“By This Shall All Men Know . . .”
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. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. I John 2:1-2 (NKJV)
This is a precious book, written by the elderly, last surviving of the Original Twelve Disciples. This letter is a treasure and very short. If you can find your favorite version in a Reader’s Edition (without chapters and verses), either in print or online, read this letter as the first century church readers would have and it will come to life even more.
When he wrote his epistles, John was either already exiled or soon to be exiled to the Isle of Patmos for his faith. From thence he wrote the seminal New Testament prophetic work, The Revelations. His referring to his readers as, “my little children,” could be thought by some as being patronizing but not so. He was a respected elder, considered the spiritual father (or grandfather) of many.
In the first paragraph of his letter (chapter 1:4), he says, “We write this that your joy may be full,” and proceeds to move on to the necessity to love one another. In 1:9, his iconic, inspired statement is, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Verse 10 then asserts that none can say they are without sin, or they make God a liar.
So we’re sinful. We need to confess our sins and He promises to make us clean. “And if anyone sins,” which John makes clear we will and we do, we have an Advocate (a divine Attorney, as it were) before God the Father, Who took and takes our sin on Himself. The word, “propitiation,” is a New Testament restatement of the Old Testament concept of an atoning sacrifice which saves us from the deserved wrath of God. Our Attorney not only works pro bono but also takes on Himself our penalty. We may still have fines and court costs (the earthly consequences of our actions) but the sentence of death is marked as paid.
More important still, “not for our sins only but also for the whole world.” We need to share this message with others, that they, too, may know this forgiveness.