CHAPTER IJ.—Vv. 1, 2. The Remedy for the Sins of Believers. ‘ My little children, these things I am writing to you in order that ye may not sin. And if any one sin an Advocate have we with the Father—Jesus Christ, a righteous One. And He is Himself the propitia- tion for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
Ver. 1. 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: (1) He passes from the formal ‘‘we” to ““—”, (2, He styles them τεκνία pov, jilioli mei, meine Kindlein—his favourite appeliation (cf. ii. 12, 28; iii. 7, 18; iv. 4; πι 21). Not only was it very suitable
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ἐάν τις ἁμάρτη,
f ~ - Χριστὸν " δίκαιον" 2. καὶ αὐτὸς "ἱλασμός ἐστι ΄περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν
Luke xxiii. 47; Acts vii. 52, xxii. 14: 1 Peter iii, 18. n Rom. iii. 25 ; Heb. ix. 5; ἱλάσκεσθαι Luke xviii. 13 ; Heb. ii. 17.
on the lips of the aged teacher, but it was a phrase of Jesus (cf. John xiii. 33). St. 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.
He assumes this tone because he is about to address a warning to them, and he would fain take the sting out of it and disarm opposition. He foresees the possibility of a two-fold 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 abid- ing necessity”. (2) ‘‘If escape be so easy, why dread falling into sin? We may sin with light hearts, since we thave the blood of Jesus to cleanse us.” 6. No,” he answers, ‘‘I am not writing these things to you either to discourage you in the pursuit of holiness or to em- bolden you in sinning, but, on the con- trary, in order that (ἵνα) ye may not sin.” Cf. Aug.: ‘‘Lest perchance he should seem to have given impunity to sins, and men should now say to themselves, *Let us sin, let us do securely what we will, Christ cleanses us; He is faithful and righteous, He cleanses us from all iniquity,’ he takes from thee evil security and implants useful fear. It is an evil ‘wish of thine to be secure; be anxious. For He is faithful and righteous to for- give us our sins, if thou art always dis- pleasing to thyself and being changed until thou be perfected.” Asa physician might say to his patient: ‘‘ Your trouble is obstinate ; the poison is in your blood, and it will take a long time to eradicate it. But I donot tell you this to discourage you or make you careless; no, on the contrary, to make you watchful and dili- gent 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”.
If, however, we fall into sin, let us not lose heart, for Παράκλητον ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα. παράκλητος, ‘one called to your side,” so, in a forensic sense, ‘one who undertakes and champions your cause,” ‘“‘an advocate”. Vulg., Advocatus ; Luth., Firsprecher bei dem Vater. Here of the ascended Jesus; in John xiv. 16, 26, xv. 26, xvi. 7, of the Holy Spirit, where Vulg. simply trans-