(Scripture is taken from the NIV1984; information in brackets is taken from the Interlinear on biblehub.com. Italics are mine)
1 John 2:1
My dear children, I write this to you [2nd person singular] so that you [2nd person singular] will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we [2nd person plural] have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
You (singular person familiar) > anybody > we > our.
I have always read this Bible passage as a precision-guided message to the individual heart, that is, tailor-made for myself: the “anybody”. And I think that this is a correct application. Yet, there is perhaps still more to the picture.
You: the addressee of this epistle is referred to as a singular, corporate entity, reminiscent of the “Lady” addressed in John’s second epistle (2 John 1:1).
Anybody: Within that lady (“mother church”?) John directs his attention to each soul (the “dear children”), convincing each that Messiah Jesus is their advocate.
We/our: an interesting shift is made from the focus on a person (anybody) to the church (we/our). The switch off is not confusing, but it is at least one worth contemplating.
Could one implication be that in the individual’s reckoning that Jesus is Mediator in their confession of sin, there is also a body of believers who, through intercessory prayer, are petitioning the same Advocate for that person’s well-being? If yes, there’s a lot for EACH OF US to consider and live out.
1 John 2:1
My dear children, I write this to you [2nd person singular] so that you [2nd person singular] will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we [2nd person plural] have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
You (singular person familiar) > anybody > we > our.
I have always read this Bible passage as a precision-guided message to the individual heart, that is, tailor-made for myself: the “anybody”. And I think that this is a correct application. Yet, there is perhaps still more to the picture.
You: the addressee of this epistle is referred to as a singular, corporate entity, reminiscent of the “Lady” addressed in John’s second epistle (2 John 1:1).
Anybody: Within that lady (“mother church”?) John directs his attention to each soul (the “dear children”), convincing each that Messiah Jesus is their advocate.
We/our: an interesting shift is made from the focus on a person (anybody) to the church (we/our). The switch off is not confusing, but it is at least one worth contemplating.
Could one implication be that in the individual’s reckoning that Jesus is Mediator in their confession of sin, there is also a body of believers who, through intercessory prayer, are petitioning the same Advocate for that person’s well-being? If yes, there’s a lot for EACH OF US to consider and live out.
