The Word, the Light, Our Advocate
1 John 1-2:14

The Incarnate Word
• Jesus is the Word of Life (1:1)
• The Word of Life gives Eternal Life (1:2)
• Eternal Life brings fellowship with God (1:3)
• Fellowship with God brings Complete Joy (1:4)
God is Light
• If we walk in darkness, we are not of the light (1:5-6)
• If we walk in the light, we are cleansed by the blood of Christ (1:7)
• If we don’t acknowledge our sin, the truth is not in us (1:8)
• If we confess our sin, Christ will cleanse us from it (1:9)
• If we believe we have no sin, we are liars and don’t know the truth (1:10)
Jesus is our Advocate
• Jesus is our “Advocate,” the propitiation for our sins (2:1-2)
paraklētŏs; an intercessor, consoler:—advocate, comforter. ‘to call upon to provide help,’ one who may be called upon to provide help or assistance—’ helper.’
hilasmŏs; atonement, i.e. an expiator:—propitiation. The means by which sins are forgiven—’ the means of forgiveness, expiation.’
Though some traditional translations render ἱλαστήριον as ‘propitiation,’ this involves a wrong interpretation of the term in question. Propitiation is essentially a process by which one does a favor to a person in order to make him or her favorably disposed, but in the NT, God is never the object of propitiation since he is already on the side of people. ἱλασμός and ἱλαστήριονa denote the means of forgiveness and not propitiation.
• The proof of knowing and being in Jesus is obedience to His word (2:3-6)