Lesson 3: 1 John 2:1-2
1 John 2:1-2
My little children, these
things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation
for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for
the sins of the
whole world.
Background Information
The word advocate
here is important. The Greek
Word behind it can carry various meanings, such as comforter or counselor. A
third definition from Strong’s Greek-English dictionary is “intercessor.” In
other words, we have somebody to plead with God on our behalf. With Jesus as our
Advocate, we know that we’re in good hands.
Propitiation is a word we don’t use much. It refers to the means by which we can make up for our wrongdoing. One of the meanings of this word is the animal sacrificed to make atonement for sin under the Old Testament law. Of course, we can’t make up for our sins, but 1 John 2:1-2 tells us who can.
Related Scriptures
John 3:16-17
Acts 17:29-31
Romans 8:34 (In Romans 8:26-27 we see that the Holy Spirit makes intercession
for us as well.)
1 Timothy 2:3-6
Hebrews 4:14-16
Questions
1. Why does John say he is writing?
2. Who, other than ourselves, asks God to forgive us when we sin?
3. Where can we find the one way to make up for our sins?
4. According to these verses,for whom did Jesus die?
5. Does the term “the whole world” leave anybody out?
6. Would 1 John 2:2 allow us to think that God’s plan of salvation is limited to ourselves only?
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