Jesus Our Righteous Advocate: 1st John Lesson 5

 Let’s open our Bibles to 1 John. We have made it through chapter 1. Today we will look at Chapter 2, verses 1-2. It seems that every week when I begin to study these passages I have intentions of making more progress than I am able to make. It never works out that I get as far as I think I’m going to get and that is because of the richness and depth of the truth of God’s Word. I just want to plummet the depths. I want to mine the nuggets of truth. I don’t want to miss anything. I don’t suppose it matters how much of the Bible I have preached through when my life and ministry are over. It will matter how much of the Bible I got right as I preached through it.

 The first two verses of chapter 2 continue the thoughts on John’s mind he has written in Chapter 1. There are no chapter and verse divisions in the original text of Scripture. These are man’s best attempts at dividing the Scriptures into groups of thoughts. The Scriptures are without error. This is not necessarily the case with chapter and verse divisions. I believe these two verses go with the thoughts of chapter 1 because John continues his discussion of sin. Let’s read our text beginning back in 1:8.

 Those scholars who decided to divide chapter 1 from chapter 2 after verse 10 probably did so because of the introduction of the fatherly affection John expresses in 2:1. Up to this point John has been speaking as an authoritative eye witness giving testimony regarding the Word of Life. He is dogmatically asserting truth concerning what it means to have genuine fellowship with the Father, the Son, and one another. He has been confronting the error of those who claim to have no sin or claimed to have not sinned.

 Here John writes, “My little children…” Here we get a sense of the heart of this man. Here we get a glimpse into the Apostle of love. John was undoubtedly a staunch advocate for truth. He knew the importance of truth and he understood the power of truth. He knew it was the truth of the gospel that had resulted in the spiritual birth of these, his spiritual children. The aged one writes to these children and his use of these words here reminds them of his love for them and his commitment to their protection and care. He was a spiritual father to them and they were his spiritual children. John reminds them that he loves them as a father loves his children. You are “my little children.”

 John is writing to his spiritual children, giving them these truths in order to help them understand so they will not sin. “These things” he writes to them. These things are the truths already stated and those yet to come. These things are the truths concerning the Word of Life, that which John had heard and seen and examined and knew to be the truth that brings eternal life, producing fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. These things that would help his spiritual children discern the difference between Light and darkness, between empty claims of fellowship and walking in the Light. He loved his children enough to tell them the truth.

John is writing to his children so that they may not sin. John understood something that too many Christians fail to understand. What good thing can come from sin? Who can tell me one good result of sin? James describes the end result of sin in very descriptive terms. “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lusts and enticed. Lust, when it is conceived, brings forth sin. Sin when it is finished brings forth death.” This is Brad’s paraphrase of James 1:14-15. We don’t sin our way to happiness. We don’t violate God’s will and end up with good results. The aged Apostle John knew this. He wanted the best for people and the best results from a walk in righteousness. So John is sharing truth so that those he loves will not walk in sin.

There is another reason John clarifies his intentions for writing these things. John had seen the way truth gets distorted. He had just written a profound truth in verse 9 of Chapter 1. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What is the potential for distortion with this truth? There is the potential that some would say, “Ok, all we have to do is confess our sins and God will forgive them. We don’t really have to worry about how much we sin, as long as we just confess it and claim God’s forgiveness.” John would be horrified at the prospect that someone might take something he has written and use it as a license to sin. So he closes the door on any potential distortion of the truth. 

We know these kinds of distortions are common because Paul had to address basically the same problem in the book of Romans. Paul’s emphasis is salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. He destroys the idea of salvation through human accomplishment. Paul knew that there would be those who would attack the gospel of grace. One of these attacks would be that some would say that if God saves by grace alone through faith alone, then God is encouraging people to sin. If the giving of grace brings glory to God, then the more we sin the more grace God gives. This is why Paul asks in Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” What was Paul’s answer? “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

It is clear from the first part of 1 John 2:1 that John wants these he calls his little children to avoid sin. He is instructing them on walking in the Light, fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. He is calling them to the practice of the truth. He will return to this theme several times throughout this letter. He does so because he genuinely cares about people.

We get a lot of pressure from the culture to accept all kinds of sinful practices. Now, it isn’t enough to accept these sinful practices, we are expected to celebrate them. If we refuse we are labeled as hateful. We are full of hate because we tell the truth. We are the troublemakers because we won’t tell people they are going to be ok if they continue in their sin. I’m telling you my friends, the morality of our culture could not be more upside down than it is now. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. That is exactly what is happening today. It is even happening in the church and in families that call themselves Christian.

Obviously, our goal should be to live righteously. John writes these things so that we may not sin. Peter tells us to be holy as God is holy. Paul tells us to put off sinful passions and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The consistent call of the New Testament to those who follow Christ is to live righteously. But here is what we all understand all too well. Perfection in the pursuit of righteousness is elusive. We fall short of the standard. We all sin. We miss the mark. It doesn’t matter how long you have been a Christian, it doesn’t matter how much Scripture you can quote, or how much time you devote to prayer, or how faithful you are to attend church. The problem of sin still plagues us.

The older I get and the more I learn I have figured out something. I am not sure I sin any less or any more than I ever have. Here is what is true. I am more aware of my sin than ever. I am more sensitive to the fact that I have violated God’s standard of righteousness. And I hate my sin more than ever. The older I get the more I hate sin. The older I get the more I long for the day when I will be set free from the body of this death.

Even though John writes these things so that we may not sin, he knew what we all know. Sin will happen. “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and the truth is not in us.” When it happens, there is something incredible that happens for us in the courts of heaven. “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” With this we have just encountered a treasure of a theological jewel.

Let’s first understand what an advocate is. Then we will talk about why we need one. The word advocate is “parakletos” in the Greek. The verb form is “parakaleo.” It is a compound word using “para” for “along with” or “together” and “kaleo” which is “to call.” Literally, it means “to call alongside.” The verb means “to comfort, encourage, or exhort.”

The word “advocate” is a verbal adjective referring to an aid of any kind. Greek writers used the term to describe a legal advisor, proxy, or an advocate – one who comes forward in behalf of another as the representative of another. This is what John says Jesus does for us before the Father. He is our legal representative, our proxy, or our advocate who comes forward on our behalf. John is clear. If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Jesus defends us. Jesus represents us. Jesus is there as our proxy.

Why do we need an advocate who stands before the Father on our behalf? This is where some get confused. I’ve heard this taught this way. I probably have thought this way in the past. Some think that Jesus Christ stands as our Advocate when we sin because God is always looking for some reason to condemn us. Some think we need Jesus to intercede for us and plead our case by continually defending us as we sin because God is going to change His mind and condemn us because we sin.

Listen, we don’t need Jesus to be our Advocate with the Father when we sin because God is somehow going to change His mind when we sin. Is God going to un-choose us when we sin? Is He going to un-adopt us? Is He going to un-redeem us unless Jesus is there to plead our case? You will find none of this kind of foolishness taught in the Bible. We don’t need Jesus as our Advocate when we sin because God is going to change His position regarding our salvation every time we sin.

Just think about how the Bible describes the forgiveness of sins from God’s perspective. Psalm 103 tells us that God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. He casts our sins into the depths of the sea. He remembers our sins no more. We can never stress enough the truth that we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. God does not un-clothe us when we sin. Jesus explained to Peter when He washed the disciple’s feet that they were clean already. Jesus didn’t need to wash the entire body, just the feet. This illustrates the importance of confession of daily sins to keep our fellowship with God unhindered by sin, and our prayers unhindered by sin, but we are cleansed from our sin.

So why do we need an Advocate? Why is Jesus still our legal representation before the Father? It is because there is an accuser. Revelation 12:10 calls him the accuser of the brethren. This is Satan. For reasons beyond my ability to understand, God allows Satan access to His presence. This is pictured in Job. It is described in Zechariah 3 where Joshua, the priest who returned to Israel with Ezra after the captivity, was standing before God in filthy garments. His garments represented the sins of the people. Satan was accusing and seeking condemnation. Joshua the priest had his filthy garments removed and clean garments were put on him. Satan’s accusations were worthless.

Jesus is our Advocate, not because God is watching and waiting for us to sin so He can undo everything accomplished in salvation. Jesus is our Advocate because the accuser stands ready to point out our sins to the Father and argue that we deserve to be condemned as he has been condemned. Jesus does not need to remind God of the truth concerning our forgiveness, but He certainly confronts the accuser with the truth that we cannot be punished for something that has been totally forgiven.

If Jesus is our “defense attorney” if you will, and Satan is the prosecuting attorney, and we are in the courtroom of Holy God, think about our advantage with Jesus representing us.  I would hate to be an attorney arguing a case before a judge, knowing that the other attorney is the judge’s son. Not only that, but the judge and his son, the other attorney, are on exactly the same page. They think exactly alike. They never disagree on anything. Not only that, but they are always right. I will promise you this. The record of our Advocate is unblemished. He hasn’t lost His first case yet. The scoreboard reads Jesus the Advocate “Billions”, Satan the accuser “0.”

With John’s use of the word “parakletos” for advocate, I can’t help but believe he had another closely related truth in mind as he wrote this. Not only do we have Jesus Christ the Righteous as our Advocate with the Father, we also have the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit who resides with us. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He is the Spirit of Christ. While Jesus pleads our case before the Father, the Holy Spirit is pleading God’s case with us. In John 16:7-9 Jesus told His disciples “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”

Jesus also said of the Paraclete, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, that “when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will disclose you what is to come.” (John 16:13) Jesus is our Advocate with the Father. The Holy Spirit is God’s Advocate with us.

In verse 2 of our text we learn why the advocacy role of Jesus is so effectual. It is because He Himself is the propitiation for our sins. The word “propitiate” means “to make favorably inclined, to appease, to conciliate.” The best word to describe this is appeasement. To propitiate means to make an appeasement. In order for someone to be appeased after being wrong, they must be satisfied with whatever has been done to bring justice. Jesus is the satisfaction. Jesus is the appeasement.

This is at the heart of the gospel. Holy God provided His Law. All man has ever done is break God’s Law. Every aspect of God’s Law man has broken habitually and continually. God must punish sin, all sin, wherever it is found. God outlined the provision whereby man’s sin could be atoned for. Atonement required a blood sacrifice. This is why there was an endless stream of animals being sacrificed on the altar in the Temple. But none of those sacrifices appeased God. Those sacrifices were not the propitiation for sins. This is why they had to be offered continually. Those sacrifices pointed to the only sacrifice that would satisfy the demands of God’s justice. Those sacrifices pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the righteous.

It was on the Cross of Calvary that punishment and pardon came together. Justice was satisfied and mercy is now available. God was appeased. God was satisfied. Propitiation was accomplished. Grace is offered. Jesus Christ is the Appeasement. Jesus is the propitiation. Jesus is the sacrifice that satisfies God. All we like sheep have gone astray, but God has caused our iniquities to fall on Him. He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53) God is now satisfied. God will offer mercy. God will extend His offer of grace to all who will trust in that finished work of Christ on the Cross.

John goes on to say, “and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” There are some who teach and believe that salvation is universal. The idea of universalism is the belief that everyone is saved because of the saving work of Christ on the Cross. The universalist believes that Jesus paid the penalty for every sin of every person who has ever lived and on the basis of that sacrifice everyone is saved.

I would submit to you that the idea of universalism is more widely accepted than you think. In fact, in my 35 years of ministry I have dealt with many people who appear to believe this. I know they believe it because the first thing they say when a loved one passes is, “Well, they are in a better place.” By this they mean this person went to heaven. To get to heaven you must be born again. Regardless of how this person lived or even if they ever claimed faith in Jesus, people just believe they are in a better place.

Is this what John is teaching? It is not. The Bible is clear. Those who do not believe on the name of the Son of God are condemned. They are condemned because they believed not. So what does John mean with this statement at the end of verse 2?

Remember, John is a Jew. His audience is primarily Jewish. This is John’s affirmation that salvation is not just for the Jew. It came to the Jew first, then to the Gentile, or the non-Jews. Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of those from every tongue and every tribe and every nation who have heard the gospel and responded with repentance and faith. Jesus is redeeming for Himself a bride that is represented with people from all over the world. He is the propitiation for our sins, the sins of the Jewish believers, and not those only, but also for the sins of believers from the whole world.

My friends, this is tremendous truth, isn’t it? We have an Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous. I can almost hear His testimony. He doesn’t need to direct it to God the Father. God the Father and Jesus the Righteous are on the same page. It is Satan who has to be humiliated in defeat. Satan has brought the accusation. Satan has demanded God’s justice. He wants the sinner prosecuted to the full extent of the Law. Jesus steps forward and says, “No! My Father is a just Judge. Because He is just He cannot punish this person for that sin. The penalty for that sin has been paid in full. My Father would be unjust to condemn this person for that sin because He has already punished it fully. I bore the punishment for that sin. I paid the price. I satisfied the demands of My righteous, holy Father. I have already borne the full wrath and fury of My Father’s justice in regards to this sin. You have no right to bring this accusation.”

Let’s pray.