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Jesus Christ: The Divine Defense Attorney and the Perfect Propitiation
(1 John 2:1b-2)

And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (2:16–2)

People in contemporary society are hooked on courtroom dramas. Television shows and movies dealing with crime and trials hold people spellbound. There are even cable television and satellite channels that broadcast such programming full time. Thousands avidly follow the latest high-profile trials, turning them into the judicial system’s offering of entertainment, pandering to this jaded culture’s appetite.

Infinitely transcending such trifles is a cosmic courtroom drama that dwarfs all human trials in scope and severity. God the Father is the Judge (Gen. 18:25; Ps. 7:11; Heb. 12:23), Satan is the accuser (Zech. 3:1; Rev. 12:10; cf. Job 1:9-11; 2:4-5), and every person who ever lived is on trial. The issue is how unjust sinners can be justified before a holy God. R. C. Sproul writes,

All those standing before the bar of divine justice are guilty of violating God’s holy law; they “are all under sin; as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one’” (Rom. 3:9-10), and “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). The just sentence the divine court should hand down is eternal punishment in hell, “for the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).

But all is not hopeless for the guilty, because there is one more character to consider in this divine courtroom scene: the Lord Jesus Christ. He acts as the Advocate, or Defense Attorney, for all those who believe savingly in Him. He is a most unusual defense attorney, however, since He does not maintain His clients’ innocence, but rather acknowledges their guilt. Nonetheless, He has never lost a case—and never will (John 6:39; cf. Rom. 8:29-30). Using the language of the courtroom, Paul declared, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:33-34; cf. Col. 2:13-14). That last phrase is the key to how the Lord Jesus Christ infallibly wins acquittal for those who put their faith in Him. He intercedes with the Father on the basis of His own substitution for sinners in sacrificial death, which fully paid sin’s penalty for all who trust Him for salvation, thus meeting the demands of God’s justice. Because “He … did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for [them] all” (Rom. 8:32) and “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on [their] behalf, so that [they] might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21), God “justified [them] freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24, NKJV). The result of the divine verdict is that believers, “having been justified [declared righteous] by faith … have peace with God through [their] Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

The Father’s predetermined design and acceptance of His Son’s sacrifice as payment in full for their sins answers the dilemma of how He can be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). God’s love and justice were equally satisfied when He accomplished redemption through Jesus Christ.

It is that divine courtroom drama that underlies the apostle John’s thought in this section. Building on the glorious affirmation of 1:9 that God “is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” John explains that He can do so because His Son is both the believers’ Defense Attorney and the Perfect Propitiation for their sins. That twofold truth is central to the gospel.

THE DIVINE DEFENSE ATTORNEY

And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; (2:16)

This portrait of Jesus Christ fits perfectly with John’s legal vocabulary. As noted earlier, the apostle’s language pictures a courtroom setting in which accused sinners come before God’s bar and Christ steps up as their legal advocate. With that portrayal in mind, John gave his readers vital instruction on how divine justice relates to salvation.

Sins translates a form of the verb hamartanō, the most common New Testament word for sin, which literally means “to miss the mark.” God’s holiness sets the standard of behavior (Ex. 15:11; Lev. 19:2; 1 Sam. 2:2; Rev. 15:4), and humanity has missed that supreme benchmark (Gen. 6:5; Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 5:12; Gal. 3:22a), utterly violating God’s requirements of perfect obedience (Rom. 3:23; James 2:10).

The Greek grammar of the phrase if anyone sins is instructive. The verb is an aorist subjunctive third-class conditional that conveys the strong probability of actual occurrence. John’s expression could be translated “if anyone sins, and it will happen.” Immediately following his emphasis in the first part of verse 1 that believers do not have to sin, the apostle acknowledges that they definitely will (cf. 1:8, 10). (The pronoun we encompasses the apostle with the “little children,” also referred to earlier in verse 1, showing that the apostle has to be referring to the sins of true believers.

In keeping with the imagery, God appears as the supreme Judge of the universe, seated at the heavenly bench and judging all people according to the absolute perfection of His holy law. He is the author (Lev. 26:46), interpreter (Ps. 119:34), and applier (Jer. 31:33) of the law. But believers must view the reality of divine justice with great sobriety and respect (1 Peter 1:17; cf. Acts 17:31; Col. 3:25), since God possesses the power and authority to condemn to hell every sinner who ever lived. Jesus gave this sober admonition: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28; cf. Luke 12:5; 2 Thess. 1:5-9). The Old Testament prophets also gave clear warning about that kind of divine judgment (cf. Amos 5:18-20; Zeph. 1:14-18).

Those who are saved, however, need not fear divine justice because they have an Advocate with the Father, none other than Jesus Christ the righteous. Here Advocate translates paraklētos (“one who comes alongside”) and denotes in legal settings the defender or counselor who comes to aid his client. (In his gospel, John used the same term, translated there as “Helper” or “Comforter” [14:16, 26; 16:7] to refer to the support given to each believer by the Holy Spirit.) Christ is the perfect Advocate, since the Judge is His Father and they are always in perfect harmony (cf. Matt. 26:39; John 4:34). Further, the Son completely understands the saints’ human weaknesses because He came to earth as the fully human Son of Man (Heb. 4:14-15; cf. Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:5-8). He accepts as clients only those who confess their guilt and their desperate need to receive Him as Savior and Lord (cf. Matt. 7:21-23; 25:31-46; John 6:37; 10:3, 14-15); and He becomes for them the incomparable intercessor who always gains acquittal for those who trust in Him. In Old Testament language, He is their great High Priest (Heb. 7:25-28).

THE PERFECT PROPITIATION

and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (2:2)

Christ could never make His case for the saints as their divine Defense Attorney if He were not also their Propitiator who completely turned God’s wrath from sinners to Himself, thus removing all their guilt and condemnation. Propitiation through the death of Christ is one of the critical doctrines of the Christian faith, at the very center of God’s redemptive plan (Rom. 3:25; 5:1, 10-11; 1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:18-19; Col. 1:20-22; 1 Peter 1:18-20; cf. Lev. 10:17; 17:11; Matt. 26:28; Luke 24:47; Acts 20:28; Heb. 12:24; 13:20). An accurate understanding of this truth in all its essential aspects is vital to salvation and the pursuit of a life of holiness.

The term propitiation, in definition and application, is most notably a biblical and theological word. It is a translation of hilasmos, which means “appeasement,” or “satisfaction.” Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross satisfied the demands of God’s justice, thus appeasing His holy wrath against believers’ sins.

Several related words provide additional understanding of the nature of propitiation. The verb hilaskomai, “to make satisfaction for,” occurs in Luke 18:13 and Hebrews 2:17. Hilastērion refers to the sacrifice of atonement required to placate God’s wrath (cf. Rom. 3:25). The translators of the Septuagint (LXX) used this term to designate the mercy seat, which establishes propitiation’s link to the Old Testament sacrificial system:

The mercy seat was the lid or cover of the ark, situated between the divine Shekinah glory cloud above the ark and law tablets inside the ark. Because the priests sprinkled the seat with blood from the sacrifices, it was the place at which atonement for sin occurred. The sprinkled blood thus stood between God (the Shekinah) and His broken law (the tablets). The sacrificial blood of animals never did placate God (cf. Heb. 7:26-28; 9:6-15; 10:1-18), but it pictured the future sacrifice of Christ that would fully satisfy the Father (Heb. 9:23-28; cf. Isa. 53:6, 10; Matt. 20:28; Eph. 5:2). If the Old Testament sacrificial system had appeased God’s wrath once and for all, the Jews would not have continued endlessly to bring burnt offerings (Lev. 1:3-17; 6:8-13), sin offerings (Lev. 4:1-5:13; 6:24-30), and trespass offerings (Lev. 5:14-6:7; 7:1-10) over the centuries.

Propitiation is necessary because of sins (cf. Ps. 7:11; Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 1:18; 3:23; 6:23; 1 Thess. 1:10). Sinners continually shatter God’s perfect law (Jer. 17:9; Matt. 15:19-20a; John 8:34; Rom. 3:9-19; 5:12-20; James 1:14-15; 2:10-11) and He, as the righteously offended Creator, must react justly in holy anger, wrath, and judgment (Gen. 6:6-7; Deut. 25:16; Job 34:21-22, 25; Ps. 5:4-6; Prov. 6:16-19; Isa. 59:1-2; Jer. 10:10; Nah. 1:2-3; Luke 13:27; 16:15; John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; 2:5, 8; Eph. 5:6; Heb. 3:17). God’s justice must be satisfied. Every sin ever committed by every person who has ever lived will be punished in one of two ways. Either God’s wrath will be satisfied when all unrepentant and unbelieving sinners suffer eternally in hell (Matt. 13:42; 25:41, 46; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 20:15), or for all who, by the convicting and regenerating power of the Spirit, repent and believe savingly in Jesus, God’s wrath is satisfied by the punishment of Christ Himself on the cross (John 3:14-18). Divine punishment rendered forgiveness according to God’s sovereign love and grace (cf. Rom. 3:24-26).

By God’s design, pictured in the law’s requirement of a lamb without blemish (Num. 6:14), the Lord Jesus Christ had to be sinless (cf. 2:1). Otherwise He would not have been acceptable to the Father (cf. Heb. 9:14) and would have been subject to the judgment of God for His own sins. But He is righteous (Isa. 53:11), holy (Rev. 3:7), innocent (John 8:46; 18:37-38), undefiled (Heb. 7:26), and separate from sinners—not merely the agent who made propitiation for sinners, He is the propitiation. The prophet Isaiah portrayed Him as the ideal sacrifice:

The entire divine plan of redemption flows from the Father’s love for unworthy and undeserving sinners (Rom. 5:8; Eph. 1:4-7). John made this truth plain when he wrote, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (4:10; cf. Titus 3:5).

The apostle’s words and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world have been understood by many to refer to an unlimited atonement, by which Christ provides a potential salvation for all people without exception. Logically, such an interpretation strips the work of Christ on the cross of any actual atonement for anyone specifically, and it provides only a potential satisfaction for God’s wrath. (For an analysis of other aspects of the extent of the atonement, see John MacArthur, 2 Peter & Jude, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2005], 72-76.)

To be faithful to the truth revealed in Scripture, the whole world must be comprehended as a generic expression that refers to humanity throughout the earth, but not necessarily to every individual. World simply identifies the earthly realm of mankind to which God directed His reconciling love and provided propitiation (cf. John 1:29; 3:16; 6:51; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; Titus 2:11; Heb. 2:9). The language of Scripture is strong and clear, stating that Christ’s death actually satisfies fully and eternally the demands of God’s wrath for those who believe (John 10:11, 15; 17:9, 20; Acts 20:28; Rom. 8:32, 37; Eph. 5:25). Though the Savior’s death intrinsically had infinite value, it was designed to actually (not potentially) secure the satisfaction for divine justice only on behalf of those who would believe.

Jewish believers would have understood propitiation because they were familiar with the Old Testament sacrificial system, the function of the mercy seat, and the meaning of the Day of Atonement, as recorded in Leviticus 16:15-17:

However, they now understood “the assembly of Israel” as including proselytes. In Christ all national limitations were abolished (cf. Acts 11:18; Rom. 1:17; 2:28-29). Jesus’ propitiatory death is for all classes of God’s elect, which He is calling out for His name “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9; cf. John 10:16; Acts 15:14-18; 26:23; Rom. 9:25-26; Titus 2:14). Christ’s work on the cross atoned for all those who would be sovereignly drawn by God to repent and believe (cf. Rom. 5:18), not for those believers only who constituted the church in John’s day. However, His death did not atone for or satisfy divine justice regarding the unrepentant, unbelieving millions who will appear before the Judge at the great white throne, from where they will be sentenced to eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).

Even in planning Jesus’ death, the high priest Caiaphas unwittingly uttered words that providentially affirmed the true extent of Christ’s propitiation. John 11:45-52 records the setting:

Caiaphas meant only that Jesus should be executed to spare the nation and the leaders’ positions from Roman reprisals against them because of Jesus. Caiaphas spoke politically, unaware of the weighty theological implications of his words. However, because he was the high priest the Holy Spirit directed his words (cf. 2 Sam. 15:27a) to prophesy that Christ would die for the nation. But obviously “nation” does not mean every individual Jew because virtually the whole nation had rejected Him (John 1:11; cf. Rom. 2:28-29; 9:6-18, 27). The designation is thus limited to those Jews who believed. As the apostle explained in John 11:52, Jesus died not only for the believing Jews but also for the children of God scattered abroad. In the original context of his gospel, John’s reference to “children of God” referred primarily to believing Jews of the dispersion who would be regathered into the kingdom of God (cf. Isa. 43:5; Ezek. 34:12). But in the broader sense, that expression anticipated the outreach to the Gentiles (cf. John 12:32; Heb. 2:9). So as a result of Christ’s atoning work, all throughout the world for whom Christ was the propitiation become, by faith, part of the same body, His church (Eph. 2:11-18; cf. Gal. 3:7-9, 26-29; Eph. 3:1-6).