“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. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (ESV).
In a day and age wherein false gospels shout for our attention, we need the simplicity of John’s words. The Ephesian churches faced cultural distractions and materialism much as we currently do in the 21st century West. Society, even within the church, bombards us with things we must do or ought to care about if we want to please God or be good people. Falling into any of the false teachings surrounding us happens slowly, in microscopic units, until we are either so consumed by the idolatry of it or panicked by how far we have strayed from the Truth.
The gospel is simple, but not simplistic. It requires very little of us, yet demands our whole being. John gently reminded his readers that Jesus is both our only path to reconciliation with the Father and our powerful advocate before the Throne. “My little children,” he wrote. There is a tenderness there, grace without judgment that gently turns our faces from worldly chaos to the pure mercy of Jesus. He is the righteous one whose death met the required sacrifices of the Old Covenant and whose resurrection ensured his continual advocacy on our behalf. Matthew Henry put it this way,
“Believers, as they have an atonement applied unto them at their entrance into a state of pardon and justification, so they have an Advocate in heaven still to continue to them that state, and procure their continued forgiveness” (1706).
We know Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life, and that no reconciliation with God exists apart from him (John 14:6). We understand that salvation is impossible in our own works of righteousness (Titus 3:5). We confess that Jesus is Lord. We believe that God raised him from the dead. Our justification and salvation are assured by our hearts and mouths (Romans 10:8-13). Yet when we are attacked, belittled, or challengedwe often fall into the same trap that captured Eve, “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). We feel compelled to add something to
what Jesus did and continues to do on our behalf. But,
“Christ is a universal propitiation for sins; and He is an advocate for the Christian. He has accomplished a work on earth for all. He is accomplishing a work in heaven for those who are united with Him. Both in Person (righteous) and in work (propitiation) He is fitted to fulfil the office which our necessities require” (Westcott, 41).
Jesus alone meets our spiritual needs, our inability to be righteous, and our dissociation from fellowship with the Father. Only Jesus can restore us to a state as in Eden wherein we speak openly to the Creator and can hear his voice. The noise of this world serves as a tool of the deceiver inciting us to complicate the beautiful simplicity of the gospel: “Jesus is the only atoning sacrifice available to the whole world” (Van Neste, section 1 John 2:2). Believing that Jesus Christ, the righteous, was buried, rose on the third day, appeared to more than 500 people, and then ascended to heaven, is the only requirement for salvation. Wescott’s words from the 19th century are hard to improve upon:
“Christ is a universal propitiation for sins; and He is an advocate for the Christian. He has accomplished a work on earth for all. He is accomplishing a work in heaven for those who are united with Him. Both in Person (righteous) and in work (propitiation) He is fitted to fulfil the office which our necessities require” (Westcott, 41).
“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). It really is that simple.
Resources
The ESV Bible. Crossway, 2001, www.esv.org/.
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). Vol. 1, 1706. Blue Letter Bible, http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/1Jo/1Jo_002.cfm. Accessed 24 June 2024.
Kight, Chelsea. “What Is the Gospel?” Core Christian Beliefs, Cru, https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/core-christian-beliefs/what-is-gospel.html.
Palmer, Earl F., The Communicator’s Commentary Series, Volume 12: 1,2,3 John; Revelation. Word, Inc. 1982
Van Neste, Ray. “1 John Commentary,” The Gospel Coalition. 2023.
Westcott, Brooke Foss. The Epistles of St. John: The Greek Text, with Notes and Essays. Cambridge, MacMillan, 1886.
Defaulting to Grace 