Chapter 2. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Transcription

1 Chapter 2 In the opening chapter of this epistle, John has emphasized the centrality of Yeshua as Immanuel, God with us in the flesh. John declares himself and the other Apostles to be eyewitnesses and close companions of Yeshua, and thus living witnesses not only of His life, teaching, and miraculous works, but also of His death, resurrection, and ascension. Therefore, in the opening chapter John has set forth the overarching purpose of Yeshua s incarnation, namely, that sinners who are estranged from God on account of their sin, would be brought into close and lasting fellowship with the Father. And this close and lasting fellowship with the Father brings true joy, both in this life and forever, in the world to come. what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Yeshua Messiah. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. (1Jn 1:3 4) Yet in the opening chapter John likewise speaks to the issue of sin in the lives of those who walk in the light, that is, who are truly born again by the Ruach, having exercised true saving faith in Yeshua. He makes it clear that being saved by faith in Yeshua does not mean that the believer no longer sins. Rather, one of the genuine marks of true salvation is that when a believer sins, he or she repents of the sin, confessing and agreeing with God regarding the sin, and seeks His forgiveness. The wonderful reality is that the repentant believer may be confident that God s forgiveness has already been given because He is faithful and righteous, meaning He always acts righteously and in accordance with His promises. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:9) Likewise, in the previous chapter John has made it clear that it is the payment Yeshua made by giving His own life on behalf of the sinner that is the means for the Father to be the righteous One Who also forgives sin. but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Yeshua His Son keeps on cleansing us from all sin. (1Jn 1:7) Now John continues in his words of encouragement to those who have confessed Yeshua to be their Lord and Savior, by reminding them (and us) that Yeshua s saving work on our behalf did not cease when He ascended to the Father. Rather, in ascending to the Father He continues to intercede on behalf of all who are His those who have been brought into the very family of God by His grace through faith in Yeshua. 37

2 38 [2:1] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two 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, Yeshua Messiah the righteous; John begins this section by addressing the recipients of this epistle as My little children (Τεκνία μου, teknia mou). He will refer to them as little children six more times in this epistle (2:12, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21). 1 Referring to the community of believers to which he is writing as little children is not pejorative, as though he is labeling them as immature or infants in their faith. Rather, it is first a term of endearment, as a father writing to his own children. This is confirmed by the fact that he also addresses them as beloved ones (ἀγαπητοί, agapētoi, cf. 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11). And second, it indicates that John sees himself as their spiritual father in terms of his having been instrumental in their spiritual life and growth. Moreover, if we accept the long-standing tradition that John was advanced in age 2 when he wrote this epistle, it would be understandable why he would refer to himself, being one of the Apostles, in terms of a father to those to whom he was writing. He therefore, in loving terms, asserts his position of authority as one of Yeshua s disciples and close companions as one of the Twelve. But perhaps one of the most important things to see in John s addressing his readers as little children is that he intends them to receive his instructions as a source of encouragement, even as a father lovingly instructs and encourages his own children. Therefore, he writes in the singular: I am writing, in contrast to the plural used throughout the previous chapter: we have heard we have seen we have looked these things we write, (etc.). In the opening chapter of this epistle John is writing as spokesman for his fellow Apostles among the Twelve. Here, however, he uses the first person, I am writing, which denotes a personal, one-to-one connection with those to whom the epistle is sent. And even though we, who live thousands of years after the time John wrote this epistle, through the work of the Ruach Who inspired his words, we may likewise take encouragement from these words, for we too are children within God s family and thus the inspired words of this epistle are equally directed to us through God s divine and gracious providence. I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Having clearly delineated that which characterizes the believer from the unbeliever in the previous chapter, by characterizing the one as walking in the light and the other as walking in the darkness, John is highlighting one of the primary characteristics of true saving faith as over against those who are lost in their sin. The primary point is what John means by walking, which is the general character of one s life. The life of the believer is characterized by a growing awareness of what God defines as sin or transgression, and a growing desire to put sin out of one s life to walk in the light even as He is in the light to follow in the ways of Yeshua. 1 In 2:13, 18, John also refers to his readers as children (παιδία, paidia), a term which can be used of infants, or of children who are at the age to be educated. But this Greek term could also be used as a term of endearment, and it may well be that this is John s intention in these verses. 2 Note that in 2John 1:1 and 3Jn 1:1, John refers to himself as the elder (ὁ πρεσβύτερος, ho presbuteros).

3 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two [2:1] 39 So when John says that his reason for writing this epistle was so that you may not sin, he is not teaching us that there comes a time in the life of every believer in which he or she no longer sins. This would contradict what he wrote in 1:7. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1Jn 1:7) Rather, John s purpose in writing this epistle is that those who hear and heed his instructions would be strengthened in their walk of faith, grow in their understanding and appreciation of God s truth, and thereby, through the empowering work of the indwelling Ruach, grow in sanctification, that is, to be more and more separated from that which God hates and separated unto that which God loves. In this very chapter John will characterize that which is contrary to the righteousness of God as the world, for the world does not know God (3:1) but is characterized by the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life (2:16). 1 Thus, when John tells us that his purpose in writing this epistle is that we may not sin, his meaning is that we might grow in holiness and that therefore sin would not characterize our lives. For as we walk in the light, that is, in what we know and confess to be true about God and about our being members of His family through faith in Yeshua, our lives become more and more conformed to His righteousness. We see, then, that not sinning is summed up in honoring God by avoiding that which is contrary to Him. Not sinning is the negative of which becoming more and more like Yeshua is the positive. As Yarbourgh writes: for sin is not merely a superficial violation of a set of rules, whether folk-traditional, biblical, ecclesiastical, or otherwise. It is not failure to live up to the arbitrary expectations of a crotchety old apostle. Rather, it is deficiency in any of numerous and possibly complex senses that can be overcome only through robust response to the God of light (1:5), who has sent his Son. The antithesis of sin is not simply the absence of unacceptable behavior or conviction at discrete forbidden points but the knowledge of God in a fullness that betokens the active presence of his saving grace. 2 And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Yeshua Messiah the righteous; Yes, the constant purpose and driving desire of the growing believer in Yeshua is that one s life be devoid of sin. The reality, however, is that the remaining sin nature is that which brings conflict and that against which the believer is assured victory, but which nonetheless presents a constant battle. As Paul writes: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you 1 John uses the word world (κόσμος, kosmos) 22 times in 1John, the majority of which are used to denote that which is contrary to God s righteousness. Cf. 2:2, 15 17; 3:1, 13; 4:1, 3 5, 9, 14, 17; 5:4 5, Yarbourgh, 1John, p. 75.

4 40 [2:1] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two may not do the things that you please. (Gal 5:16 17) Thus, having stated that his purpose for writing this epistle was so that you may not sin, John immediately writes And if anyone sins, making it clear that even though the believer in Yeshua has been fully accepted before the Father, there remains the sinful flesh which must be put to death as part of the ongoing growth in sanctification. Yet the emphasis which John has in this phrase is one of encouragement. For even though the life of the believer in Yeshua is not characterized by sin, when he or she in weakness succumbs to sin, this does not result in being cut off from God or banished from God s family. The encouragement comes, not as a way of diminishing the gravity of sin, or somehow giving the idea that because of Yeshua s death for sinners, one s sin no longer matters. Rather, the encouragement and comfort results from knowing that there is a remedy for those who sin and confess their sin, and this remedy is vested in the fact that (as the NIV translates) we have One Who speaks to the Father on our behalf, and that One is Yeshua Himself. we have an advocate The Greek word translated here by the English advocate is παράκλητος (paraklētos), which has been Anglicized in the word Paraclete. Besides being used in our current text, the word is used elsewhere four times and only by John in his Gospel. In all four of these the word relates to the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), translated in the NASB by the word Helper. 1 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; (John 14:6) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:26) When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, (John 15:26) But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. (John 16:7) The use of the Greek term paraklētos in the general Greek and Hellenistic society (outside of the Johannine usage) yields the clear picture of a legal adviser or helper or advocate in the relevant court (of law). 2 It is debated, however, whether the word carries that meaning in the five times John uses it. Some contend that in the Apostolic Scriptures, the word loses its legal connection, i.e., describing one who has legal position to represent a plaintiff in a given court of law, and takes on a broader meaning of helper or advocate. But given the fact that God reveals His plan of redemption through the sacrificial system mediated by His appointed priests, which consistently pointed to the true and complete redemption secured through the salvific work of Yeshua on behalf of His people, it seems that the word paraklētos, as 1 Other translations have: NET - Advocate ; ESV helper ; NIV & HCSB - Counselor. 2 Behm, παράκλητος in TDNT, 5.800ff.

5 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two [2:1] 41 John uses it, still retains some idea of a person who represents someone before a judge or court. Obvious in John s use is that Yeshua represents the believer before the Father, pleading the merits of His own death as the means by which the sin of the believer is forgiven. God, who is the plaintiff, appoints the Son to be the intercessor for and the helper of the defendant. 1 Paul speaks of this when he emphasizes Yeshua at the right hand of God: Who is the one who condemns? Messiah Yeshua is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. (Rom 8:34) And the author of Hebrews likewise teaches us that Yeshua, being our heavenly High Priest, is always ready to intercede, that is, to advocate on our behalf. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb 7:25) For Messiah did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; (Heb 9:24) with the Father, Yeshua Messiah the righteous. Using the same words as he did in the opening of his Gospel, John states that Yeshua is the advocate, the representative, for the believer with the Father. Both in our text as well as in John 1:1, the word translated with is actually in the Greek the preposition to. The Word was to God (ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν), and we have an advocate to the Father (παράκλητον ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα). The preposition to (πρός, pros) may well convey the sense of face to face, i.e., being equal in divine attributes. This may well be the point John is making by adding the righteous (Ιησοῦν Χριστὸν δίκαιον). John refers to Yeshua with the doublet Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) six times in our epistle (1:3; 2:1; 3:23; 4:2; 5:6, 20). Twice he writes Yeshua is the Messiah (2:22; 5:1) and eleven times refers to Yeshua as God s Son (3:8; 4:9, 15; 5:5, 9 10, 12 13, 20). In regularly using both Yeshua and Messiah as well as emphasizing Yeshua to be the Son of God, John is affirming the humanity of Yeshua, His Messianic office, as well as His deity. Here, the addition of the word righteous (δίκαιος, dikaios) marks Yeshua as our true advocate to the Father, Who pleads His own completed work as full payment for the sins of His people. In the picture of a righteous Advocate standing before the Father on our behalf, the case is not that of love pleading with justice. Rather, the opposite: Justice pleads with love for our release! 2 Indeed, God s grace, which flows from His love, is matched by Yeshua s righteousness and the payment He procured through His death, and therefore we are saved from the wrath of God against sinners which His holiness demands. 1 Kistemaker, 1John, p J. R. W. Stott, The Epistles of John (Eerdmans, 1964), p. 81. [Hereafter, Stott, 1John]

6 42 [2:2] The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. Having described Messiah Yeshua as our righteous advocate, John now adds that He is the propitiation for our sins. The fact that He is infinite in His righteousness qualifies Him for this position before the Father. The NASB quoted above is correct in emphasizing that Yeshua and Yeshua alone is both qualified and ready to be the propitiation for our sins, for the Greek adds the pronoun to the verb: καὶ αὐτὸς ἱλασμός ἐστιν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν. The key word in this verse is the word propitiation, which translates the Greek word ἱλασμός (hilosmos), found only here and in 4:10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (ἱλασμός) for our sins. (1Jn 4:10) Cognate to hilosmos is ἱλαστήριον (hilostērion), the word used by Paul in Rom 3:25 and also used by the author of Hebrews in Heb 9:5, and describes the place where propitiation takes place. [Messiah Yeshua] whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation (ἱλαστήριον) in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; (Rom 3:25) and above it [the ark of the covenant] were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat (τὸ ἱλαστήριον); but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (Heb 9:5) In fact, this word hilostērion, which speaks of the place where propitiation is made, is used 27 times in the Lxx, 21 of which are used to translate the Hebrew כ פ וֹ ר ת (kipporet), which denotes the top of the Ark of the Covenant where the blood was applied on Yom Kippur. The verbal form cognate to both hilosmos (the word in 1Jn 2:2) and hilastērion is ἱλάσκομαι (hiloskomai) which means to make propitiation. We find this verb used twice in the Apostolic Scriptures, in Lk 18:13 and Heb 2:17. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner! (Lk 18:13) Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Heb 2:17) In recent times, some have questioned how the word-group describing propitiation is to be understood in the scriptural contexts. Outside of its use in the Bible (Lxx and Apostolic Scriptures), in the Greek literature it was commonly used for the appeasement of an angry deity by offerings. So base and corrupt was this heathen conception that many modern

7 The First Epistle of John: Chapter Two [2:2] 43 scholars have altogether rejected the notion of a Christian propitiation. It is incompatible, they say, with the revelation of God through Jesus Christ. 1 This position of modern scholars is based upon the fact that the verb hilaskomai or hilaskesthai is very rarely used in the Tanach with God as its object 2 and never in the Apostolic Scriptures. They propose that it is not God Who is the object of the propitiation but man s sin and defilement, which is neutralized or sterilized in the process of propitiation. It is true that Messiah is stated in our text (1Jn 2:2) to be the propitiation for our sins, and that the Apostles do not speak directly of God Himself being propitiated. But this does not override the fact that throughout the Scriptures, it is clearly taught that God does need to be propitiated because His wrath remains upon all sin and the only way to escape His wrath is that His holiness should be satisfied in order to forgive the sinner. And this is the very essence of the meaning of propitiation. It surely includes the showing of mercy by God upon the forgiven sinner. And it likewise includes the glorious fact that the wrath of God has been appeased and averted so that the sinner is forgiven. But the very heart of this all is the fact that Yeshua paid the price of sin by His death, and it is by the value of His shed blood that the wrath against sin and sinners is averted. This is precisely what John means when he writes that He Himself is our propitiation. The wrath of the Father fell upon Yeshua and thus His holiness was fully satisfied. This is the heart of the Gospel, the good news, that sinners redeemed by the blood of the Lamb may have enduring, eternal fellowship with the three-times holy God. 3 Our Advocate does not plead that we are innocent or adduce extenuating circumstances. He acknowledges our guilt and presents His vicarious work as the ground of our acquittal. He stands in the Court of Heaven as the Lamb slain (Rev 5:6) and the marks of His sore Passion are a mute but eloquent appeal: I suffered all this for sinners, and shall it go for naught? 4 1 Stott, 1John, p Only used this way in Zech 7:2; 8:22; Mal 1:9. 3 For a thorough study of the term propitiation (ἱλάσκομαι word-group) in its biblical context, see Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 3rd Edition (Eerdmans/Tyndale, 1965), pp David Smith, The Epistles of John in The Expositor s Greek Testament (Eerdmans, 1970), [Hereafter, Smith, 1John]