1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous; (2) And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for those of the whole world.
[Part 1 of 2] "These things" [vs. 1 above] refer to the forgiveness and cleansing from our sins through God's promise and work. John wrote these things to us so that we may not sin. It shows us that the Lord has forgiven our many sins and that, as a result, we do not sin. When we find out that we are forgiven, we do not become free to sin; rather, we will not sin. Following this it says, "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." "With the Father"--this is a family affair; it is something that happens after we are saved. We have already believed and have become one of God's many children. Now we have an Advocate with the Father, who is Jesus Christ the Righteous. Through the Lord Jesus' death and by His becoming the propitiation for our sins, He has become our Advocate with the Father. Based on His blood, the Lord Jesus Christ has become our Advocate. He has accomplished redemption on the cross. Based on His accomplished work, we can be cleansed. If we sin by accident, we should not be disheartened by our sin; we should not wallow in it or remain in it. When we sin, the first thing we should do is confess our sin to the Lord. When we ask God to forgive our sin, He forgives our sin, and our fellowship with Him is restored immediately. [continued tomorrow]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, Messages for Building Up New Believers, pp.330-331. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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