Bible Strands
1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The author of 1 John addresses believers who claim fellowship with God, contrasting their verbal profession with their observable daily conduct. He writes to correct the disconnect between spiritual claims and actual behavior.
The words — περιπατῶμεν (peripatōmen) translates literally as “we walk,” and φωτὶ (phōti) means “light.” These terms establish the behavioral condition for the verse’s promises.
The thread — The light and darkness imagery runs through Ephesians 5:8, which commands walking as children of light, and Romans 13:12, which urges laying aside darkness to put on the armor of light. Revelation 1:5 further anchors this framework by identifying Jesus as the faithful witness and ruler.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to align their daily conduct with God’s holy nature to maintain mutual fellowship. It simultaneously promises that Jesus’ blood actively removes sin, directly negating any claim to sinless self-deception.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Romans 13:12 The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
- 1 John 2:9 If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
- Revelation 7:14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
- 1 John 1:5 And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- John 12:35 Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.