Heavenly Advocate || 1 John 2:1 || Manna for the Mind #113

Welcome to Day 113 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is 1 John 2:1. We’ll discuss what it means to have someone who advocates for us before God.

1 John 2:1

AMP	NLT	MSG
1 My little children (believers, dear ones), I am writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God’s law. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father’s will in every way—purpose, thought, and action].	1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.	1 I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus.

John is calling his audience children in a warm, fatherly way. It’s easy to understand that God could be belittling them or making fun of them for being children, but that’s not how John communicates. John often shows affection for his audience. When John wrote this letter, he was very old. He had spent all his life in ministry; many of his readers were his spiritual kids. I think this is helpful for us because it can help us approach John’s teaching with childlike wonder and faith. John wrote this letter to encourage his audience to not sin. If they do, they have someone who will intercede for us with God, Jesus. Jesus conforms to God’s will through every purpose, thought, and action. We need to replicate the teachings of Jesus rather than dive into the temptations of our sins. Yet, when we mess up and fall short of this replication, Jesus will tell God that we are still loved, and we will repent and be better.

Hebrews 7:25

AMP	NLT	MSG
25 Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf [with God].	25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.	25 He’s there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them.

No one can add to what Jesus did to save us. All of our past, present, and future sins are forgiven. As our High Priest, Jesus is our advocate. He is a mediator between us and God. He looks after our interests and presents our requests. I’ve often thought of this as the “Jesus filter.” When I pray to God to ask for something, I know it has to go through Jesus first to see if it aligns with God’s plan and purpose for me. If it does, then Jesus will share how it works with me. If not, then Jesus spared me from something that could’ve been detrimental.

The Old Testament high priest would go before God once a year to plead for the forgiveness of the nation’s sins. Jesus makes this intercession before God for us continuously. His continuous presence in heaven with the Father reminds us that our sins are forgiven and paid for. This assurance liberates us from guilt, the frustration of trying to be perfect, and the fear of failure. This hits close to home for me because I’ve struggled with all these things. I’ve still dealt with the guilt of my past sins and wrestling with the consequences of it. When my sextortion incident went down, I found forgiveness and peace with God almost immediately. Yet, I still strived for forgiveness from those affected and never received it. I wrestled with why until my pastor said, “Why are you doing that? Why are you valuing their forgiveness over what God has done for you?” That rattled me, but it gave me a firmer foundation. The consequences led to the increased perfectionism I had already struggled with. One mistake away from perfection led to my demise, but God saw, and still sees, that I was always doing my best, which is what he values. When I miss my high perfectionistic standards, God forgives and forgets. People don’t, but God is more important than people. The fear of failure has always haunted me, too. I want to get it right the first time at all times because the emotions are uncomfortable when I get it wrong. I grew closer and closer to God when I knew I got it wrong because he didn’t belittle or judge me, but he heard my cries and encouraged me to try again.

Hebrews 9:24

AMP	NLT	MSG
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but [He entered] into heaven itself, now to appear in the very presence of God on our behalf;	24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.	24 Christ didn’t enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself, and offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins.

Among the references to the priests, the Tabernacle, sacrifices, and other ideas that aren’t common for us today, we can understand that Christ, our mediator, appears in God’s presence on our behalf. We can understand what the role represents and be encouraged by it. With Christ on our side, we can be at God’s side. Let me close this with a familiar, bumper-sticker verse that feels very apt in this conversation. Take this verse and memorize it. Use it as a reminder when the sin and temptation are too much.

Romans 8:31b

31b       If God is for us, who can be against us.

Until next time, stay blessed!