1 John 2:1-6
11 May 2025
The word of God is an encouragement, today is no exception. John says things that at first glance sound bad. In fact, they might terrify you and discourage you. But all is not lost. We sin, we mess up time and time again, and there is still good news. Our hope is in something more powerful than ourselves
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
• An advocate with the father. Jesus is leaning over in to God’s ear, whispering things about you. Tipping the scale in our favor. What power Jesus has to be in such a position!
• Not just anyone can do that, John tells us that Christ Jesus is the righteous one. Your bible might have this as a proper noun, as a title. This is a title unique to him, which means what church? We are certainly NOT righteous.
• We are morally bankrupt; we lack goodness and justification before God. But there is more good news.
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
• Jesus IS the sacrifice for our sins. What we cannot do, Jesus did.
• Our sin is gross and messy and there is nothing we can do about it. But again, there is good news here, it is all on Jesus. It is His sacrifice that atones. It is not our lives lived in a manner worthy of anything, not even worth saving. Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. He atones for our sin.
• Galatians 3:28 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.
• We have all been saved by Jesus’s atonement for our sins. And the spirit gives us assurance of our faith. If we find ourselves obeying the word of God, we have come to know him. We have certainty of our knowledge of God when we follow his commands.
• Our actions, the way our life is lived, is a testimony to the truth that we really do know Him! Those actions are not what saves us, let me refer you to verse 2. But the lack of obedience is incompatible with truly knowing God.
5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
• Likewise, when we obey God, it draws us closer to him. We experience first-hand the life he wants for all of us. Our love for him grows as we obey his words and live it out.
• It’s hard to live like someone if you don’t know them. As we conclude our text today, let’s look at some examples. How did Jesus live? What characteristics come to mind when you think of the life of Jesus?
• Jesus was (and still is) patient with his creation. Jesus loved others, especially the ones the religious leaders neglected. He was obedient to the father.
We have hope in Jesus
• What is your hope in? Even though we cannot keep ourselves from sinning, the gospel brings the message of salvation apart from anything we have done to earn it.
Knowing God results in obedience to Him.
• Is the way you are orienting your life based on your personal knowledge of who God is and the love that He has for us?
• Do you know Jesus? Are you spending time learning about who he is, what he teaches and how it impacts your life today?
Through obedience our love is made complete
• Does your love for God feel complete, or empty? Something missing?
• When our actions don’t match our words, it betrays how we really feel.
• What areas is your love of God hypocritical? Confessing and repenting is step 1
• what are growth areas for you to be more Christlike?
To live in Jesus is to live like Jesus
• We have a model of what obedience to God is.
• What ways does your life look like Jesus’s?
• What has encouraged you in your life to see where he’s making you more like himself?
This last point to take away is an encouragement to us, not a reason for shame or guilt. We should not read this and be burdened at the prospect of being like Jesus, God gave us this as a blessing and a calling for our lives.