Book of 1 John - Ch. 2, Vs. 1-2 (07/28/2002)

1 John 2:1-2 and the Meaning of Christ Our Advocate

1st John chapter 2 verse 1 my little children these things. I write unto you that you sin not and if any man sin We have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous. Brother Rocky used to preach all over the country.

He would go in there and tell him, you know that there's nowhere in the Bible where it says you have to sin today and This verse reminds me of him because I remember him saying that My little children these things I write unto you that you sin not.

He's given us the word one of the aspects that we saw in Psalm 119 this morning is that one of the things the Word of God does if you'll Stay in it is it can keep you from sin. So he says I write these things to you so that you won't sin the Word of God itself just the presence of it in your mind and heart as you Continually bathe your mind and heart in it as a cleansing effect and a protecting effect.

But then he goes on into the reality of the fact. And he says if you sin. And like Rocky said there's no verse in the Bible that says you have to sin tomorrow. He said you probably will but there's no verse that says you have to and That's true the probably will part comes into play here but look what we have if we do.

If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and the next verse begins to tell us what this Advocacy is all about. He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, and Christ's Intercession

I'm gonna cut you some slack this afternoon and and Keep it just on those two verses. My dad if he were here, he'd be saying son. It'd be a good day to get on home and watch the ballgame early and We have a light crowd today.

So we could just cancel and go on but we have a quality crowd. Quality is important as quantity. So we do want to study the word but let's just look at these two verses there's plenty in them. Advocate this comes from a Greek word Parakletos and you might recognize the word paraclete who can tell me what that is.

The Holy Spirit the comforter who will come. Jesus said it's obedient that I go because if I don't go He won't send the Holy Spirit. But if I do go the Paraclete would be sent who would be a comforter.

It's the same Greek word here. So where it says my little children these things right under you that you sin not if any man sin. We have an advocate the word advocate is the paraclete. We have a paraclete with the father and his name is Jesus Christ The righteous isn't it an amazing thing to think we have a paraclete here right now.

And we have a paraclete with the father right now and that's Jesus Christ and he is our intercessor our Counselor, but our advocate and our comforter all wrapped up in one person. Second Timothy 112 says for the witch calls.

I also suffer these things nevertheless I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed to him. Against that day old fast the form of sound words.

Funny how that keeps coming up today. It doesn't the words of God Which thou hast heard of me so that indicates that the New Testament Which Paul was the author of much of it is included in these words of God in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus so this part about the advocate with the father if we do sin Plays a part in our great doctrine of eternal security.

Eternal Security and Christ's Unchangeable Priesthood

Paul says in 2nd Timothy Chapter 1 verses 12 and 13 that he is he's persuaded that God is able to keep that which he committed Jude 1. I'm sorry Jude 24 says now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his holy Of his glory and with exceeding joy.

He is able to keep us from falling to the only wise God and our Savior be glory and majesty Dominion and power both now forever. Amen eternal security. Hebrews 722 by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better Testament and they truly were many priests because they were Not allowed to continue by reason of death, but this man because he continued with ever Hath an unchangeable priesthood.

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to God by him seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us who was holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners made higher than the heavens Who needeth not daily as those high priest to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins and then for the people for this he? did once When he offered up himself Beloved Majestic doctrine that we have and you know aside from the Presbyterian to the Baptist nobody else leaves it.

It's been amazing. Well the Bible churches, but they're split off from Presbyterian. So aside from the Presbyterian to the Baptist Nobody else believes it so I'm glad we got that heritage from our forefathers Who understood this?

So they're in agreement with what the Holy Spirit teaches us today about this. Isaiah 53 12 therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and He shall divide the spoil with the strong because he hath poured out his soul into death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bear the sin of many and Made intercession for the transgressors.

That's us. So he's our advocate and our intercessor before the Father. Romans chapter 8 verse 26. Likewise the Spirit also help with our infirmities. But we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit itself make an intercession for us with groanings Which cannot be uttered and he that searches the hearts knoweth.

What is the mind of the Spirit because he make it? Intercession for the saints according to the will of God and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to Them who are called according to his purpose for whom he did foreknow them.

He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. See, it's predestinated that you're going to be conformed to the image. You're not going to fall away from his image. He's going to be made like his image that he might be the firstborn.

Among many brethren moreover whom he did predestinate. Then he called who he called he justified who he justified glorified. What shall we say about these things if God's for us who can be against us?

He did spare not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justified. Shall God that justified us lay anything to our charge.

Who is he that condemned it? It is Christ that died yea rather than is risen who is even at the right hand of God who also make it intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of God? At his right hand.

Every moment you have a paraclete in your heart right now. It connects you to the paraclete. That's at the throne of God right now. That's pretty secure. Isn't it? Verse two says he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

We're back in first John chapter two. That's first two and I just don't want to leave this afternoon without commenting on this. This is greatly misunderstood verse. The the verse says in the English is the propitiation for our sins.

Propitiation, Atonement, and the Meaning of "the Whole World"

Now, let's look at this word. Propitiation is the Greek word. He lost most it means atonement ie The expiate or the one who Does the expiating. Now, let's get a little bit of definition on what all this stuff means.

Let me read what vine says about it. W vine says it is God who is propitiated not man. God is propitiated. The best English word I can find is satisfied. It is God who is propitiated by the vindication of his holy and righteous character whereby through the provision he has made in the vicarious and expiatory sacrifice of Christ he has so dealt with sin that he can show mercy to the believing sinner in the removal of his Guilt and the remission of his sin.

The expiatory work of the cross is therefore the mean. Whereby the barrier which sin interposes between God and man is broken down by the giving up of his sinless life. Sacrificially Christ annuls the power of sin to separate between God and the believer.

Now it's interesting to look at propitiation that gives a great theological mind. Vine to see you write so well. Expository Greek dictionary, it means that God is satisfied with the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for your sins.

Completely satisfied. Nothing else can make him satisfied once he's already satisfied. He is already totally completely satisfied and so we can add nothing to our salvation. Because it is Jesus's blood and his death on the cross that brought this Propitiation to God.

The Greeks had the term propitiation with their Greek God the false God. It always meant a way for a man to come and appease this anger of God. It does not carry that meaning anywhere in our Bible. They did use the same Greek word, but in the context of it It never carries that meaning because in the New Testament God is propitiated not by something that you and I could do.

But something that only he himself could do. And that was he gave his son his payment for the sins of the elect. So if you lost most the atonement the covering the The removal Satisfaction that sin has been justly dealt with is the whole concept here.

But now look at this little confusing phrase and He is the propitiation for our sin and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. It becomes a whole lot less confusing when we understand that these sins of is not found in the Greek New Testament.

Therefore the verse should read this way. And he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the whole world. This word world is the word cosmos which literally means God's orderly arrangement and Therefore there is no conflict here in the sense that Jesus propitiated us The elect the people the elect people with his death.

He also Satisfied God on behalf of the entire order of the universe that had also gone through the fall because of man's sin. Bible says that it groans waiting for the rapture. The whole world does and so Jesus death.

Not only satisfied God with regard to the sins of his own people in the removal of those sins Justly. But it also satisfied God with regard to the world itself is beautiful Creation and it really made it all perfect again.

We may not see it that way. But it's already that way. It's already been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. It does not teach that he is the propitiation for our sins and not ours only but also for the sins of other people Who are not elect?

It cannot be made to mean that however, if you read it just in the English and you read the added words. It sounds like it could mean that in the Greek that vagueness is removed. He is the propitiation for our sins not for ours only but also for the whole cosmos the whole ordered creation of God.

Same as in John 3 16 for God so loved the cosmos that he gave his only begotten son. And so I think it behooves you to take your pen and mark out the words that are in italics. They are not there. They are nothing.

You'll get the three cents of that verse. Well, I told you I'd stop there so I don't want to but I Will let's pray together. Your father we thank you for your word. We thank you for all the things that we saw this morning that it could do for us almost 30 28 30 different things.

That we saw just from one chapter in the Bible that your written Scriptures can do in our lives help us to stay in love with our Bible. Continually lift our hands up to this Bible. Because we know that by doing that we're lifting our hands up to you the author of.

We ask you to go with Clarence and the family as they travel With virgin in this afternoon giving protection and all of us as we each go our way. Watch over us and our children. Bring us back for another time of corporate worship.

Lord renew our hearts zeal. This week we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.