1 JOHN LESSON 2


     We will begin this lesson in I 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:"

     Notice, the endearing name he calls the Christians; {my little
children}. That is what we really are; {sons of God}. In this, John is
expressing the Christians relationship with the Father. The desire of
the heart of the Christian must be to sin not. If we commit a sin and
confess it, Jesus will represent us to the Father. This does not,
however, mean that we continually sin, which would be a sinful way of
life. If we live continually in sin, we have chosen darkness over
Light. "Advocate" means intercessor, or comforter. This is the only
mention of this word.

     I John 2:2 "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for
ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world."

     "Propitiation", in this verse, means atonement. In other words,
He paid our penalty for us. He actually provided forgiveness for the
whole world. The problem is, that some will not receive their
forgiveness, because they do not believe.

     I John 2:3 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep
his commandments."

     A Christian is a follower of, and a believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ. If we desire in our heart to please Him, because we love Him,
we will keep His commandments. It must be the desire of our heart not
to sin.

     I John 2:4 "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

     There are many who profess to be a Christian who are not living
their day to day lives for Christ. This is what this Scripture is
about. There will be some who will stand before Jesus on judgement day
who will say, didn't I cast out demons in your name? He will say "get
away from me, I never knew you". God looks on the heart of man.  The
face we show the world is not always what we really are. Jesus said,
"If you love me, keep my commandments".

     I John 2:5 "But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love
of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."

     Is the Word of God the most important thing you have? When you
really love, it is the desire of your heart to please the one you
love. To perfect the Love of God within yourself, is to be completely
sold out to Him. We are in Him and He in us, if His love is perfected
in us. All through the Bible, there are blessings, if we are obedient
to God, and curses, if we are not. This is no exception to that.

     I John 2:6 "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so
to walk, even as he walked."

     Jesus placed His footprints for us. If we are following Him as we
should, we will step in those footprints. Walk , in this instance, is
speaking of making it a habit to walk in the footprints of Jesus. This
is not an occasional encounter with God, but a way of life.

     I John 2:7 "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an
old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment
is the word which ye have heard from the beginning."

     "Brethren", here, is speaking of those who are of a common faith.
Jesus did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it. The
commandment spoken of here has to do with love. We are taught from the
beginning to love one another. When we love Him, we walk as He walked.
The Word is the commandment of God. Jesus said all the law and the
commandments were caught up in loving God first, and then loving your
fellowman as yourself. The "commandment", then, is righteous love.

     I John 2:8 "Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which
thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the
true light now shineth."

     This is just expressing how much easier it is for us to
understand the law of God, since the Light of Jesus has shown on it.
This "new commandment" is let Jesus, {the Light of the world} live in
you and through you. We do not have to question about God anymore.
His perfect Light has shined in our heart and made us aware of His
perfect Love. The Light of Jesus brightens our path that we are to
walk. It is not a dark and fearful walk anymore.

     I John 2:9 "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his
brother, is in darkness even until now."

     This is just saying, those who hate others are not walking in the
Light. The perfect Light provided for believers leads us into His
perfect love. It does not allow hate of any kind. Hate is of the devil
and is surrounded by darkness.

     I John 2:10 "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and
there is none occasion of stumbling in him."

     "Abideth" means to continue to live. Love is a product of Light.
There is no temptation to steal from your brother, if you love him.
There is no desire for things that your brother owns, if you love him.
These are just two examples, but you can see that loving your brother
causes you to have no desire to do him harm in any way. The lust of
the flesh causes sin. The Light of God helps us see things more
clearly, and causes us not to lust.

     I John 2:11 "But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and
walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that
darkness hath blinded his eyes."

     Hate is a product of the devil. The devil is in darkness.  John
12:35 "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with
you.  Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for
he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth." In the
darkness, we cannot see clearly and do not see things that cause us to
stumble.

     I John 2:12 "I write unto you, little children, because your sins
are forgiven you for his name's sake."

     This is John stating his reason for writing the letter to them.
Their sins are forgiven, so they are Christians. They are sons of God.
They are not full grown, because he calls them little children. God
forgave us our sins, because Jesus paid our debt. It is in the name of
Jesus that we are forgiven.

     I John 2:13 "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him
[that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye
have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children,
because ye have known the Father."

     When we look at the three this is spoken to, it is the
progression of growth in our belief. We come to Christ as little
children. We grow to young men as we learn more about God, and are
better equipped to resist the devil. Then lastly, we rest as old men
in the knowledge of God.

     I John 2:14 "I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have
known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written unto you, young
men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye
have overcome the wicked one."

     This is very much the same as the verse above. The difference
being that the little children are omitted. Those remaining have
learned to overcome the devil. They have matured by the study of the
Word of God. They are not overcome of the devil, because they are
grounded in the Word of God. Again, speaking of fathers is just a
further knowing of God.

     We see, in this, the growth of the Christian and the knowledge
acquired to help live in the Light.












                          1 John 2 Questions


1.  In verse 1, what were the believers in Christ called?
2.  If any man sin, we have an _________ with the Father.
3.  Who is the advocate?
4.  What does the word "advocate" mean?
5.  Does this mean it is alright to continue in sin?
6.  What does the word "propitiation" mean?
7.  Who did He provide forgiveness for?
8.  We do know that we know Him, if we do what?
9.  What is a Christian?
10. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a
    ________.
11. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my ______________.
12. How can you perfect God's love in you?
13. "Walk", in verse 6, is speaking of what?
14. What is the "commandment" in verse 7?
15. What is the "new commandment"?
16. When you hate your brother, you are walking in ___________.
17. What does "abideth" mean?
18. Love is a product of _______.
19. What causes sin?
20. Hate is a product of the _______.
21. Quote John chapter 12 verse 35.
22. Your sins are forgiven you for His _________ ______.
23. Why are father, young men, and children mentioned in verse 13?
24. Why are little children omitted in verse 14?