Fellowship in the Light

Fellowship in the Light

The Calov Conference  - 9/30/2025

Deuteronomy 5:28-33, 1 John 1:1-8

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer – St. John’s Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our lesson from the first chapter of the First Epistle of St. John with special emphasis on verses six through eight which read as follows:

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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 cleanses us from all sin.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Introduction

When our Lord Jesus prayed on the night before His death that “they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you,”[2] He was not speaking figuratively. This was not a clever metaphor or a mere turn of phrase. It is the will of our Lord Jesus that Christians, those who bear His name, should be one.

And what is meant by this unity? Nothing less than that they share in all things. That is, that they would have very things of Christ without division, without rivalry, without conflict. His prayer is for a unity among Christians that reflects the eternal unity between the Father and the Son.

But as we all know, this is certainly not the case at present. The Church seems fractured. There are divisions between the East and the West, Romans and Protestants, Lutherans and the Reformed, liberals and conservatives, confessionals and missionals, the Missouri Synod; the Wisconsin Synod; and the myriad of other Confessional synods. Christ’s Church seems broken into irreconcilable pieces.

And yet the Scriptures remind us that unity is not optional. Christian fellowship is necessary. It is the very will of Christ that His people be one.

Man’s Attempts at Unity

Because unity is God’s will, Christians have long sought it. But sadly, the methods we turn to often reflect man’s wisdom rather than God’s Word.

Some argue that unity will be achieved if we share the same ecclesial structure. If we all submit to the same pope, patriarch, archbishop, or synodical president, then surely unity will follow. Once we align under one visible head, the Church will be whole, or so the claim goes.

Others suggest that unity comes through shared worship forms. If all Christians used the same hymnbook, be it the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom among the Eastern Orthodox, or the Book of Common Prayer among the Anglicans, then perhaps we would all be united.

Still others argue that unity is about common causes. For progressives, that might mean community activism or advocacy for social issues, particularly those that undermine the sixth commandment. For conservatives, it might mean pro-life marches or the defense of religious liberty. In either case, the assumption is that if we are fighting the same battles in society, then we must be united as Christians.

Suffice it to say, the world, even many who call themselves Christian, looks for unity in things that can be organized, manufactured, or controlled. Human efforts appeal to human institutions, human causes, human personalities. And because of this, anyone who disagrees with these or finds them uncomfortable is labeled a rabblerouser and becomes the only person acceptable to exclude from Christina unity. But in the end, all such efforts are doomed to fail, because true Christian unity cannot be achieved by the ideas or efforts of man.

Christ Defines Christian Unity

True unity, true fellowship, comes not from us but from Christ. He both wills unity and defines it. The apostle John makes this point sharply: “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”[3] Fellowship with Christ cannot coexist with darkness. To walk in sin, in false doctrine, in heresy, in lovelessness, and yet claim fellowship with the Lord is to live a lie.

What is the darkness? It is not only gross immorality or scandalous sin. Darkness is also false teaching that obscures Christ. Darkness is error that leads people away from His Word and Sacraments. Darkness is anything that opposes the light of Christ and His truth, both professed and lived according to.

This seems easy to identify, but darkness often comes disguised as light. Jesus warns us of false teachers who appear righteous but inwardly are ravenous wolves[4]. Evil does not parade itself in obvious shadow. Much like the headlights of an oncoming car cresting a hill on a dark and moonless night, false fellowship blinds with just enough brightness from the hellfire behind it to disorient. It pretends to be light but leads only to destruction. Hellfire is most certainly not the light of God, but it can blind and disorient us men who dwell in the vale of darkness that is this sinful earth.

That is why human attempts at unity so often fail. Outward structures, shared books, or common causes may appear noble, but if they are not grounded in Christ’s truth, they are still darkness. They may look pious and bright, but beneath the surface there is ambition, fearmongering, compromise, and even denial of Christ Himself.

The light of Christ is different. It does not blind; it illumines. It exposes sin for what it is. It reveals false doctrine with clarity. It unmasks the motives of hardened hearts. The light shines, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

Fellowship in Truth

So what is true fellowship? St. John tells us: “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 cleanses us from all sin.”[5]

True fellowship is walking together in the light of Christ. And this light is not a vague feeling or personal experience. It is found where Christ Himself promises to be, that is, in His Word, in His Sacraments, in His Church.

Fellowship is not found in agreement on politics or in outward forms of organization. Fellowship is found in Christ, and Christ is present in His Word, in His doctrine. Doctrine is simply Christ Himself; it is what He said, what He did, and how He delivers His blood wrought gifts to us now. To agree in doctrine is to agree in and about Christ.

Without Christ, there can be no unity. False doctrine is not just some sort of harmless distraction; it is actively opposed to Christ. It is anti-Christ. That is why the Church cannot overlook it. Here Deuteronomy chapter five helps us. After giving the Ten Commandments, God laments: “Oh that they had such a heart always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!”[6] Fellowship with God requires walking in His ways and Word. Israel’s blessing was tied to His divine proclamation, and so is ours. The commandments are not arbitrary, they are given for life. And Christ is their fulfillment, the very Light in whom we now walk.

But here we must add a note of pastoral care. Doctrine is not an abstract checklist by which individuals pass judgment on one another. Fellowship is not a matter of personal whim. As Prof. Kurt Marquart once put it, “Church fellowship is a matter of churches.” Doctrine lives in congregations, in public confessions, in the life of the Church.

Therefore, while we must be absolutely firm in rejecting false doctrine, we must also be patient with the weak, the ignorant, and the mistaken. Christ died for them too. The practice of church fellowship must be careful and deliberate, never wielded like a weapon for every small offense.

And yet patience does not mean compromise. As James writes, “faith without works is dead.” [7]In the same way, confession of doctrine without practice in love is empty. To say we hold to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions while adopting worship, supposed love, or teaching that contradicts them is to walk in darkness while claiming to be in the light. Faithfulness to Christ requires both confession and practice.

Conclusion

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, saints redeemed in His blood, church fellowship is not a small or incidental thing in the life of Christ’s people. It is central to His will. Jesus prayed for unity, and John teaches us what that unity looks like; it is shown in walking in the light of Christ, it is grounded in His Word, and it is found in the reception of the cleansing of sin by His blood that comes in His wholesome Word.

We dare not cut corners here. We cannot manufacture unity by human means. We must submit to Christ, confess His truth, and live in the fellowship He gives. But still there is great comfort. Christ’s prayer is not unanswered. Already we have fellowship with Him and with one another, because “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”[8] Already the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

So do not look to the schemes of men. Look to Christ. In Him, we already share the unity that will one day be revealed in full, when all the faithful are gathered together around His throne, perfectly one as He and the Father are one.

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] 1 John 1:6-8 English Standard Version. All further quotations from the Bible are from the ESV unless otherwise specified.

[2] John 17:21

[3] John 1:7

[4] Matthew 7:15

[5] ??

[6] Deuteronomy 5:29

[7] James 2:26

[8] John 1:7