My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 John 2:1-2
A Study of 1 John 1:1 – 2:2
When you ask a Christian if they knew 1 John or the First Epistle of John, most would quote a verse, 1 John 1:9.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
9 Subalit kung ipinapahayag natin ang ating mga kasalanan, patatawarin tayo ng Diyos sa mga ito, at lilinisin tayo sa lahat ng ating kasalanan, sapagkat siya'y tapat at matuwid. 1 Juan 1:9
When I was young, two verses I was taught were John 3:16 and 1 John 4:7-8 (just the last part, really).
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
16 Sapagkat gayon na lamang ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa sangkatauhan, kaya't ibinigay niya ang kanyang kaisa-isang Anak, upang ang sinumang sumampalataya sa kanya ay hindi mapahamak, kundi magkaroon ng buhay na walang hanggan. Juan 3:16
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
1 John 4:7-8
7 Mga minamahal, mag-ibigan tayo sapagkat mula sa Diyos ang pag-ibig. Ang bawat umiibig ay anak ng Diyos at kumikilala sa Diyos. 8 Ang hindi umiibig ay hindi kumikilala sa Diyos, sapagkat ang Diyos ay pag-ibig. 1 Juan 4:7-8
I have entitled the study today, Love Letter. Let us read our passage in 1 John 1:1 to 2:2.
The Disciple of Love
The author of our passage today has often been called the disciple of love. After all, it was in the Gospel that he wrote that we read about the greatest love of all—John 3:16. And in his first letter (or in Biblical language, epistle) that we find the definition of love, 1 John 4:10, which we quoted in our earlier study, By Grace Through Faith, last March 14.
Aside from describing the greatest love of all and defining what love is, he addressed himself in his gospel as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Surely this man knows about love. We may have often found ourselves priding in our love for Jesus and our love for God. John knew what mattered was God’s love for him. We learn the importance of knowing that God loves me!
The Letter to Everyone
The first chapter of the epistle is written to a general audience. Its purpose is to introduce Jesus Christ. There is no necessity as to who the readers are. It can be anyone. Unlike the other letters in the bible that clearly identifies who the writer is and who the audience is supposed to be, this letter begins by introducing the subject. There was no salutation. It immediately goes to the purpose of the letter which is to introduce who Jesus is.
The beginning of the letter establishes that it is an eye-witness who writes the letter. Look at the first four verses. The first verse declares the physical encounter with the Word, Jesus Christ.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—
1 John 1:1
Sumusulat kami sa inyo tungkol sa kanya na sa simula pa'y siya na, ang Salitang nagbibigay-buhay. Siya ay aming narinig at nakita, napagmasdan at nahawakan. 1 Juan 1:1
The author establishes the veracity of the witness and dispels any doubts. He identified the witness through the difference senses, the undeniable witness of those who experienced first hand our living Lord Jesus Christ.
The purpose is to get you to believe if you have not yet done so, and to establish the subject of the letter even for those who have already come to believe. The addressee of this part of the letter is everyone. Its purpose is for the reader to see and appreciate who Jesus is and come to believe in him.
2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
1 John 1:2
2 Nahayag ang buhay na ito, nakita namin siya, at pinapatotohanan namin at ipinapangaral sa inyo ang buhay na walang hanggan na kasama ng Ama, at nahayag sa amin. 1 Juan 1:2
The purpose is for the reader to believe and in believing receive the eternal life that the Father offers. The opportunity to believe and have eternal life is open to everyone. It is an open invitation. If you are reading the letter (even for the first time) you get the opportunity to have that personal acceptance, the personal encounter with the life that the Father offers. Have we already received that life?
3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:3
3 Ipinapahayag nga namin sa inyo ang aming nakita't narinig upang makasama kayo sa aming pakikiisa sa Ama at sa kanyang Anak na si Jesu-Cristo. 1 Juan 1:3
The purpose of the letter is for the reader to have that loving relationship with the community. And having that relationship with the community is really having the relationship with the Father and the Son.
It is in hearing, accepting, and believing the gospel that we become part of the community—the community that we call The Church. Described elsewhere as the body of Christ, when we receive the Lord Jesus, we are part of his body, the community, the Church. And belonging to the Church is actually belonging to our Father, our God.
There is no other result for accepting Christ. It is to belong to our Father and Christ’s Father. And our experience for this decision is joy.
4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
1 John 1:4
4 Isinusulat namin ito upang malubos ang amingkagalakan. 1 Juan 1:4
This verse is very interesting in that it has two versions, which the various translations choose from (with a note about the other translation). Most manuscripts have your instead of our, although the few that have our are quite old, too. If we take both to be correct, then it is all the more joyous when you believe, because you and us have our joy increased and made full.
The next three verses are about living in the light, which is believed to address the gnostics, who began to rise in popularity during those times. Although there are variations, their main teaching is that the real person is the light inside you. That real you is incorruptible and is not affected by sin. Therefore, no matter what they do, they do not sin. There is therefore that emphasis on living according to the light, or simply put, not living in sin.
The Evangelistic Verse
If we have joined evangelistic rallies, or have used those little booklets about the four spiritual laws, we may have encountered the famous verse: 1 John 1:9. Let us look at the verses next to it.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10
8 Kung sinasabi nating tayo'y walang kasalanan, dinadaya natin ang ating sarili at wala sa atin ang katotohanan. 9 Subalit kung ipinapahayag natin ang ating mga kasalanan, patatawarin tayo ng Diyos sa mga ito, at lilinisin tayo sa lahat ng ating kasalanan, sapagkat siya'y tapat at matuwid. 10 Kung sinasabi nating hindi tayo nagkasala, ginagawa nating sinungaling ang Diyos, at wala sa atin ang kanyang salita. 1 Juan 1:8-10
What many Christians do is to take this verse and confess their sins, often enumerating them, and receive the forgiveness. This they do as they also receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Then, during the course of their Christian life, they come back to it and confess their sins again and receive forgiveness again. Have we also done this?
What does the passage say?
The sin in verse 8 is a noun. It refers to your sinful nature. It basically just says that you have a sinful nature. This was what the gnostics denied. They said that the nature of man was a sinless spirit trapped in a sinful body, but stripped of the body, the person is really sinless. That is why the verse says that if that is our claim then we are lying and we deceive ourselves.
The next verse, verse 9, is the solution. We are to accept our sinful nature, and confess it to God. When we say that we are sinners, then we are confessing it to God. We have rejected the gnostic notion and accepted that we have a sinful nature, and that we tell God that, yes we are sinners. Again, the sin in verse 9 is a noun, pointing to our sinful nature. That is why there need be only one confession of our sins. When we constantly, continuously confess our sins (our act of sinning), we become sin-conscious. Instead, we are not supposed to dwell on our sins and our sinful nature. Thus, we only need to pass this step once.
Verse 10 reiterates that if we claim never to have committed any sin, ever, we make God a liar. The verse declares that if we do this, it is us who are liars.
These verses therefore establish what the Lord has done. When we accept our sinful nature and submit (confess) it to God, he replaces that sinful nature and gives us his nature—holy. We become holy. When we were sinners, our natural action was to commit sins. When we become holy, our natural action becomes holiness of heart and mind.
What happens when we sin again? Shouldn’t we go back to 1 John 1:9? After all, that is our catch all verse for forgiveness, right?
Look again at verse 9. What was forgiven us when we confessed the first time? It says all our sins. Not some. Not the sins that were already committed. No. It says all our sins. Our very nature as sinful have been forgiven and removed. If we say future sins are not included, all our sins were future sins when Jesus died on the cross.
Jesus Our Advocate, Our Lawyer
When we fall into sin, since it is no longer our nature to sin, we do not have to go back to 1 John 1:9. We move forward!
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1 John 2:1
Mga anak, isinusulat ko ito sa inyo upang huwag kayong magkasala. Ngunit kung magkasala ang sinuman, may Tagapagtanggol tayo sa Ama, si Jesu-Cristo, ang matuwid. 1 Juan 2:1
What does this lesser known verse tells us?
First of all, look at who it is addressed to. It is no longer addressed to everybody. It is not for the whole world. It is very limited. It is addressed to my little children, (aking) mga anak. This part leaves the generic message for anyone and everyone. This is specific. It applies to us only. Look at the start. MY little children. The addressee is implied in the Tagalog translation, which should be aking mga anak. This is addressed to the Christian, the very person who have taken the first step in the first chapter and have been cleansed of the sinful nature and been given the new nature—holiness. It is natural for a sinner to sin. But, it is natural for a saint to be holy. It is their nature. Remember the story of the turtle and the scorpion?
The verse tells us that it is no longer our nature to sin. Therefore, it is expected of us not to commit sins, which is contrary to our nature. But, we are not yet perfect, so there is an escape clause. We are not supposed to sin. What if we do? There is a solution.
And the solution is NOT to focus on our sin! It is not to confess our sin. To confess is to repeat again, to bring it to remembrance. There is something better to confess that Jesus is our Advocate. Jesus is our lawyer. Jesus is our defender. WE CONFESS JESUS and only Jesus!
When we sin, since we are no longer sinners, we do not dwell on our sins. Yes, we know that we sinned. But we remember Jesus. We remember his sacrifice on the cross. Our focus is on Jesus. We can say, “Thank you Jesus that you died for my sins. Even if I did this or that, you have already cleansed me. Thank you.” You really don’t have to repeat your sins, but if it makes you feel better as it is what we have been doing all along, just remember that they have been forgiven BEFORE you even mentioned them. You just thank the Lord as you RECEIVE your forgiveness. You have already been forgiven 2 thousand years ago. Receive your forgiveness and enjoy your fellowship with one another, which ultimately is your fellowship with the Father and the Son (and the Holy Spirit).
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 John 2:2
2 Si Cristo ang handog sa ikapagpapatawad ng mga kasalanan, hindi lamang ang ating mga kasalanan, kundi maging ang kasalanan ng lahat ng tao. 1 Juan 2:2
As we focus on Jesus, who is the answer to our sins, let us move on to consider that this forgiveness is given not only to us, but also to the whole world. It is therefore now our task to tell them, too.
The Invitation
If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ into your life, pray this simple prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have done what I could not do. You have finished what I could never complete. I surrender all of me, and receive you into my life. I receive your finished work.
Heavenly Father, you are now my Father. Thank you for giving Jesus to me. Give me your Holy Spirit. Empower me to tell others about your love and forgiveness.
In Jesus name, Amen.
THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION
TO THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS
KAYA NGA WALA NANG KAHATULANG PARUSA
SA MGA TAONG NAKIPAG-ISA NA
KAY CRISTO JESUS
Shalom.
All bible references are from the New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated. All references in Filipino are from the Ang Mabuting Balita Bibliya. Online reference at the Bible Gateway website (www.biblegateway.com) and Hebrew or Greek interlinear texts provided by Bible Hub (biblehub.com).