The Proclaimer

Our Advocate with the Father

“My little children, these things I write to you that you not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

The above passage is one of the most thrilling passages in all Scripture and is worthy of our consideration.  John begins by referring to that which he wrote in the previous chapter concerning “walking in the light.”  His message is an attempt to impress upon these Christians the importance of striving to please God in every way, and, therefore, was written that “you not sin.”  Certainly this speaks to the power of God’s written word in our lives.  And yet, John acknowledges the possibility, perhaps the probability (see 1:8), that sin will again be committed.  It is to this circumstance that John speaks.

He’s already made it plain that when sin occurs in the life of the Christian he should not think the situation hopeless.  For, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1:9).  The confession in this verse is a humble acknowledgment of wrong-doing, and involves a penitent heart and attitude.  But to whom are we to confess our sins? 

The New Testament knows of only two types of confession.  The first is confession to God.  All sin is committed against God (see Luke 15:18-21), and must, therefore, be confessed before Him.  The second is acknowledging our sin before others involved (see James 5:16).  The New Testament knows nothing of confessing our sin to a priest on the pretext of finding absolution from him.  To the contrary, Christ is our High Priest, our only Mediator, our Advocate with the Father. “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (2:1). 

The word translated “Advocate” (parakletos) means literally, “to call to one’s side.”  It is used to refer to Christ as we call on Him for help in our time of need.  But just how does Christ help us?  Some have the idea that as our Advocate, Christ is going to plead our case before the Father so that somehow He will not hold us accountable for the sin we’ve committed.  But John identifies the nature of Christ’s advocacy stating, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (2:2).

The word “propitiation” means “appeasement” and was used in the secular Greek to refer to the price paid to satisfy the wrath of another.  It is by the Lord’s atoning death that we are delivered from the wrath of God (see Rom. 2:5, 8; 5:9; etc).  We have been redeemed not “with corruptible things, like silver or gold . . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18, 19).  In this way Christ is our Advocate as we are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in His blood” (Rom. 3:24, 25).

Finally, the potential for His advocacy is universal in its scope.  Since “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23), Christ came to this earth, “that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).  And so, “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

                                                                                                 -- Clark Dugger

The Proclaimer