Light and Spiritual Dyslexia

1 John 2:1-6
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--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 obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.


Some of John's teachings in this very letter make it appear that a true Christian is incapable of committing sin (1Jo 3:8-9), but scriptures like this one show that can't be the point. This verse very clearly states this letter was written to believers, and it is also a very clear exhortation to them not to sin. That would be unnecessary if it was impossible for a Christian to sin.

When Christians do sin, we have an advocate, or intercessor, who argues our case with the Father. That advocate is Jesus. He continually stands on our behalf and offers His sacrifice for our sins as our defense.

The word "propitiation" means "to conciliate; appease." The Greek word from which it was translated means "atonement, i.e. (concr.) an expiator" (Strong's Concordance). Other translations translated this as "atoning sacrifice." So this is saying that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins that has forever appeased the wrath of God against us (Isa 54:9-10). Ro 3:25 explains that "propitiation" is putting Jesus' righteousness to our account.

Jesus is not only the "propitiation" for our sins (i.e., those who accept Him by faith), but also for the sins of the whole world. This means that even unbelievers' sins were paid for in the atonement of Christ (1Ti 4:10). What a radical truth. That means it's not our individual sins that will send a person to hell. Those sins have been paid for. It's the sin of rejecting Jesus that they will have to answer for.

Religion has so ground into our heads the lie that right standing with God is earned by our actions, scriptures like this are almost always interpreted as the opposite of what they are really saying. This verse is not saying that keeping God's commandments causes us to know Him; it's saying the exact opposite. Knowing God (not just intellectually but experientially) will cause us to keep His commandments. This is how we know if we are truly born of God (1Jo 3:10). If our actions aren't affected, then we don't have a genuine relationship with the Lord.

This is the same truth from the previous verse (1Jo 2:3). No one wants to be a liar, and we all want to know the Lord, so people take this verse to say that keeping God's commandments will accomplish this. But this is saying just the opposite. Knowing God will cause us to keep God's commandments. So, those who say they know God and are not keeping God's commandments are liars. That's not the way it works.

These verses are stressing that knowing God produces righteous living, and not the other way around. So, it is not by keeping the Word of God that we come into the love of God, but once we experience the love of God, that will cause us to keep God's instructions.

The point made here is an example of spiritual dyslexia. Dyslexia is a physical condition where a person sees things backwards. A dyslexic person sees the word "God" as "dog." There is a big difference between God and dog. Likewise, people with spiritual dyslexia see actions as the key to relationship with God when the truth is that godly actions are the result of relationship with God.

There should be no contest over this truth from any of us who are truly born again. As 1Jo 3:3 says, "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." Jesus is our example, and all of us Christians (the word means "little Christ") should act just like Jesus as much as possible. We will never do that perfectly, but that should be the direction we are headed. We won't arrive in this life, but we can at least leave and head in that direction.