Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 John 2:1

"My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" — 1 John 2:1 (ASV)

As John resumes his discourse on sin and forgiveness, we see a striking change of mood. Whereas earlier he was focusing on his opponents and their false teaching, now he speaks about these things as they affect his followers. The note of endearment—“my dear children”—in no way minimizes the seriousness of the discussion. Lest any conclude from his previous statements that sin must be considered inevitable in the life of the believer and not a matter of urgent concern since God forgives sins through Christ, John hastens to add, “I write this to you so that you will not sin.” There is no question at all in his mind that sin and obedience to God are irreconcilable. Sin is the enemy. It removes the believer from the light, prevents fellowship with God, and destroys fellowship with the children of light. The principle of sin as the power of darkness must be excluded from the believer’s life, and individual acts of sin must be resisted. Where failure occurs, the sin must be confessed before the body and the Lord and then abandoned. And always the intent of the believer remains the same— not to commit sin! If any of his children should fail and commit sin, the author is anxious that they neither deceive themselves about it nor lie about their action and give up walking in the light. The answer to lapsing into sin is the forgiveness of God made available through Jesus Christ. He has been designated the believer’s advocate, the counsel “who speaks... in our defense.” His worthiness to perform this function rests on the fact that even as God is righteous (1:9), so he too merits the title “The Righteous One.”