1 John 2:1 (NASB)
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;
1) My little children - refers only to those born anew and indwelt with the Holy Spirit, also called our Paraclete or helper.
2) I am writing - refers to this letter
3) These things - actually the Greek word here simply means "these" but leaves unstated what are these things. In our case, the things are the Christian principles or teachings contained in this letter. Thus "these principles" would better convey the idea.
4) So that you may not sin - here we come to the heart of the matter. John tells us two seemingly mutually exclusive truths: one, that as born anew believes we still sin, and two, that as born anew believers we do not sin.
1 John 1:10 (NKJV)
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 3:9 (NKJV)
Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
One interpretation used to sidestep this difficulty is to "clarify" by adding continually into the text so it reads "...does not sin continually..." I think that strategy is mistaken. I think we continue to do sinful deeds as born anew believes, and while not the same sin necessarily, we continually do sinful deeds (thoughts or actions) as we mature. Hopefully that is the case, or I am in darkness.
Another solution, the one I believe to be correct, is to understand that "sin" has two components, the act and the consequence. Thus as born anew believers we continue to do sinful acts, and if we deny it, we are not of the Truth. However, as born anew believers, we never incur the consequence or penalty or stored wrath as a result of our sinful act, because all our sin's penalties has been forgiven and remembered no more forever.
5) If anyone sins - does a sinful act, we have our advocate or sidekick defender, who will bring the misstep to our attention (convict us) and encourage us to strive to avoid missteps in the future.
6) Who is our Paraclete, our Helper, our sidekick Defender? The Spirit of Christ! And He totally intercedes for our behalf with the Father. See Romans 8:26-27 and 34.
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;
1) My little children - refers only to those born anew and indwelt with the Holy Spirit, also called our Paraclete or helper.
2) I am writing - refers to this letter
3) These things - actually the Greek word here simply means "these" but leaves unstated what are these things. In our case, the things are the Christian principles or teachings contained in this letter. Thus "these principles" would better convey the idea.
4) So that you may not sin - here we come to the heart of the matter. John tells us two seemingly mutually exclusive truths: one, that as born anew believes we still sin, and two, that as born anew believers we do not sin.
1 John 1:10 (NKJV)
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 3:9 (NKJV)
Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
One interpretation used to sidestep this difficulty is to "clarify" by adding continually into the text so it reads "...does not sin continually..." I think that strategy is mistaken. I think we continue to do sinful deeds as born anew believes, and while not the same sin necessarily, we continually do sinful deeds (thoughts or actions) as we mature. Hopefully that is the case, or I am in darkness.
Another solution, the one I believe to be correct, is to understand that "sin" has two components, the act and the consequence. Thus as born anew believers we continue to do sinful acts, and if we deny it, we are not of the Truth. However, as born anew believers, we never incur the consequence or penalty or stored wrath as a result of our sinful act, because all our sin's penalties has been forgiven and remembered no more forever.
5) If anyone sins - does a sinful act, we have our advocate or sidekick defender, who will bring the misstep to our attention (convict us) and encourage us to strive to avoid missteps in the future.
6) Who is our Paraclete, our Helper, our sidekick Defender? The Spirit of Christ! And He totally intercedes for our behalf with the Father. See Romans 8:26-27 and 34.
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