1 John 2:1-2

I love the compassion and love he has for his fellow believers in calling them children. Just his mentorship to them shows his passion for the gospel and a desire for the early believers (and those to come) to not get discouraged. I wonder if he can relate? Even though he was with Christ, I can imagine how hard it was to sin right before the PHYSICAL eyes of Christ. I can imagine that he has been discouraged in his past. What he talks about reminds me of Romans 6-8 when Paul talks about us having victory over sin because we have the Holy Spirit. I feel like its the same...John is letting believers know that we do not HAVE to sin. We can overcome it....not by our power as Paul states in Romans, but in God's. And John knowing full well that we would sin, encourages us not to give up. Sometimes its so easy to say, "well, I've already screwed up....no point in going back." And that is the amazing thing about God's grace and forgiveness!

I love verse 2 and that John uses the word "propitiation." In the OT, the sacrifices of the animals only covered the sin for a period of time. Propitiation means "satisfactory payment." Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary states, "The sacrifice of Jesus' sinless life is so effective that it can supply forgiveness for the whole world. Christ's death is sufficient for all, but efficient only for those who believe in Christ." Christ death was the payment for all sin....and his death satisfied God the Father so that we may stand before Him and have a relationship with Him. AMEN!