1 John 1:9
The James Method Verse Mapping
I have recently started doing verse mapping using the James Method. To see a description of this method, click here. I am starting with the book of 1 John. I won’t map every verse, but I’ll try to hit the highlights and see where that takes me!
Here’s one of my favorite pictures from this verse map. My cat, Squeaker (named for her squeaky voice), likes to snuggle under the blanket while I do my morning devotions. It gets a bit crowded on my lap!
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Going through the verse mapping process brought out a couple new ideas.
The Greek word for “confess” used in 1 John 1:9 to refer to confessing our sins uses the same root word used for “profess” in Romans 10:9-10: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
The word “forgive” means to send away, which brought to mind Psalm 103:12:
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Here is an image of my verse map for 1 John 1:9. I will also type out what I have written for easier reading.
Keep in mind that a lot of my writing is shorthand or bullet points rather than complete thoughts or sentences due to limited space in the journal. That shorthand is reflected in the content I have typed out.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Translations (differences bolded)
ESV: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
NASB: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Common Jewish Bible: If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.
Context
Author: John
Date: Between 85-90 AD, from Ephesus
Audience: Gentile Christians, all believers everywhere
Purpose: To correct thinking about sin, light, darkness, purification
Key Words
I’m studying Greek, so I’ve included the Greek terms for each key word. Substack doesn’t allow Greek text, so I had to add them as photos, which can only be centered and have a lot of space around them. So I know they look weird, but I have to work with what I’m given.
Confess
Greek:
Definition: not to deny, to declare, to admit one’s self guilty of what one is accused of
Faithful
Greek:
Definition: trusty, can be relied on, faithful in transactions or discharge of duties
*Just
Greek:
Definition: righteous, observing of divine laws, virtuous, wholly conformed to the will of God
Forgive
Greek:
Definition: to send away, to let go, abandon
Purify
Greek:
Definition: to make clean, free from defilement of sin
*Unrighteousness
Greek:
Definition: injustice, unrighteousness of heart and life, a deed violating law and justice
Sin
Greek:
Definition: to miss the mark, to violate God’s law, collectively the group of sins committed by a single person or by many
*Note how the Greek words for “just” and “unrighteousness” are opposites:
Greek: dikaios vs. adikias (the “a” at the front implies “without”)
Just vs. injustice
Righteous vs. unrighteousness
Observing of divine laws vs. a deed violating law
God’s justice or righteousness is in stark contrast to our injustice or unrighteousness.
Cross References
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, purifies us from all sin.
Jesus’ blood is what purifies us from sin.
Psalm 103:12: as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Romans 10:9-10: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
The same root word for “confess” in 1 John 1:9 is used to “profess” belief in Christ - belief makes righteous (Greek dika- root) and confess/profess makes saved.
1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
The same faithful God forgives and gives endurance to escape temptation.
View of God
God is faithful and just and righteous. We can rely on him to do what he has promised and be faithful to his character.
He is the only one who has the power to remove our sins completely.
View of Man/Self
Where God is righteous, we are unrighteous. But we can become righteous if we confess our sins and confess our belief in Jesus. If we confess, God does the rest of the work in us to make us righteous.
Reflection and Application
My whole responsibility in this is to confess - I don’t try to deny my sin or pass the blame on to someone else. I admit my fault and come humbly before God to confess and repent. I also confess my belief in him. Then he does the rest. I can rely on him to be the righteousness to my unrighteousness. He will wash away those sins - send them as far away as the east is from the west. In that act, he gives me his righteousness through the blood of Christ.
Prayer
Lord, give me the courage to confess my sins. Help me to see the sin in my life and be so burdened by it that I give it to you fully. You are not only faithful to forgive - you are also faithful to help me resist future temptation. Thank you for your faithfulness and your righteousness that forgives and covers my sin. Thank you for your sacrifice that made this miracle possible.
WOW! I got a lotta work to do. IMHO!
Thanks for sharing...and exposing some much needed study time.