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. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 2:1-2, ESV
If you’ve been following along this week, as my colleagues have written about the above passage, then you should be well versed in the beautiful reality of Jesus as our Advocate. He is our defense attorney with God the Father. We would not need an Advocate if we were innocent. (Psalm 14:3, Romans 3:12, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Isaiah 53:6, Isaiah 64:6) A believer who recognizes their continued sin and consequently confesses those sins to God allows them to experience the incredible reality of Jesus also being the propitiation for their sins.
Jesus intercedes for us as our Advocate, but He’s also the payment for our sins as the atoning sacrifice (propitiation). Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Our sin requires payment, but it is IMPOSSIBLE for us, as sinners, to pay this debt. This is not only a spiritual concept, but our society mimics this principle as a criminal has to pay their debt to society. Either their time behind bars or their hours of community service serves as their repayment for whatever their crime happened to be. But as a criminal against God, we eliminate the possibility of payment coming from us when we sin.
Nevertheless, sin requires payment! According to Paul’s words in Romans, reparation will come in the form of death. That is what we deserve, and since we serve a just God, He must follow His own laws.
So, beginning with our salvation and the ultimate forgiveness we’re given through Jesus, He pleas for us to the Father for continued forgiveness. But what does He request on our behalf? One may conclude:
“This child of yours confessed their sin against you Father, and I believe in their sincerity. I ask you to bestow your forgiveness on them.”
How Christ pleads our case has less to do with us and is instead about Him. Because of Jesus, we have a case to begin with. Remember, we are guilty! We don’t really have a case. In an earthly courtroom, our lawyer would say that there’s not much they could do for us but negotiate our punishment. But with Christ, his plea as Advocate is HIMSELF… HE IS THE PROPITIATION! He and only He is able to make reparations for our sin. He paid the price for the remission of our sins.
When we recognize our sin, we acknowledge our continued need for Jesus!