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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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“GROWTH
IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD” (1
John 2:1-6) Grace
Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl
Hilbert I. ENJOYING
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD (CH 1) A. Certification
of Fellowship with God (1:1-4) B. Conditions of Fellowship with God (1:5-10) II. ABIDING IN
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD (CH 2) A. Growth in
Fellowship with God (2:1-6) 1. Growth
Through the Advocacy of Christ (2:1-2) a) After
giving the conditions of fellowship (Understand that God is Light: (1:5);
Habitually Walk in God’s Light (1:6-7); Confess Sin When Exposed to God’s
Light (1:8-10), John clarifies that though a believer is not to sin, it is
possible for a true believer to sin. In which case, the believer has an
Advocate in Jesus Christ (1). (1) John
addresses his readers as, “little children” (2:1, 12, 13, 18, 28; 3:1, 2, 7,
10, 18; 4:4; 5:2, 21). It is a term of endearment to those who truly have
fellowship with God. John is their spiritual teacher and quite possibly their
spiritual father. (2) The purpose (hína - conjunction of
purpose) for John’s letter is that these true believers would not sin. The
subjunctive mood is used because he could not say with certainty that they
would not sin. (3) But if a true believer sins, Christ is his
Advocate (paráklętos). The meaning of the word literally means,
one “called alongside.” It was used of Jesus (Joh 14:16 - állos -
another of the same kind) and the Holy Spirit (Joh 16:7 - ho paráklętos)
in the Gospels. In the Greek writers, [it is] used of a legal advisor,
pleader, proxy, or advocate, one who comes forward in behalf of and as the
representative of another. Thus, in 1 John 2:1, Christ is termed our
substitutionary, intercessory advocate (The Complete Word Study
Dictionary). (4) In John’s context, Jesus stands in heaven
on our behalf as our Defense Attorney before the “accuser of the brethren”
(Rev 12:10) and as our Divine Intercessor (Rom 8:34). b) Christ
Himself (emphatically the person of Christ - autòs), through His
atoning work on the cross is the believer’s propitiation. But He is not only
the believer’s atoning sacrifice but also the propitiation for the whole
world (2). (1) Christ’s
ministry as Intercessory Advocate is based on His propitiatory work on the
cross. “Propitiation” (hilasmós) is the means of appeasing or
satisfying. In other words, Christ’s death on the cross appeased and satisfied
God’s wrath against our sin (1Jo 4:10; Rom 3:25). It is related to the “mercy
seat” (hilastę́rion) of the Old Testament (Exo 25:18, 22 cp. Heb
9:5). (2) Some suggest that the phrase “whole world”
means only the sphere of the elect, much like the sphere of the Roman Empire
in Rom 1:8. The problem is that this phrase is used by John in 1Jo 5:19 and
expresses the sphere of the entire world (1Jo 5:19). Furthermore, John’s use
of “world” (kósmos) in this epistle often refers to sinners in
the world with no inclination that they are of the elect (1Jo 3:1, 13; 4:5;
5:19). (3) Such meaning supports the cliché, “Christ’s
death was sufficient for the world but efficient for the elect.” 2. Growth
Through the Experiential Knowledge of Christ (2:3-4) a) John
will continue his theme on the conditions of fellowship throughout the
epistle. Here the condition of keeping His commandments determines whether a
person truly has come to know Christ (3). (1) If
experience plays a part in the Christian Life, it is here where a person is
able to know experientially (perfect tense of ginṓskō) through evidence that they have come
to know Christ. (2) The condition (eán with the
subjunctive) is this; that they keep God’s commandments. “Keep” (tęréō)
literally means to watch or guard over. Here it means that the believer is to
take much care and attentiveness to observing God’s commandments. Common in
this letter is John’s use of the present tense to describe one whose practice
is habitually keeping God’s commandments. b) Just
like claiming to be in fellowship with God and yet walking in darkness, the
one who claims to have come to know Him but does not keep His commandments is
lying (4). (1) No
matter what one says, if they are not “keeping” (present participle)
His commandments, they are a liar. A liar (pseústęs - one who does
not tell the truth) is one who does not say the truth or live it. The lie
is that such an individual says he has come to know Christ but truly has not. (2) What John means when he says, “the truth is
not in him,” is not only that he is not living the truth, but he is one in
whom the Christian truth (salvation) has ever existed. 3. Growth
Through Abiding in Christ (2:5-6) a) The
one who habitually keeps His Word has been growing and maturing, which is an
evidence of salvation (5). (1) Though
the “love of God” can speak of God’s love for us (cp. 1Jo 4:9 -
objective genitive), here it most likely means our love for God (cp.
1Jo 2:15 - subjective genitive). Furthermore, there is a connection
between our love for God and our keeping His Word (1Jo 5:1-3). A true test of
our love for God is how much we obey Him (cp. Joh 14:15, 23-24). (2) One who loves God and keeps His word is one
in whom the maturity process (sanctification) has begun and continues (perfect
passive of teleióō - perfect, complete, make mature cp.
Phil 1:6). b) John
gives a simple logical truth, namely, that if a person truly knows Christ and
abides in Him, then he will inevitably walk in the same manner as Christ did,
obeying God’s Word (6). (1) John
uses an interesting set of synonyms. All of which are equivalent to true
salvation. Yet they each have a distinctive aspect of the Christian life
(“knows Him,” “loves Him,” “abides in Him”). (2) The phrase, “abides in Him” necessarily
includes the idea of salvation (1Jo 2:24). But, “abide” (ménō)
also describes how a true believer grows and bears fruit in Christ (Joh
15:1-5). (3) The end result of a true believer is that
his walk (aorist active of peripáteō - fig. description of the
conduct of one’s daily life) will exemplify Christ’s walk. 4. Practical
Considerations a) God
gives the believer a remedy for when he sins, which is confessing our sin to
God (1Jo 1:9), and He gives him advocacy and comfort when he does sin
(2:1-2). b) Knowing Christ is not a mystical emotional
experience but a true conversion in which an individual’s soul delights in
following God’s commands rather than his own will. c) The aim for a believer is to grow in
maturity in love for God that expresses itself in obedience to God’s Word. |
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