Living in Obedience

Good Morning.

Good to be in class again today with you. Thanks for giving me a few minutes of your time as we dive into another passage from 1 John! Today we are going to be looking at 1 John 2:1-6, so let’s just start with reading that passage together.

1 John 2:1–6 ESV

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Our passage is split into two sections: vv. 1-2, and vv. 3-6. But they are connected by this main idea:

As Christians, we show ourselves as God’s people through renouncing sin and living in obedience to our Advocate, Jesus Christ.

Our Advocate

So, starting with vv.1-2 John, we see here John challenging these Christians to flee sin. Not just sin itself, but as one commentator noted, “[John] may be referring specifically to the error of denying the reality of God’s truth about sin.” John’s whole premise here is admonishing us to flee from sin, and to recognize the seriousness of sin. I believe it was Andrew who noted that John was really combatting false teaching with this letter, and we see this coming through here. Some were propagating a thought pattern that was sinful, and contrary to Christ. This is part of why John makes this note concerning not sinning.

However, the main thrust of this section is to balance the idea of avoiding sin with the reality of our human nature. so John says

1 John 2:1

1 John 2:1 ESV

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

If we look at the word Advocate, which is Greek word I will butcher (you can find this info in the handout), we see it referring to someone as supportive in the legal sense. The Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament defines this word as, “one who speaks in favour of another, an intercessor, helper.” This is a strictly Johannine term, and is used four times in the Gospel of John to describe the Holy Spirit. Here, John uses it to show us that Jesus is our Advocate, working on our behalf, imputing upon us His righteousness.

This is our first section, realizing who our advocate is (Jesus), and understanding what that means for our lives.

Obeying our Advocate

So as we look at vv. 3-6, we carry this idea of our advocate over and see what John expects us to do with that reality. John now combats another false teaching. Some were acting like they believed, like they were of Christ, but their life did not show the fruit.

Our textbook notes the following: “They made wonderful claims—such as “I know God,” “I abide in him,” and “I am in the light”—probably all drawn from John’s Gospel (see notes on 2:4, 6, 9), but their rejection of John and the other believers showed that they were lying… However, all such claims are tested by adherence to one commandment, also put forth by Jesus and recorded by John in his Gospel: ‘I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.’” it reminds me of James, where James says:

James 2:14–17 ESV

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

I think John and James are getting at the same thing: Our faith should change how we live. John even says this in verse 6:

1 John 2:6 ESV

whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

When we walk the way Jesus walked, loving others, sharing the good news, and living a transformed life, we are proving that we truly abide in Christ. When we stir up devision, when we are hardhearted and do not express love, and when we say we know Christ and yet do not so as he commands, we are proving ourselves to be outside of Christ.

Application

So where does that leave us?

Quick recap:

In Christ, we should flee sin

We sin because we are human

We have an advocate

This is not a license to sin, but a comfort and assurance for us.

If we claim to be “in Christ” we need to act that way.

The greatest commandment is to love God, and love others.

James and John both say the same thing: demonstrate your faith by living a transformed life: live as Christ lived.

Christ sacrificed for the church

Christ showed love to the hopeless and the lost

Christ was committed to the will of the Father.

This is how we apply this devotion: We need to live in step with Christ. He is our advocate, or Lord, and our Saviour. We need to live as He lived. We need to flee sin, and run to the Father. Yet we know too - as I’m sure we are all keenly aware - that we sin. We are human. When we sin, we should realize that Christ, our Advocate, has given us His righteousness. So we can come before God and ask forgiveness, ask for the Spirit to help us overcome sin, and then walk in freedom because of Christ.

Let’s pray.