MICHAELS By Water and Blood 157
Outside of that stand two uses (b and b') of 'communion', or Koivcovia
(with God and with each other, as in v. 3). Framing the whole are twodecisive propositions, forming a matched pair: 'God is light, and in him is
no darkness at all' (v. 5), and 'the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from
all sin' (v. 7). The second of these is not an afterthought, but the principal
corollary of the first. If 'God is light', then God illumines the darkness and
cleanses from sin by 'the blood of Jesus his Son'.^16 'Sin' is introduced in a
social context, in that Koivcovia, whether with God or one another, is its
polar opposite. Sin is resistance to such 'communion', and communion in
turn is its cure. Here, in contrast to John's Gospel, 'the blood of Jesus' is
explicitly the cleansing agent, purifying 'us' (fipas), the believing com-
munity, from all our sins. 1 John, unlike the Gospel of John, puts the sins
of believers, and therefore their purification, or KaSapiapos, front and
center. This is evident in the next three verses, where three possible asser-
tions that 'we'might make about ourselves are arranged to form a chiasm
of their own, shorter and simpler than the first (my italics):
a. If we say that we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the
truth is not in us (v. 8).
b. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, so as to for-
give us ('iva ac|>fj fiiiiv) those sins and cleanse us (KCU KaSapiGT}
f]|jas) from all unrighteousness (v. 9).
a'. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his
word is not in us (v. 10).Much has been written attempting to identify those who claimed to be
without sin. The repeated use of 'we' suggests that they were (or at least
had been) within, not outside, the Christian community. They would have
been potential readers of the Gospel of John, and in John's Gospel, as we
have seen, Christian believers are not called sinners, but 'true Israelites, in
whom is no deceit' (Jn 1.47), or 'the children of God' (11.52), or Jesus'
own 'sheep' (10.16) even before they come to him. As God's gift to Jesus,
they are 'greater than all' (10.29).^17 Jesus dies 'for' or 'on behalf of- That 'God' is the point of reference throughout is clear from the phrases 'with
him' (v. 6) and 'as he is in the light' (v. 7), and by the identification of Jesus as 'his
Son' (v. 7). - Compare the NRSV, which in this instance is based on the earliest and most
important manuscripts: 'What my Father has given me is greater than all else.' In other
manuscripts (followed by the RSV, NIV, and REB), the Father is the One said to be
'greater than all'.