Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
9. If we confess our sins ] The opposite hypothesis is now taken and expanded, as in 1Jn 1:7; see note there. But there is no conjunction, no ‘but’, as in 1Jn 1:7; and the asyndeton is telling. Greek has such a wealth of connecting particles, that in that language asyndeton is specially remarkable. Here there is expansion and progress, not only in the second half of the verse where ‘ He is faithful and righteous’ takes the place of ‘ we are true’; but in the first half also; where ‘confess our sins ’ takes the place of ‘say we have sin ’. The latter admission costs us little: the confession of the particular sins which we have committed costs a good deal, and is a guarantee of sincerity. He who refuses to confess, may perhaps desire, but certainly does not seek forgiveness. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy’ (Pro 28:13). Obviously confession to Him who is ‘faithful and righteous’, and to those ‘selves’ whom we should otherwise ‘lead astray’, is all that is meant. The passage has nothing to do with the question of confession to our fellow-men.
faithful and just ] Better, faithful and righteous, to bring out the contrast with ‘unrighteousness’ and the connexion with ‘Jesus Christ the righteous’ (1Jn 2:1), where the same word ( ) is used. The Greek ‘and’ ( ) sometimes means ‘and yet’, and frequently does so in S. John: see on Joh 1:10. It is possible that it has this meaning here. ‘God is faithful (to His promises to us) and yet righteous (in hating and punishing sin)’. He keeps His promise of mercy to the penitent without losing His character for righteousness and justice. In any case beware of making ‘righteous’ a vague equivalent for ‘kind, gentle, merciful’. It means ‘just’ (which is to some extent the opposite of ‘merciful’), and affirms that God in keeping His word gives to each his due. The distinction which refers ‘faithful’ to mortal sins and ‘righteous’ to venial ones is frivolous. For ‘faithful’ in the sense of keeping promises comp. ‘He is faithful that promised’ (Heb 10:23); ‘She counted Him faithful who had promised’ (Heb 11:11): and for ‘righteous’ in the sense of giving just awards comp. ‘Righteous art Thou because Thou didst thus judge True and righteous are Thy judgments’ (Rev 16:5-7).
to forgive us our sins ] In spite of what some eminent scholars have said to the contrary, it is perhaps true that the Greek for these words includes to some extent the idea of intention and aim. Thus the Vulgate, fidelis est et justus, ut remittat nobis peccata nostra; and Wiclif, ‘He is feithful and just that He forgeve to us oure synnes’; and the Rhemish, ‘He is faithful and just, for to forgive us our sinnes’. In S. John we find the conviction deeply rooted that all things happen in accordance with the decrees of God: events are the results of His purposes. And this conviction influences his language: so that constructions ( ) which originally indicated a purpose, and which even in late Greek do not lose this meaning entirely, are specially frequent in his writings: see on Joh 5:36. It is God’s decree and aim that His faithfulness and righteousness should appear in His forgiving us and cleansing us. Comp. ‘Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest’ (Psa 51:4).
our sins ] Those particular acts of sin which we have confessed, and from the punishment due for which we are thus set free. ‘I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin’ (Psa 32:5). ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy’ (Pro 28:13).
and to cleanse us ] This is not a repetition in different words; it is a second and distinct result of our confession: 1. We are absolved from sin’s punishment; 2. We are freed from sin’s pollution. The forgiveness is the averting of God’s wrath; the cleansing is the beginning of holiness.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
If we confess our sins – Pardon in the Scriptures, always supposes that there is confession, and there is no promise that it will be imparted unless a full acknowledgment has been made. Compare Ps. 51; Psa 32:1-11;; Luk 15:18 ff; Luk 7:41 ff; Pro 28:13.
He is faithful – To his promises. He will do what he has assured us he will do in remitting them.
And just to forgive us our sins – The word just here cannot be used in a strict and proper sense, since the forgiveness of sins is never an act of justice, but is an act of mercy. If it were an act of justice it could be demanded or enforced, and that is the same as to say that it is not forgiveness, for in that case there could have been no sin to be pardoned. But the word just is often used in a larger sense, as denoting upright, equitable, acting properly in the circumstances of the case, etc. Compare the notes at Mat 1:19. Here the word may be used in one of the following senses:
- Either as referring to his general excellence of character, or his disposition to do what is proper; that is, he is one who will act in every way as becomes God; or,
(2)That he will be just in the sense that he will be true to his promises; or that, since he has promised to pardon sinners, he will be found faithfully to adhere to those engagements; or perhaps,
(3)That he will be just to his Son in the covenant of redemption, since, now that an atonement has been made by him, and a way has been opened through his sufferings by which God can consistently pardon, and with a view and an understanding that he might and would pardon, it would be an act of injustice to him if he did not pardon those who believe on him.
Viewed in either aspect, we may have the fullest assurance that God is ready to pardon us if we exercise true repentance and faith. No one can come to God without finding him ready to do all that is appropriate for a God to do in pardoning transgressors; no one who will not, in fact, receive forgiveness if he repents, and believes, and makes confession; no one who will not find that God is just to his Son in the covenant of redemption, in pardoning and saving all who put their trust in the merits of his sacrifice.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness – By forgiving all that is past, treating us as if we were righteous, and ultimately by removing all the stains of guilt from the soul.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. If we confess our sins] If, from a deep sense of our guilt, impurity, and helplessness, we humble ourselves before God, acknowledging our iniquity, his holiness, and our own utter helplessness, and implore mercy for his sake who has died for us; he is faithful, because to such he has promised mercy, Ps 32:5; Pr 28:13; and just, for Christ has died for us, and thus made an atonement to the Divine justice; so that God can now be just, and yet the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.] Not only to forgive the sin, but to purify the heart.
OBSERVE here, 1. Sin exists in the soul after two modes or forms: (1.) In guilt, which requires forgiveness or pardon. (2.) In pollution, which requires cleansing.
2. Guilt, to be forgiven, must be confessed; and pollution, to be cleansed, must be also confessed. In order to find mercy, a man must know and feel himself to be a sinner, that he may fervently apply to God for pardon; in order to get a clean heart, a man must know and feel its depravity, acknowledge and deplore it before God, in order to be fully sanctified.
3. Few are pardoned, because they do not feel and confess their sins; and few are sanctified or cleansed from all sin, because they do not feel and confess their own sore, and the plague of their hearts.
4. As the blood of Jesus Christ, the merit of his passion and death, applied by faith, purges the conscience from all dead works, so the same cleanses the heart from all unrighteousness.
5. As all unrighteousness is sin, so he that is cleansed from all unrighteousness is cleansed from all sin. To attempt to evade this, and plead for the continuance of sin in the heart through life, is ungrateful, wicked, and even blasphemous; for as he who says he has not sinned, 1Jo 1:10, makes God a liar, who has declared the contrary through every part of his revelation; so he that says the blood of Christ either cannot or will not cleanse us from all sin in this life, gives also the lie to his Maker, who has declared the contrary, and thus shows that the word-the doctrine of God is not in him.
Reader, it is the birthright of every child of God to be cleansed from all sin, to keep himself unspotted from the world, and so to live as never more to offend his Maker. All things are possible to him that believeth; because all things are possible to the infinitely meritorious blood and energetic Spirit of the Lord Jesus. See the notes on the parallel passages in the margin; and particularly in St. John’s gospel, John 1.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But on the contrary, if we confess our sins, if we apply ourselves to him suitably to the condition of sinners, confessing ourselves such, with that self-abasing sense of sin which may dispose us to accept and apply his offered remedy, (upon which it is implied we will do it),
he is faithful, so true to his promise,
and just, fidelity being a part of justice; or there is with him that equity and righteousness, (which sometimes signify goodness, or clemency, 1Sa 12:7; Psa 112:9, and which, more strictly taken, permit him not to exact from us the satisfaction which he hath accepted in the atonement made by his Son, in his own way applied, and upon his own terms to be reckoned unto us), that he will not fail
to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; which may either be added as a further expression of the same thing; or may, moreover, signify his vouchsafing that purifying influence of the Spirit of Christ, (obtained also by his blood), which shall both purge away, and prevent, the defilements that would render us incapable of his own holy communion.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. confesswith the lips,speaking from a contrite heart; involving also confession to ourfellow men of offenses committed against them.
heGod.
faithfulto His ownpromises; “true” to His word.
justNot merely themercy, but the justice or righteousness of God is setforth in the redemption of the penitent believer in Christ. God’spromises of mercy, to which He is faithful, are in accordancewith His justice.
toGreek, “inorder that.” His forgiving us our sins and cleansing us,c., is in furtherance of the ends of His eternal faithfulnessand justice.
forgiveremitting theguilt.
cleansepurify from allfilthiness, so that henceforth we more and more become free from thepresence of sin through the Spirit of sanctification (compare Heb9:14 and above, see on 1Jo 1:7).
unrighteousnessoffensiveto Him who “is just” or righteous; called “sin,”1Jo 1:7, because “sin isthe transgression of the law,” and the law is the expression ofGod’s righteousness, so that sin is unrighteousness.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If we confess our sins,…. Not to one other; for though it is our duty to confess our faults to our fellow creatures and fellow Christians which are committed against them, yet are under no obligation to confess such as are more immediately against God, and which lie between him and ourselves; or at least it is sufficient to confess and acknowledge in general what sinful creatures we are, without entering into particulars; for confession of sin is to be made to God, against whom it is committed, and who only can pardon: and a man that truly confesses his sin is one that the Spirit of God has convinced of it, and has shown him its exceeding sinfulness, and filled him with a godly sorrow for it, and given him repentance unto salvation, that needeth not to be repented of; and who, under such a sight and sense of sin, and concern for it, comes and acknowledges it before the Lord, humbly imploring, for Christ’s sake, his pardoning grace and mercy; and such obtain it:
he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins: forgiveness of sin here intends not the act of forgiveness, as in God, proceeding upon the bloodshed and sacrifice of Christ, which is done at once, and includes all sin, past, present, and to come; but an application of pardoning grace to a poor sensible sinner, humbled under a sense of sin, and confessing it before the Lord; and confession of sin is not the cause or condition of pardon, nor of the manifestation of it, but is descriptive of the person, and points him out, to whom God will and does make known his forgiving love; for to whomsoever he grants repentance, he gives the remission of sin; in doing of which he is faithful to his word of promise; such as in Pr 28:13; “and just”; in being “true”, as the Arabic version adds, to his word; and showing a proper regard to the blood and sacrifice of his Son; for his blood being shed, and hereby satisfaction made to the law and justice of God, it is a righteous thing in him to justify from sin, and forgive the sinner for whom Christ has shed his blood, and not impute it to him, or punish him for it; though the word here used may answer to the Hebrew word , which sometimes carries in it the notion and idea of mercy and beneficence; hence mercy to the poor is sometimes expressed by righteousness; and the righteous acts of God intend his mercies and benefits unto men; see Da 4:27; and so forgiveness of sin springs from the tender mercies of our God, and is both an act of justice and of mercy; of justice, with respect to the blood of Christ, and of pure grace and mercy to the pardoned sinner: the following clause,
and to cleanse us, from all unrighteousness, is but the same thing expressed in different words; for all unrighteousness is sin, and to cleanse from sin is to remove the guilt of it, by an application of the blood of Christ for pardon. The antecedent to the relative “he” in the text, is either God, who is light, and with whom the saints have fellowship; or his Son Jesus Christ, who is the nearest antecedent, and who, being truly God, has a power to forgive sin.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If we confess ( ). Third-class condition again with and present active subjunctive of , “if we keep on confessing.” Confession of sin to God and to one another (Jas 5:16) is urged throughout the N.T. from John the Baptist (Mr 1:5) on.
Faithful (). Jesus made confession of sin necessary to forgiveness. It is God’s promise and he is “righteous” ().
To forgive ( ). Sub-final clause with and second aorist active subjunctive of .
And to cleanse ( ). So again with and the first aorist active subjunctive of (verse 7).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “If we confess our sins”. While every believer has the sin nature, every believer also commits daily sins – For even “the thought of foolishness”, and “idle words” are sin, need confessing. (Pro 24:9; Mat 12:36). One who tries to hide, conceal or cover up his sins shall not prosper, but each who confesseth them “shall be blessed”. Pro 28:13; Jas 5:16.
2) “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” (Gk. pistos estin) means “a faithful one he (Jesus) is,” and (dikaios) – righteous – (Gk. hina) means “in order that” He might forgive or bear away our sins – as the fit one, our scapegoat, Lev 16:21-22; Rom 3:24-25; 2Co 5:21.
3) “And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. (Greek Kai Katharise) means his faithfulness and unrighteousness, qualified him to cleanse, purify, (cauterize) us believers from (Greek pases) all kinds of unrighteousness. Let every “little child”, therefore, approach the throne of God boldly seeking pardon and cleansing. When one feels need of water he seeks or asks for it; food or clothes, for hunger or cold, he seeks or asks for it. May every believer humbly approach the throne of Grace for pardon and he shall find it. Heb 4:16. There is mercy, pardon, and forgiveness when one falls at the Master’s feet. Joh 8:11; Luk 7:37-50.
FORGIVENESS
It is said that Vanderbilt, multimillionaire, asked as he neared death a faithful Negro servant, to come to his bedside and sing the old gospel hymn, “Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy”. The Negro put much feeling and pleading pathos into the hymn.
At the conclusion of the hymn, Vanderbilt said, “I’m a poor and needy sinner!” Such are all of us in God’s sight whether we be penniless paupers or multimillionaires.
W. B. K.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9 If we confess He again promises to the faithful that God will be propitious to them, provided they acknowledge themselves to be sinners. It is of great moment to be fully persuaded, that when we have sinned, there is a reconciliation with God ready and prepared for us: we shall otherwise carry always a hell within us. Few, indeed, consider how miserable and wretched is a doubting conscience; but the truth is, that hell reigns where there is no peace with God. The more, then, it becomes us to receive with the whole heart this promise which offers free pardon to all who confess their sins. Moreover, this is founded even on the justice of God, because God who promises is true and just. For they who think that he is called just, because he justifies us freely, reason, as I think, with too much refinement, because justice or righteousness here depends on fidelity, and both are annexed to the promise. For God might have been just, were he to deal with us with all the rigor of justice; but as he has bound himself to us by his word, he would not have himself deemed just, except he forgives. (61)
But this confession, as it is made to God, must be in sincerity; and the heart cannot speak to God without newness of life. It then includes true repentance. God, indeed, forgives freely, but in such a way, that the facility of mercy does not become an enticement to sin.
And to cleanse us The verb, to cleanse, seems to be taken in another sense than before; for he had said, that we are cleansed by the blood of Christ, because through him sins are not imputed; but now, having spoken of pardon, he also adds, that God cleanses us from iniquity: so that this second clause is different from the preceding. Thus he initiates that a twofold fruit comes to us from confession, — that God being reconciled by the sacrifice of Christ, forgives us, — and that he renews and reforms us.
Were any one to object and say, that as long as we sojourn in the world, we are never cleansed from all unrighteousness, with regard to our reformation: this is indeed true; but John does not refer to what God now performs in us. He is faithful, he says, to cleanse us, not today or tomorrow; for as long as we are surrounded with flesh, we ought to be in a continual state of progress; but what he has once begun, he goes on daily to do, until he at length completes it. So Paul says, that we are chosen, that we may appear without blame before God, (Col 1:22😉 and in another place he says, that the Church is cleansed, that it might be without spot or wrinkle. (Eph 5:27.)
If yet any one prefers another explanation, that he says the same thing twice over, I shall not object. (62)
(61) “Faithful” and “just” are nearly of the same import, having both a regard to God’s promise, only the latter affords a stronger or an additional ground of confidence, inasmuch as the fulfillment of God’s gracious promise is set forth as an act of justice. So that the penitent has here two of God’s attributes, faithfulness and justice, to encourage and support his faith.
We may, at the same time, consider “just” as having reference to forgiveness, and “faithful” to cleansing, according to a very common mode of stating things both in the Old and New Testament, the order in the second clause being reversed. Then “ just ” means the same as when Paul says, “that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus,” Rom 3:26. Forgiveness is thus an act of justice, then, not to us, but to Christ, who made an atonement for sins. — Ed.
(62) That is, that he refers to forgiveness in the two clauses. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
9. If In 1Jn 1:7 St. John, beginning with the final result of unity with the divine light, ends with the instrument by which that unity is accomplished, namely, Christ. He now states the condition, once for all, by which that instrumentality becomes available, namely, reliant confession of our sins in view of the blood. That is, the flinging ourselves as confessed sinners upon Christ and his propitiation for pardon and purity.
Confess our sins Confess not only that we have done wrong, but that all our wrong-doings are sins. St. John, in specifying the faith-condition of salvation, emphasizes confession, because the uttered denial of sins, even though they committed misdeeds, was the fatal error of his opponents. That confession, however, includes a faith in view of the atonement and justification for which the confession is made. And this faith-confession, it must never be forgotten, underlies this whole epistle, as it does the whole gospel. He God; who is the pardoner of sins, as Christ is the mediator of the pardon.
Faithful As having promised. No confessor need ever doubt the divine trueness. Or, we may say that pardon, justification, as the invariable sequent of true faith-confession, is the law of God’s spiritual kingdom, and to it he will be faithful.
Just But in what sense can God be called just in forgiving the confessor? Not, certainly, because justice requires that a transgressor should be forgiven because he is penitent. No human or divine law holds a guilty man to become innocent because he repents. Indeed, true repentance acknowledges the permanent justice of penalty. God is called just in forgiving in this passage because the atonement makes satisfaction, so that God can be “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Rom 3:26. Alford is strenuous in maintaining that such an idea does not fairly lie in the present current of thought. But Huther well remarks, that “God punishes as just, but he also blesses as just, and, indeed, the aim of realizing his kingdom is, that he should assign victory to goodness over badness.”
Forgive Forgiveness holds the transgressor constructively as if he had never sinned, so far as penalty is concerned.
Sins Transgressions of God’s law in thought, word, or act, as well as those permanent states of mind voluntarily retained adverse to the law. These are pardoned in our justification.
Cleanse us Under the image that unrighteousness (that is, an inward preference for that which violates the law) is an impurity impregnating our being, the blood, through the Spirit, is said to cleanse the impurity away. By the Spirit, that is, the love of God is poured into the soul, and the love of the unlawful is neutralized by the power of that holy affection. Yet our free agency for sin, our sensitivities to temptation, our need of vigilant exertion of power over sin, our capabilities of apostasy, are never removed until we attain paradise.
The distinction between the forgive and the cleanse should be carefully retained. Forgiveness removes guilt and penalty for past sins; sanctification inspires to future sinlessness. One looks back, and the other looks forward. One says, “Thy sins be forgiven thee;” the other says, “Go, sin no more.”
A father may forgive a wicked son, and the son remain as wicked as before. But when our heavenly Father pardons us, he breathes into our hearts a spirit of obedience, which, if we obey, we never need incur his displeasure.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
The way to deal with sin is not by denying it or hiding from it, but by being open to the God Who is light. Then we can bring to Him those sins that grieve Him, that are revealed by His light, openly admitting them and acknowledging them to Him, and then know that He is the faithful God, the One Who is true to His promises and to His covenant with us, and that He will justly forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The last fact is most important, ‘all unrighteousness’. He does not just forgive the sins of which we are aware, but also those of which we are unaware. When we are open with Him He cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
The word for ‘confess’ means ‘say along with’. To ‘confess your sins’ means to say along with God how He views your sins. To join in with Him in His decision about them. To agree to see them as God sees them, as they are, and not to seek to dismiss them as merely blunders or errors without a moral significance. Thus to be honest and open with God about them. Being open about moral failure is the first step to being free of it.
Note first here the stress on the faithfulness of God. If we are His He constantly watches over us and He is faithful to us, for He has brought us within His covenant (see 1Co 1:8-9) and we are His. And because of that faithfulness forgiveness is assured. There can be no room for doubt. For He Who made the provision for our sin through the shedding of His blood, will also faithfully apply it when we call on Him, to remove every blot and every stain (1Jn 2:2). Then we will not only be forgiven, but will be made fully clean. It is a day by day cleansing, and it is complete.
And note secondly that God does it justly. There is here no casual overlooking of sin. He Who is light cannot be casual about sin. He is rather able to cleanse us from sin because it has been borne by another. God does not go against His own righteousness in forgiving, for He has Himself ensured that the guilt of that sin has been placed on the One Whom He sent as Saviour of the world (1Jn 4:14). ‘He has made Him sin for us, He Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God through Him’ (2Co 5:21). ‘Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree’ (1Pe 2:24). For when Christ died, we who are His died in Him, and through Him therefore we have paid the price of sin and have been given resurrection life (Gal 2:20).
But that forgiveness, while in one sense once for all (Heb 10:10-14), because we have been sanctified by Him, must be constantly applied because we still continue as sinners in our flesh. And here the assurance is given that when we are continually totally open with God about our sins His blood continually cleanses (present tense) us from all sin and delivers us from all unrighteousness.
We note here that God does not demand great things of us. He does not call on us to in some way do a great penance for what we have done wrong. He does not demand great sacrifices. He recognises what we are and He freely forgives. And all that He requires of us is that we are open with Him and bring our sins openly to Him and seek his forgiveness and cleansing, with the determination to as far as possible be done with sin (1Jn 3:5-6) and to walk in His light. Forgiveness, at least to us, is free, although to God it was very costly, for it took the life of His Son.
This may then raise the question, does this mean that we can then continue in sin so that God’s forgiveness can abound? John answers that question immediately in 1Jn 2:4. Those who truly know God will not even think like that. They know Him as the light and they want to be like Him. They want to walk in His light. No one who deliberately disobeys His demands can say that they ‘know Him’. Indeed it must be so for He is light. Paul answers the same question even more strongly from a different angle. ‘God forbid!’, he says, ‘shall we who are dead to sin live any longer therein?’ (Rom 6:2). The words here are of great comfort to the weak sinner who weeps over his sin and longs to be free from it, and yet seems constantly to stumble in it. He knows that there is a fount of forgiveness constantly open for him in his need. But they are no comfort at all to the complacent sinner. The latter will rather one day hear the voice that will say, ‘Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and do not do the things which I say?’ (Luk 6:46). He said that the ruin of their house will be great (Luk 6:49).
This is not a question of earning salvation by the way we live. To make such an effort would be the utmost folly. We would finish up crying with Isaiah, ‘Woe is me, for I am undone’. It is but to recognise that those whom Christ begins to save must change because He will ensure that it will be so. It is to recognise that those who come to the light must necessarily be affected by the effect of that light. All we can do is respond to His work within us because His Spirit enables us, and even that is through God’s working (Php 2:13) but the work of His Spirit is never ineffectual and therefore the effects will be seen, and John is describing them here.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Jn 1:9. If we confess our sins, &c. “If, on the other hand, we, under a humbling sense of our imperfections and many disallowed failures, acknowledge our transgressionstotheLord,andconfessthemwithfaithinChrist’spropitiatorysacrifice for the forgiveness of them, he is so true and faithful to his promise to the Redeemer, and to those that believe in him (Isa 53:11. Heb 8:12.); and is so just to the merit of his Blood (Rom 3:26.), as for his sake freely to pardon all our sins of omission and commission, in thought, word, and deed, and to purge our consciences from all guilt; and to cleanse us from the internal defilement of all our iniquities by the sanctification of the Spirit, which was purchased by the blood of his Son to purify our hearts and lives, thatwe may be fit for constant communion with him in this world, and eternally enjoy his presence and glory in the world which is to come.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Jn 1:9 . Not a mere antithesis of the previous verse, but an expansion of the thought; “there follows as conclusion not merely this, that we are then true, but the incomparably greater and surprisingly glorious thought that God then proves Himself actually towards us as the True, as the ” (Ebrard).
] does not mean to recognise (Socinus: confiteri significat interiorem ac profundam suorum peccatorum agnitionem), [63] but to confess; of course it is manifest that the confession is not here spoken of as a purely outward act; still, at the same time, it is not sufficient to regard it merely as “an inward fact, which is founded on the whole internal tendency of the mind” (Neander); it is rather the real (even if not always vocal) expression of sins recognised within and confessed to oneself; here also it is the word in which the inner life has to operate. [64]
What are to be confessed are , i.e. the sins of Christians, which are the particular manifestations of (so also Braune); therefore the plural. [65]
Ebrard rightly calls attention to the fact that John here mentions, as the subject of the confession, not the abstract , but , i.e. the definite, concrete, single sins committed; “the mere confession in the abstract that we have sin would not have truth without the acknowledgment of the concrete particular sins, but would shrivel up into a mere phrase.”
] It is true God is both in Himself, He does not become so only when we confess our sins; but this confession is the condition on which He actually proves Himself to us as . [66] These two epithets are indeed not of the same signification, but still, as their combination proves, of cognate meaning. God is called , inasmuch as He, as the promise-maker, also fulfils what He has promised, Heb 10:23 : ; Heb 11:11 ; especially as He accomplishes in believers the promise of blessing, which lies for them in the fact of their call, by conducting them through manifestation of His grace to the goal of their calling (according to Ewald, “inasmuch as He keeps His promise already repeatedly given in the O. T.”), 1Co 1:9 : , ; 1Co 10:13 ; 2Co 1:18-21 ; 1Th 5:24 : , ; 2Th 3:3 . has this meaning here also, as results from the following . . . Ebrard incorrectly calls the reference of the faithfulness of God here to His promises and prophecies an introduction of foreign ideas, and says “the subject here is faithfulness to the nature of truth and light, akin to His own nature, and which prevails in us, inasmuch as we confess our sins.”
God is described as in the N. T., inasmuch as He, for the realization of His kingdom of grace, gives to every one without what is due to him, according to the righteous judgment of God, in proportion to the position which he occupies toward God (or toward the kingdom of God), God being in this regarded as the Judge; the idea of the righteousness of God and that of His judicial activity are very closely connected; God is , 2Ti 4:8 ; He judges , Act 17:31 (Rev 19:11 ), or , 1Pe 2:23 ; His is a , 2Th 1:5 . The relation of the of God to His judicial activity is found throughout in the N. T., even where the former is the subject without the latter being expressly mentioned with it. As the manifestation of the of God consists in the righteous distribution of punishment and of blessing, it follows that is referred to not only where both of these are mentioned together (as in 2Th 1:5 seq.), but also where only one of the two is spoken of. God punishes as the , but He blesses also as the , no doubt in view of the realization of His kingdom, which depends upon the good obtaining the complete victory over the evil. Towards him who walks , God shows Himself in that He him; towards him who walks , by ever more and more removing from him everything that hinders his perfect (namely, both his consciousness of guilt, and the which still clings to him), and by finally permitting him to inherit the perfect happiness which is prepared for those who love God (comp. 2Ti 4:8 ). Here God is called , inasmuch as His purpose is directed to allotting to those who, walking in light, confess their sins, that which is suitable for them, namely, the blessing mentioned in the following . . . The meaning of is rightly stated by Baumgarten-Crusius, Dsterdieck, Brckner, and Braune; [67] on the other hand, it is incorrect to refer here to the punitive activity (Drusius: justus, quia vere punivit peccata nostra in filio suo), but also to explain it = bonis, lenis, aequus (Grotius, Lange, Carpzov, etc.), for never has this meaning in the N. T.; it is here of cognate meaning with , [68] because the allotment of blessing bestowed in accordance with the of God has been promised by Him, and is accomplished according to His promise; yet it must not therefore be regarded as synonymous with it (Hornejus: = in promissis servandis integer). Following Rom 3:26 , some commentators have here interpreted it = ; but this is so much the more unjustifiable, as that very passage by the juxtaposition of the two ideas proves their different meaning. [69] According to the Roman Catholic view, refers to the peccata mortalia, to the peccata venialia. [70]
] , not = “so that” (Castellio: ita Justus, ut condonet), has here (as in other passages of the N. T.) not retained strictly its idea of purpose , (hence not: “in order that”), but it states what is the aim of the divine faithfulness and justice to attain which these qualities operate on men; Luther therefore translates correctly: “ that. ” De Wette’s explanation, with which Braune agrees: “in the divine faithfulness lies the law or the will of forgiving sins,” is unsatisfactory, inasmuch as . . . is not merely the will , but the operation of the divine faithfulness and justice.
refers back to , thus: “the sins confessed by us.” The remission, i.e. the forgiveness, of sins is therefore, by virtue of the faithfulness of God, the first result of the confession; the second John describes by the words: [71] . Here the first thought is not repeated epexegetically (Semler), or only in figurative manner (Lange); but the words express the same thing as the corresponding words of the 7th verse, with which the 8th and 9th verses are in closest connection (Dsterdieck, Braune; Brckner does not explain himself definitely); has here the same meaning as there, and (not = poena peccati, Socinus) is synonymous with ; they are two different names for the same thing; comp. chap. 1Jn 5:17 . [72] The order in which the two clauses that express the redemptive operations of God are connected together (Myrberg: ordo verborum ponit remissionem ante abrogationem), points to the fact that purification takes place by means of forgiveness.
The context is quite decisive in favour of regarding as the subject of . . . not , but (with Lcke, de Wette, Dsterdieck, Braune, etc.) ; for even though in 1Jn 1:7 the is described as the operation of the , and in chap. 1Jn 2:2 , . . is the subject, yet in this section is the principal subject; 1Jn 1:5 , ; 1Jn 1:6 , , even in 1Jn 1:7 , ; the blood of Christ, therefore, is regarded as the means by which God produces purification from sins. To hold, with Sander, that God and Christ together form the subject, [73] is quite as inappropriate here as in 1Jn 1:5 to understand by both together. Though, with John, God and Jesus Christ approach very close to a unity, yet they are always distinguished by him, and never represented as one subject.
[63] Similarly Baumgarten-Crusius says: “ is not exactly to confess , but to recognise , perceive, become conscious of, as opposed to the ;” but it is just to that is exactly opposed only when it is taken in its natural signification.
[64] It is quite clear that confession to God is meant; when, however, Braune adds: “and indeed a confession so fervent and deep that it becomes public and regulated by the church,” he introduces an element which nothing here suggests. In genuine Catholic fashion a Lapide says: Quam confessionem exigit Johannes? Haeretici solam generalem quae fit Deo admittunt; Catholici etiam specialem requirunt. Respondeo: Johannem utramque exigere, generalem pro peccatis levibus, specialem pro gravibus.
[65]
[66] Semler’s interpretation is not satisfactory: “logice intelligendum est; nec enim in Deo jam demun oritur nova ratio tanti praedicati, sed in his christianis succrescit nova cognitio tantae rei.” The subject is not our perception, but the actual manifestation of God.
[67] Ewald’s explanation is unsatisfactory, according to which God is here called just because He “knows well and considers that He alone is the Creator, whilst we are His creation exposed to error and sin, and acts according to this just consideration.”
[68] In the passage Rom 3:3-5 , and are also used as cognate ideas, but even here in such a way that has not lost its reference to the judicial activity of God; Meyer on this passage explains , on account of the contrast with , generally by “justice;” but the former reference appears both in , and also in ver. 6 .
[69] Not less inexact is it for Ebrard to say: “God manifests Himself towards as as the , inasmuch as He is not only just, but also makes just ,” since does not mean “ to make just.” His assertion is also inappropriate, that here and in Rom 1:17 to Rom 3:26 , “the justice of God appears as the source in Him from which His saving, sin-forgiving, and sin-overcoming action flows.” This source is rather God’s manifesting itself as towards the guilt of men; there is a reference to that in chap. 1Jn 3:24 of the passage in Romans, but here the source of the salvation is not mentioned. The interpretation of Calov: “justa est haec peccatorum remissio et ex justitia debita, sed Christo non nobis,” and that of Sander: “the Lord is just, inasmuch as He remits the sin of the sinner who appeals to the ransom paid in the blood of Christ, because it would be unjust to demand the payment twice,” introduce references into this passage which are foreign to it.
[70] Suarez: Fidelis est Deus, cum condonat poenitentibus peccata mortalia; justus , cum justis condonat venialia, quia, sc. justi per opera (!) poenitentiae, charitatis, etc., merentur de condigno hanc condonationem.
[71] The Rec. corresponds to the passage Luk 22:30 , where, according to the best attested Rec., is followed both by the subjunctive first, and then by the indicative; but not to the passage Joh 6:40 , cited by Ebrard, where the indicative is not regarded as dependent on . On with the indicative, comp. A. Buttmann’s Gramm. p. 202. Winer, p. 258 ff., VII. p. 271 ff.
[72] While Weiss also interprets both expressions of the forgiveness of sins, he tries to repel the reproach of tautology by saying: “If sin committed is regarded as a stain, it is quite correct that God forgives us the sin, and thus purifies us from all unrighteousness, since by the very fact that God forgives it, sin has ceased to exist before Him, and at the same time also to stain us;” true though this may be, however, it cannot serve to refute that objection, for as in this sense is not the result of , but the former consists in the latter, both clauses express only one and the same thought.
[73] In favour of conjoining Christ as the subject, Sander adduces the fact that just in the following chapter Christ is called ; but in this he overlooks altogether the different meanings which the word has in the two passages; for in the verse before us is used of a relation to men, but in chap. 1Jn 2:1 of the relation of Christ to the divine will; and when Sander further says that in Heb 9:14 it is precisely stated of Christ that He purges the consciences, this is incorrect, since is the subject there just as here in ver. 7; and there even more expressly than here God is specified as the author of the purification, for the . . purges, because it is offered as a sacrifice . Moreover, it is not meant by this that forgiveness and cleansing could not be ascribed to Christ quite as much as to God, only it does not follow from this that is the subject here.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Ver. 9. If we confess ] Homo agnoscit, Deus ignoscit. Man acknowledges, God forgives. And Confessio peccati est vomitus sordium animae. Confession of sin is the vomit of the filthy soul. (Aug.) Judah (his name signifies confession) got the kingdom from Reuben. No man was ever kept out of God’s kingdom for his confessed badness; many are for their supposed goodness; as those justitiaries in the former verse, whose hearts are big swollen with high conceit of themselves; and whose lips are held close by the devil; who knows well there is no way to purge the sick soul but upwards.
He is faithful ] And yet Bellarmine saith that he cannot find in all the book of God any promise made to confession of sin to God. (De Justific. i. 21.) He might have seen (besides other places not a few)Pro 28:13Pro 28:13 ; Psa 32:5 , &c., that this very text is a most heavenly promise of mercy to those that confess heartily, and not hollowly. The word faithful also refers to God’s promises, as just doth to the blood of Christ (the ransom received) whereby the saints are cleansed, and it stands not with God’s justice to demand the same debt twice, viz. of the surety and of the debtor.
From all unrighteousness ] All without exception; why then should we put in conditions, and as it were interline God’s covenant? He is a sin pardoning God, Neh 9:31 ; no God like him for that in heaven and earth, Mic 7:18 ; he multiplieth pardon, as we multiply sin, Isa 55:7 ; he doth it freely, for his own sake, naturally, Exo 34:6 ; constantly,Psa 130:4Psa 130:4 , and here. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth (not, he hath cleansed or will cleanse, but he doth it) daily and duly, constantly and continually. This should be as a perpetual picture in our hearts.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
faithful. App-150.
just. App-191.
to. Greek. hina, as in 1Jn 1:3. Literally in order that He might forgive.
forgive. App-174.
unrighteousness. App-128.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1Jn 1:9. , if we confess our sins) This verse is placed between two antithetical sentences, as ch. 1Jn 2:10. For it is antithetical to say, I have no sin, and, I have not sinned, 1Jn 1:8; 1Jn 1:10. The former is concerning the guilt of sin, which still remains; the latter is concerning the actual commission. By the former, we deceive ourselves; by the latter, we make Him a liar. It is the best plan to confess before God, who holds us guilty as sinners, 1Jn 1:10; and the universal necessity of this confession is here asserted: so that John not only says, that if we have sinned we must confess; but that all have reason to say, I have sin, and I have sinned, and ought to confess that, although with different degrees: otherwise we should not need cleansing by the blood of Jesus Christ.-, faithful) He makes good all things, which we promise ourselves respecting the goodness of God.-, is) so that we experience it, and do not make Him a liar.- , and just) so as to spare the sinner, and abolish the sins. Thus also Jesus Christ is called the righteous, ch. 1Jn 2:1.-, to remit) while He takes away the guilt.-, to cleanse) so that we sin no more.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
we confess: Lev 26:40-42, 1Ki 8:47, 2Ch 6:37, 2Ch 6:38, Neh 1:6, Neh 9:2-37, Job 33:27, Job 33:28, Psa 32:5, Psa 51:2-5, Pro 28:13, Dan 9:4-20, Mat 3:6, Mar 1:5, Act 19:18
he is: Deu 7:9, Lam 3:23, 1Co 1:9, 1Ti 1:15, Heb 10:23, Heb 11:11
just: Isa 45:21, Zec 9:9, Rom 3:26, Heb 6:10, Rev 15:3
and to: 1Jo 1:7, Psa 19:12, Psa 51:2, Jer 33:8, Eze 36:25, Eze 37:23, 1Co 6:11, Eph 5:26, Tit 2:14
Reciprocal: Gen 42:21 – we saw Exo 34:7 – forgiving Exo 40:31 – washed Lev 3:2 – lay Lev 6:7 – make Deu 30:2 – return unto 2Sa 12:13 – The Lord 2Sa 24:10 – I have sinned 1Ch 21:8 – I have sinned 2Ch 33:19 – his prayer also Neh 9:8 – righteous Job 7:21 – take away Job 25:4 – how can Psa 116:5 – and righteous Psa 143:1 – thy faithfulness Isa 11:5 – and faithfulness Isa 39:4 – All that Dan 9:16 – according Mic 6:5 – know Mat 12:31 – All Luk 22:57 – he denied Luk 23:41 – we indeed Act 26:18 – that they Rom 6:13 – unrighteousness 1Co 10:13 – but 1Co 11:31 – General 2Co 7:1 – let Eph 4:32 – forgiving Col 1:14 – the 1Pe 3:18 – the just 1Jo 2:12 – your
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Jn 1:9. Confess our sins. This does not say that we are to confess that we have sins for that would be so general that it would be virtually no confession at all; the sins themselves is what we are to confess. Sometimes persons will come forward in a meeting saying they wish to make a confession, and when given the opportunity will say, “I have not been living as I should.” That does not confess any sin as our verse requires. It may be replied that David made that sort of confession to the prophet because all lie said was, “I have sinned.” That is true but it was after his sin had been pointed out so that his statement was an acknowledgment of the specific sin. It was like the action of a jury that says, “We find the defendant guilty as charged” without naming any particular misdeed. If a disciple does not know of anything wrong he has done then he has none to confess. Should he have some faults of which he is not aware, verse 7 of this chapter will take care of them. If he has committed sins which only he and the Lord know about, then he needs only to make his confession to Him. Faithful and just. The first word means He will keep his promise to forgive the sins of the penitent, and it is just for Him to do so since the sacrifice of Christ makes it possible for God to be merciful and just at the same time (Rom 3:26).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Behold here, 1. A double blessing promised and insured, namely, justification and sanctification, forgiveness of sin, and cleansing from it, yea, from all iniquity; when God pardons sin, no sin is left unpardoned; the sea can as easily drown a thousand men as a single man; God’s act of pardoning grace is free and full.
Observe, 2. The certainty of the mercy promised, God is faithful and just to forgive: not merciful and gracious, though so he is in himself, but faithful with respect to his promise to us, and just with respect to the satisfaction given by Christ for us. Almighty God in pardoning sin performs an act of strict justice with respect to Christ, as well as an act of grace and mercy, in regard of us; he is faithful and just, as well as gracious and merciful.
Observe, 3. The indispensible duty required on our part, and that is confession of sin, If we confess. Now confession of sin is a penitent sinner’s voluntary accusing himself to God, and condemning himself before God, with hatred of, shame and sorrow for, and a full resolution against his sin, together with an earnest desire of, and some good hope in divine mercy.
Observe, 4. What relation confession stands in to remission, not as a meritorious cause; satisfaction, not confession, merits pardon, but it is an exclusive condition; there is no remission without confession; God will not pardon without it: And it is an inclusive condition; God will, certainly will, forgive them that confess: There is not only a possibility or probability, but an infallible certainty of obtaining remission upon confession.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
1:9 {6} If we confess our sins, he is {g} faithful and just to {h} forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(6) Therefore the beginning of salvation is to acknowledge our wickedness and to require pardon from him, who freely forgives all sins, because he has promised to do so and he is faithful and just.
(g) So then our salvation depends on the free promise of God, who because he is faithful and just, will perform that which he hath promised.
(h) Where then are our merits? for this is our true happiness.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This verse is the converse of 1Jn 1:8. Acknowledging the sins of which we are aware is opposite to saying we are not guilty for sinning. The Greek word translated "confess" (homologeo) literally means to say the same thing. Confessing therefore means saying about our sins what God says about them, namely, that they are indeed sins, offenses against Him, and not just mistakes, blunders, or errors. One scholar wrote that this is public confession. [Note: Westcott, p. 23] But there does not seem to be good reason to read that into the text.
"’He who confesses and condemns his sins,’ says Augustine, ’already acts with God. God condemns thy sins: if thou also dost condemn them, thou art linked on to God.’" [Note: A. Ross, The Epistles of James and John, p. 146.]
If we confess our sins, God will then forgive the sins we confess and will, in addition, cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Consequently we do not need to worry that He has failed to forgive us for sins of which we are unaware! Sin incurs a debt to God, but forgiveness (Gr. aphiemi) cancels the debt and dismisses the charge. Sin also pollutes the sinner, but God’s cleansing (katharizo) removes the stain so we can be holy again. God absolutely promises forgiveness that is consistent with His justice (because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all our sins).
Some expositors teach that this verse cannot apply to Christians since God has already forgiven Christians and therefore we do not need to ask for what we already have. [Note: E.g., Peter E. Gillquist, Love Is Now, p. 64.] This viewpoint fails to distinguish between forensic forgiveness that we receive at conversion and family forgiveness that we need after conversion. For example, a judge could pay his own son’s fine in court but then discipline him when he got home. Jesus instructed His believing disciples to ask the Father for forgiveness (Mat 6:12; Luk 11:4). The fact that God has removed the penalty for our sins at conversion (1Co 6:11; Eph 1:7; Eph 4:32; Col 2:13) does not remove the necessity of confessing our sins frequently. Again, the issue is not acceptance by God but fellowship with God. Conversion (forensic, positional) forgiveness makes us acceptable as members of God’s family. Continual (family, practical) forgiveness enables us to experience intimate fellowship as sons within God’s family.
"Sin interrupts fellowship but cannot change relationship." [Note: The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 1342.]
"The status just described is analogous to God’s full acceptance of Israel, as expressed in Balaam’s inspired utterance: ’He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel’ (Num 23:21). Yet, on a practical level, Israel was full of failures!" [Note: Hodges, The Epistles . . ., p. 67. For further discussion of this verse see Ed Glasscock, "Forgiveness and Cleansing in 1 John 1:9," Bibliotheca Sacra 166:662 (April-June 2009):217-31.]
"Confession of sin to God and to one another (Jas 5:16) is urged throughout the N.T. from John the Baptist (Mar 1:5) on." [Note: Robertson, 6:208.]