Rebound Revisited, part 16. 1Jo 1:9-2:2; Heb 2:17; Rom 3:25; Psa 50:7-15; Psa 51; Isa 1:11-20.

Title: Rebound Revisited, part 16. 1JO 1:9-2:2; HEB 2:17; ROM 3:25; PSA 50:7-15; Psa 51; ISA 1:11-20.

 

 

This epistle was written to refute Gnosticism.

 

1JO 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life — 

 

1JO 1:2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us

 

1JO 1:3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

 

1JO 1:4 And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

 

1JO 1:5 And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

 

1JO 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [which every type of Gnostic was doing], we lie and do not practice the truth;

 

1JO 1:7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

 

1JO 1:8 If we say that we have no sin [the flesh does not in any way effect the soul], we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

 

1JO 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

The “all” in unrighteousness refers to both the cross and the life of the believer.

 

2 Cor 7:1

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

 

1JO 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

 

The ones who said they did not sin were the ascetic Gnostics who were living in a delusion that a limited lifestyle actually atoned for sin.

 

We can all fall into these systems. The licentious Gnostic believed the flesh could not defile the soul and we can all be duped into thinking that from time to time. The ascetic Gnostic believed the solution to the sin problem was in self abasement and we can all be duped into that falsehood from time to time (self atonement or sacrifice, or penance). Neither have any value against the flesh.

 

COL 2:23

These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

 

There is only one solution to the sin problem and it is in the person and work of Jesus Christ - our Comforter seated at the right hand of God.

 

1JO 2:1 My little children [believers under John’s ministry], I am writing these things to you that you may not sin [walk in darkness]. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

 

He doesn’t say if anyone sins we confess, because he’s already stated that we have to acknowledge sin to move from darkness to light, but now he emphasizes the reason that we can acknowledge, stop, and change our system of thinking so graciously.

 

We have - present active indicative of echo which literally means to hold in the hand …

 

“Advocate” - para,kletoj[parakletos] = called to one's side, called to one's aid. It suggests the capability or adaptability for giving aid.

 

So when we sin, what are we to expect? We expect a man seated at the right hand of God to say, “I have paid for that and in full.”

 

Our acknowledgment of sin is not for forgiveness, but it is for the wonderful function of grace on the pathway from wrong thinking to right thinking.

 

Paraklete was used in a court of justice to denote a legal assistant, counsel for the defense, an advocate; then, generally, one who pleads another's cause, an intercessor, advocate, as in 1 John 2:1, of the Lord Jesus.

 

In the widest sense, parakletos signifies a helper, reliever, and comforter. “And if anyone sins, we have a Comforter with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

 

Christ was this to His disciples, by the implication of His word "another (allos, "another of the same sort," not heteros, "different") Comforter," when speaking of the Holy Spirit, JOH 14:16.

 

JOH 14:16-17

"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [another of the same sort] Helper [paraklete = Comforter], that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth,

 

The HS becomes the second witness in the CA

JOH 15:26

"When the Helper [paraklete] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me,

 

JOH 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

 

JOH 16:8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;

 

JOH 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

 

JOH 16:10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;

 

JOH 16:11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

 

1JO 2:1 My little children [believers under John’s ministry], I am writing these things to you that you may not sin [walk in darkness]. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

 

God the Holy Spirit is now the Comforter who bears witness that the first Comforter is glorified at the right hand of God - Jesus Christ the righteous.

 

JOH 16:10

and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;

 

The true comfort to the believer comes from the fact that the Righteous One atoned for all sin and His resurrection, ascension, and session guarantees justification for all who believe in Him.

 

Therefore, there is no guilt or condemnation. Neither licentiousness nor asceticism has any power against the effects of sin.

 

We have one Comforter at the right hand of God who has completed the atonement for sin, and as resurrected, ascended, and seated at the right hand of God is still Righteous which is a guarantee of His fulfillment of God’s justice at the cross. We have another Comforter within us, God the HS, who will reveal all truth to us and be a witness of the person and work of Christ. And then of course there is God the Father, who comforts us through His will [election] and plan [predestination] and with these comforters we are then to turn around and comfort one another.

 

2CO 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies [compassion] and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

 

So we have three comforters who are all for us and none against us, and all indwell us in order to show us the intimate relationship we have now and will have forever with Him who is One essence in the form of three persons.

 

Only self judgment, acknowledgment, ceasing the current trend of sin, and again thinking the mind of Christ has any effect over the misery and damage of sin, and all of it is based on the work of Christ which has been applied to the believer by means of the grace of God.

 

The Father planned it, the Son executed it, and the HS reveals it, our only part is the volitional decision to walk in it by means of grace.

 

1JO 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

 

“propitiation” - i`lasmo,j [hilasmos] = atoning sacrifice, propitiation, expiation, or sin offering. It is the satisfaction of the Father’s justice concerning sin.

 

The only other place this noun is used is by John in 1JO 4:10.

 

1JO 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

 

1JO 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

 

1JO 4:9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

 

1JO 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

The verb of this word, to propitiate, is used in HEB 2:17.

 

HEB 2:14 Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil;

 

HEB 2:15 and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

 

HEB 2:16 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.

 

HEB 2:17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

 

HEB 2:18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

 

“aid” - to run to help, to come to the aid of someone in need.

 

I would say that there is probably a million and one ways in which He can aid in the time of temptation and I would also say that each one is based somehow and in some way on the doctrine of His finished work, the believer’s union with Him, and all truth concerning the prosperity of His thinking and the damage of all thinking that is in opposition to Him, and it all revealed by God the HS who influences the believer who is walking in light. Religion and legalism in the form of major religions, cults, or ancient pagan religion seek to squelch this still small voice from the Son of God [Elijah example].  

 

It is significant to note that ancient Greek speaking people who were heavily involved in the worship of false gods knew this word well [hilaskomai - verb]. They understood this word to mean “to please the gods, to obtain their favor and goodwill.” Implied was the idea that this was achieved by means of cultic acts and ritual offerings. The pagans also saw the deep knowledge of sin within themselves and sought to appease the god’s displeasure or wrath. Man attempted to avert the seemingly capricious and arbitrary punishment of the gods through their offerings. This was a common thread in all false religions and still exists today. It is a perversion of God’s call for animal sacrifice, which occurred as early as Cain and Able, as what was to represent the one true sacrifice in Christ. The false doctrine to pervert God’s beautiful representation of atonement or propitiation was that the false gods demanded personal acts of sacrifice as well as offerings in order to appease their wrath. As it was, so it is now, all false religion is a corruption of the one truth emanating from God and revealed supernaturally to man.