John is writing his letter so that his readers can know that they have eternal life (cf. 1 John 5:13). John is also writing so that his readers would experience complete joy as they have fellowship with God and the apostles (cf. 1 John 1:4). The name of this short series is Complete Joy: Live In Light. In our last lesson we noted that God is light and we must walk in the light to have fellowship with God. God cannot live with darkness or in darkness. Walking in the light means that the rule of our life is to follow God’s desires and not our own desires. Walking in the light also means that we are sin confessors, not sin hiders. But in our last lesson I raised an important question because it is the problem of human history. Since God is light and in him there is no darkness at all, how are we going to be able to be in fellowship with God? How can God have a relationship with us considering the problem of sin? John even declared that if we say that we have not sinned, we are making God a liar, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us (cf. 1 John 1:8, 10). So how can we know that have eternal life and can experience complete joy when sin is our greatest problem? Open your copies of God’s word to chapter 2 of 1 John and we are going to see what God has done for us to make this relationship with him possible.
The Goal: Do Not Sin (1 John 2:1)
John comes back to his purpose as we beginning in chapter 2. John is writing to us about walking in the light because God is light so that he will add an intensity to our faith. “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” I hope we hear the intensity in this. The goal is to not sin. Do not be complacent about sin. The people of God know that this is the goal. We want a relationship with God. Since God is light, we want to walk in the light. This is the way we should approach our worship and service to God. We are not approaching God trying to avoid sin merely because God said to not do something or to do something. Rather, we are trying to avoid sin because we want relationship with God. We are trying to stop sinning because we love God. We try to avoid doing things that are harmful to the relationship of someone that we love. Since we love God, we do not want to do things that will harm and fracture our relationship with him. So John writes to us so that we will not make excuses for our sins, tolerate our sins, or become comfortable with our sins. This is written to us with an important goal. The goal is that we would not sin. Walking in the light means that we take our sins seriously.
Would you set this as one of your important life targets? The target is to stop sinning. The target is to avoid sin. The target is to not fall into temptation. Jesus taught us about how we need to be serious about our sins. Listen to the dramatic imagery Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount.
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:29 ESV)
The apostle Paul asked the question like this: “How can we who have died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2) The apostle Paul would then say, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). The apostle Peter proclaims that Jesus died so that we would die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). So we need to put the goal of the Christian life firmly into our minds. John is writing so that we would not sin. How does this give us hope and confidence for eternal life? Doesn’t teaching that we need to stop sinning discourage us? Not at all. Listen to what John says next.
Do Not Despair (1 John 2:1)
John tells us that when we sin, we do not need to despair. As we strive to live for God and not to sin, we are going to fail. But when this happens, John wants us to know that this is not the end of our relationship with God. Our hope is not lost when sin occurs. Why not? How can there still be a relationship with God since he is light and in him is no darkness at all? Look at verse 1.
John tells us that we have an advocate with the Father. This Greek word refers to “one called or sent for to assist another or to plead the cause of another” (Mounce Greek Dictionary). It is the same Greek word that Jesus used to refer to the Holy Spirit that he would send (cf. John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7). In that context, most translations use the word “helper” for this Greek word. Some translations read “counselor.” But I would like for you to carefully consider how Jesus said this in John 14:16.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever….” (John 14:15-16 ESV)
What I am wanting you to notice is that Jesus does not describe the Holy Spirit as the only Helper, Comforter, or Advocate. Rather, Jesus says that he will ask the Father to give you another Helper. Jesus is putting himself forward as your helper, your comforter, and your advocate. The Holy Spirit would be sent as another one. But John wants us to know that if we sin, we have an advocate. We have someone to help us. John says in 1 John 2:1 that our advocate with the Father is Jesus Christ the righteous. When you sin, you have someone helping you.
Now I want us to think about the imagery John is painting for us. The goal is to not sin. But when we sin, we do not need to despair because we have someone who is pleading our cause. We have been appointed a defense attorney for our case. We have not been righteous but we have the Righteous One pleading our cause. Think about how the New Testament tries to give us this imagery so that we have hope.
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34 ESV)
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25 ESV)
Our Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous, is at the right hand of God interceding for us. I love this image. One reason I love this image is because it shows that we are not alone. When our hearts are softened to our sins, then we can become very discouraged when we fail. We can feel like we need to give up because we have failed in our fight against sin. But that is not what God wants for us. God wants us to see that we have an advocate. God wants us to see that we have the helper we need. We have Jesus who is at God’s right hand, interceding for us. He is able to completely save those who draw near because he always lives to make intercession. Now I also want to make sure we have a right view of our Father. Who gave us this advocate? Who gave us the helper that we need? God did. Do not picture God wanting to destroy us in his wrath but Jesus came to our rescue. Rather, God wants to save us from our sins and gave us Jesus for our rescue. God appointed to us the perfect defense attorney to advocate for us. How is Jesus your perfect advocate? Look at verse 2.
Our Advocate (1 John 2:2)
Jesus is the atoning sacrifice or propitiation for our sins. This is what I want you to hear: Jesus is the place of atonement. The sacrifice of atonement has a rich history in the life of Israel. When you read the first few chapters of Leviticus you will read about a prescription of sacrifices which would make atonement for the people so that their sins were forgiven (cf. Leviticus 1:4; 4:20; 4:26; 4:31; 4:35; 5:6-18). The book of Leviticus is filled with teachings about how atonement could be made for the people. But I would like to draw your attention to Leviticus 16. In Leviticus 16:2 God instructs Moses to tell Aaron the high priest that he cannot come at any time into the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle, called either the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. There was only one day a year when Aaron could enter and that day would be called the Day of Atonement. But I want us to focus on the description in Leviticus 16:2. God says that inside the veil of the Holy of Holies was the mercy seat that is on the ark of covenant. Now do not think that there was a chair affixed to the top of the ark of the covenant. What God is describing is the lid of the ark of the covenant between the gold cherubim. The place of mercy was seated on the ark of the covenant. Some translations read that it is the atonement cover or atonement lid. The end of verse 2 says that this is where the Lord will appear in the cloud. This is the place to meet God for mercy and atonement for sins.
Now what is God trying to show with atonement? Look at Leviticus 16:7. Aaron was to take two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance of the tabernacle. One goat would be selected as dedicated to the Lord and the other goat as a scapegoat or Azazel. We will see what this means in a moment. The goat dedicated to the Lord was sacrificed as a sin offering (Leviticus 16:9). The blood of the sin offering was taken into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled over and in front of the mercy seat/atonement covering (Leviticus 16:15). We are being taught that blood is needed for atonement. We are being shown that a sacrifice is necessary for mercy due to our uncleanness. But then there is another picture. There is the second goat. Then Aaron was to lay his hands on the live goat and confess all the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:21). Imagine the amount of confession happening as sins are confessed for the people as Aaron has his hands on the animal. But look at what happens next in verses 21-22. After confessing the sins of the people, the goat is sent away into the wilderness. In verse 30 we read that this was the day that atonement was made for the people to cleanse them. “You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30). What a picture God drew for his people! One animal is killed so that its blood can come into the presence of God with its blood sprinkled on the atonement lid/mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. Then the sins of the people are confessed over the head of the other animal and it is sent away into the wilderness. The atoning sacrifice has carried your sins far away from you so that you can be clean before the Lord.
So where is our mercy seat? Where is our atonement lid? Where is this picture for us? John tells us that the place is Jesus. Come back to 1 John 2:2. “He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Jesus is the place where all that imagery comes together. The book of Hebrews will make the point that all these sacrifices were to show our need for Jesus and how Jesus would be the fulfillment of those atonement pictures. The people watched their sins be taken from them because of the atoning sacrifice made of behalf of the people. Jesus is all of this for us. Listen to how the apostle Peter says this:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:24-25 ESV)
He carried away our sins through his sacrifice on the cross so that we would die to sin and live for God. Friends, atonement has been made and your sins have been carried away. You have an Advocate with the Father when we sin. His sacrifice was what we needed to keep us in relationship with the Father. But let me conclude with how John finishes this amazing proclamation. Come back again to 1 John 2:2. Jesus is himself the atoning sacrifice for our sins, but not only ours, but for the sins of the whole world. Tell the world because Jesus did for their sins too. God will forgive all who will come to him. The place of mercy is available in Jesus. Live to stop sinning. But when we sin know that we have the Advocate who has made atonement for us and for the whole world. How could we not increase our efforts to stop sinning when we see the sacrifice God made for us through his Son?