1 John 1:9

King James Version (KJV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

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, Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 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,

Sin exists in the soul after two modes or forms:

(1.) In guilt, which requires forgiveness or pardon.

(2.) In pollution, which requires cleansing.

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.
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.
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.

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, 1 John 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 note.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

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 Psalm 32:1-11;; Luke 15:18 ff; Luke 7:41 ff; Proverbs 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 Matthew 1:19. Here the word may be used in one of the following senses:

(1)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.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

A message from the Lord Jesus, the Word of life, the eternal Word, we should all gladly receive. The great God should be represented to this dark world, as pure and perfect light. As this is the nature of God, his doctrines and precepts must be such. And as his perfect happiness cannot be separated from his perfect holiness, so our happiness will be in proportion to our being made holy. To walk in darkness, is to live and act against religion. God holds no heavenly fellowship or intercourse with unholy souls. There is no truth in their profession; their practice shows its folly and falsehood. The eternal Life, the eternal Son, put on flesh and blood, and died to wash us from our sins in his own blood, and procures for us the sacred influences by which sin is to be subdued more and more, till it is quite done away. While the necessity of a holy walk is insisted upon, as the effect and evidence of the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus, the opposite error of self-righteous pride is guarded against with equal care. All who walk near to God, in holiness and righteousness, are sensible that their best days and duties are mixed with sin. God has given testimony to the sinfulness of the world, by providing a sufficient, effectual Sacrifice for sin, needed in all ages; and the sinfulness of believers themselves is shown, by requiring them continually to confess their sins, and to apply by faith to the blood of that Sacrifice. Let us plead guilty before God, be humble, and willing to know the worst of our case. Let us honestly confess all our sins in their full extent, relying wholly on his mercy and truth through the righteousness of Christ, for a free and full forgiveness, and our deliverance from the power and practice of sin.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

9. Confess. Gr. homologeÅÂ, “to say the same thing [as another],” “to admit the truth of an accusation” (see on Rom. 10:9), from homos, “one and the same,” and legÅÂ, “to say.”

Our sins. Gr. hamartiai (see on ch. 3:4). John’s words show an awareness that sincere Christians do, at times, fall into sin (cf. on ch. 2:1). It is also clear that he is speaking of specific acts of sin, and not of sin as an evil principle in the life. Accordingly, confession should be more specific than the mere admission of sinfulness. The recognition of the precise nature of a sin and an understanding of the factors that led to its commission are essential to confession and to building up strength to resist a similar temptation when it recurs (5T 639). Unwillingness to be specific may reveal an absence of true repentance and the lack of a real desire for all that forgiveness implies (see SC 41). For discussion of the close relation between confession and repentance see on Eze. 18:30; see 5T 640.

The context shows that the writer expects the confession to be made to God, for God alone “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Hence, no human intermediary, no priest, is needed to pronounce us free of sin. We come to God, not only because He alone can “cleanse,” but because we have sinned against Him. This is true of all sin. If the sin is also against some person, then confession should be made to that person as well as to God (5T 645, 646; DA 811). The extent of the confession should be measured by the extent of the damage done by our evil deed (cf. on Prov. 28:13).

He is faithful. The only element of uncertainty in the process of confession and forgiveness lies with the sinner. The Lord is sure to forgive if man will truly confess. Faithfulness is one of the Lord’s outstanding qualities (1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Tim. 2:13; Heb. 10:23). Here, John stresses God’s fidelity with respect to forgiveness (cf. on Ex. 34:6, 7; Micah 7:19).

How often peace is forfeited by those who doubt God’s faithfulness! Satan does his utmost to break down our faith in the Lord’s solicitous interest in us as individual (MB 115). Satan is a content for us to believe that God cares for many or most of His people, if he can only lead us to doubt His care for us personally. We need constantly to remind ourselves of the divine power that will keep us from falling (Jude 24), and when we do fall as a result of failing to use that power, we should come, repentant, to the throne of mercy for grace and pardon (cf. Heb. 4:16; 1 John 2:1).

Just. Gr. dikaios, “just,” or “righteous” (see on Matt. 1:19). God is a just judge, and His justice is most apparent in contrast with “all our unrighteousness [adikia].” Fortunately for us His justice is tempered with mercy.

Forgive. Gr. aphiÄ“mi, used in the NT with a with the variety of meanings—“to send away,” “to dismiss,” “to leave,” “to forgive.” When the verb is used in conjunction with “sin,” however, it is uniformly translated “to forgive” (see on Matt. 6:12; 26:28). It is in the realm of forgiveness that God’s faithfulness and justice find their complete expression. For a discussion of forgiveness see on 2 Chron. 7:14; Ps. 32:1; Acts 3:19.

Us our sins. That is, the particular sins that have been confessed. The Lord is ready to forgive the repentant sinner, though He cannot forgive these sins in the sense of overlooking them. Confessed sins are borne by the Lamb of God (John 1:29). The gracious love of God accepts the repentant sinner, the confessed sin is taken away from him, and the sinner stands before the Lord covered with the perfect life of Christ (Col. 3:3, 9, 10; COL 311, 312). The sin has gone, and the sinner stands a new man in Christ Jesus.

And to cleanse. Or, “even to cleanse.” The phrase “to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” may be understood either as in apposition to, and hence explanatory of, the phrase “to forgive us our sins,” or as setting forth a process distinct from, and following that of, forgiveness. Both ideas are valid when applied to practical Christian living. All sin defiles, and when the sinner is forgiven he is cleansed from those sins for which he has received forgiveness. When confessing his great sin David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps. 51:10). However, the Lord purposes to cleanse the repentant sinner from all unrighteousness. He requires moral perfection of His children (see on Matt. 5:48) and has made provision whereby every sin may be successfully resisted and overcome (see on Rom. 8:1-4). As long as there is life there will be new victories to gain and new excellences to reach. This day-by-day cleansing from sin and growth in grace is termed sanctification (see on Rom. 6:19). The initial step whereby the sinner turns from his sin and accepts Christ is called justification (see on Rom. 5:1). It is possible to see these two processes in the words of John, but whether the apostles had such a close analysis of these steps in salvation in mind is open to question. It is more likely that he was thinking of the cleansing that accompanies forgiveness, though his words may be more widely applied.

From all unrighteousness. This comprehensive statement makes clear the thoroughness with which God is prepared to remove unrighteousness from those who have confessed and been forgiven their sins. But the sinner himself must cooperate with God by forsaking sin. If the scriptural plan is followed, the cleansing will be complete.

It requires careful watching unto prayer to prevent the old habits of thought and action from coming to life again (Rom. 6:11-13; 1 Cor. 9:27). The action of the will is decisive, but the will is weak and vacillating until Christ has cleansed and strengthened it. The deceitful heart often has a hidden longing for its old ways and proposes many an excuse to justify continued indulgence. Constant awareness of this danger and a daily renewal of purpose are necessary to sinlessness (SC 52), for Heaven can do nothing for a man until he accepts the grace and power of Christ for the eradication of every sinful desire and tendency in his life. See on 1 John 3:6-10; Jude 24.

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Ellen G. White
The Acts of the Apostles, 562-3

The apostle Paul had been caught up to the third heaven and had seen and heard things that could not be uttered, and yet his unassuming statement is: “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after.” Philippians 3:12. Let the angels of heaven write of Paul's victories in fighting the good fight of faith. Let heaven rejoice in his steadfast tread heavenward, and that, keeping the prize in view, he counts every other consideration dross. Angels rejoice to tell his triumphs, but Paul makes no boast of his attainments. The attitude of Paul is the attitude that every follower of Christ should take as he urges his way onward in the strife for the immortal crown. AA 562.1

Let those who feel inclined to make a high profession of holiness look into the mirror of God's law. As they see its far-reaching claims, and understand its work as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, they will not boast of sinlessness. “If we,” says John, not separating himself from his brethren, “say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8, 10, 9. AA 562.2

There are those who profess holiness, who declare that they are wholly the Lord's, who claim a right to the promises of God, while refusing to render obedience to His commandments. These transgressors of the law claim everything that is promised to the children of God; but this is presumption on their part, for John tells us that true love for God will be revealed in obedience to all His commandments. It is not enough to believe the theory of truth, to make a profession of faith in Christ, to believe that Jesus is no impostor, and that the religion of the Bible is no cunningly devised fable. “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments,” John wrote, “is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.” “He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him.” 1 John 2:4, 5; 3:24. AA 562.3

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Ellen G. White
The Sanctified Life, 69

The wonderful success which attended the preaching of the gospel by the apostles and their fellow laborers increased the hatred of the enemies of Christ. They made every effort to hinder its progress, and finally succeeded in enlisting the power of the Roman emperor against the Christians. A terrible persecution ensued, in which many of the followers of Christ were put to death. The apostle John was now an aged man, but with great zeal and success he continued to preach the doctrine of Christ. He had a testimony of power, which his adversaries could not controvert, and which greatly encouraged his brethren. SL 70.1

When the faith of the Christians would seem to waver under the fierce opposition they were forced to meet, the apostle would repeat, with great dignity, power, and eloquence, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; ...that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-3). SL 70.2

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Ellen G. White
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7 (EGW), 912-3

10, 14, 15 (Romans 12:11). Idleness a Sin—The apostle in his day considered idleness a sin, and those who indulge this evil today disgrace their profession. They will criticize the faithful worker, and bring reproach upon the gospel of Christ. Those who would believe, they turn from the way of truth and righteousness. 7BC 912.1

We should be warned not to associate with those who by their course of action lay a stumbling block in the way of others. “If any man obey not our word by this epistle,” the apostle says, “note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” If he refuses the admonition of the Lord's servants, and follows his own will and judgment under the inspiration of his leader, Satan, he will bring ruin upon himself, and must bear his own sin. 7BC 912.2

The custom of supporting men and women in idleness by private gifts or church money encourages them in sinful habits, and this course should be conscientiously avoided. Every man, woman, and child should be educated to do practical, useful work. All should learn some trade. It may be tentmaking, or it may be business in other lines; but all should be educated to use the members of their body to some purpose, and God is ready and willing to increase the adaptability of all who will educate themselves to industrious habits. 7BC 912.3

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Ellen G. White
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7 (EGW), 947-8

11. See EGW on Revelation 3:14-18. 7BC 947.1

18 (Proverbs 11:25; Ephesians 4:15; see EGW on Revelation 2:4). Divine Law of Impartation—It is the Lord's desire that His followers shall grow in grace, that their love shall abound more and more, that they shall be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the praise and glory of God.... 7BC 947.2

One of the divine plans for growth is impartation. The Christian is to gain strength by strengthening others. “He that watereth shall be watered also himself.” This is not merely a promise; it is a divine law, a law by which God designs that the streams of benevolence, like the waters of the great deep, shall be kept in constant circulation, continually flowing back to their source. In the fulfilling of this law is the secret of spiritual growth (The Signs of the Times, June 12, 1901). 7BC 947.3

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