1 John 2:1-2 1My children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone might sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2And he himself is the atonement for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
John next applies the theology of the previous verses to his readers with his direct address of my children, a term of endearment indicating the close fellowship he had and desired to improve through this letter (1:3-4). Verse 1 shows the reason for this letter: that the reader might not sin. The verb
sin (hamartē) is an aorist subjunctive expressing purpose and decisiveness. John brings together the two points of tension he wrote about in chapter 1: we must walk in the light, but we also must deny that sin exists.
The goal is to avoid sin. Sin is a reality and ever ready to show up in our lives. We should not ignore or deny its presence in our lives, but we should also not let it control or enslave us. The goal of holy living should not be compromised. Sin must be rejected with all our being. God calls us to holiness and will enable it in our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). We must acknowledge sin so that we can avoid it. Realizing we have a disease helps us find the cure for it. John gives the goal here as a possibility and requirement.
However, John also recognizes that sin is a reality and an experience of all people, as Paul wrote in Romans 3:23. And, like Paul, John finds the answer in Jesus, who is an advocate with the Father. Advocate (paraklēton) means “called alongside” in the sense of a helper, mediator, or intercessor. When used in a legal setting, it has the sense of a lawyer who pleads the case in behalf of another person. Jesus stands before the Father, pleading our case with the evidence of his own life sacrificed on the cross. He was righteous and without sin (Hebrews 4:15), which qualified him to be the sacrificial lamb to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Atonement (hilasmos) refers to the offering made to resolve the sin problem (Leviticus 25:9). Jesus became that offering, fulfilling the Old Testament sacrificial system. He was the perfect and faultless sacrifice. The righteous Messiah is the only one worthy to assume upon himself the sins of those who repent and believe.
John adds the significant phrase about the sins of the whole world—all people of all time. John’s thinking expands at the end of verse two. His experience of forgiveness and cleansing sends him out in mission to the world. A changed heart propels us out into the world with the message of forgiveness and cleansing that we have received. There is a link here between holiness as experienced through confession and mission. Mission is the result of holiness.