Jesus
Christ, Our Defense Attorney, Our Advocate
2:1 MY DEAR
CHILDREN, I WRITE THIS TO YOU SO THAT YOU WILL NOT SIN. BUT IF ANYBODY DOES
SIN, WE HAVE ONE WHO SPEAKS TO THE FATHER IN OUR DEFENSE—JESUS CHRIST, THE
RIGHTEOUS ONE. NIV
After focusing on the false teachers and their lies in chapter 1, here John
focused on his readers, the Christians. The address "my dear
children" is used in a warm, fatherly way. John was not talking down to
his readers but was showing affection for them. At this writing, John was very
old. He had spent almost all his life in ministry, and many of his readers were
indeed his spiritual children.
The first step for living in the light (1:5, 7) is to confess
sin (1:9). The
second step is to forsake all sin (2:1). John
emphasized human sinfulness in chapter 1 in order to
make his readers despise their sin and try to stay free from it. "So that
you will not sin" means that you will try to stay free from sin by
avoiding it, refusing it, but then also confessing it when it does happen.
Christians will sin because they have not yet been made perfect. John fully
understood this. He did not want his readers to take the inevitability of
sinning as an excuse to sin. The tension between the phrases "so that you
will not sin" and "if anybody does sin" forms a balance between
a too harsh or too lenient view of sin. "Believers have no business
sinning," says John, "but when they do sin . . . God has
provided a way for them to be cleansed."
Believers should not condone or excuse their sin, but they
should go to the Father without fear. "But if" means "but
when." When believers sin and then come to the Father for forgiveness,
there is one who speaks to the Father. The word paraclete means
"advocate, intercessor, one called alongside to help." This
"one" is Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Christ's
righteousness contrasts with humanity's sinfulness. To people who are feeling
guilty and condemned, John offers reassurance. In Matthew 1:21, an
angel told Joseph, "Name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their
sins" (NLT). The best defense attorney in the universe will intercede with
the Father for them and plead their case.
Because Jesus is righteous, he is the
one who "pleases God completely" (2:1 NLT). Jesus
Christ will speak in their defense and on their behalf. Paul wrote:
"Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who
died for us . . . [and is] pleading for us" (Romans 8:34 NLT);
and "Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save everyone who comes to
God through him. He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf" (Hebrews 7:25 NLT).
Not only is Jesus the Judge's Son, but he also has already paid the penalty.
Because Jesus Christ fulfilled the law and paid sin's penalty for all who
believe, he can plead for them based on justice as well as mercy. Believers
cannot be punished because someone else has already taken the punishment for
them.
LIFE
APPLICATION: OUR DEFENSE ATTORNEY
John was no doubt aware that for the Christian who wants to
make progress in the spiritual life, nothing is as demoralizing as sin.
"Why did I give in to that temptation again?" we lament. "I knew
better!" we cry. "How could God forgive me for this?" we moan.
Our enemy, Satan, adeptly uses our failures to accuse us, to fill us with
guilt, and to cause us to wallow in despair. The answer for such miserable
moments? Rely on Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, who appears before God as our
advocate (Hebrews
9:24).
Christ is our defense attorney. Having paid for all our sins
and purchased our complete forgiveness, Jesus Christ is well able to represent
us before a holy God. We need not fear judgment. Because of what Christ has
done, we are "not guilty"; furthermore, we possess the very
righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)!
When you pray, regard Christ as though he were by your side, discussing your
situation with God.
2:2 AND HE IS THE
ATONING SACRIFICE FOR OUR SINS, AND NOT FOR OURS ONLY BUT ALSO FOR THE SINS OF
THE WHOLE WORLD. NRSV
When Jesus Christ speaks to the Father in people's defense (2:1), he doesn't
falsely claim that they are innocent. Instead, he maintains that they are
guilty of sin but then points out that he has already paid the penalty. The Greek word for "sacrifice" is hilasmos, the noun form of a word that
in the New Testament means "to atone" or "to expiate" (the
word is used only here and in 4:10 in the New
Testament). Just as people in the Old Testament could approach God when the
blood of the sin offering was sprinkled on the altar so that believers can
fellowship with God because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Fellowship with
God is always based solidly on the fact of Christ's atoning death. Because
Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins (see also 4:10), he can
stand before God as the believers' mediator. His death satisfied the wrath of
God against sin and paid the death penalty for it. Thus, Christ satisfies God's
requirement. In him, believers are forgiven and purified.
Yet this picture of God as Judge and Jesus as defense
attorney must not be taken too far. God is not like a human judge who might
make unfair decisions based on personal feelings or private bribes. Jesus is
not a helpless third-party pleading for people and trying to make peace between
the Judge and guilty sinners. Instead, the picture must be seen through the
eyes of love. God loves people so much that he wants them to be set free—he
does not want to inflict the death penalty. But justice required that the
penalty be paid. Jesus paid the penalty, also out of his great love. John wrote
of God's love in 4:10,
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his
Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (NIV). In 3:16, he
describes Jesus' love, "We know love by this, that he laid down his life
for us" (NRSV).
In the phrase "not for ours only but also for the sins
of the whole world" John was reminding all believers that Christ's atoning
sacrifice is sufficient for the sins of every person in the world. Martin
Luther brought this point home when he explained, "You, too, are part of
the world, so that your heart cannot deceive itself and think, 'The Lord died
for Peter and Paul, but not for me.'" While Christ's death is sufficient
for every sin of every person who ever lived or ever will live, it becomes
effectual only for those who confess their sin, accept the sacrifice, and
embrace Christ as Lord and Savior. John was not teaching universal
salvation—that everyone was saved by Christ whether he or she believed or not.
We know this from John's statements in 2:19-23;
obviously, the antichrists had not found forgiveness and acceptance in Christ.
LIFE
APPLICATION COMPLETE AND TOTAL
Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. Sometimes it is
difficult to forgive those who wrong us. Imagine how hard it would be to
forgive all people, no matter what they had done! This is what God has done in
Jesus. Not one of us, no matter what sin has been committed, is beyond
forgiveness. All a person must do is turn from sin, receive Christ's
forgiveness, and commit his or her life to him.
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Bruce B. Barton et al., Life Application Bible Commentary
– 1, 2, & 3 John, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS
e-book, Under: "1 JOHN 1:1-2:11".
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