Men Bible Study - 1 John 2:1

Start of 1 John 2 today. Thank you Lindsey for joining in again. Such a lovely and calm voice. I really like to listen and study the Word. 1 John 2:1 (NIV), "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Interesting points: 1. In this verse, John provides a message reassurance for Christians who sin even as they strive for spiritual maturity. He notes that we have hope in times of sin through Jesus Christ, who serves as our advocate with the Father. 2. Here, John refers to Jesus as "the Righteous One." The Greek word translated "advocate" is paraklēton, which is also used in the John 14:16 and 26, 15:26, and 16:7 as a reference to the Holy Spirit. This word literally means “one who pleads a case on someone else's behalf, or a close, helpful advisor.” 3. John heavily emphasizes the greatness of Jesus and His role as advocate on our behalf before the Father. Other New Testament passages, such as Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25, also describe Jesus in the role of an advocate for believers. Application. Brothers, this verse reminds us that Jesus will speak to our Heavenly Father in our defense when we sin. There is no better advocate than our Lord and Savior who not only knows the Law completely, He has an intimate relationship with the Judge and has already covered us by assuming our full debt and punishment at Calvary! Rather than becoming preoccupied and lose momentum in our faith because we are fixated about sins which we have already held up to the Lord and repented of, we can draw our strength in knowing that our Lord fully expects us to stumble as we mature spiritually. And as we grow in discipline and obedience, we will find that our character, discernment and behavior become more resilient in the face of temptation, sin and knowledge that we can submit to and rely fully on our Advocate to grow and strengthen us.