Question

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We Have an Advocate: Jesus Christ

1 John 2:1-14

Key Verse: 2:8

1. Read verses 1-2. What is the purpose of John’s writing (1a)? What should we do if we sin (1b)? Why do we need an advocate? How is Jesus qualified as the advocate and for whom (2)?

2. Read v. 3-6. What is the evidence that one truly knows God (3-6)? What is the serious consequence of not obeying God’s word and what blessing does obedience bring?

3. Read v. 7-8. What is the old command and why is it old (7)? What is the new command (Jn 13:34)? In what respect is John writing a new command (8)? What does it mean that the true light is already shining?

4. Read v.9-11. What contrasts those who live in the darkness and those who live in the light? Why is loving brothers and sisters so important?

5. Read v. 12-14. What specific groups of people does John address in verses 12-14? What assurance do his words give them? How does this encourage obedience to God and loving one another?

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Attachment

• 1Jn02-01-14-q.docx

Message

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Love Your Brother

1 John 2:1-14

Key Verse: 2:10 “Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.”

In chapter one John invited us to come to the light and have a fellowship with him. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. So, if anyone says that he is in the light but commits sins, he is a liar and that he is still in the darkness. Sin blocks our access to God who is the light. If we confess our sins, our God is faithful and just and forgive us all our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. In order to open the way for us to come to God, Jesus died for our sins. The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. In chapter 2 John continue to teach us how Jesus purifies us from all our sins and what we must do practically to have a fellowship with God who is the light.

First, Jesus Christ, an advocate and the atoning sacrifice (1-2) Look at verses 1-2. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” John said that he wrote this letter to Christians so that they might not sin. Here sin is not only ethical or moral wrongdoings, but also spiritual default, a broken relationship with God such as unbelief, idolatry, disobedience, and so on. Whatever we do wrong against our conscience is also sin. Christians in John’s day were challenged by Gnosticism who denied the deity and the incarnation of Jesus Christ. If anyone denies Jesus, they are sinning against God.

We are weak in temptation and suffering. We often compromise with our weakness and fall in temptation and sin against God. What should we do then? We don’t worry about that. Verse 1 says if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. God provided for us with an advocate, paracletes in Greek. An advocate is the one who defends us or speaks in our place like an attorney in the court. Jesus defends us and speaks in our place before God.

The night before he was arrested Jesus asked his disciples to keep his commands. Then he promised to send Another Advocate to help them and to be with them forever. (Jn 14:15-16) Here Another Advocate indicates the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit took over Jesus’ place to advocate for us. The Holy Spirit prays for us and speaks for us. Romans 8:26-27 says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercede for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Amen!

How can Jesus become our advocate? Verse 2 says that Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world. Atoning sacrifice means the payment or offering to set us free from the guilt of sin. Jesus paid the price for our sin by his blood on the cross. The death of Jesus on the cross became the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus defended us not with his words, but with his death on the cross. When Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished!”, he meant that he completed the payment for our sins. In this way God opened the way for us to come to Him through Jesus. In this way God loved us so that we may come to him and have fellowship with him. Amen! When we confess our sins, our God is faithful and just and forgive us all our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. We are saved only by God’s grace and by the death of Jesus. We must remember that we are all forgiven sinners before God and that there is no one who claims that they are innocent before God. In verses 3-10 John teaches us what we must do as God’s forgiven sinners.

Second, love your brothers. (3-11) Even though a former president of America said that America is not a Christian country anymore, still more than 60 % of Americans say that they are Christians. In fact, we still live in Christian culture. How can we live a God-pleasing Christian life in America? Look at verses 3-6. “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” In Mattew 7:21 Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Here the will of the Father is to hear his word and obey his commands. When we obey his command, God’s will will be complete. Do you think how many Christians in America obey God’s command and live in the light? James 2:26 says that as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. There are many spiritually dead people who live without the Spirit, even among many Christians.

What is God’s command which we must obey? Look at verses 7-8. “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing, and the true light is already shinning.” God’s command to the Israelites is written in Deuteronomy 6:4-6 which says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Theses commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.” This is the old command of God to his people. We must obey this command as of the first importance. Jesus gave his disciples new command in John 13:34-35 which says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples; if you love one another.” Jesus gave this command right after he had washed his disciples’ feet. No one initiated to wash other’s feet. But Jesus initiated washing his disciples’ feet one by one and gave them this new command. Here washing other’s feet means forgiving other’s sin. Jesus forgave our sins by washing our sins by his blood. So, we must wash other’s feet as Jesus did our feet. We must forgive others and love them as Jesus forgave us and loved us.

Martin Luther, a great theologian and reformer, said, “God. I love you, but I hate my colleague.” Forgiving others is not an easy job. This is because we think that we are right, and others are wrong. We are tolerant for other’s mistake or wrongdoings, still we wait until they come to us and apologize first. If not, we don’t want to see them anymore or cut relationship with them. Once a relationship is cut or damaged, it is very difficult to restore or be reconciled. So, as for Christians, it is wise for us to be reconciled as soon as possible before the situation get worse. During the waiting period, misunderstandings get deeper, and the situation becomes complicated. This is the reason why Jesus asked us to go to our brothers who sin against us and be reconciled first, then come to God and offer gifts. (Mt 5:23-24) Do not lose timing, but act quickly. Not only forgive, but also love as brother and sister in Christ. Last Friday one of my Bible students asked me to pray for him to forgive one of his teammates at school. I prayed for him to be reconciled to his teammate as soon as possible so that he may be free from hatred and be a blessing for the teammate. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt 5:44) He prayed for those who crucified him on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34) We must pray for those who persecute us and hate us.

Look at verses 9-11. “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walk around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.” Simply speaking, if you hate someone, you are in darkness and if you love someone, you are in the light. Hatred makes your heart dark and heavy. If you hate someone, you never become happy. You will also never become healthy, either. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but jealousy rots the bones. Proverbs 17:22 says that a cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Conflicts arise among us mainly because of misunderstanding and miscommunication. We hate someone because we think that they hate us, or they have a negative feeling towards us. But our judgment is not always right. We often misjudge other’s condition and intention. When we meet and talk face to face, we often find that we have misjudged other’s words or behavior or attitude toward us. The problem is that Satan uses this opportunity to destroy our fellowship with God and relationship with others. As long as we hate someone, we are in darkness, which is the absence of light. When we hate someone, we don’t pray because we do not want to forgive. We stop communicating with God and with them. We avoid talking and meeting with them. We even try to forget about them. In this way hatred cuts fellowship with God and relationship with others.

Those who forgive first are winners in this spiritual battle. Those who initiate to apologize first win the game and finish the journey of darkness. I appreciate one of our coworkers to initiate talking with me to resolve conflicts between him and me. When we talked about some uncomfortable issues, we found that these came from miscommunication and misjudgment between the two. After our face-to-face encounter, God solved our conflicts, and we restored joy and relationship. John said 4:4, “We love because he first loved us.” God initiated loving us before we loved him. Paul said in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God did not love us after we became righteous. No, he did while we were still sinners. God initiated his love while we were still sinners. Those who say, ‘I am sorry’, and “Forgive me!” first, walk in the light and become a true winner.

Third, young men, you are strong and have overcome the evil one (12-14) In these verses John write reasons for his writing. Look at verses 12-14. “I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” John repeated the same message twice. He wrote to children, fathers, and young men. Here children are known as Christians as God’s children, fathers as mature Christians, young men as new beginners or immature Christians. We focus on young men here. Young men are comparably strong. They have no problem even though they spend several nights playing video games or driving a thousand miles. But I am not talking about their physical strength, but spiritual strength to overcome the evil one. They become strong because they have the words of God in them. They are strong because they have fellowship with God. They are like American eagles who soar sky high on their strong wings. (Is 40:31) The prophet Joel prophesied that young men would see visions when the Holy Spirit comes on them. (Joel 2:28) All these are fruits of having fellowship with God who is light. When we have fellowship with God, young men will see visions, visions of God. They become strong enough to overcome temptations and hardships. They study the Bible diligently until they become great men of God and history makers in their own generation. We have many young men around us. May God be with all of them to become strong and courageous spiritual generals who overcome this world and see God’s visions! Amen

In conclusion we learn what we must do for our brothers and sisters to have fellowship with God. We must love them whole-heartedly as God loves us. We must be reconciled to them through God’s initiative love. Verse 6 summarizes what we have studied today. Let us read verse 6, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” Amen!

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• 1 Jn02-01-14-message -6th draft.docx