St. John the Theologian is clear here: the entire life of Christians flows in the Holy Trinity "from the Father, through the Son in the Holy Spirit." This is nothing but communion with the Holy Trinity. Our communion with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Because God is among us to be in us, He is with us to be in us.

1:4. And this we write to you, that your joy may be fulfilled. (And this we write to you, that your joy may be complete.)

From this life in the Holy Trinity, from this communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the human essence is filled with true joy, which is nothing other than Divine bliss.

Without it, the human essence is filled with sorrow, bitterness, unhappiness, poverty. Without this blessedness, it cannot but be filled with death and, above all, with sin. By means of each sin, if not a rushing stream of bitterness, then at least an assertive stream of sinful passions settles in the soul, which constantly turns into bitterness and abomination. In each case, the one who sins takes into his heart drop after drop from this bitterness and abomination, which imperceptibly but also mercilessly spills over the soul, which over time grows and turns into torment, anguish, and sheer sorrow without limit. And very often a person wonders where this sadness came from in his heart. Communion with Christ, Who helps in the acquisition of holy virtues, fills the human essence with indescribable joy. From living in the love of Christ, in the truth, kindness, humility and meekness of Christ, the human soul is filled with the unimaginable, Divine Resurrection. And, observing himself, a person is convinced that he is filled with Divine bliss, without the presence in him of sorrow, which is brought by sin, without the presence of fear, which is brought by death. That is why St. John the Theologian preaches the gospel: And this we write to you, that your joy may be filled.

1:5. And this is the promise that we have heard from Him, and we will tell you that God is light, and there is not a single darkness in Him. (And this is the gospel which we have heard from Him, and we declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him.)

These words contain an extremely important gospel of the God-man. God is light. He is the beginning and source of all light, all that is good, all that is just and immortal! It is all-truth, all-good, all-justice, all-immortality, and in no case is and cannot be the beginning and source of evil, sin and falsehood. The good news is that Christ said and showed by His life that since God is indisputably and unconditionally light, there is not a trace of darkness in Him, not a single darkness. Where is the darkness in the God-man? Where is sin in Him? No one will ever point out a single sin in Him, since He was completely sinless. Darkness comes from sin, and sin comes from the devil, who is perfect darkness. Since the devil is the devil (Greek, slanderer), everything in him is an essence opposite to God. God is Light, the devil is darkness. God is Life, the devil is death. God is the Truth, the devil is a lie. After all, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the true God, can say of Himself: "I am the Light of the world" (John 8:12), "I am the Light of life." And the devil can say, "I am the darkness of the world," "I am the darkness of life." It is only because of him that the world is in place, people cannot see the meaning of this world and the purpose of life. With his darkness, the devil darkens the eyes of people, so that they do not see that there is essentially the world and what truly is life. If human eyes can see, then Christ necessarily exists. Only with the light of Christ do we see. Therefore, if we do not see, we have eyes in vain.

1:6. If we say that the communion of the Imam is with Him, and we walk in darkness, we lie, and do not do the truth... (If we say that we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we are lying and not doing the truth.)

And this gospel of God as light is an experiential testimony. Of course, this personal experience belongs to all true Christians, because they have been personally illumined by the light to live with Christ and in Christ, to live truly with the Light and in the Light.

Christ brought them out of all darkness, and with Christ they conquered all sin.

And just as the morning dawn appears before the sun, so before Christ the Light of peace and life appears the radiance of His virtues.

If a person begins to strive in the holy virtues, then they pour out a radiance of light in the soul, and this radiance contributes to the rising of the eternal Sun of Righteousness, Which, when it rises in the soul, never sets.

In the same way, the darkness of sins precedes the darkness, the creator of sins. Sins boil and rage in the soul and pour a suffocating darkness into it, so that a person does not see how and where his soul is seduced by the creator of darkness and sin, the devil. He who lives in sin, in living darkness, does not know where he is going. Each sin draws a person into the kingdom of sin, death. And every darkness draws hell into the kingdom of darkness. And in the kingdom of death and darkness there is only one king and lord the devil. That is why the holy Evangelist John the Theologian proclaims: "If we say that the communion of the Imam is with Him, we walk in darkness, we lie, and do not do the truth."

1:7. ... But if we walk in the light, as He Himself is in the light, the communion of the Imam with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.)

God the Word, Who is Light, became man in order to bestow His Divine Light and to bring people closer to each other. His Light became their light. Thus, by His incarnation, God the Word wants everything to be Divine, to be transmitted to people, to be incarnated in human life and in the world. The call is given: as He is, so must we become.