1 John 2 (CEB)
1 My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. How do we as a community of faith become agents of cleansing in a world often more interested in punishment than restoration?
2. John calls Jesus our “advocate.” How does that shape our role, as Christ followers, when advocating for those weighed down by sin, injustice, or marginalization? What practices of advocacy—inside and outside the church—mirror Jesus’ cleansing work?
3. Think about a time when you were offended or aggrieved, was your initial reaction one of anger or one of grace? Consider how we relate to the idea of “propitiation” (or being appeased) more readily than “expiation” (or addressing a breakdown). How does this risk creating the idea of a god in our image as opposed to a God that has created us in the image of God?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. How might seeing the cross as the place where sin is exposed in order to be expiated (removed/cleansed) potentially change how we talk about it to others? Does this make the cross primarily a legal solution, a relational restoration, or a healing act—and why does that matter?
2. Considering the nuanced difference between propitiation and expiation, how does this subtle shift help us to realize we are never too far removed from our Creator to be outside God’s love?
3. Looking around us today, how has embracing the idea of a wrathful god in need of propitiation led us to a place where it’s easy for so many to treat their neighbors in an Un-Christlike manner? How do we move the needle to embrace a model of expiation, and more empathy and compassion?
4. Our loving perfect God knows we will sin and STILL sent the Son for our salvation. How might this help us to find refuge and peace in our loving Father as opposed to a wrathful God?
5. When you stumble, do you deep down believe your truest identity is “sinner who fails” or “beloved child who has been cleansed”? How does that self-perception shape the way you pray or worship life?
For further contemplation, consider this prompt:
1 John 2:2 emphasizes the notion that Jesus came “not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” How does the cleansing/removal framework expand our sense of God’s mission? How might its language support a vision of the gospel that emphasizes healing and reconciliation across divisions?