1 John 2:1, 2 says...
Today's verses are 1 John 2:1, 2 which read,
v.1 - My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;...
John gives us some interesting terms and phrases here.
"My little children,..." - It is a phrase that starts with value to the receiver of this title that merits a guardian or avenger who will render help to this offspring that is very young. It is a phrase of reality but also endearment used between a teacher to his students. I can't help but think of the Kong Foo show and the teacher speaking to the student as "little grasshopper."
"...Advocate..." - someone called to one's side, to one's aide
"...the righteous;..." - to be righteous is to observe divine laws but Jesus is given the title here so He personifies the divine law and He fulfills it.
John just got done saying that we are to confess sin but he wants us to know that we are not powerless in the face of temptation. Our goal and our transformation to be Christ-like would be to not sin as a way of life. Sin would be the exception rather than the rule of your life.
There is only One without sin and that is Jesus so we need to know what to do when we do sin so that it doesn't cripple us or send us down a path away from God rather than to Him. If we sin, know that you have an Advocate, a defense attorney, before the Father who stands before Him and also the prosecuting attorney (Satan) that this little one of great value needing assistance is mine.
v.2 - ...and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
"...propitiation..." - an appeasing. Jesus, Himself is the appeasement before the Father for our sins and He did this for mankind. Across all of the world, Jesus paid the price for His little children who have and will come to Him by faith given by Him of who He is.
When we sin we are to confess and we confess because we have Jesus who continues to stand before the Father and alongside of us claiming our relationship with Him and that the price has been paid for us. How could I ever take advantage of that or abuse that type of sacrifice and continual service of love to me?
But we do at times. We rationalize our sin; we excuse our sin; we make light of our sin; we redefine our sin; we sweep our sin under the rug; and we allow our sin to live and effect our witness of Jesus, the One who died on the cross with victory over sin. We need to be reminded that those "solutions" are not the "solution" for the geniune Christian.
A genuine Christian lives a holy life focused on following Christ and when he does sin, he confesses it to the One who continues to stand alongside of him before the Father and in the midst of the fiery and seductive statements from Satan.
"Lord, I pray to be quicker to confess sin because You are still standing there in my place but I also pray to keep my eyes on You as how I am to live in the moment, so to not sin, as I think of You and apply You to the temptation that might be before me. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.1 - My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;...
John gives us some interesting terms and phrases here.
"My little children,..." - It is a phrase that starts with value to the receiver of this title that merits a guardian or avenger who will render help to this offspring that is very young. It is a phrase of reality but also endearment used between a teacher to his students. I can't help but think of the Kong Foo show and the teacher speaking to the student as "little grasshopper."
"...Advocate..." - someone called to one's side, to one's aide
"...the righteous;..." - to be righteous is to observe divine laws but Jesus is given the title here so He personifies the divine law and He fulfills it.
John just got done saying that we are to confess sin but he wants us to know that we are not powerless in the face of temptation. Our goal and our transformation to be Christ-like would be to not sin as a way of life. Sin would be the exception rather than the rule of your life.
There is only One without sin and that is Jesus so we need to know what to do when we do sin so that it doesn't cripple us or send us down a path away from God rather than to Him. If we sin, know that you have an Advocate, a defense attorney, before the Father who stands before Him and also the prosecuting attorney (Satan) that this little one of great value needing assistance is mine.
v.2 - ...and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
"...propitiation..." - an appeasing. Jesus, Himself is the appeasement before the Father for our sins and He did this for mankind. Across all of the world, Jesus paid the price for His little children who have and will come to Him by faith given by Him of who He is.
When we sin we are to confess and we confess because we have Jesus who continues to stand before the Father and alongside of us claiming our relationship with Him and that the price has been paid for us. How could I ever take advantage of that or abuse that type of sacrifice and continual service of love to me?
But we do at times. We rationalize our sin; we excuse our sin; we make light of our sin; we redefine our sin; we sweep our sin under the rug; and we allow our sin to live and effect our witness of Jesus, the One who died on the cross with victory over sin. We need to be reminded that those "solutions" are not the "solution" for the geniune Christian.
A genuine Christian lives a holy life focused on following Christ and when he does sin, he confesses it to the One who continues to stand alongside of him before the Father and in the midst of the fiery and seductive statements from Satan.
"Lord, I pray to be quicker to confess sin because You are still standing there in my place but I also pray to keep my eyes on You as how I am to live in the moment, so to not sin, as I think of You and apply You to the temptation that might be before me. Amen."
Pastor Adam
Comments
Post a Comment