1 John 2:2

The False Doctrine of Perfectionism, part 3
1 John 2:2—Propitiation

Introductory Thoughts

· The True Doctrine—God is Light--1:5
· The First False Doctrine—Antinomianism --1:6-7.
· First Form of Perfectionism—claiming to have no tendency to sin John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
· The Second form of perfectionism—claiming to be sinless in practice 1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
· The Remedy for both heresies in chapter 1—the balanced Christian life—

· The balanced approach to the Christian life—1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1. The Theological Premise—God’s Wrath

a. The Biblical viewpoint--wrath is one of the divine perfections of God, it is an attribute of His personality. Just as His loving nature results in His acts of Grace and Mercy, God's Holiness, Justice, and Righteousness result in Wrath.


(1) Wrath is not the central attribute of God--that is holiness

(2) Wrath is not the defining attribute of God--Love defines God.... ("God is Love....") God does not delight in wrath--

(3)Divine Wrath is the right and natural result of an absolutely Holy God being defied and spat upon by His creatures

(4) This is a solemn topic for discussion, but one which we cannot avoid. The idea of an all-powerful Being Who has and expresses anger is a frightening idea. We know that we are fallible; we know that we do things that are contrary to righteousness. The notion that we may have to answer for those faults, and worse, for specific sins, to a God Who possesses wrath is the stuff of which nightmares are made. On this topic, the author can think of no better commentary on the Wrath of God than that written by A. W. Pink:

(5) "...that the wrath of God is a Divine perfection is plainly demonstrated by what we read in Ps 95:11 'unto who I swear in My wrath.' There are two occasions of God's 'swearing': in making promises (Gen 22:16); and in pronouncing judgments (Dt 1:34 ff.) In the former, He swears in mercy to His children; in the latter, He swears to deprive a wicked generation of its murmuring and unbelief. An oath is for solemn confirmation (Heb 6:16). In Gen 22:16, God says, 'By myself have I sworn...' In Ps 89:35, He declares, 'Once have I sworn by my holiness.' While in Ps 95:11, He affirms 'I swear in my wrath." Thus the great Jehovah Himself appeals to His 'wrath' as a perfection equal to His 'holiness'; He swears by the one as much as by the other! Again, as in Christ 'dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily' (Col. 2:9), and as all the Divine perfections are illustriously displayed by Him (Jn 1:18), therefore do we read of 'the wrath of the Lamb'. (Rev 6:19)." (The Attributes of God)

(6) The people who populate Modern Western civilization hate the concept of a God who possesses wrath. All people want to know about God (if, indeed they want to know anything at all) is about His love. Men create in their minds the concept of a God who is all love and nothing else--they make an idol in their heads. The Bible, however, is absolute about the fact that God is a God of wrath.

b. The reality of the Wrath of God--"..For, the wrath of God is REVEALED from heaven....." FOR ....The Wrath of God is REVEALED—

(1) Divine Wrath against sin is the reason the plan of salvation was required!!!
Luke 3:7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Rom 2:5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

Rom 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Eph 2:3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

1 Th 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Th 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jer 10:10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

Rev 6:16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

Rev 6:17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Eph 2:3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Col 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

(2) No wrath against the people of God--God's people, on the other hand need never be afraid of the wrath of God, for He sent His Son to deliver us from that wrath.

1 Th 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Th 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2. The Argument About Propitiation—1 John 2:2 "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

a. The pagan concept of propitiation

(1) Angry, petulant “gods”
(2) Divine anger separate from moral absolutes
(3) The payment of the bribe to the angry “god”

b. The liberal concept of expiation

(1) Main premise—God is NOT a God of wrath
(2) Propitiation is pagan
(3) Propitiation makes God petty
(4) Expiation means the guilt of the sins is removed.
(5) Weaknesses:
(a) Does not address the character of God
(b) Does not address the honor of God
(c) Does not address the character of our sin and our sins

3. The Meaning of Propitiation from the Bible

a. First of all, the related words and their usages—these different Greek words are all related in their root meanings.

(1) These two use the verb form hilaskomai

Luke 18:13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
Heb 2:17 "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

(2) These reference the word hilasterion—

(a) Rom 3:25 "whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,"
(b) Heb 9:5 "and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail."
(3) The word used here is the adjective hileos—Heb 8:12 ""For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.""

(4) The word used here is the noun hilasmos

1 John 2:2 "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

1 John 4:10 "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

c. What the word “propitiation,” means in Biblical context

(1) The Sacrifice that saves us

(a) Rom 3:25—context: wrath—Rom 2:5-6, Rom 5:6-9
(b) Related to the Old Testament place of sacrifice—Heb 9:5

(2) The verb form speaks of God making the propitiation—that it is an act of God.

(a) Heb 2:17
(b) Luke 18:38—What was the publican asking for?

(3) Heb 8:12 quotes from Jeremiah, the New Covenant passage, where God says he will be propitious!

(4) The 1 John passages refer to the effect of that propitiation on our lives! 1 John 2:2, 4:10—see the verses immediately preceding in each case!

d. The Theological meaning

(1) God is Just and Holy—most important premise
(2) Our sin and our sins have offended God

(3) God’s wrath

(4) The penalty for our sin and our sins—to endure God’s just wrath forever
(5) The requirement for propitiation—God’s Wrath, God’s Justice must be satisfied
(6) God provides His own propitiation—Gen 22 and Rom 3:24-26
(7) The qualifications to be the propitiator for a world of lost sinners
(a) Infinite worth
(b) Absolute purity
(c) Of the same kind as those being propitiated
(d) Willingness to be the propitiator and the propitiation
(e) Power and authority to overcome death

4. Issues: 1 John 2:2 "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

a. He IS our Propitiation. It is not just that He propitiates our sin and our sins, it is that He IS our Propitiation—God has provided Himself as a lamb—Gen 22

b. The Substitutionary nature of the propitiation—for our sins—

c. The Extent of the propitiation

(1) The Potential application—he is the only propitiation available for the world—there is none other.

(2) What is actually Propitiated—The sins of all who believe—propitiation is not effective except through faith in His blood—Rom 3:25—Only the sins of those who believe are propitiated. To say that everyone’s sin has been propitiated would be to say that everyone believes!

(3) Who believes? Those who have been called to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit

5. (Excerpt From my Romans 8 study) The Purpose of God, part 2, The Divine Side of Salvation—Rom 8:28c— “…to them who are the called according to his purpose."

a. The Purpose of God—“…to them who are the called according to his purpose."

(1) God has an ultimate purpose in the universe. There is a goal, a reason, toward which all things are working
(a) Eph 1:3-12, Eph 3:1-11, 21
(2) This is a constant theme in the whole Bible—Isa 14:26, John 12:27, Acts 2:23, Acts 4:28,

b. The Choice of God—Grace is Certain—“…to them who are the called according to his purpose."

(1) ".....All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.....John 6:37
(2) Our calling to salvation is a part of the purpose of God—2 Tim 1:9
(3) God Has a People—1 Pet 2:9
(4) God chose individual people, from eternity—John 15:16-19, Eph 1:4
(5) God Gave the Chosen Ones to Christ—"All that the Father giveth me.... " John 17:2 , John 17:6, John 6:39, John 17:9, John 17:11, John 17:24
c. The Call of God— “…to them who are the called according to his purpose."
(1) The Divine Side of Salvation—God’s people shall come. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me..."
(2) Remember, there is no “shaller” or “shallest.” God’s people shall come.
(3) There are no conditions, no whys or wherefores. God’s people shall come.
(4) There is no power in heaven or on Earth that can prevent this from happening. God’s people shall come.
(5) This is an agreement between the Father and the Son, and it will be honored—God’s people shall come.

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me..." see: Acts 18:9-10

d. How do God’s people come?
(1) They come by divine revelation—John 6:44-45, Mat 16:16-17
(2) They come by divine calling—2 Th 2:13-14
(3) The Call to salvation is just like the call to the ministry. 1 Cor 1:1-2, 1 Cor 1:9, 2 Tim 1:9, 1 Pet 2:9
(4) God’s People come willingly—Psa 110: 3
(5) God’s People come in Faith—Acts 13:48
(6) The Example of Paul—Acts 9:3-16, Gal 1:13-15
(a) Paul came by divine revelation-
(b) Paul came by divine calling—
(c) Paul came willingly—
(d) Paul came in Faith—
(e) Paul came for certain—
(f) Paul came in God's time