No fear of Court

Scripture Read: 1 John 2:1-7 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. 7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

Application: Today’s “advocates” are very different than what we see here. Today – it is about getting away with, technicalities, not truth and enriching ourselves! Jesus took the meaning to the extreme. Not only is he a friend as the original meant …

Advocate - παράκλητος paráklētos; to comfort, encourage or exhort. It is properly a verbal adj. referring to an aid of any kind. In the Greek writers, used of a legal advisor, pleader, proxy, or advocate, one who comes forward in behalf of and as the representative of another. Thus the history of the term in the whole sphere of known Greek and Hellenistic usage outside the NT yields the clear picture of a legal adviser or helper or advocate in the relevant court. The passive form does not rule out the idea of the παράκλητος as an active speaker “on behalf of someone before someone, Moulton and Milligan define; “a friend of the accused person, called to speak to his character, or otherwise enlist the sympathy of the judges.” This was its use in the secular world of that day. ^{[1] [2]}

 

But Christ also paid the penalty for the crime He is pleading for us. What an Advocate! This is a truth many of us see but I fear we do not treat with the kind of respect that You Lord would desire. Because Your salvation is so complete, we know that even now when we sin You are there for us. Our flesh seizes upon this truth and tries to take advantage. Lord we do not understand this weakness. We really hate sin most of the time – but when we want our flesh to be comforted our hate for sin wanes and we give in to it. This is something we do not want! Like Paul we can feel that scream against sin. Help us Oh God to see victory in this part of our walk with You. We love that Jesus is our Advocate – but we do not desire to employ Him as often as we do. We do love you Lord even though our walk may not show it all the time!

* Meditation Questions: Do I recognize the mental hatred I have for sin versus the emotional hatred? How important is that? Why? How easily do I sin? What does that say?

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Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

^[2] Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964- (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.