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1 John 1:3-5
New Catholic Bible
1 John 1:3-5
New Catholic Bible
3 What we have seen and heard
we declare to you
so that you may have fellowship[a] with us.
For our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 We are writing this
so that our joy may be complete.
Walk in the Light
God Is Light[b]
5 This is the message
that we have heard from him
and that we declare to you:
God is light,
and there is no darkness[c] at all in him.
Footnotes
- 1 John 1:3 Fellowship (or communion): the word expresses one of the most important themes in Johannine mysticism: the unity of the Christian community, based on the oneness of each believer with God in Christ. This unity is described in the figures of the vine and the branches (see Jn 15:1-5) and the body and the head (see 1 Cor 12:12; Col 1:18). It also finds expression in various formulations: Christians “abide in God and God in them”; “they are born of God”; “they belong to God”; “they know God.” Such a union with God is manifested in faith and fraternal love.
- 1 John 1:5 There is no fellowship with God in the absence of faith or love. Christians do not achieve fellowship with God the Light (see Jn 8:12) by giving themselves over to Illuminism or by some magical rite; they do so by believing in the Redemption brought about by Christ’s Passion and by living in the truth (see Jn 3:31), i.e., by entering into a life experience that keeps the commandments of the Gospel in a concrete manner.
- 1 John 1:5 Light . . . darkness: light represents all that is good, true, and holy, whereas darkness stands for all that is evil and false (see Jn 3:19-21).
