7 Comforting Portraits of Christ Our Savior. We will see…

• Jesus As Our Advocate With The Father (2:1-2)
• Jesus As Our Propitiation (2:2)
• Jesus As Our Abiding Place
• Jesus As Our Anointer
• Jesus As Our Christ and The Son of God
• Jesus as Our Great Promiser
• Jesus As The Coming One

Review

The last time we studied 1 John 2, we saw that Jesus Christ is our advocate with God the Father. We saw that the word advocate is paraklhton (parakleton) which means one who pleads another’s cause before a judge. Jesus Christ is our advocate. He stands at the right hand of God pleading with Him to forgive our sins. We also saw that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means satisfaction or covering; the fulfillment of a demand. Jesus Christ took the punishment for the believer’s sin. God is fully satisfied by what Jesus Christ did on the Cross.

Focus

The next comforting portrait we see of Christ our Savior in chapter 2 is…

• Jesus As Our Abiding Place (2:6)

"He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." 1 John 2:6

Consider for a moment the word abide. It is the translation of the Greek word menein menein, which means to continue permanently or without intermission, to remain in the same state.

Stop and ponder the blessing and privilege abiding in Christ. Our sins have been forgiven, we have access to God, and we have an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, which will not fade away, that is reserved in Heaven for us (1 Peter 1:3-5)! Those who are not in Christ are yet in their sins, they have no access to God, and their inheritance outer darkness and the Lake of Fire.

You can see it is important to abide in Christ. In fact the life’s blood of the Christian life is Christ! If you do not abide in Christ you cannot produce Christian fruit. For a better understanding of what the Apostle means by abiding we need to look at John 15:1-8.

A good illustration of the importance of abiding in Christ is what we heard on the radio while we were driving through the mountains coming home from South Carolina. A zoo was looking for the owner of a finger that they found in the Jaguar cage. I can tell you this, that finger will not accomplish anything. Why? Because it was not attached to the body. So it is with the believer. If he will accomplish anything, he must be drawing his life from Christ, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being…" Acts 17:28. That’s why we read in 1 John 2:6 "himself also to walk, even as he walked." The phrase "himself also to walk" (kai autov peripatein) is in the present active infinitive mode. The literal translation would be "himself also to keep on walking." This indicates a continuous performance, not a spasmodic spurt of walking with Christ. THE POWER FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING COMES FROM WALKING WITH CHRIST. Colossians 2:6 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:"

Look at the last phrase in verse 6 -- "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." As Christ walked, lived, and acted, so ought we. We are to imitate him and follow him. Christ is the believer’s abiding place.

The next portrait we have of Jesus Christ is…

• Jesus As Our Anointer (20 & 27)

"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." 1 John 2:20 & 27

The first thing you should know is that the word unction and anointing in verses 20 & 27 is the same Greek word. It means, "something smeared on." The Hebrews prepared anointing oil from oil and aromatic herbs. It was then used in the inaugural ceremony for priests. However, the word anoint is also used figuratively of the special endowment or gift of the Holy Spirit. When a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, He immediately anoints that person with the Holy Spirit. That is, Christ sends the Holy Spirit to indwell the believer. Turn to Galatians 4:6 "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Why does Christ do that? There are many reasons. But this passage says that the anointing (the Holy Spirit) teaches the believer. The believer who diligently studies the Word of God can discover the truth of God’s word without the aid of theological professors, teachers or preachers. There are many places that tell believers they are to study the Word (2 Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11).

During the Dark Ages the Roman Catholic Church told people, "you cannot understand the Bible, you must come to the priests and scholars to explain the Bible to you." The penalty for reading the Bible on your own was imprisonment, torture and even death. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records how many people were burned at the stake for reading the Bible in their own language. I recall one story here a mother was burned for teaching her children the Lord’s Prayer and the 10 Commandments in English. The truth is that the papal establishment did not want people to know what the Bible really had to say. Why? Because the coffers of the church were filled lying to the people about how sins if forgiven. When I was in Rome last year I was distress as I looked at the opulence of St. Peters when I recalled it was indulgences that were sold to build it. If the people had been born again, and if they had been able to read the Bible, they would not have been deceived into believing that they could buy permission to sin and forgiveness.

When a person is saved, Jesus Christ anoints him/her with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the believer’s resident teacher and he will guide you into the truths of God’s word (John 16:13). That is not to say that you should not sit under the teaching of true Bible teachers and preachers because you should. However, you should test what they say by the Bible under the direction of the Holy Spirit. And, don’t forget. Once the Holy Spirit indwells you, you are a priest (see 1 Peter 2:9).

Praise the Lord! Jesus Christ is the believer’s abiding place. Jesus Christ is the believer’s anointer. Are you a believer.