Life-Giving Power in the Nearness of God

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” – 1 John 2:1-2 (ESV)

Living to please God is not about our sinless performance, but about drawing near to Him.

The power to live a redeemed life does not come from looking within ourselves, but rather, from looking upon Christ alone, remembering who we are as His children, and what the Savior has done for us. In the second chapter of 1 John, John gently and tenderly reminds the church of these very truths. He begins by addressing the church as, “My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin…”

What things has he written? What strokes of the pen have such power and effect, they can keep us from sinning? The power is not in the words themselves, but rather, in being rightly related to the Word, Jesus Christ. John brings all attention back to the nearness of the One Who changes everything!

In chapter one, he begins by declaring the eternality of Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-2) He has been since before the beginning. There has never been a time when He has not been. He is the Uncaused Cause; Uncreated and Self-Existing. He depends on nothing and no one; but we are fully dependent upon Him.

He is the Word of God, incarnate; the breath of God, made visible in the Person of Jesus Christ; The invisible Life of God, wrapped in flesh and bone in order to reveal the heart, love, and forgiveness of God toward sinful man.

His heart has always been bent toward us. He created us for relationship with Him; He is a relational God Who desires intimacy with us- not because He needs us, but because He wants us. Through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, He has done everything necessary to provide a way for us to be forgiven of our sin and return to Him in restored relationship.

God is Light. His Light is Life. (1 John 1:5) There is no darkness in Him. He is ever only, always good; There is nothing evil in Him. He only gives good (holy, perfecting, maturing) gifts. (James 1:17) Because He is good, and only gives good gifts, we can fully trust Him- no matter what we are facing. Reminding ourselves of His goodness keeps us from falling prey to the sin of doubting His character.

He is fulness of joy. In walking in right relationship with Him, we experience His joy. (1 John 1:3-4) In sharing the Life and Light of Christ’s Gospel with those around us, we remind ourselves of the undeserved grace of God and share in His joy and fellowship! It is God’s joy to give us the Gospel and the Gospel must be verbally communicated. Christ is the Word. We must use words to communicate the Word of Truth, and in so doing, we both share in, and spread the joy of the Father!

Those who have received Christ through God’s gift of faith, become children of Light and Life, because our Father is Light and Life. This becomes our new identity. We are then called to walk, or live out, our redeemed identity as the Light and Life of the Father flows within us and through us. (1 John 1:7) We are transformed from the inside, out, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

As redeemed children of Light and Life, we walk humbly. We honestly agree with God about our sin, bringing it into the Light, because only then, are we able to receive His forgiveness and mercy. (1 John 1:8-10) Honest, humble confession of our sin and failure is evidence of His Truth and Life at work within us. Avoiding, denying, or justifying our sin reveals the pride lurking in the shadows of our heart- keeping us from nearness to Him.

A right view of God produces a right view of self, sin, and the world, and leads us to walk in humility.

With all of these reminders in view then, John affectionately addresses the church as a father would, “My little children…” (1 John 2:1) It is not a demeaning or belittling phrase, but an endearing, kind, one. It is a phrase used when wise, life-giving instruction is given from a teacher or parent. At the time of the writing of 1 John, false teachers had begun to infiltrate the church with their gnostic beliefs- teaching that matter was evil, and only spirit was good. This teaching led to a false belief that either the body should be treated harshly as a form of punishment, or that sin committed within the physical body had no effect on the eternal soul. Both extremes stemmed from a disregard for God’s law and an unbelief in His love. True love for God is expressed in living a life of obedience to His commands. To love Him is to obey Him through the enabling, indwelling power of His Spirit. (John 14:15-17) Christ has already paid the penalty in His body for every sin and purchased our freedom to live rightly and walk in His commands!

A child of God, through faith, has received the love of God and been brought into relationship with Him- rescued from the grip of Satan and eternal punishment of sin. John boldly declares this truth in his epistle: “…I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” (1 John 2:1) The child of God has been given the power to live a life that pleases God, through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Having believed in Christ for salvation, we are covered once and for all, by His blood.

His death on the cross has set all who place their trust in Him free from the power of sin’s tyranny!

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” – Romans 6:1-14 (ESV)

Christ has set us free from sin in order to love, serve, and obey Him and resist the temptations to sin, however, we must daily choose to walk in this freedom. Satan loves to allure us with sin’s temporary pleasures. He appeals to our flesh and our pride and will ruthlessly ensnare our feet once we give in to temptation. He will speak doubt in our ears about God’s character. He will deceive us into thinking that our sin doesn’t really matter. He will lie about our identity and appeal to our arrogance. He will try to convince us that we know better than God. He will whisper that the temporary things we can see with our physical eyes are worth more than the eternal things of God-which can be seen only through eyes of faith. He will plant accusations about others in the mind. He will convince us that forgiveness is impossible. There are countless ways he is at work to trip us up. He is not stupid; but neither are we powerless against him.

We must learn to recognize and discern the messages of the enemy. Practically, we can ask the following questions:

Does this decision, word, thought, or action reflect the truth of God’s character?

Is this decision, word, thought, or action consistent with my redeemed identity as a child of Light and Life?

Does this decision, word, thought, or action build up those around me and give glory to my Father?

Does this decision, word, thought, or action help me to be the best child of God that I can be?

We will never be sinless this side of Heaven, but as we walk daily with Christ by the power of His Spirit, in the light of His grace and forgiveness, growing in our understanding of our identity as His child, we will learn to sin less.

Increased love for God leads to increased grief over our sin and an increasing desire to flee from it.

John then provides hope upon hope: “But, if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (verse 2)

Why do we need an Advocate? Because the Accuser, Satan himself, who, though he was cast out of heaven for seeking the glory that belongs to God alone, still has access to the throne of God. He is called the accuser of the brethren and day and night, he seeks to slander and accuse the child of God:

“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” – Revelation 12:10

The devil is the Accuser. He accuses us before the Father, and tries to convince us to ignore the grace we have been given by pointing fingers or passing blame. When we blame, speak critically, or accuse others, we actually partner with the accusing work of the enemy. The devil hurls his arrows of accusation about our sin, but Christ the Righteous, stands as the believer’s Advocate before the Father, speaking our defense. The word Advocate comes from the Greek word, “helper” or “one who is called alongside to help”. Christ advocates for all who are His own!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” – Romans 8:31-34

Is there a spirit of criticism or accusation at work in you? Confess it to the Lord as sin. Stop agreeing with Satan. Turn to see the grace that is flowing from the hands, feet, and heart of the Savior and open your arms wide to receive it!

Because Christ alone lived a sinless life, He alone could offer Himself as the full sacrifice for sin- paying its penalty. (Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53:9)

He took upon Himself the full wrath of God toward the sins of all mankind – past, present, and future! He died the death we all deserve and was buried- paying the price, in Himself, for every sin- “For the wages of sin is death…” – Romans 3:23

On the third day, He rose again, conquering over sin, death, and hell, and emptied the grave of its power! Because He has taken our sin and risen from the grave, His propitiation, power, and position of authority give Him every right to advocate for His people!

” He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” – Hebrews 1:3

The Risen, Righteous, Victorious Savior is seated as our Advocate at the Father’s right hand- speaking forgiveness and favor while the enemy hurls failure and fear. Christ is seated because His sacrifice was sufficient; He has finished salvation’s work upon the cross and is, both now and forever, exercising His place of infinite, divine honor and unrivaled authority! (Ephesians 1:19-23) His blood is speaking over you and me a better word. His Word of grace washes over us- removing the sin, stains, guilt, and shame. His Righteousness covers the church, His Bride, and makes us acceptable in God’s sight. His position at the right hand of the Father means that He is forever the One Who has taken our sin and extended God’s favor, blessing, or protection. Because Christ has taken our sin upon Himself, He is now pleading our case before the Father. The Father’s favor toward His Son is extended through Christ, to all who trust in Him for salvation. He is our Advocate!

So when the enemy whispers his accusations in your ear, don’t give him power through agreement and fear. The Accuser knows his time is short and that he has been defeated. Instead, look to your Advocate. Confess your sin to the Lord and your need to be forgiven. Christ alone is your Defender, your Savior, your forgiveness and restoration. He alone is your righteousness and He has completed all that is necessary for forgiveness. It is His blood that has stripped Satan of his power and made us righteous before the Father, and our declaration of the Truth that defeats the lies of the enemy.

“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” – Revelation 12:11-12

Child of God, remember Who your Heavenly Father is and what He has done to make you His own. For those who are in Christ, He has changed everything- past, present, and future, and is working in us the same power that raised Christ from the dead! This same power enables us to walk increasingly in freedom from sin!