1That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life 2(and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); 3that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled.
5This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and don’t tell the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1:6 This verse begins with “if we should say.” The significance of this “if” clause is that, for the argument’s sake, the “if” may or may not be true. If it is true, then the following clause is also true. If it is false, so is the following clause. Thus, John is bringing up a hypothetical situation. Further, John uses the first-person plural to include himself. Thus, the action of the “if” clause is something John could do, not just his readers. The “we” of this clause is not an authorial or royal “we,” but an inclusive we. John uses this “if” construction from 1:6 to 2:3, thereby always including himself, and thereby indicating that this can be true of believers.
Through this “if” clause, John affirms that a believer may claim to have fellowship with God while “walking in darkness.” This would mean the believer is living outside of God’s sphere of moral purity, called “the light” in verse 5. However, such a reality is an impossibility. Since there is no darkness (moral impurity) in God, He cannot commune with someone characterized by moral impurity. The idea of “walk” is the conduct of one’s life. Thus, a person whose daily conduct is characterized by moral impurity cannot claim also to have fellowship with God, who is morally pure. Thus, sin in a person’s life makes it impossible to have fellowship (communion) with God.
John’s statement that the person making the false claim “does not practice the truth” does not mean the person is unregenerate. Rather, since John is including himself along with his readers in this statement, this is something that can characterize believers.
John continues to include himself with “we” at the center of this sentence’s “then” clause. As noted above, this is something John could do. He could falsely claim to have fellowship with God. To “lie” and “not do the truth” say the same thing and so are emphatic. To claim fellowship with God while sinning is to live a lie. So, the problem this raises is that every honest believer will admit to sin. So, how does one stay in fellowship with God? The next verse begins to give the solution.