Gospel of John [20:19]. Christ's Resurrection, part 14 (fellowship with Christ and the Father - Antinomianism).

Title: Gospel of John [20:19]. Christ's Resurrection, part 14 (fellowship with Christ and the Father - Antinomianism).

 

Announcements/opening prayer:

 

 

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

 

In verse eight, we have the denial of the indwelling sinful nature. In this verse we have the denial of specific acts of sin. This is the claim of sinless perfection.

 

The verb "we have not sinned" is in the perfect tense, which tense in Greek refers to an action completed in past time, having present results. The denial here is of any acts of sin committed in past time with the implication that none are able to be committed at present. This is sinless perfection with a vengeance.

 

The person who makes that claim, John says, makes God a liar, and does not have the Word of God in him.

 

Perfectionism has two causes:

 

(1)The stifling of conscience: we make Him a liar, i.e., turn a deaf ear to His inward testimony, His voice in our souls.

 

(2)Ignorance of His Word: it 'is not in us.' Such a delusion were impossible if we steeped our minds in the Scriptures.

 

1Jo 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

 

What was just written was not done in order to give Christians the idea that they should sin because they are born sinners who will never reach sinless perfection and they are under grace, forgiven and cleansed. That was not the point. The point was for believers to understand the reality of who they are and who God is and to walk in the light as God is light and knowing that they are sinners and they will sin and how to recover from that and keep moving on in God's light as children of light.

 

Observe the sudden change in the apostle's manner. His heart is very tender toward his people, and he adopts an affectionate and personal tone:

 

John passes from the formal 'we' to 'I,' and he styles them 'my little children' ... his favorite appellation (compare 2:12,28; 3:7,18; 4:4; 5:21).

 

Not only is this appellation penned by the aged teacher, but it was a phrase of Jesus in Joh 13:33. John had caught the phrase and its spirit. He remembered how the Master had dealt with His disciples, and he would deal with his people after the same fashion and be to them what Jesus had been to himself — as gentle and patient.

 

John assumes this tone because he is about to address a warning to them as he foresees the possibility of a twofold perversion of his teaching: (1) 'If we can never in this life be done with sin, why strive after holiness? It is useless; sin is an abiding necessity.'

 

Paul foresaw the same after writing Rom 5 and stated in 6:1 - are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!

 

(2) 'If escape be so easy, why dread falling into sin? We may sin with light hearts, since we have the blood of Jesus to cleanse us.'

 

No - he is not discouraging the pursuit of holiness or emboldening us to sin.

 

'No,' he answers, 'I am not writing these things to you either to discourage you in the pursuit of holiness or to embolden you in sinning, but, on the contrary, in order that you may not sin.'

 

Pursue holiness under the umbrella of the grace of God.

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As a physician might say to his patient: 'Your trouble is obstinate and very resistant to treatment: the poison is in your blood, and it will take a long time to eradicate it. But I do not tell you this to discourage you or make you careless; no, on the contrary, to make you watchful and diligent in the use of the remedy'; so the apostle says: 'My little children, these things I am writing to you in order that ye may not sin.'

 

1Jo 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;

 

"If, however, we fall into sin, let us not lose heart, for we have an Advocate with the Father ...

 

Our Advocate does not plead that we are innocent or attempt to explain as a means of giving excuse. He acknowledges our guilt and presents His vicarious work as the ground of our acquittal.

 

He stands in the Court of Heaven a Lamb as it had been slain

 

Rev 5:6

 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain,

 

His presence and His scars are always the silent acquittal for every sin committed.

 

In heaven there is the constant appearance of the suffering of Christ on behalf of sinners which led to the forgiveness of all sin.

 

"Advocate" - para,klhtoj[parakletos] = one called to your side, one who undertakes and champions your cause, one who comes to your aid.

 

Moulton and Milligan define; "a friend of the accused person, called to speak to his character, or otherwise enlist the sympathy of the judges." This was its use in the secular world of that day.

 

In the expression, "if any man sin," we have the aorist subjunctive, speaking, not of habitual action, but of a single act. John views sin in the believer's life, not as habitual, but infrequent.

 

It could better be translated, "if any man commit an act of sin."

 

If it be true we have an Advocate face to face with the Father, always in fellowship with Him and always restoring us to fellowship through His finished work.

 

This Advocate is described by John as "Jesus Christ the righteous."

 

One commentator states:

 

"Only the righteous One, the guiltless, the One that is separate from sin, can be the Advocate with God for sinners, in general, the Mediator of salvation, and makes His friendship for us prevalent with God, because only such a one has access to God and fellowship with God." [Rothe]

 

Heb 7:26

For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens

 

1Pe 3:18

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

 

 "What better advocate could we have for us, than He that is appointed to be our Judge." [Taylor]

 

John further describes Him as "the propitiation for our sins."

 

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

 

"propitiation" - i`lasmo,j[hilasmos] = In pagan usage it meant to appease but in the NT its meaning changed to what satisfies God's justice, the expiation of Christ.

 

It is not a matter of appeasing an angry God who has personal feelings against the offender. It is the demolishing of the barrier that made fellowship with God by any man impossible. Propitiation is satisfying God's justice so that all mankind can be justified before God through faith in Christ.

 

That which caused the alienation between God and man, was sin. It was the guilt of sin that separated man from his creator. Our Lord on the Cross assumed that guilt and paid the penalty in His own blood, and thus removed the cause of alienation. Now a holy and righteous God can bestow mercy upon a believing sinner on the basis of justice satisfied. Our Lord provided a satisfaction for the demands of the broken law.

 

The intensive pronoun autos is used because unlike the OT priest who offered an animal sacrifice but not himself, Christ offered Himself. This wonderful New Testament Priest is both the Priest and the Sacrifice.

 

Charles Wesley [brother of John, founder of Methodist denomination] wrote a song as a commentary on 1Jo 2:2.

 

He ever lives above, For me to intercede

His all-redeeming love, His precious blood to plead

His blood atoned for all our race, And sprinkles now the throne of grace

Five bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary

They pour effectual prayers, They strongly speak for me

Forgive him, O forgive! they cry, Nor let that ransom'd sinner die!

 

This satisfaction has been provided to every single person in this whole world, not one person was excluded.

 

When the disciples recognized the Lord their fear was turned to rejoicing. We see Him every day through His word.

 

I selected one more passage in 1Jo to complete our brief study of fellowship. The focus on this aspect of fellowship is love.

 

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.

 

The love of which John, like Paul, speaks is self-giving love, not an acquisitive love (of self-interest). Agape involves a consuming passion for the well-being of others - its wellspring from God.

 

The Greek word eros is a needs-based and desire-based, egocentric and acquisitive love: in other words, we can love other humans and God with a love of eros in which we love them out of self-interest in order to acquire and possess them.

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