The Riches OF GRACE
“hath appeared to all men.” Titus 2:11
Robert W. Reed
2017
Our Advocate
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: …” I John 2:1
In this verse of Scriptures, John is writing to born again children of God, saying that they ought not to sin, but if they do sin, they (the believers), have an Advocate with the Father. Please note that provisions have not only been made at the Cross to save us but provisions have also been made to keep us saved unto the very end.
An Advocate is as a lawyer or attorney, that is, one who pleads the case of another. He is one who is called alongside to help or to aid. We could also refer to an Advocate as an Intercessor, a comforter, or succourer. The word advocate only appears once in the Scriptures, but the Greek word (Parakletus), from which it is translated, appears five times total and is translated comforter in the other four places (John 14:16,26, 16:7-11, 15:26). The Holy Spirit is referred to as a comforter. The reason I point this out is to show the association between a comforter and an advocate.
According to Romans 8:27, the Holy Spirit maketh intercession for the believers on earth during trials and conflicts. The Holy Spirit is the believers comforter to help in His ignorance and infirmity. The office of the Holy Spirit is to furnish the believers with instruction and consolation.
According to Romans 8:34, Jesus Christ is in heaven making intercession with the Father for the believers even when he sins, (Hebrews 7:25, 9:24). For, we have sinned and come short of the glory of God and thereby cannot approach God’s Holy presences, but our advocate intercedes in our behalf for He can approach God in His righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ can plead our case before God for He is the mediator between God and men (I Timothy 2:5).
Now, my purpose in this subject is to show the saints of God that we should not despair when we sin, for we have and advocate with the Father. There is no reason for the true believers to ever doubt his or her salvation today for they are secure in Jesus Christ.
The apostle John wrote I John 2:1 in view of what is said in the previous chapter, for chapter one describes our fellowship with the Father and our forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. Even though we have this forgiveness of sins, we will still have sin in our life and the guilt and conscience of sin can be a hindrance in our service for the Lord, but because of Calvary’s Cross Jesus Christ also stands before the Father daily in the believers behalf. He does not make excuses before the Father for the sins that I commit, but presents the facts, and the facts are that when He died for my sins at Calvary, He died for all my sins, (even the sins I commit daily). Please note the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 7:8, after twenty-five years of being saved, in which all believers can say the same things, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I can find not.”
According to I John 2:1-2, the Lord Jesus Christ is eligible to stand before God and plead our case based upon His Righteousness and His Propitiation.
In I John 2:1, He is called Jesus Christ the Righteous. No sinner could ever stand before God Almighty without being consumed. God cannot and will not tolerate sin in His presence. So, without Jesus Christ to stand between God and man, there would never be any reconciliation of any kind. He can do this wonderful job based upon His perfect and complete righteousness. God receives us because of the righteousness of Christ, for he satisfied God in every detail and therefore is eligible to sit at the right hand of God and plead ours case.
In I John 2:2, Jesus Christ is called the Propitiation for our sins. That is, He became our substitute for sin and dies in our place (II Corinthians 5:19,21). The word propitiation is the turning away of anger and wrath and rendering favorable. For God Almighty can now show favor to the believer in view of Jesus Christ’s payment for sin at Calvary. For Jesus satisfied the wrath of God against sin as He drank of the cup (God’s wrath) on Calvary’s cross (Matthew 26:39). I am saying the propitiatory work of Christ satisfied the righteous demands of God, Romans 3:25-26.
According to Hebrews 7:22, Jesus was made a surety of a better testament. He also became my surety, that is, Jesus Christ became responsible for my salvation from the beginning to the end, my salvation is totally in the hands of Jesus Christ. The meaning of surety is, a bondsman, a person who pledges his name or agrees to undertake for another who is lacking in ability to carry out his own obligations (Proverbs 6:1-4).
Examples of this are found in the following Scriptures, Genesis 43:9, 44:18-34; Philemon 18; 19; Psalms 119:122; Job 17:3; Isaiah 38:14. The reference in Genesis 43:9, brings out this truth very clear where Judah became surety for his younger brother Benjamin, that is, he became totally responsible for his life. The Lord Jesus Christ became totally responsibility for me and it is now His job to see that I get to heaven for it is in Him I have trusted and have turned my case entirely over too.
In view of all these truths, there is only legal protection in Christ (Romans 8:1; II Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 2:10), for the Lord Jesus Christ has never lost a case and if you are trusting in Him as your Savior, you can rest assured He will not lose your case. But, if you are not saved, you have no advocate to stand before God in your defense. If you have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior, you will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment, and there you will be judged based upon your works and then cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15). The Scriptures are clear in Isaiah 64:6 & Romans 3:10, that our righteousness is as filthy rags and without Christ’s righteousness there is no Salvation.
The advocacy work of Jesus Christ for the sinning saints is carried on with the Father based upon the eternal efficacy of His own sacrifice.
Even if fellowship is broken because of sin or guilt on our part, it is restored through Jesus Christ.
“I can have absolute victory over sin, for Jesus paid it all at Calvary’s Cross.”
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31
Victory Baptist Church
Pastor Robert W. Reed
14473 Bellingrath Road
P.O. Box 257
Coden, Alabama 36523