1 John 2:1–6

“1 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.[1]” (1 John 2:1–6, NASB 95)


We need an advocate to speak on our behalf to a Holy God, and we have one! There is more! Our advocate wants to remain with us. He wants to stay with us. He wants to have fellowship with us. He wants an abiding fellowship with us. He has not just done His job before the God of Heaven and said best of luck out there. He desires friendship.

Jesus is our advocate. Our sacrifice. The Apostle John wants us to rest assured in the work of Christ. As we do, we revere, worship, and admire Him. As we remember the greatness and majesty of Jesus, we seek to become more like Him and spend more time with Him. As we spend more time with our Advocate, we imitate His ways. We value what He values. We want to spend more and more time in friendship with our advocate so we can walk as He walked.

1. Discussion Questions:
   Have you ever had someone speak on your behalf or vouch for you? What happened, and how did it make you feel?
2. How does understanding Jesus as our Advocate (1 John 2:1-2) impact your view of sin and forgiveness?
3. How does John's command to love one another challenge your current attitudes and actions towards others? (1 John 2:7-11)
4. How does understanding that "the world is passing away" impact your priorities and decisions?
5. Russell mentioned a couple of principles for applying abiding with our Advocate. 1) What we resemble, we revere. 2) We imitate our environment. Discuss these and be honest about what you imitate or resemble.