Christ meets both the requirements of God and the needs of man.
I find it remarkable that, although 1 John was one of the last epistles to be written, John had not lost his sense of awe and wonder at the truth he records in the opening verse.
John was now an old man. It is estimated that he was in his early 80s. Sixty years might have elapsed since his time with the Saviour and events passed into history. John had suffered many trials. Some trials, such as his isolation on Patmos, continued. He must have known physical weakness. However, John’s enthusiasm remained.
As we get older, as the burden of the way seems greater, and as the toll of the years seems to grow, do we have the same enthusiasm for spiritual things that we once had? Has the light of our testimony faded, or does it burn as brightly as it always did? Should it not be the desire of our hearts that our love for the Lord remains as fervent as it ever was?
But it shouldn’t be surprising that John remains as enthusiastic as ever, and he tells us why. The eternal God, the One who is the source of physical and spiritual life, the One who is light, was manifest in the flesh. This, in itself, is a momentous truth! We might remember Paul’s words: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). We cannot understand the details of how this came to pass, but God did tell us why. This tremendous fact left a deep impression upon the mind and heart of John—one that remained with him for the rest of his days.
Advocacy
In the opening verses of chapter two, John gives us one of the reasons for writing his letter: “that ye sin not.” Before conversion, we would have given little, if any, thought to sin. It was a natural course of life. But now our desire is to please the Lord and to live for Him. Sin is to be avoided.
However, as long as we remain in the body, we are susceptible to the activity of the flesh. There are occasions, and John emphasizes that they should be only occasions, when we can be overtaken by sin. At such times, what should be our response?
John tells us that “we have an advocate with the Father.” The apostle is deeply conscious of his own need, for he says, “we have an advocate.” This is not the accusing finger of one who is in some way better than others. But notice, too, that this is a present and active possession. It is not that we had (past tense) or that we will have (future tense) but that we have an advocate right now. We can take great comfort from that fact. The One who is the means of our restoration to fellowship is available to us now, whenever we need Him. He comes alongside us as we acknowledge and confess our need, and He pleads our cause before the Father.
The effectiveness of our advocate is found in the facts that:
• He is “with the Father.” One who is face to face with the Father enjoys the fellowship of the Father. His sphere of operation is at the very heart of deity. The world has a saying that it is not what you know but whom you know that counts. Remember, we have an advocate with the Father!
• He is “Jesus Christ the righteous.” The name “Jesus” reminds us that He came into humanity and has seen the reality of our situation and the weakness of our frame. “Christ” testifies to the truth of His deity, having the right to the place that He occupies with the Father. Knowing that He is “the righteous,” we can rest assured that He conforms to the divine standard in deed and character. What credentials! What an advocate!
In the light of the wonderful provision that is made for us, how important to confess our sin and have its stain and guilt removed! We note, too, that our advocate is “with the Father.” He is One who is ready and willing to forgive; One who desires to restore the fellowship that we need.
Propitiation
In verse two, we have further credentials of our advocate. John tells us that Jesus Christ “is the propitiation.” From the Newberry Bible, we can appreciate the uniqueness of this title ascribed to the Lord. The “He” is emphatic and underlines the identity of the advocate. Christ alone can claim such a title and designation, by virtue of His character and work. Let us rejoice in the incomparable Christ!
What a joy, too, to know that “He is the propitiation!” D. Edmond Hiebert writes, “The present tense ‘is’…declares that His sacrifice possesses a continuing quality; He was, and is, and will continue to be, the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
But what does this mean? The moral standards of the world can affect our appreciation of sin and, thus, our understanding of propitiation. We need to understand something of the divine view of sin:
• Sin is an offence against God. Remember the words of the prodigal son: “I have sinned against heaven” (Lk. 15:18, 21).
• Sin offends God’s holiness and brings estrangement between man and God: “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you” (Isa. 59:2).
• As John has revealed God as light, so we see that God must punish sin. He cannot overlook or ignore it. It must be judged and removed: “the soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4, 20).
The wonder is that God loved us. Even in our condition as sinners, estranged from Him and at enmity with Him, God loved us and “sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn. 4:10).
Propitiation is, then,
• The vindication of God’s holy and righteous character. God cannot change.
• The provision God has made in the sacrifice of Christ to deal with sin.
• The basis upon which God can show mercy to the believing sinner in the removal of his guilt and the remission of his sins.
• The basis upon which the believer can be delivered from justly deserved wrath.
There is a further thought for us to ponder here. We might have expected John to speak of Christ as the propitiator, the One who offers the sacrifice. That would be wonderful in itself. But Christ is more than the officiating high priest; He is also the sacrificial victim. To maintain the picture, it is His blood that was shed and that was sprinkled upon the mercy seat. He has borne the punishment that should rightly have been ours and, as that penalty has been borne, God can forgive us and restore us to His fellowship.
The scope of the work is equally remarkable: “He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.” As believers, we can rejoice that our sins are covered, brought within the scope of the work of Christ. As witnesses for Christ, we can also carry the message of the gospel to the “whole world.” What a propitiation!