Our Advocate is Our Propitiation (1 John 2:1-2)                                             2009.11.08                                 Dr. George Fox

In 1 John, the author combats the false teachings of the Gnostics.  1 John is organized into three sections: God is light (1:5 – 1:10); God is righteous (2:28 – 4:6); God is love (4:7 – end).  These arguments are further strengthened through a technique of stating the categorical extremes, to leave no doubt.  God is light, and in Him there is no darkness.

Since God is light, what is our attitude toward sin?  1 John 1:6 says that if God is light, then you cannot be walk in sin.  However, some people deny the experience of sin (1:8).  They say that they have no sin, but John says that these people are tragically deceived.  Others deny the very existence of sin, taking on God, contradicting Him, and making Him a liar.  Our attitude should be to recognize that the blood of Jesus keeps on purifying (note the present progressive tense) our sin.  If we sin, and we recognize it and confess it, Jesus will cleanse us!

This attitude toward sin sets the context for the sermon text, 1 John 2:1-2, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”  We first note that there is power in simply hearing the Word: hearing that Jesus has cleansed us empowers us to avoid sin.  But when we do sin, we remember that we have an advocate in Jesus with the Father, and he himself is the propitiation, the one who reconciles us with God.

The same word “advocate” is used by John in his gospel to describe the Holy Spirit.  The parallel truth is that Jesus is an advocate.  We need an advocate because of the tremendous adversary.  Satan is described in Rev. 12:3 as a great, fiery, red dragon, who is untamed and wily.  In 1 Peter, he is characterized as a roaring lion, who poses as a powerful lion who seeks to devour God’s people.  In Rev. 12, he is also called the devil or accuser (the Greek word diabolos is also translated as “gossiper”).  And Satan is also referred to as the “arch-deceiver” – lying originated with him.  By our own strength, we are no match for this adversary, which is why we NEED an advocate.  We do not need to fear Satan, for he is a defeated foe; however, he is still formidable.

What makes Jesus uniquely qualified to be our advocate?  1) Appointed by the Father: Jesus was fore-ordained as God’s given attorney by the Father, who is the judge.  2) Approved by the Father: Three times we hear God’s audible voice, during Jesus’ baptism, at the mount of transfiguration, and immediately prior to the cross.  3) Accomplished by the Father: In Jesus, all fullness of the Father is found.  4) Associated with the Father: Jesus is in close, constant communion with the Father.  He is the best advocate, providing an unsurpassed defense that leads to an unassailable acquittal.

Jesus himself is also the Propitiation, meaning that he is the one who renders us favorably disposed/approved by the judge.  An example of “propitiation” is found in Genesis 32, when Jacob returned to Canaan and feared Esau.  The text says that Jacob “needed to appease Esau”, so he spaced many droves of animals as gifts to his brother.  In Luke 18, in the parable of a Pharisee and tax collector, the Pharisee self-righteously “thanks” God for not being like the unjust or like the tax collector.  The tax collector, while bowing, simply prays, “Have mercy on me.”  The word translated as mercy here is the same word translated as propitious in 1 John.  Jesus is the propitiation, the one who makes atonement.

To appreciate more the beauty of the Bible, let us closely examine the reference in Hebrews 9:5 to the mercy seat (atonement cover) on the Ark of the Covenant.  As described in Exodus 25, this golden mercy seat covers the Ark, which contains the tablets of the Law.  The only thing separating us from God and the law that we have desecrated is this mercy seat.  Above the mercy seat are two cherubim, representing God’s glory.  It is from the mercy seat that God speaks to Moses as the point of communion.  In Numbers 7, God himself is referred to as “the one who dwells between the cherubim.”  Lev. 16 describes the once per year ceremony of the High Priest on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Part of the elaborate ceremony involves two goats.  One is slain, and its blood is sprinkled on the mercy seat.  This goat represents the Lord’s lot.  The other goat represents the people’s lot.  The high priest confesses the sins of the people and transfers the guilt onto the “scapegoat,” which is then released into the wilderness.  This is the beautiful picture of expiation, the substitutionary death of our Lord.  Jesus is the “mercy seat,” the only thing that stands between us and God’s wrath.  He represents both goats, bearing our sins AND sacrificing himself.

Jesus is our advocate AND our propitiation!