Resource Detail

2026 1 John Lesson 2

LIVING IN THE LIGHT THROUGH LOVE

1 John 2:1-14

Key Verse: 2:10

1. What purpose does John give for writing this passage (1a)? What does it mean that Jesus is our “advocate with the Father” (1b)? What does “atoning sacrifice” mean in this context (2)?
2. How does the contrast in this passage reveal the difference between truly knowing God and merely claiming to know Him (3-4)? What does it mean that “the love of God is truly made complete” in someone who keeps His word (5)? What does it practically mean to “live as Jesus did” (6)?
3. What is the “old command” the readers have heard (7, 3:11; Lev 19:18)? What is the new command John is referring to (8a; John 13:34)? What does it mean that the new command is “true in him and in you” (8b)?
4. What contrast does John draw between those in the light and those in the darkness (9-11)? Why does John connect loving one’s brothers and sisters with being in the light?
5. Who are “children,” “fathers,” and “young men” (12-14)? What reasons does John give for writing to each group? How can our faith community grow in love for our brothers and sisters?

2026 1 John Message April 26, 2026

WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE, JESUS CHRIST

1 John 2:1-11

Key Verse 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.

Do you remember the International Summer Bible Conference that was held in August 2023 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign? At that time, I was serving as an international coordinator at the UBF headquarters in Chicago. After the conference, we had a journey team visiting from Korea.So I rented a 15-passenger van to show them around Chicago. Everything was going well—until there was an accident. The driver hit something, and the roof of the van was slightly damaged. After we returned the van, I received an invoice from the rental company. And when I opened it, I was shocked. The total was $35,917.05. I looked at the breakdown:

• Physical damage: $14,891.11
• Loss of use: $14,437.50
• Administrative Fee: $500.00
• Diminution of value: $6,043.44
• DV Appraisal Fee: $45.00
• Total: 35,917.05

Honestly, it didn’t make sense. I thought, “Fixing the roof shouldn’t even cost $10,000.” So I handed the case over to my insurance company. After some negotiation, they settled with the rental company for $14,391.11. I thought the case was closed. Then I moved to New York. But about a year later, I received another letter. The rental company was demanding that I personally pay the remaining $21,525.94 that the insurance had not covered. I couldn’t believe it. It felt so unfair. But the problem was—I didn’t know how to respond. So I reached out to someone I trust—a capable and trustworthy lawyer, Daniel Nam. He stepped in and began communicating with the rental company’s representatives. He carefully explained why their claim was unreasonable and pushed back with clear arguments. After many back-and-forth emails, the rental company dropped the claim. They probably knew their demand was unreasonable, but they were just testing to see if I would give in. If I didn’t have someone to defend me, I might have ended up paying over $20,000. So I am very thankful for my attorney, Daniel Nam. Having someone who can stand for you, speak for you, and defend you—it makes all the difference. Living in America, you never know when something unexpected might happen. And in those moments, having a trustworthy advocate like Daniel Nam is very important. The reason I’m sharing this story is that today’s sermon talks about someone who stands for us—our Advocate, Jesus Christ.

Please look at verse 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.” Here, the Apostle John addresses the believers as “my dear children.” In these words, we can feel his deep love for them. At this time, John was over 80 years old—an elder in the church. Many of the believers were much younger, like his own children. And he truly loved the church of Jesus Christ and the people of God. So he speaks to them tenderly, calling them “my dear children.” And then John clearly tells them why he is writing this letter: “I write this to you so that you will not sin.” What is his purpose for writing this letter? “So that they will not sin.” Through last Sunday’s message, we learned about the context of this letter. At that time, an early form of Gnosticism was influencing the church. It taught a kind of dualism, claiming that the spirit is good, but the body is evil. So some people began to believe that sins committed in the body do not affect the spirit, and they started to take sin lightly. But John teaches that they must take sin seriously. That’s why he says, “I write this to you so that you will not sin.”

What is sin? Sin is a broken relationship with God. God is absolutely good. So whenever we turn away from God, that is sin. When we do not live according to His will but follow our own desires, that is sin. When we love something more than God, that is sin. When we do not keep the commands He has given us, that is sin. God gave us the Ten Commandments. Do you remember them? Some believers today think talking about the Ten Commandments is old-fashioned. Others think that since we have the New Testament, they are no longer important. But that is not true. The Ten Commandments reveal God’s will for us. And through them, we come to know who God is.

The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before me.” The second is, “You shall not make for yourself an image.” The third is, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord.” The fourth is, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” These first four commandments relate to our relationship with God. And they can be summarized in one great command. Do you know what it is? It is from Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The fifth commandment is, “Honor your father and your mother.” The sixth is, “You shall not murder.” The seventh is, “You shall not commit adultery.” The eighth is, “You shall not steal.” The ninth is, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” And the tenth is, “You shall not covet.” These six commandments relate to our relationship with our neighbor. And they can be summed up in the second greatest command, from Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” So the Ten Commandments can be summarized in this way: love God and love your neighbor. In other words, the heart of the commandments is love.

Who is our God? God is love. When we love God, we will worship Him alone. When we love God, we will live for His name, for His glory. When we love God, we will seek His will, not our own. And if we love our neighbor, can we harm them? Can we commit adultery with their wives or husbands? Can we steal from them or lie to them? Of course not. When we love God and love our neighbor, we will keep the commands God has given us. We will live according to His will. So when the Apostle John says, “I write this to you so that you will not sin,” he is not forcing us. Some people feel a lot of pressure when they hear this word. But that’s not God’s heart. This word is an encouragement—to know who God is, to love Him, and to love our neighbors. It is a call to live in a relationship with God.

However, we cannot completely avoid sin. Even when we don’t want to sin, our sinful nature pulls us back again. For example, we want to obey Jesus’ teaching: “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” But this is very difficult. Every day, we are surrounded by temptation—on the streets, on billboards, on websites, on YouTube, on Netflix, on social media, etc. So many images stir up desire in our hearts. And before we even realize it, we find ourselves filled with lustful thoughts, and we fall into sin. Then we feel discouraged. We repent and decide, “I won’t do it again.” But when we become spiritually weak, temptation comes back, and we fall again. This is our reality.

John also knows that we will fall again. So he continues: “But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” What a comforting word this is. Who do we have? We have an advocate with the Father. The word “advocate” comes from the Greek paraklētos. It can be translated as a legal defender, an intercessor, a helper, or a comforter. This word appears only in John’s writings—four times in the Gospel of John and once here in 1 John. In John 14:16, Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.” Here, “another advocate” refers to the Holy Spirit. After Jesus died on the cross and ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came to be with us forever. And when Jesus says “another advocate,” it means there is already one advocate. Who is that? Yes—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is our first advocate.

This passage uses the picture of a courtroom. Have you ever been in a courtroom? There is a judge who interprets and applies the law, a jury that examines the evidence, a prosecutor who tries to prove the defendant is guilty, and a defense attorney who speaks for the defendant, seeking either innocence or a lighter sentence. There are also witnesses, the plaintiff, and the defendant who stand on trial. When you are standing in court, having a good and trustworthy lawyer is a huge help and a great comfort.

When we stand before God because of our sins, God is the Judge. And Satan accuses us before Him. But on the other side, Jesus Christ stands as our advocate. Satan says, “This person has harbored lust in the heart and has fallen into sin. He deserves the death penalty.” He brings accusation after accusation against us. But Jesus speaks in our defense. He does not deny that we have sinned—because it is true. Instead, He speaks on our behalf: “This person desires to live by faith. He struggled against sin, but he was weak and fell.” And Jesus’ defense has power. Why? Because He is the Righteous One. He lived a completely sinless life. So He can stand before God with confidence and speak for us. Not only that—He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Verse 2 says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” The word “atoning sacrifice” comes from the Greek hilasmos, sometimes translated as propitiation or expiation. In the Old Testament, it referred to a sacrifice offered to restore a broken relationship with God. Jesus Himself became that sacrifice. He died on the cross for our sins. And not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. So whoever believes in Him, and confesses Him as Lord, is made righteous by faith. And our God declares us not guilty. This is the grace of Jesus Christ, our advocate. So when we sin, we must come to Jesus honestly and confess our sins. We learned last week in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Praise Jesus, who defends us and makes us righteous. And as those who have received this grace of forgiveness, may we turn away from sin and live a life that loves and serves God.

Now, the Apostle John corrects the misunderstandings of those influenced by Gnosticism. They were making three claims: First, “we know Jesus” (4). Second, “we live in Jesus” (6). Third, “we are in the light” (9). But in reality, they did not know Jesus, they were not living in Him, and they were not in the light.

First, what does it mean to know Jesus? Verse 3 says, “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.” This is a response to those who say, “I know him.” The word “know” appears three times in these short verses. John is being very intentional. In the Bible, to know Jesus is not just head knowledge. It means having a personal relationship with Jesus. This is at the heart of salvation. John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Eternal life means knowing God and His Son, Jesus Christ, personally.

How can we know that someone truly knows Jesus? And how can you know that you know Him? According to this passage, we know it when we keep His commands. As I mentioned earlier, His commands can be summarized in this: love God and love your neighbor. To know Jesus means that we have personally experienced the love of God and the love of Jesus in our lives. When we experience the amazing love of God, we begin to love God. And when we love God, we naturally begin to love others. That is what it means to keep His commands. So if someone says, “I know Jesus,” but does not love God and does not love others, the truth is not in that person.

Second, what does it mean to live in Jesus? Look at verse 6: “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” To live in Jesus means to live the kind of life Jesus lived. Jesus lived a life of obedience to God. Though He had all the glory of heaven, He humbled Himself and came into this world in human flesh. He obeyed the will of God even to the point of death on the cross. He gave His whole life to God and fulfilled God’s mission. Jesus also lived a life of love and service. He proclaimed good news to the poor. He healed the sick and ate with sinners. He even washed His disciples’ feet. So to live in Jesus means that we also follow His example.

The Apostle John reminds us of the new command Jesus gave us: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). Now, loving one another was not a brand-new command. It was already an old command—“Love your neighbor as yourself.” But the new command says, “As I have loved you, love one another.” Now the standard is Jesus Himself. How much did Jesus love us? He loved us to the point of giving His life. And He calls us to love one another with that kind of love—even to the point of giving our lives. That is what it means to live in Him. But honestly, it is impossible for us on our own because we are selfish. Only when we receive God’s love through Jesus can we begin to love our brothers and sisters in this way. And only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we obey this command.

Third, what does it mean to be in the light? Look at verse 9: “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.” God is light. So to be in the light means to be in God. And to be in God means to love Him and to love others. But if someone hates a brother or sister, that is evidence that they are still in the darkness. If you find hatred in your heart toward someone, that is a sign that you are not in the light, but still in the darkness. For example, imagine this. There is a friend who is very successful. He got a great job. He lives in a luxurious apartment and drives a nice car. But you—you are working at a low-paying job. You share a small apartment with roommates. You don’t even have a car. When you see that friend, you feel jealousy. So when you see him, you avoid him. And then you don’t feel well. You tell yourself, “Next time, I will treat him better.” But when you see him again, those same feelings come back. You ignore him again—and even begin to hate him. This is our weakness. For many reasons, we begin to hate our brothers and sisters. But in those moments, we need to come to God and pray, asking Him to give us the strength to love that person.

We don’t need to feel pressured to die for the sins of the whole world like Jesus did. Rather than thinking about something big, we need to practice His love in the ordinary places of our daily lives. It starts close to us. We can begin with our families—speaking a warm word, serving our parents, caring for our brothers and sisters in small, practical ways. Then in the church, we can look for those who are struggling and offer help. And beyond that, we can show the love of Jesus little by little to our neighbors, our classmates, and our coworkers. As we grow in practicing Jesus’ love in these small ways, our hearts begin to grow wider and richer. And we will be able to love more people more deeply.

Now, we are preparing for a short-term mission at the end of July and the beginning of August. Why do we go on a short-term mission? Yes, there are many people around us who need help. But we also want to be challenged by seeing people who live in much more difficult situations—and to practice the love of Jesus in a real way. We are planning to go to Belize. Missionary Eunice has been helping us in many ways. We are looking for an orphanage where we can serve, and also a place where we can care for the sick. In addition, we plan to attend and support the Belize Summer Retreat. I believe this short-term mission will be a great spiritual challenge for those who participate. Through this mission, I pray that we may learn how to practice the love of Jesus and how to live according to God’s will.

We are called to love God and love our neighbor with the love of Jesus. But if we sin because of our weaknesses, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ. May we come to our Lord Jesus to be forgiven and empowered to love God and our brothers and sisters. Amen.