation. The statement is saying that it is impossible to live in fellowship with God if we are living in our own