1 John 1:5

God Is Light, So We Must Walk in the Light

1:5 Now ¹  this is the gospel ²  message ³  we have heard from him ⁴  and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁵ 

Psalms 104:2

104:2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.

He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,

Psalms 104:1

Psalm 104 ⁶ 

104:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are magnificent. ⁷ 

You are robed in splendor and majesty.

Psalms 6:1

Psalm 6 ⁸ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; ⁹  a psalm of David.

6:1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger!

Do not discipline me in your raging fury! ¹⁰ 

James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift ¹¹  is from above, coming down ¹²  from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. ¹³ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn The καί (kai) at the beginning of 1:5 takes on a resumptive force, indicated by the phrase “heard from him and announce to you,” which echoes similar phrases in 1:2 and 1:3.

[1:5]  ² tn The word “gospel” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to clarify the meaning. See the note on the following word “message.”

[1:5]  ³ tn The word ἀγγελία (angelia) occurs only twice in the NT, here and in 1 John 3:11. It is a cognate of ἐπαγγελία (epangelia) which occurs much more frequently (some 52 times in the NT) including 1 John 2:25. BDAG 8 s.v. ἀγγελία 1 offers the meaning “message” which suggests some overlap with the semantic range of λόγος (logos), although in the specific context of 1:5 BDAG suggests a reference to the gospel. (The precise “content” of this “good news’ is given by the ὅτι [Joti] clause which follows in 1:5b.) The word ἀγγελία here is closely equivalent to εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion): (1) it refers to the proclamation of the eyewitness testimony about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the author and the rest of the apostolic witnesses (prologue, esp. 1:3-4), and (2) it relates to the salvation of the hearers/readers, since the purpose of this proclamation is to bring them into fellowship with God and with the apostolic witnesses (1:3). Because of this the adjective “gospel” is included in the English translation.

[1:5]  ⁴ tn The referent of the pronoun “him” is not entirely clear in the Greek text; it could be either (1) God the Father, or (2) Jesus Christ, both of whom are mentioned at the end of v. 3. A reference to Jesus Christ is more likely because this is the nearest possible antecedent, and because God (the Father) is specifically mentioned in the following clause in v. 5.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn The key to understanding the first major section of 1 John, 1:5-3:10, is found in the statement in v. 5: “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” The idea of “proclamation” – the apostolic proclamation of eyewitness testimony which the prologue introduces (1:2, 3) – is picked up in 1:5 by the use of the noun ἀγγελία (angelia) and the verb ἀναγγέλλομεν (anangellomen), cognate to the verb in 1:3. The content of this proclamation is given by the ὅτι (Joti) clause in 1:5 as the assertion that God is light, so this statement should be understood as the author’s formulation of the apostolic eyewitness testimony introduced in the prologue. (This corresponds to the apostolic preaching elsewhere referred to as κήρυγμα [khrugma], although the term the Apostle John uses here is ἀγγελία.)

[104:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 104. The psalmist praises God as the ruler of the world who sustains all life.

[104:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “very great.”

[6:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 6. The psalmist begs the Lord to withdraw his anger and spare his life. Having received a positive response to his prayer, the psalmist then confronts his enemies and describes how they retreat.

[6:1]  ⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit, “sheminith”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[6:1]  ¹⁰ sn The implication is that the psalmist has sinned, causing God to discipline him by bringing a life-threatening illness upon him (see vv. 2-7).

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.

[1:17]  ¹² tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

[1:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).