In the final post in this series on whether Jesus’ death is relevant for the church or the world only, let us consider the other claim used to undermine 1 John 1:9. By extension, this claim may also be used to support the idea that the death of Jesus has no relevance for the church, but only for the world. That claim states that 1 John 1:9, and the entire first chapter of 1 John, was not written to the church but to sinners, those outside the Christian faith. One excuse given to support this claim is that John did not identify his audience in the first chapter of 1 John. But there are serious errors with that claim.
First, John did not write his epistles in chapters and verses. The chapters and verses were much later additions that help with quotation and referencing. John wrote one single letter, and within it, he identified the very audience he was writing to multiple times. That is why we cannot take a portion of the same epistle he wrote that contradicts our personal doctrines, label it “chapter 1” and ascribe that portion to a different audience. Then, take the remaining portions we happen to like and ascribe those to ourselves. Moreover, nowhere in Scripture does it say that unless an author names his audience in his opening statement or first few paragraphs, everything the author wrote must be ascribed to a different audience, and not the very audience the author identifies in his writing. There is no such rule anywhere in Scripture, in any field of learning, or in any writing. So, we cannot simply invent one to decide which parts of Scripture should be ascribed to the church and which parts should apply to unbelievers based on our personal preferences. We don’t first come up with doctrines then decide which part of Scripture should apply to the church based on our personal doctrines. Scripture must shape our doctrine, not the other way around (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16).
The audience of any piece of literature can be accurately known from the text itself, based on whom the author directly states he is writing to, no matter where in the letter he mentions it: at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. We cannot hide behind the artificial division of Scripture into chapters and verses to throw away this simple truth.
In his epistle, John plainly identified those he was writing to when he wrote, “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you on account of His name” (1 John 2:12). John had been writing since the beginning of his epistle, what we call chapter 1, and he affirmed that what he was writing was being written to those he identified as little children. This is not a reference to infants, toddlers, or his own biological children. Rather, it refers to those who had become his children in the faith, just as Paul called Timothy his son (1 Timothy 1:18) and told the church in Corinth that he had become a father to them through the gospel (1 Corinthians 4:15). Later in the same epistle, John reaffirmed his audience, saying, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols (1 Join 2:12, 1 John 5:21).
So, when John wrote “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), we don’t have to guess who that was meant for. John himself stated that he was writing his children in the faith, the church (1 John 2:12, 1 Join 5:21). And this forgiveness, which the church enjoys is made possible through the blood of Jesus, which resulted from His death (cf. Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22). This debunks the suggestion that the death of Jesus does not have any practical relevance or benefit once a person is born again. It also debunks the claim that Christians do not need to confess their sins because all their past, present and future sins have already been forgiven.
If we believe the lie that Jesus’ death is not relevant for us as the church, then we are essentially rejecting the blessings forgiveness of sin, which is made available to us on account of Jesus’ blood and death (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 John 1:9). To reject God’s forgiveness is to accept to live in the uncleanness of your sin, and as Scripture says, nothing unclean will ever enter God’s kingdom (Revelation 21:27, Galatians 5:19-21). If we think the blood of Jesus has no usefulness for us because we are born again, then we undermine our position as kings and priests, which we now are, because of Jesus’ blood and death (Revelation 5:9-10), and we also deprive ourselves of God’s great weapon He’s given us to overcome the devil – the blood of Jesus, which resulted form His death (Revelation 12:11).
Let us stick with what the Bible teaches and save ourselves from the deceptions that can lead us astray, and away from the faith.
Kwadwo Omari, PhD
August 28, 2026