"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 [One]." [1 Jn 2:1]
The word advocate means a legal assistance, an intercessor, a comforter. Literally this Greek word found in 1 John 2:1 signifies someone who is “close beside” and from that position “calls or summons;” in a legal sense, it is one that pleads the cause of another. In a general sense, it is one who defends, vindicates, or embraces/takes to one’s self a cause. This word describes not only The Holy Spirit as our comforter [Jn 14:16; 26; 15:26; 16:7], but also Jesus as our advocate with The Father [1 Jn 2:1] as we see here. Jesus is for us our advocate, one who pleads for us, who takes up our cause as His own and presents it before the Father; one who represents us before The Father completely. This is a wonderful truth for us to believe and hold on to; for through it we can approach God with confidence.
Notice that John does not say only Jesus Christ, but He says a fuller title: Jesus Christ The Righteous One. It is Jesus Christ, “The LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS,” [Jer 23:6] who stands before The Father day and night on our behalf for our advocacy. Jesus, who “ever liveth to make intercession for [us]” and who is in “heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” [Heb 7:25; 9:24], stands before The Father, representing us! And as Aaron the first High Priest had on his crown, “HOLINESS TO THE LORD…that [the Children of Israel would] be accepted before the LORD,” so too it is for Jesus our “merciful and faithful high priest,” who presents us before The Father as “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.” [Ex 28:36-38, Heb 2:17, Col 1:22]
Yes, we see that Jesus Christ represents us: He, who is our true and real and eternal representative in heaven. The Father looks at Jesus, our representative, our advocate, and based on Jesus’ merit, righteousness, and faith, imputes to us the very same qualities that are present in Him. Truly, though not in living reality but in status and position, we are seen as equal to Jesus in God’s sight, for we are one in Him and He in us, and it is has been written for our encouragement and faith, “herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.” [1 Jn 5:17]
So praise be to God who has predestinated us to become adopted as true sons and daughters in Jesus; and praise to Jesus who has chosen us and has died and risen again for us; and finally, praise be to The Holy Spirit who has drawn us and who indwells us, keeping us secure in Christ. For through our trifold God we are beautifully accepted and loved, seen by God through the lens of our perfect Savior, Jesus.
Click here to see other posts in Daily Meditations on The Glory of Jesus, Vol I