1 John 2:1-11

What is the funniest thing that's ever happen to you?

Who is Jesus to you?

Jesus is shown in scripture to have many different titles and many different roles. In the second chapter of First john we will be talking about a very specific and assuring role of Jesus.

1 John 2:1 ESV

1 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.

John is both a spiritual father figure and an intimate friend to the audience that he is writing to, demonstrated here. We also see one of the major reasons that he is writing this letter. That you may not sin.

However, while saved people are still in the flesh and still in this world. Christians can sin and do sin. However, not ultimately and finally. Occasionally but not habitually. If and when any Christian does sin, We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.

Does anyone know what an advocate is? It is someone who intercedes for someone else. Someone who steps in on someone else’s behalf. Now I want to spend some time on this so that you all can understand how important Christ’s intercessory work is.

Why is it important that Jesus intercedes for us?

Peter vs Judas

I want to show you the impact of Christ’s intercessory work with showing you the stories of Peter and Judas, an illustration I read years ago and found very impactful. Pay attention to what happens.

Luke 22:31–32 ESV

31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Jesus prayed for Peter. He interceded for Peter. He prayed that Peter would stay secure in his faith, though he’d deny Jesus. Peter told him that he is ready to die for Jesus. But Jesus knowing what was about to take place said that before the rooster crows Peter will not just deny Jesus 1 time, but 3 times. Lets put a pin in that and see what happens to Judas.

Jesus is sitting around a table with His disciples and says that one of them is going to betray him. and all the disciples are freaking out and wondering who it is.

John 13:26–27 ESV

26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

What you are going to do, do quickly. That is all that Jesus said to Judas, That he later calls the Son of Destruction in chapter 17 in His high priestly prayer. Judas betrayed Jesus and fell away to fulfill the scriptures, Jesus did not pray for Him because the word of God Himself always come to pass. So Judas dies unredeemed, hanging himself guilt ridden in a field having sold out the son of God for 30 pieces of silver. What happened to Peter? The one whom Jesus prayed for? He did deny Jesus 3 times, but His faith did not fail, and he did turn back and strengthen His brothers and became the rock on which Christ built His church, the mouthpiece at Pentecost and leading missionary journeys across the region.

Both Men betrayed Jesus, but Jesus only prayed for one of them. And we see the effect that it had. The hope we take in this is that Judas is the only one who will ever be lost. Jesus is interceding for every believer in the same way He did for Peter. Read John 17 again. That is the only place in scripture that you are prayed for by Jesus himself. Then realize how crucial it is that Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for His people.

And man we have just covered the first verse in 1 john 2. This is going to be a long one.

1 John 2:2 ESV

2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Propitiation means to satisfy the wrath of God. So Jesus has satisfied the wrath of God for our sins. Not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Now this is a very important word to focus on that has been used in many meanings throughout the Bible. It can be used to represent the created physical world, every single person living in the world, all kinds of people, all that which is opposed to God this one is used later in this chapter, and so on. There are many different ways the word world is used in scripture.

The most inconsistent one people like to read this as is that God satisfied the wrath of God for the sins of every single person, man woman and child living in the world. And that would be a great reading if it didn’t contradict so much scripture in doing so. First off, if Jesus death perfectly payed the price for every single person then every single person would go to heaven. Because every sin would be payed for, even the sin of unbelief. We look at passages like:

John 17:9 ESV

9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

When Jesus is about to go to the cross, he is saying he is going for those that the Father has given Him, not everybody.

A couple of these views of world could work here tho, but i’ll suggest reading it as all kinds of people. Jews and Gentiles. Men and women.

Let’s look at another place where this word propitiation is used:

Romans 3:25 ESV

25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

We see here that there is a limit, a particular used here. It is those who receive the propitiation by faith, having been regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God. We will even see particulars used throughout the rest of this chapter.

We continue on.

1 John 2:3–6 ESV

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.

John here is just restating what Jesus tells us, Jesus says that if you love me you will keep my commandments. John is saying that if you have any saving knowledge at all then you will keep His commandments. and if you do not then you are a liar. You don’t have the truth, you have not been illuminated by the Holy Spirit to walk this walk.

But if you do, then the love that only comes from God is perfected, and you can know you are one of His precious elect.

Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.

In other words, if you talk the talk you gotta walk the walk.

I want to give you guys an analogy so that hopefully you will start to get it.

Lets say that a personal baseball trainer has given each of His athletes a playco armboy that enables his athletes to throw a baseball 200mph. If you don’t know what that is, it is a contraption from regular show that gives the wearer super strength and it is usually concealed under a shirt. Everybody else has anchor arms from spongebob. They are all show and no go because there is no real strength boost for spongebob.

Now here’s where it gets good, People with anchor arms claim that they can throw a baseball 200mph. So do the people with the playco armboy’s. But who will actually be able to throw the baseball 200 mph? The people who are actually the coaches athletes.

In the same way, people that claim to be Christians and don’t walk the christian life are not real Christians. They have not been born again. They don’t have the power of the Holy Spirit and intercessory prayer of Christ enabling them to live the Christian life. These people are in need of the true gospel.

1 John 2:7–8 ESV

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

The old commandment is the word that you have heard, this word is the Gospel. The life death and resurrection and the command to repent and believe in this finished and perfect work. At the same time, there is a new commandment, it is new to them in that they have never heard it this way but it is none the less true in Christ and in them, believers. The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. With Christ’s atonement, the power of sin and death is defeated. It is passing away only to be finally abolished when Christ triumphantly returns.

1 John 2:9–11 ESV

9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Whoever says that he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. It does not matter if you say that you are in the light, you are in the darkness. This blinded by your hate and by your sin. You cannot hate a brother or sister in Christ and be a christian. If Christ loved His church and died for her, in spite of our failures and rebellion. You can love your fellow believer in spite of any wrong that they may have done to you. We must love because Christ first loved us.

Let’s finish here.

We are about halfway done with this chapter, we have some buffer room to end here. I want to give you guys time to reflect on this. Lets Pray