The following is the manuscript of the sermon preached yesterday morning by George Higginbotham.
Last April I began to read through the book of Leviticus in anticipation of the sermon series our pastor will begin next week. No doubt some of you know what I encountered reading Leviticus. Even our pastor has mentioned that this particular part of the Bible is a bit difficult to enjoy without a disciplined approach. That being the case, but firmly convinced that even Leviticus is God breathed, designed to accomplish that which God purposed, and, therefore, profitable to me, I launched boldly forward. Nevertheless, I still found it difficult going.
So I manipulated my daily reading schedule to conclude each chapter from Leviticus with a chapter from one of the gospels. By this I hoped to be more explicitly reminded that Christ is the fulfillment of the law’s severe demands.
Eventually, I found myself gravitating to one particular passage from the apostle John’s first epistle. For me it became an elixir to accompany Leviticus. An elixir is a quasi-medicinal potion, often pleasant tasting, designed to remedy or masquerade some malady. Hoping that this passage will also be an elixir for you it is the passage to which I want to direct our attention this morning. Just maybe it may serve to prepare us for much profit that we might gain from our study of Leviticus together with our pastor over the next several months.
That passage is 1 John 2:1-2 so let’s find our way to 1 John 2 by considering a few verses from 1 John 1.
Leviticus creates a need for something greater than all those repetitive offerings and the beginning of the provision for that need is to be located in the magnificent historical event of the incarnation – God taking upon Himself the nature of man and dwelling among men. The incarnation is implied and predicted right though the Old Testament. The gospels detail that event and place it in Bethlehem. Paul and Peter variously provide theological insights into the reality of the incarnation and its significance. But, in my opinion, John opens his first epistle with one of the most uniquely graphic testimonies to the incarnation. We read:
1 John 1:1-3: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have been with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life– 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you . . .
In verse 1 John speaks of an event he calls the beginning. Understanding the term beginning in its absolute sense, we should recognize that the beginning is creation and hence anything existing before the beginning must of necessity be uncreated and eternal.
But John speaks of that which, a reference to something or someone who at the beginning could be referred to already in the past tense – that which was from the beginning. Hence, when the beginning occurred this entity was already existing. John uses this same astounding reality in the opening verse of his gospel, in the beginning was the Word. Both the pre-existence and eternality of the Lord Jesus Christ are artfully insinuated by these statements.
As amazing as that statement is, it is what John writes in the next verses that quite literally should startle one’s senses. The apostle describes this eternal being who pre-existed the beginning as One whom he, John (and the disciples) heard, saw, saw with their eyes, looked upon, touched, touched with their hands. This is incredible language if you contemplate what is being said here.
It is as though sitting here this morning you realize that the person next to you pre-existed creation and He is sitting next to you. You can hear Him breathing and speaking, you can touch Him, and look upon Him. That would be astounding and it is what I find to be so profound here in this particular description of the incarnation!
The historical incarnation is a first major tangible event leading up to the fulfillment of the regulations found in Leviticus. Had there been no incarnation we would still be following those stringent rules even today while waiting for something yet to come.
John also associates the incarnation with the issue of sin later in this first chapter. The presence and reality of sin has necessitated a blood sacrifice.
In verse 7 John reminds us that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (the blood of Jesus replaces by fulfillment all those goats, sheep, and bulls of Leviticus.)
In verse 8 we are informed of our ongoing struggle with sin. In fact, the idea of sinless perfection is called a deceit – if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And if we continue to think we have not sinned, John elevates that falsehood to the level of blasphemy saying in verse 10, that by such we make God a liar.
And so we come to our passage for the morning 1 John 2:1-2:
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.
In 1 John 2:1-2 we are given valuable instruction regarding the advocatory ministry and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the elixir to be taken along with Leviticus.
My complicated outline for the morning has two headings; verse 1 verse 2.
Verse 1
Let’s spend a little time in verse 1 from which I want to answer 4 questions
1 to whom does John write his letter?
2 what is John’s goal in writing this letter?
3 nevertheless, what is our sad reality?
4 what is God’s marvelous provision?
1 John 2:1 | 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.
One of John’s admirable characteristics as a contributor to the New Testament is his economy of words. He is able to say a great deal with only a few simple words.
1 To whom does John write his letter?
My little children, these things I write to you. . . this answers the 1st question
John launches into his exhortation by referring to his readers as my little children – teknia mou. There are in Greek two different words for children. One word, παιδια, refers to the fact of childhood as a category of person, one we would call a child. The other word, τεκνια, refers to the same category of person, but it incorporates the birthing aspect or process of becoming a child (by being born as an infant).
Hence, tεκνια μου, might be well translated – my little begotten ones for it draws special attention to the birth event.
Since none interprets this to mean that John is writing to his natural sons and daughters of the flesh, we can understand that John is most likely writing to believers amongst whom he has ministered in a saving fashion. In the narrowest sense, John writes to believers whom he considers to be his own spiritual offspring in the Lord.
Perhaps through one of John’s letters or his gospel, read or preached, you were exposed to the gospel of grace and experienced the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). If that is the case, then you also are, in a special sense, a little begotten one of John.
Regardless of your personal circumstances, it is a certainty that every one of us who has believed in Christ has done so because the Word of God has been made powerful in us in effecting a spiritual birth. No one comes to faith in Christ apart from the Holy Spirit working in conjunction with the Scriptures (James 1:18, Romans 1:16, 10:17). As believers we are all truly the little begotten ones of God.
This first title for believers, my little begotten ones, is a most tender and affectionate label. It is not a label we can apply to ourselves, but one which must be applied by the sovereign work of God. Not a one of us who by our own effort has caused our self to be born into this world as the offspring of our parents. Likewise, no one by his own will, by personal decision, or by any other human effort, has caused his own spiritual regeneration (John 1:13 & Romans 9:16). We believe because we have been born again, not so that we might be born again.[1] Hence, full of affection for his readers John begins by describing his goal in writing to us, as little begotten ones.
2 What is John’s goal in writing this letter?
We need only read the text:
– these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.
Those who would read 1 John 1:9 and misunderstand by it that the simplicity of confession is a license for unrestrained sin fail to heed 1 John 2:1. The former is a gracious provision for the temporal cleansing of saints who sin, but it is no ground for sinful behavior. That you may not sin is the appropriate goal that every one of us ought to pursue actively. Sanctification is more than the removal of the guilt of sin; it is also the cultivation of a righteous behavior as the image of the Lord Jesus Christ is reproduced in each one of us.
The purpose of God’s Word, with respect to God’s elect people, is not solely to save them, but by saving them cause them to become holy.
1 Peter 1:14-16
. . . as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 19).
Matthew Henry has referred to this command as ‘the great fundamental law of our religion.’”[2] In 1 Peter 2:9 we are called a holy nation. Today much emphasis is placed upon the abundant life in the false sense of God meeting our felt needs, but God’s people are to be, first and foremost, holy.
In the epistle to the Hebrews we are famously commanded to strive . . . for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (12:14).
Godliness is characterized by conforming to God’s character as discovered in His Word. Our prayers, therefore, ought to include this goal – that we may not sin.
3 What is our sad reality?
John in v 1 goes on to describe succinctly what that is – but if anyone sins.
Though we seek and should continually seek, by the sustaining grace of God, to sin no more, it is our regrettable reality that we do sin. Habitual, persistent sin ought not to characterize a true saint, but occasional, temporal sin is a problem with which we must all deal.
Occasional sin does, in fact, disrupt our communion and walk with the Lord. 1 John 1:9 is the Lord’s counsel and provision regarding temporal sin and the restoration of our communion with the Father.
Sin is always a moral outrage and offense against a thrice holy God. It is never to be lightly considered, wistfully dismissed, winked at, or psychologically excused. Our present verse, if anyone sins, puts forth our reality as little begotten ones, but it offers no excuse for it nor does it condone sin in us.
4 What is God’s marvelous provision?
Let John answer this for us.
We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
We have seen our goal – that we may not sin, our reality – if anyone sins, and now God’s provision – an Advocate with the Father.
1 John 1:9 (the confession of sin) instructs us as to one of the things we have on earth to resolve our problem with sin. But in the present verse we are given a glimpse of who in heaven wrestles with our trespasses on our behalf. The Lord Jesus Christ has not only purchased our redemption and secured our forgiveness, but He also maintains that which He has secured.
We have an Advocate. The Greek word here is often transliterated as “Paraclete.” Lexicons define this word, when used outside of the Bible as being “called to one’s side, one who pleads another’s cause before a judge, a pleader, a counsel for defense, legal assistant and intercessor.”[3]
The Puritan pastor, Thomas Watson, has written:
“Christ intercedes. It is man that sins, it is God that prays. The Greek word for advocate signifies comforter. It is a sovereign comfort that Christ makes intercession.”[4]
Paul writes in Romans 8:34
. . . It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Christ as our heavenly advocate is a wonderful provision. Enhancing that provision we note from the grammar of the verse that the verb we have, is in the present tense. This Advocate advocates now. Had this been recorded in the future tense, Christ’s intercession which occurs if anyone sins might be a delayed benefit, delayed until some action on the sinner’s part was accomplished. However, the Spirit of God has given us this promise in the present tense. Intercession is immediate and on-going. One theologian of the 17th century writes, “because we offend God every day, we need an advocate to intercede for us every day.”[5]
From the mood of the verb we learn that the Spirit presents this as a statement of fact (indicated by the indicative mood). It is not a mere possibility that we have an Advocate who advocates for us . We, in fact have this Advocate advocating for us right now, continuously. The present work of the Lord Jesus Christ, interceding for His people before God the Father, is immediate and constant, we have an advocate with the Father.
Who is this incredible Advocate?
Looking again at this verse this Advocate is identified for us specifically as Jesus Christ the righteous. We have in this identifier the name, the title, and the qualification of this One who is our Advocate.
His name is Jesus because He saves His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
His title is Christ, the anointed One, long anticipated, a reference to His messianic appointment, as prophet, priest, and king. The priest was the one who brought the acceptable sacrifices to God for the sins of the people he represented. This has been the work of Christ as priest with a perfect sacrifice.
However, it is the adjective, the righteous, which carries a bit of emphasis here, for it refers to the character and qualification of Jesus Christ. The priests of Israel were to be of high character and qualification and their sacrifices were to be without blemish (Exodus 12:5). Jesus Christ was and is both our priest and our sacrifice. He is of the highest character and qualification.
Hebrews 7:26 | For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
In order for Jesus Christ to be the suitable and acceptable sacrifice for our sins He had to be without blemish. In order for Him to be my Advocate there can be no stain of moral imperfection on Him. Jesus Christ had to be and is the righteous one.
Jeremiah 23:5-6 | “Behold, the days are coming,” says YHWH, “that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; . . . now this is His name by which He will be called: YHWH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
1 John 2:1 bears a great deal of theological instruction in only a few words. However, we must not lose sight of what we are observing. We are witnessing the work of an Advocate who is continuously pleading for and interceding on the behalf of His little begotten ones who are inherently undeserving of that ministry. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another (Titus 3:3). The Son of God intercedes for hell-deserving rebels who are not worthy of such favor and blessing. And this, dear ones is simply the mere edges of the magnitude of the grace of the God who saves us.
How can this be? How can a man be righteous before God? (Job 9:2) Is there no satisfaction for the penalty earned and merited by my sin? These questions lead us to the grandest of divine verities and to the next verse.
Verse 2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Verse 2 introduces to us one big hard word as well as a second easier, but very important word. Those two words are: first, the big hard one – propitiation and, second, the easier but important one – world. You may have to practice saying that first word as it is big, long and has five syllables. Nevertheless, it is a most important word in the Bible. It is a big word. It is a hard word, but it is also a wonderfully good word, propitiation.
Propitiation
Let get to that word by following the verse right to it.
We read, He is the propitiation for our sins – He is the propitiation . A good place to start is to be sure we know who the He is John has in mind.
And that subject is the One John just called Jesus Christ the righteous in the previous verse. Jesus Christ the righteous is the propitiation. Though it may seem elementary, I would point out to you that this is a singular subject. Only one individual is doing the work described in this verse – this big, hard word, propitiation. With respect to propitiation only Jesus Christ the righteous works to accomplish that end. Only Jesus Christ the Righteous is the propitiation.
In Greek text a word is included which is not translated for us. That word stresses the singular subject He. John actually writes He Himself is the propitiation for our sins. The use of Himself, as an intensive personal pronoun, is significant. In the Old Testament it was the duty of the priest to offer a propitiating sacrifice on behalf of the people he represented. The Scriptures in this place emphasize that Jesus Christ as priest did indeed offer a sacrifice, but the sacrifice offered was He Himself. Jesus Christ is not only the priest; He is also the sacrifice, the propitiation for our sins.
propitiation – So what does our big hard word mean? It is almost easier to say it in the Greek hilasmos than in the English – propitiation.
What does the Apostle mean by the word propitiation? This word in classical Greek means “placating the anger of, buying the favor of some person.”[6] In the New Testament hilasmos means “that sacrifice which perfectly, fully satisfies the just demands of God’s law which the human race broke.”[7] The idea of satisfaction is very helpful in understanding this big hard word, propitiation.
In pagan religions men attempted to propitiate their gods by offering various things to distract the anger of their gods. They would offer food or wine or money to the gods. Even young children and virgins were sacrificed in order to appease the divine anger of their temperamental gods.
The Scriptures declare that it is Jesus Christ who offers that which fully satisfies the just demands of God. And it is He Himself offered at Calvary’s cross that propitiates (satisfies), not a temperamental god, but rather a thrice holy God. The violation of the Creator’s righteous standard demands a penalty that satisfies.
Sin is a violation of God’s moral standard which is the reflection of His righteous character. It is the violation of an eternal standard. Since the standard broken was God’s, only an individual as holy and infinite as God can make sufficient restitution for the sin. However, since it was a man who violated that standard and incurred the debt, it must be a man who pays it. We need a God-man!
This is our dilemma for we are literally in debt over our heads. We have committed a crime, the punishment for which exceeds our ability to pay though we remain liable for that payment. In the words of a Welsh pastor, we are “poor, proud and bankrupt, ten thousand talents in debt and nothing to pay.”[8]
What is propitiation? As a weak, but hopefully helpful analogy, it would be similar to being tried in a court of law for a crime you have committed. Upon being found guilty of that crime the judge sets a penalty of one billion dollars. If you will pay that one billion dollars the judge will be satisfied and you will be free to go. The problem arises when you discover that all that you have, all that you are, and all that you shall ever earn totals less than one hundred dollars. You will never have enough to propitiate this judge in regard to your debt.
We are sinners from birth and the penalty of our offense infinitely exceeds our ability to pay. Who then shall become the propitiation for our sins?
Free from all requirement to move toward His creatures, God, nevertheless sent forth His Son (Galatians 4:4). Start to finish, this propitiation for our sins is the work of God. Jesus Christ, He Himself is that propitiating sacrifice.
At Calvary’s cross full and complete satisfaction was accomplished. At Calvary’s cross full and complete satisfaction was not merely made possible.
Propitiation was a transaction between God the Father and God the Son regarding man’s sin. Our Lord was successful in providing a propitiation for sins in our place, on our behalf. The Father has been completely satisfied/propitiated by the sacrifice offered.
Let’s try one more analogy by which we might understand this big hard word – propitiation. Think of one of your big eating holidays (Thanksgiving or Christmas) when your tables are covered with lots of good food, you sit with your family and begin to eat and eat and eat. Finally, your father places his hands on the edge of the table, pushes his chair back and exclaims – ‘that was so good, I am full – I am completely satisfied!” Your father, in a sense, has been propitiated with respect to his hunger. That is a pretty inadequate analogy, but perhaps you can see the relationship. Jesus Christ the Righteous in giving His life at Calvary for your sins has fully and completely satisfied all of the just demands of God’s holy law. Nothing further is needed to pay your debt.
The sins taken to Calvary have been punished fully and they shall not require additional punishment again in the lake of fire. To pay the penalty for sin once at Calvary, and then to require that penalty to be paid again in the lake of fire, is to punish sin twice, and thereby make Calvary’s cross seem to be ineffective, incomplete, even unsuccessful.[9]
The verb in this verse is ἐιμί, to be, and so we read He Himself is (estin) the propitiation. It is in the indicative mood, presented as a statement of fact not conjecture. Jesus Christ is, factually, the propitiation. He is not merely an hypothetical propitiation. Every sin He represented is paid for, fully.
The verb to be is an equating verb (2+2 is 4). Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins. As our high priest He is the one supplying the propitiating sacrifice. As the sacrifice, Himself, He is that propitiation. He is not like or similar to a propitiation for sin. Neither is He a symbol or an example of propitiation. On Calvary’s cross He actually became the propitiation for sins. It is very important to note that 1 John 2:2 does not state, teach, nor infer that Jesus Christ might possibly be or become the propitiation for our sins. This verse emphatically states that Jesus Christ actually is the propitiation for our sins.
This concept is well expressed in the hymn, “Faith Reviving,” written by Augustus Toplady (circa 1765).
Complete atonement Thou hast made,
And to the utmost farthing paid
All that Thy people owed;
Nor will God’s wrath my soul distress,
If sheltered in Thy righteousness,
And sprinkled with Thy blood.If Christ my discharge has procured,
And freely in my place endured
the whole of wrath divine,
God will not payment twice demand,
First at my dying Saviour’s hand,
And then again at mine.
Can you not see how awesome it is that Jesus Christ the righteous – He Himself is the propitiation for our sins?
World
This bring us to that important second word – world.
Our verse says He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
In this last part of the verse John makes a very important statement with regard to the propitiation that Jesus Christ is.
In its most narrow sense, John is writing to his little begotten ones. Jesus Christ is the propitiation for their sins. But what about those of us who are not literally John’s little begotten ones? The Holy Spirit moves John to add not for our sins only but also for those of the whole world.
So for whom all is Jesus the propitiation for sins? The answer to this question is simple – Jesus Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. This is our answer. But now can you begin to see how very important this second word world is? John has clearly presented to us Jesus Christ as the true and real propitiation for sin and not a potential/hypothetical propitiation for sin. Because Jesus Christ paid the debt of sin and did not merely offer conditionally to pay the debt of sin, sin is paid for.
Hence, whoever is included in this word world has had all their sins paid for. If all your sins are paid for then you cannot and will not have to pay for them again in judgment. A complete atonement has been made and to the utmost farthing paid all that God’s people owed . . . God will not payment twice demand, first at my dying Saviour’s hand, and then again at mine.
This second very important word is very important. What does the word world mean?
In the Greek that word is kosmos. In its most literal and broadest sense it has to do with all that God created and ordered. In its philosophical use it refers to everything brought to created order out from a chaos. Kosmos refers to the divine work of bringing into existence all that is and ordering it.
Kosmos has come into English in our word “cosmetic” which curiously might be related to bringing order out of chaos.
This word world is used in many different ways. Commonly, we use this word world to refer to people though literally it means everything that God has created. But we limit the word, not taking it literally, and use it narrowly to only mean people.
If Jesus Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, then we must see how important it is that we understand what the word world in this place includes. No one has ever taught that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for all created things, inclusive of the animals, rivers, mountains, thunderstorms, airplanes, or even demons, all of which are part of the kosmos. A nakedly literal interpretation of world would imply that.
When we encounter this word world we must allow the context to define it for us.
In John 3:16 we read that God so loved the world but in 1 John 2:15 we are commanded, not to love the world. In John 17 Jesus Christ says that He is not praying for the world but He does say that He prays for those God gave to Him out of the world. In that place world does not mean all people, but rather some of all people.
In 1 John 2:2 we are purposely taught that the Lord Jesus Christ is (present tense indicative mood) the propitiation for our sins and this is expanded to the whole world. When we define the meaning of the phrase whole world we must remember that whoever we include in that definition is one for whom Christ has paid that debt to the last farthing. Whoever we put inside the word world shall not be one day put into the lake of fire. The whole of the verse demands this in the light of the true and real propitiation that Jesus Christ is.
The modification of world by the adjective whole (holos) can bear two interpretations. Often holos can imply a totality in the sense of each and everything or everyone in the world ever. That definition simply will not work here. Has Christ purchased successfully the redemption of every person born of Adam (even Pharaoh and Judas and those cast into the lake of fire at the end of Revelation)?
But oJvloV is not always used in the sense of totality, but it is just as often used in reference to the extent of a thing (e.g. throughout the entire world). Is it not true that
Jesus Christ has become the only Redeemer there is world-wide? If anyone is saved, is not Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world? There is no one else to look to for salvation. All those given to Him by the Father will come to Him, He will not cast them out because He is the propitiation for their sins. He is Jesus for He will save His people from their sins.
Conclusion
There is ever so much more we could contemplate from this marvelous passage. My goal has been to recite in your hearing how this verse has daily calmed me as I read through Leviticus. All those bloody sacrifices were offered for Israel, but not for Canaan nor for Egypt, just for God’s chosen ones. Whatever we shall learn from the coming series will only enhance our strong appreciation for Jesus Christ the Righteous who is the propitiation for our sins. He is the end of the law. He is the conclusion of Leviticus.
The numerous offerings and rituals of Leviticus daily, constantly and repetitively provoked an anticipation of the one true and culminating sacrifice that does in fact propitiate the God who will by no means clear the guilty. Those rites and rituals are now fulfilled.
The Lord has given us a table to visit as oft as we will. When we visit it we see the conclusion of Leviticus and rejoice in the words it is finished. The bread and cup ‘flesh” out for us Jesus Christ the Righteous who is the propitiation for our sins.
ENDNOTES
[1]. For example, in 1 John 5:1 the verb translated is born of God, as a Greek perfect tense, would be better understood in the sense of has already been born of God.
[2]. As cited in John Blanchard’s What Ever Happened to Hell (Darlington: Evangelical Press, 1993) 289.
[3]. Joseph Henry Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970) 483.
[4]. Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity (1692; Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, reprinted 1974)186.
[5]. Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, II, 14:q 161692; Philadelphia: P&R Publishing, translated & published 1997) , p 483.
[6]. Kenneth B. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament for the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966). “Great Truths to Live By” 3:109-110.
[7]. Wuest 3:109-110.
[8]. Richard Bennett, Howell Harris and the Dawn of Revival (Midglamorgan: Evangelical Press of Wales, 1987) 57. Pastor Jones died in March 1772 at the age of 83 after serving his church over fifty years.
[9]. This would be a necessary conclusion if it were true that Christ has died for ALL of the sins of ALL men without exception and yet some men go to the lake of fire for punishment. Likewise, the Roman doctrine of Purgatory must lead us to a similarly impugned view of Christ’s atoning sacrifice if the payment for sins is to be made at a place other than Calvary’s cross or the lake of fire. For His people, Jesus paid it ALL.
B. C. Newton 