1 John 2:1-2

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 John 2:1-2

These verses relate to the concluding subject of the foregoing chapter, in which the apostle proceeds upon the supposition of the real Christian's sin. And here he gives them both dissuasion and support. 1. Dissuasion. He would leave no room for sin: ?My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not, 1 John 2:1. The design or purport of this letter, the design of what I have just said concerning communion with God and the overthrow of it by an irreligious course, is to... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:1-2

2:1-2 My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. But, if anyone does sin, we have one who will plead our cause to the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. For he is the propitiating sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. The first thing to note in this passage is the sheer affection in it. John begins with the address, "My little children." Both in Latin and in Greek diminutives carry a special affection. They are words... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:1-2

It will take us some considerable time to deal with these two verses for there are hardly any other two in the New Testament which so succinctly set out the work of Christ. Let us first set out the problem. It is clear that Christianity is an ethical religion; that is what John is concerned to stress. But it is also clear that man is so often an ethical failure. Confronted with the demands of God, he admits them and accepts them--and then fails to keep them. Here, then, there is a barrier... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 John 2:1-2

John goes on to say that Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. The word is hilasmos ( Greek #2434 ). This is a more difficult picture for us fully to grasp. The picture of the advocate is universal for all men have experience of a friend coming to their aid; but the picture in propitiation is from sacrifice and is more natural to the Jewish mind than to ours. To understand it we must get at the basic ideas behind it. The great aim of all religion is fellowship with God, to know him as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 John 2:1

My little children ,.... The apostle may address the saints under this character, on account of their regeneration by the Spirit and grace of God, in which they were as newborn babes; and on account of his being the instrument of their conversion, and so was their spiritual father, and therefore calls them his own children; and he might the rather use such a way of speaking, because of his advanced age, being now in his old age, and John the elder in age as well as in office; as well as to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 John 2:2

And he is the propitiation for our sins ,.... For the sins of us who now believe, and are Jews: and not for ours only ; but for the sins of Old Testament saints, and of those who shall hereafter believe in Christ, and of the Gentiles also, signified in the next clause: but also for the sins of the whole world ; the Syriac version renders it, "not for us only, but also for the whole world"; that is, not for the Jews only, for John was a Jew, and so were those he wrote unto, but for... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 2:1

My little children - Τεκνια μου· My beloved children; the address of an affectionate father to children whom he tenderly loves. The term also refers to the apostle's authority as their spiritual father, and their obligation to obey as his spiritual children. That ye sin not - This is the language of the whole Scripture; of every dispensation, ordinance, institution, doctrine, and word of God. Sin not - do not run into ruin; live not so as to promote your own misery; be happy, for it is... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 2:2

And he is the propitiation - ' Ἱλασμος· The atoning sacrifice for our sins. This is the proper sense of the word as used in the Septuagint, where it often occurs; and is the translation of אשם asham , an oblation for sin, Amos 8:14 . חטאת chattath , a sacrifice for sin, Ezekiel 44:27 . כפור kippur , an atonement, Numbers 5:8 . See the note on Romans 3:25 , and particularly the note on Luke 18:13 . The word is used only here and in 1 John 4:10 . And not for ours... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 2:1

Verse 1 1.My little children. It is not only the sum and substance of the preceding doctrine, but the meaning of almost the whole gospel, that we are to depart from sin; and yet, though we are always exposed to God’s judgment, we are certain that Christ so intercedes by the sacrifice of his death, that the Father is propitious to us. In the meantime, he also anticipates an objection, lest any one should think that he gave license to sin when he spoke of God’s mercy, and shewed that it is... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 John 2:2

Verse 2 2And not for ours only He added this for the sake of amplifying, in order that the faithful might be assured that the expiation made by Christ, extends to all who by faith embrace the gospel. Here a question may be raised, how have the sins of the whole world been expiated? I pass by the dotages of the fanatics, who under this pretense extend salvation to all the reprobate, and therefore to Satan himself. Such a monstrous thing deserves no refutation. They who seek to avoid this... read more

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