1 John 2:1 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:

Jesus through the cross became the propitiation for the sins of the world. With Jesus comes all the extra benefits.

Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, [let us prophesy] according to the proportion of faith;

Any of the children whether they be little or big have an advocate with the Father. The purpose is not to sin but if any man sin, we have an advocate. If a child of God sins, he has an advocate with the father. Why should someone who sins have the privilege of having an advocate?

1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

If any man sin he is of the devil but it also says if any man sins he has an advocate. We want to understand the difference between these two children. Make special note of verse 12. It’s giving us a comparison, an example. Not of Cain who was that wicked one. There are two people. Both have different parents but both have done the same thing.

1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin [which is] not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Who is he writing to? The children, those that believe. He is trying to establish our faith.

Two Types of Sin

All unrighteousness is sin. The actual working of it is the same but there is a different element in both. The brother can pray to God and ask. Is not that an advocate? Someone who will plead on behalf of someone else? Verse 16 is a real hinge of consideration. It takes a brother to help. If any man see his brother sin, he shall ask. But for them that sin unto death, Jesus is not an advocate for such people. One is a child of God like Adam and one is like Cain. We have the sin of a devil and a sin of a man.

Numbers 5:5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

5:6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;

5:7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth [part] thereof, and give [it] unto [him] against whom he hath trespassed.

If a man or woman commits a sin which men commit, it shall be paid for. They have to pay the debt. Matthew talks about our sins being a debt. It takes a brother to pay that debt. It’s for men that commit sins.

Hosea 6:7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

The context of the chapter is the response of Gods people returning to God.

Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy [against] the [Holy] Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

They like men have transgressed the covenant.

Exodus 28:38 And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

Jesus buried our sins. It’s a symbol of the priest in the Old Testament. Who does God call a holy nation? His holy priesthood. Are they not his children? As many as received him to them he gave power to become sons and daughters of God. If any man sin, we have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous. Consider those who are of the evil one.

John 8:44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Satan was two things, a murderer and a liar. Jesus said to the Pharisees, ye are of your father the devil. Were they a child of God when Jesus said that to them? Of course they weren’t otherwise he wouldn’t have said it. Look at Cain and Abel.

The First Murderer on the Earth

Genesis 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where [is] Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: [Am] I my brother’s keeper?

4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

4:11 And now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

If you do what is right, there are no problems. The Lord is giving Cain the curse of what he has done. Cain forgot God may have said that because if you look at the curse God gave to Cain, he was going to have a hard time with the ground and that he would not be accepted on this earth. Notice how Cain interprets the punishment.

Genesis 4:13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment [is] greater than I can bear.

What did Cain add to his punishment which God never said? There was salvation for Cain. God gave him a curse like there is for every sin. If we receive that curse, we can see if we will believe on the Son and he can be that curse for us. God never said that he will be hid from his face, Cain said it. We want to understand what is the sin that God cannot advocate and plead for.

1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, [who] was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

There were two brothers. One killed the other so in turn, killing Christ. Haven’t we all killed Christ because of our sins? Indeed we have. But Cain said I am hidden from you, I’m going away. So he became angry with God and so truly slew him. He became contrary to Jesus. He became opposed and that made him a child of Satan. What was Satan’s problem in heaven? Jesus. Satan had a problem with Jesus. So he removed himself from Jesus, he didn’t want Jesus. So Cain took of Satan that attitude and thus becoming a child of his. The Pharisees, did they do the same? Did they have a problem with Christ? They became opposed to him. Why? Because they were opposing him.

1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Anti-Christ

Cain was anti his brother and slew him. He slew Christ. He then hid himself from Jesus, he never came to Jesus. There are those that are the children of God and those that are the children of the wicked one. Those that are anti-Christ, do they have an advocate with the Father? Only the children of God have an advocate with the father. An advocate is one of those gifts that come with the cross of Christ. The whole world can approach the cross of Christ but only those that accept it can be a child of God. If they have not accepted the propitiation of the sin of the world, they don’t have an advocate with the father.

Matthew 12:21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

Those that blaspheme against the Holy Ghost become after the evil one. Jesus says that hell and the lake or fire is prepared for whom? The devil and his angels. They were never prepared for man. But why does man find himself in such a situation at the judgement? They have been anti-Christ. Even in the persons of his saints. All those that sin but hunger and thirst after righteousness, if you hunger for righteousness, it means you are lacking it. Blessed are they that hunger and who have a desire of righteousness. Did the Pharisees hunger for righteousness? No. when Christ came they were opposed because the darkness didn’t like the light.

Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what [that] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

If we are willing not to be opposed to Christ in his humiliation, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. The children have privileges. An advocate is only the Christians privilege, only those that receive the cross. Not that they want to sin, we don’t want to sin, we hunger for righteousness. It’s very important for us to understand as we go into the time of Jacobs trouble that if we desire Christ with all our heart, we have an advocate.

Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God gave Jesus for the whole world. There is no Christian when it comes to the cross of Christ. We all stand before him as requiring new birth.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.

He is our older brother and he is pleading. All sin is worth debt and he can advocate for it so that sin does not secure our eternal death. Our brother can plead and ask God. If a man sin a sin that murders Christ afresh again and again and again. Christ can’t do it, he’s not a brother. It is for the purpose of strengthening our faith so that we can see what is happening in heaven so we don’t have to be plummeted into despair that God is rejecting us. If we continue to go back to our advocate and say this is my cause and case, he will plead on our behalf. God is a preserver of men. God didn’t just know we needed a rebirth and then expect us never to sin again. Our next study will be on how we use an advocate. These things are written that we don’t sin so we can keep going to the celestial city.

Amen.