1 John ii. 1, 2. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous : arid he is the propi- tiation for our sins : and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
THERE are two extremes to which men are apt to incline, namely, presumption and despair ; and against both of these the Gospel is designed to guard us. The ungodly world at large imagine that God will never execute his threatened judgments r and some will take occasion even from the Gospel itself to expect impunity in the ways of sin. But the rich promises of the Gospel were never given for this end : it was never God's design that his " grace should be turned into licentiousness ;" and therefore the Apostle affectionately warns us against such an abuse of it; " My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not." On the other hand, there are some persons, who, from a sense of their mani- fold backslidings, are ready to despond. To these the Apostle proceeds to speak : he sets before them the offices which Christ sustains on the behalf of
2433.] Christ's advocacy and atonement. 373
sinners ; and encourages them under every fresh con- tracted guilt to look unto him as a willing, suitable, and all-sufficient Saviour.
To further this good work in your hearts, we will shew,
I. The offices of Christ —
It will be proper to notice first that which is last mentioned in the text —
He is a " Propitiation for sin " —
[To understand what is meant by this, we should consider the state of man. We were fallen creatures, and, in conse- quence of our fall, obnoxious to the wrath of God. To restore ourselves to the Divine favour was impossible, because we could not offer any atonement for the sins we had committed. God, though ready to forgive, could not exercise mercy towards us in any way which did not accord with his justice, holiness, and truth. Christ therefore undertook to make satisfaction to the Divine justice, so that " mercy and truth might meet together, and righteousness and peace might kiss each other." This he did by substituting himself in our place. " He bore our sins in his own body on the treea," and " suf- fered, the just for the unjust b." Our apprehension of this matter will be greatly assisted, if we consider how it was represented under the Mosaic economy. Bullocks, goats, and lambs were offered in sacrifice to God. The offender, when he brought his sacrifice, laid his hands upon its head, and transferred to it his guilt; and then it was put to death in his stead. This sacrifice God accepted on behalf of the offerer, and, out of respect to it, forgave his iniquities0. This indeed was only a type: but it shadowed forth what was really done by Christ, who " came to put away sin by the sacrifice of himselfd." The whole language of Scripture accords with this explanation, and confirms the truth of this stupendous mystery e.]
He is also our "Advocate with the Father" —
a 1 Pet. ii. 24. b I Pet. iii. 18.
c Lev. i. 2, 4. d Heb. ix. 26.
e Eph. v. 2. Rom. iii. 25. In this latter passage, as also in the text, the word which we translate " propitiation," is the same as is elsewhere translated, " mercy-seat." Compare Heb. ix. 5. But the illustration above given, is that which the scope of the passage evi- dently requires ; and to explain the word in reference to the mercy- seat, would, in this place, only embarrass and obscure the sense.