17. 1 Jn 2_1 Our Advocate Pt 2

Christ our Advocate

This morning we will look more deeply into the verse 1 of chapter 2. John speaks simply but this letter holds deep spiritual truths. For the sake of context, we will read from:

1Jn 1:5-2:6  This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  (6)  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  (7)  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  (8)  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  (9)  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (10)  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 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. (2) He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (3) And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. (4) Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, (5) but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: (6) whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Last month’s sermon served as a sort of introduction to this text. We saw the fatherly/pastoral care of the apostle John to the believers in the churches the letter was read. It is also a reminder that every Word is God breathed and therefore it is not only John’s heart but our God’s heart towards us. We saw his care, his concern, and his comfort. His care in the term of endearment ‘my little children’, his concern ‘I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin’, his comfort ‘if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father…’. This morning we will look at this text again. The verse is not only an expression of His care, concern, and comfort but also an explanation of our very present spiritual reality.

There are Four Pts this morning: 1) General Observations Concerning the Text. From the general observations will come the remainder of our points which are: 2) Our Relation to the Judge. 3) Our Responsibility to the Judge. 4) Our Advocate before the Judge. We will only get to the first three points this morning.

1. General Observations

The phrase My little children’ point to a parent/child relationship with God the Father.

Children of God may or may not sin. If it were only one or the other it would be written differently. Either it would say we will not sin, as tin there is no possibility of committing sin or it would read as if for the child of God there was only ever the committing of sin. But this would contradict Scripture. 1Co 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

-If the children of God do sin, they have an Advocate with the Father.

-The need for an Advocate presupposes a judge and judgement.

-Judgement indicates that a law or laws have been broken.

-The committing of sin is named for the need of an Advocate therefore sin is breaking the Law of God. What is sin?

Let us define sin.

1Jn 3:4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

The Catechism defines it this way: Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.

-Those Laws that have been broken require justice. The debt must be paid.

-It is the Father the sits upon the judgement seat.

-The children of God are not exempt from judgement and must stand before God.

-The Christian cannot stand before the judgement seat without an Advocate.

-The Advocate must be qualified to act as such.

-The Advocate is for the children of God only.

-It stands to reason that those for whom the Advocate works must be qualified to be called children of God.

2. Our Relation to the Judge

My Little Children - Every expression of love or term of endearment spoken or written by an Apostle is from our Father. We looked at the possessive pronoun ‘my’ last month in that it sets us apart as uniquely His. It is a term of exclusivity. But this isn’t just a term of endearment. We are indeed His by right of His causing us to be born again. This is what qualifies us to be called children of God.

1Jn 2:29  If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

1Jn 3:1-2  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  (2)  Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

How is this so? From the context of this letter God is the cause and the means is through faith. It is because we confess that Jesus is God’s Son.

1Jn 4:15  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

Believing the testimony of the Apostles concerning Christ, that He was made manifest and in Him is eternal life. John says in verse 2 and 4:10 that He is the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means that Jesus quenched God’s wrath against us. This is another indicator of the expectation of judgement. It also defines what the penalty is for breaking God’s law. It is because we are His children by faith in Christ Jesus that we with whole heart affirm that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. That we walk in the light as He is in the light. We affirm and confess our condition and action of sin before Him. What a glorious state to be found in as children of God. The Eternal Word which was in the beginning with God and is God dwells and abides in us. The assurance of cleansing of sin by His blood, the forgiveness of our sin and cleansing of all unrighteousness. This is our reality, brothers, and sisters. If you are in Christ Jesus, you are God’s children. A new relation to God based on faith, not on the dead works of the flesh. For by the works of the law no flesh will be justified. There is a temptation at times to wonder if there isn’t something more we must do to be a child of God. But the Scripture is crystal clear to the exclusivity of the one requirement: believe in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins. And the fruit of that salvation by grace through faith is love to God. And the primary means of showing our station as children of God and our love to God is keeping His commandments.

1Jn 2:3  And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

Joh 14:21  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

Little Children is a term that John uses often in this letter. It literally means ‘born ones’. This takes on a special significance when we realize how often the term ‘born’ is used in the letter. 9x in 6 verses. And it is always in reference to being ‘born of God’. To be ‘born’ is a passive action. We do not give birth to ourselves our mothers give birth to us. Every instance the phrase is used points the fact that it is God that gives birth to us. 1 Jhn 2:29; 3:9: 4:7; 5:1; 5:4; 5:19. This should encourage you. If you are born of God then you are assured of your position as His little child. Acts of obedience do not make you more His child any more than acts of disobedience make you less His child. The trajectory of the life of the child of God is one of obedience rather than disobedience. It is not to use the grace of God that has been bestowed upon us as license to sin. It is the same argument that Paul heard to which he positively crushed that says let us go on sinning that grace may abound. May it never be! I heard someone say that almost word for word. Let us not be tempted that because we have been cleansed and forgiven of our sin that we should use it to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Let us consider briefly what are the duties of a Father to His children. He makes provision for their every need. The issue of every child of God is sin. When we were in sin we were perpetually walking in darkness. We did not practice the truth, Sin kept us self-deceived; thinking we were right before God, when the exact opposite was true. In that condition we denied the righteousness of God in the Law. We accused Him of being a liar by denying what He called sin as sin. But God caused us to be born again to a living hope by providing for us His Spirit.

1Jn 4:13  By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

It is by His Spirit and the Word that we are convicted of our sin. It is by His Spirit that we are renewed and regenerated. It is He who gives us the breath of new life in Christ by the application of what God has provided in cleansing us from the legal guilt and stain of sin.

1 Jn 1:7 the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sin. Verse 9 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Our Father has provided for us His commands that we would live rightly before Him. And He is given us a new nature to obey. Paul said in Rom 8:7-9  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.  (8)  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  (9)  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Brother Zach preached on Ps 19 several weeks ago in which brought our the Christians relationship to the Law of God. It is a joy, it is riches without measure. This is in contrast to those walking in the flesh that Paul writes about in Romans 8:7 isn’t it.

Psa 19:7-13 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; (8) the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; (9) the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. (10) More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (11) Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. (12) Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. (13) Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

This is a perfect expression of the believer’s view of Scripture.

3. Our Responsibility to the Judge- Obey the Law

I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. This stands as a warning. It tells us that a wrong attitude toward sin should not be entertained, permitted, or made provision for. Our Father is holy, and we are to be holy like Him. We have been born of Him and now inclined to obedience. We want to be pleasing to the Lord in every respect. We also have the Word of God that instructs how to do the very thing that we want.

John also tells us we have a new relationship to sin. It has been radically changed and we see that in the small word ‘may’. I write these things to you so that you may not sin. This is not contradicting his previous statements about our condition or action of sin. We wholeheartedly affirm that we have sin and we have sinned. Where before we were children of God we walked in darkness, and the truth was not in us, we opposed the truth and in doing so called God a liar. This was in accordance with our old nature. Having no will to obey or even the ability to keep His law

Rom 8:7  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.

But just as we have a change in relation to God now as His children. We have been reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus Christ and as a result we have also been reconciled to the Law. We are reconciled to it in two ways. First in it’s requirement that the debt of sin be paid. Christ has paid our debt to the Law by being the propitiation for our sins. Secondly, we are reconciled to the law in we affirm it is holy and good. This implies a changed nature.

Therefore the Law of God has an important place. The law reveals sin and it is also a tutor to lead us to Christ.

Going back to the issue of our nature. The old nature would not and could not obey the law as we saw in Romans 8:7. Our new nature as children of God shows that we are inclined to obedience to the law, to His commands, which are the same. The commands given in the NT are an exposition of the practical outworking of the moral law, the 10 commandments. The evidence of our new nature?

1Jn 2:3  And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

Once slaves to sin we have been set free. With a whole heart we concur that the Law of God is good and it is our desire to keep it and to obey it. In order to keep it and obey it we must know it. We must understand the role of the law in the NT believers life. Does it justify us before God? Not in any way, shape or form. What it does do is teach us how to love God and how to love one another. We know what Jesus said about the two greatest commands. We also know He said that those two commandments summed up the law and prophets. I mentioned earlier the NT commands are simply and exposition of the moral law. So we must ask ourselves.

How good of a student are we? How well do we put them into practice in our day to day lives. We live under a false notion that obeying the Law of God is some how being legalistic. It is not. It is simply obeying what God has commanded.

Are we keeping the law as husbands and wives? Are we keeping the law as parents? Are we keeping the law as children? Are we keeping the law of God as siblings to one another? Are we keeping the law in our places of employment? Are we keeping the Law in our church?

How are we in our every day speech? Are we guilty of using profanity, lewdness of speech, or irreverence toward the things of God?