1 John 1:5 (GNV)

Passage

This then is the message which wee haue heard of him, and declare vnto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkenes.

Nearby Context

1 John 1:3 That, I say, which wee haue seene and heard, declare wee vnto you, that yee may also haue fellowship with vs, and that our fellowship also may be with the Father, and with his Sonne Iesvs Christ.

1 John 1:4 And these thinges write we vnto you, that that your ioy may be full.

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which wee haue heard of him, and declare vnto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkenes.

1 John 1:6 If wee say that wee haue fellowship with him, and walke in darkenesse, we lie, and doe not truely:

1 John 1:7 But if we walke in the light as he is in the light, we haue fellowship one with another, and the blood of Iesus Christ his Sonne clenseth vs from all sinne.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "message", "haue", "heard", "declare", "vnto", and "darkenes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "message", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And these thinges write we vnto you..." into verse 6's "If wee say that wee haue fellowship...", so "light" and "message" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "message" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.