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. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. - 1 John 2:1-6
What does it mean to have an advocate? It means we have someone on our side. But more than that, an advocate is an ally, but one who has more knowledge or authority than we do. They plead our case when we cannot. We don’t know the rules of the system. We don’t know the language or the protocols. We might not even know what is wrong with us that we need assistance.
It’s encouraging to know that Jesus is on our side. But He is so much more. Many are happy with the thought of Jesus as a tough older brother who will stand up for us. “He’s got my back.” But we don’t realize how perilous our situation is. Statements like “God and me? We’re cool,” or “He gets what I’m doing,” reveal a complete failure to grasp the alienation from God brought about by sin. Because the Lord is ultimately holy, we are under a sentence of death unless our sin can be dealt with. It’s not a technicality or a clerical matter. It’s not a misunderstanding. “The wages of sin is death.” And we cannot save ourselves.
Enter the Advocate. If we sin (John might as well have said “when”), Jesus Christ the righteous is our advocate before the Father. He is also our propitiation (v. 2) which means he both appeases the wrath of God and reconciles us to Him. But the turning aside of wrath would not be an issue if our status were not grave.
Admittedly, John does say that Christ is the propitiation, not only for our sins, but for the whole world. Does this mean Christ has us covered even if we don’t know it? Even if we ignore, deny, or consciously reject Him? No. In the verses immediately following John sets up a series of conditionals. We have only come to know Him if we keep His commandments. Liars, who do not keep the Lord’s commands are devoid of truth and do not enjoy His love. And again, because those who are “in” Him would walk according to His commands, those who do not walk according to His commands are not “in” Him.
Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary was sufficient to be the propitiation for all, but it is not applied to all. Only those who confess their need and plead His grace and submit to His authority enjoy His advocacy. Those who do not must try and defend themselves. And among sinful men, none can defend themselves against a holy God.