My Dear Children . . . guard this

1 John 2:1-6

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

It is a quiet evening and you are relaxing at home. One of your favorite meals has been prepared and you are just about to sit down and enjoy your meal along with family and friends. All of the sudden someone starts ringing your doorbell. Your dog starts to bark and you were so startled that you just about dropped your plate full of food. Whoever it is stops ringing your doorbell and starts to pound their fist on your door. You open the door and your neighbor out of breath begins to loudly repeat over and over “You will not believe this!” Part of you wants to call the police but the other part of you is intrigued. Perhaps you need to hear the rest of this urgent message.

The opening chapter of 1 John is like the neighbor busting into your home. John wants to tell us all something. Something that he has had direct experience with. Something that he has seen, heard and proclaimed to other. John has experienced the kind of life the Jesus promised in the Kingdom of God and John wants our joy to be complete. John seems so enthusiastic to share this good news that he unable to lift his pen from his paper. This is a possible reason why 1 John 1:1-4 is one long sentence in Greek.

After an intense opening John greets us with a seemingly deep breath when he says “My Dear Children.” It is almost as you could imagine John moving a little closer to us. He puts his arm around us and says “My Dear Children.” Most scholars seem to be in general agreement that John is writing to an early Christian community that is in the midst of some kind of a debate, heated discussion or controversy. We don’t have all the sides of the debate. Yet scholars suggest, in looking at what John writes about in 1 John, that the debate(s) centered on at least these three topics:

The Nature of Jesus

Was Jesus divine from the moment he was born or did that come later? There seems to be some kind of a debate about the nature of Jesus.

Sin and Salvation

What is the nature of sin? Can I be saved and still sin? Can I be totally free from sin? Just what is salvation?

Obligation to love Neighbor

The early church community of 1 John seems interested in knowing just how obligated they are to love their neighbor? Is it the highest command?  Where does it rank on the list of things I am to do as a follower of Jesus?

Side note: In the early church there were controversies! This might be disturbing to some. It can also be strangely comforting to know that Christians have been wrestling with the deep mysteries for a long time.

1 John 2:1 “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”

The word advocate here is the Greek word paraclete. Para meaning “come beside” and clete means “ones who speaks.” A Pareclete then “is one who comes along side and speaks.” This is your personal cheerleader. It is the person who is telling you. . .  “I am with you!” “You can make it!” “Whatever is happening will not defeat you!” “You are not defined by your past!” “You can do it!” That is the idea of a paraclete. The word, in John’s time, was also used in a legal sense.

Imagine a courtroom. Somebody in the courtroom is guilt. This person has broken the law. They have violated the commands and rules. They are guilty and they are at the mercy of the court. In the courtroom there is a judge who is powerful and righteous. The guilty person stands at the mercy of the court and the just judge. The judge could delve out whatever sentence deemed necessary.

In the legal sense of the word paraclete we get this idea that God is the judge and we are guilty. Jesus is our advocate and he is telling us that it is going to be okay. But that is not what a paraclete does. He is not speaking to you. The Paraclete has the ear of the judge. The advocate/Paraclete is telling the judge “I know they are guilty but I have taken care of it!” “I have paid the cost!” “Their sins are covered!” In this image the judge is a good, kind and gracious judge who is on the side of the guilty. This is a ridged courtroom where the guilty go free!

 This is the picture that John gives. My children, my dear children I am writing to you so that you don’t sin but when you do . . . when you find yourself guilty let me remind you that we have an advocate who continues to speak to the good judge of grace. The judge and advocate are conspiring to forgive you. Then John adds that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. Jesus is not just advocating for your sins but he is speaking on behalf of everybody everywhere.

John continues with “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” What commands? Keep in mind that 1 John and the Gospel of John are connected.

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 15:12-14;17 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 17 This is my command: Love each other.”

The word complete that John uses is a very subtle word. It can mean full, mature, lacking in nothing, reaching a goal. It is the same word used in Colossians 1:28 “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”

As a way of getting at this let’s talk soccer. Now the best thing about soccer is scoring goals. When kids learn to play soccer it is hard to keep them in their positions. Everyone wants to score a goal. This is a problem because nobody is on defense. In college I played a little soccer. Emphasis on the word little. One time my team was used as practice for a really good college team. During the game I did well getting the ball down the field yet too often I made rookie mistakes on defense. When the soccer match was over my team had been totally creamed. Needless to say my soccer game is not complete.

There are complete players in sports. For example Kevin Durant with the OKC Thunder got the MVP award for 2014. He received the award because he was considered an all-around complete player.

Here is the thing about this word complete. It does not mean without flaws. It does not mean perfection in the sense that there is no room for growth. The word complete is both a state of maturity and it is a process. It is both a arrival at being complete and also a journey. For example one might look at a nice sized tree and consider it complete. Yet that tree some sun, rain and soil and the tree will continue to grow.

The redeeming work of Christ brings us all to a place of completeness and maturity. Yet are you sinless? No. Is there room for growth? Yes. Yet at some level you are also able to handle what because you are complete. John takes that idea of being complete and says when you love one another and you love your neighbor then God’s loves is made complete in you.

Thus John says when somebody makes a claim about their faith in God and they don’t love then their faith is lacking and not complete. Yet when you love like Jesus you are made complete. John says if you have one without the other then it means nothing. When we Christians only talk about what we believe without looking at how our actions line up with our beliefs then that is a discussion that John would not understand. John wants to say any time you disconnect what you believe from what you do then that is a problem that needs to be addressed. If you only talk about right thinking and do not have right living then you are not complete.

How many Christians get all worked up over defending some Biblical teaching? Often while defending some Biblical teaching being loving towards those who disagree seems to fade. We will defend what we think is some Biblical teaching and yet never call our actions into question. John says that is a problem. He says some of you claim to love him yet you are a lair. You talk about your beliefs. You talk about knowing God. You talk about your walk with God. Yet you have no love for your neighbor then you are a liar. The truth occurs when the two come together. When that happens you are made complete.

There are two other important words that John uses – keep and obey. In the Greek they are the same words and they mean to guard. I have the most spoiled dog ever. My family inherited him a few years ago. His name is Louie. He is also called Dewey or Louie Dewey. Most of the time he is quiet and just chill ‘in around the house. Yet if you come to the front door of my home and touch the door knob he goes nuts and starts barking. This is what the word guard means.

To obey and keep is an active word. John says be vigilante and be active in guarding love. Obey the command! Keep the command! What is the command? Love one another. Love your neighbor. Love the other disciples and love everybody everywhere. John says guard this.

Have you ever heard of a Christian or a church that talked about guarding proper doctrine? Have you ever heard about a Christian or a church talking about the need to guard love? John says be vigilante and be on guard about love. The phrase “My dear Children” sounds like someone who is a littler older. Someone who has lived a lot of years and is addressing some kind of a tussle or conflict in the church. Into this contentious situation this wiser older person says, “Dear Children, I have been around awhile and I have seen some conflicts and miracles in my time.” “Yet here is what really matters . . . Love.”

Dear Children you are going to mess up but fear not we have an advocate and a judge that is on our side. God is for us and maybe you need to hear that. Dear children I have seen a lot experienced a lot. My life has had joy and pain but if you screw up God is for you. This guy John has some big time hope and confidence that God is for us.

Dear Children if someone says they have not sinned they are a liar. So dear children live honestly. When you sin confess it. Take the darkness in your life and shine the light of Jesus on it. Stop pretending and be honest.

Dear Children guard your love. Pay attention to those circumstances and moments when your patience is gone and your kindness is giving way to hate and anger. It is in those moments that we lack and are not complete. It is in those very moments that we can invite God to meet us and shape us. That is what followers of Christ do. In those difficult moments of life they guard their love.