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1 John 1:9 and Its Context: A Call to Lost Gnostics, Not Believers

What is the truth about 1 John 1:9? Unfortunately, this verse is frequently quoted by Christians as a directive to confess their sins in order to receive forgiveness. However, when understood in its proper context, it’s not a command for believers to seek forgiveness. Instead, it’s a message aimed at lost individuals—particularly Gnostic heretics—who are still outside the faith.

The context of 1 John is crucial. The Apostle John addresses a community influenced by Gnosticism, a belief system that denied the reality of sin and the need for salvation and forgiveness. Gnostics believed they had special knowledge, which made them exempt from the moral and spiritual realities of sin. They often claimed to have no sin or that they had not sinned at all, rejecting both the incarnation of Jesus and the necessity of forgiveness. In 1 John 1:8, John confronts this heresy, saying, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Similarly, in 1 John 1:10, he writes, “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

These verses are not directed at believers but at lost people who deny their sinfulness. In other words, John is telling these individuals that if they deny their sin, Jesus—who is the truth—is not in them. This is a clear indication that they are not saved but remain lost in their sin.

1 John 1:9, then, serves as a call to those lost in Gnostic beliefs (and others who deny their sin) to acknowledge their true condition and agree with God that they need Jesus. To “confess” in this context means to agree with God about the reality of one’s sinfulness and the need for salvation. Another way to phrase this is: “If you agree with God about your lost condition, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins, cleanse you from all unrighteousness, and give you new life in Jesus.”

Canning – A Picture of  Receiving New Life in Jesus: Cleansed, Filled, and Seal

Salvation can be beautifully illustrated through the process of canning. First, the jar is cleansed and sterilized, ensuring that it is free from any impurities. Similarly, Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness, removing the stain of sin from our lives. This is the first step in our journey of salvation—being made clean through Christ’s sacrifice.

Next, the jar is filled with fruit, representing the new life that we receive in Christ. When we place our faith in Him, He fills us with His presence, His Spirit, and His abundant life. We are no longer empty but are filled with the God himself.

Finally, the jar is sealed to preserve what’s inside, ensuring that it remains fresh and protected. In the same way, God seals us with the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing our salvation and securing us in Christ. This seal is a divine promise that we belong to Him, and it ensures that we are eternally secure in our relationship with God. We are sealed forever because Jesus took away all our sins—past, present, and future.

For believers, continually asking for forgiveness is unnecessary. Jesus has already paid the price for all sin through His sacrifice on the cross (Hebrews 10:10). Instead of repeatedly asking for forgiveness, a more appropriate response is to thank God for the forgiveness that has already been secured for us in Christ. Many Christians struggle with this because they do not fully grasp the depth of the forgiveness they have received. They remain unsure about whether they are truly forgiven and, as a result, keep asking for forgiveness. Yet, the truth is that their sins are already forgiven (Ephesians 1:7), and they can rest in the assurance of that fact.

The analogy of canning reminds us that salvation is complete. We are cleansed, filled, and sealed—forever secure in the love of Christ.

What About the Lord’s Prayer?

There’s another reason that 1 John 1:9 is often misunderstood. One of them is the frequent misuse of the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer recited in many churches weekly. The Lord’s Prayer is found in Matthew 6:9-13, and it was directed to Jesus’s disciples while they were still under the law. The law was conditional and given exclusively to the nation of Israel, which was still living under the Old Covenant system at the time.

It’s important to note that Jesus’s teaching to the disciples about how to pray occurred before the cross, before the New Covenant went into effect, and before Jesus took away the sins of the world. He was pointing to things that hadn’t yet occurred, as the ultimate act of forgiveness hadn’t been fulfilled yet. This becomes even clearer when you look at Matthew 6:14-15, which follows the Lord’s Prayer. It says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” It’s interesting how these verses are often left out of discussion.

Additionally, in Matthew 6:7, Jesus tells His disciples not to keep on babbling the same prayer over and over as the pagans do. This is a reminder that prayer is meant to be a sincere conversation with God, not a repetitive ritual. Yet, many continue to recite the Lord’s Prayer as a ritual, missing the deeper point Jesus was making.

The purpose of the law was always to point the people to Christ, to show them their inability to fulfill it and their need for a Savior. Today, that is still the purpose of the law, as Galatians 3:24 explains: “Therefore the law was put in charge to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (NIV 1984).

The reality is that under the New Covenant, we are forgiven once and for all by the blood of Jesus, as 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 explains: “God is not counting our sins against us”. The Lord’s Prayer is a continuation of the Beatitudes, where Jesus was showing the Jews the weight and actual meaning of the law—evident in Matthew 5:48, where He says, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

The constant misuse of both the Lord’s Prayer and 1 John 1:9 has contributed to many Christians not understanding that they are completely forgiven. Scripture must be read in context to truly understand what Jesus was teaching in His earthly ministry, especially before the New Covenant was established.

So what is the truth about 1 John 1:9? In summary, 1 John 1:8, 1:9, and 1:10 are not instructions for Christians to confess every sin, but are addressed to those who are still lost—particularly those who deny the reality of sin. The message of 1 John is clear: those who confess and agree with God about their lost condition are ready to accept the fact that “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness”.

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Do We Need to Confess Our Sins to be Forgiven?