As our Paraclete (1 John 2:1), Christ takes care of our affairs on the ground of His propitiation for our sins (v. 2). Often in our daily living we have failures and commit sins. At such times we need Christ as our Paraclete, as our heavenly attorney, to take care of our case on the basis that on the cross He made propitiation for our sins and thus can propitiate our present situation with the righteous God.
First John 2:1 says, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” “Advocate” is a translation of the Greek word parakletos. This word is formed of the preposition para (used here as a prefix) and the word kletos. Put together, these words denote one who is called to another’s side to aid him, hence, a helper; one who offers legal aid or one who intercedes on behalf of someone else, hence, an advocate, counsel, or intercessor. The word denotes consoling and consolation, hence, a consoler, a comforter. Paraclete is its anglicized form. In His heavenly ministry Christ, as our Advocate, our Paraclete, with the Father, as the One who cares for our case, intercedes on our behalf (Rom. 8:34) and pleads for us if we sin. This interceding and pleading is based on His propitiation.
First John 2:1 tells us specifically that Christ is our Advocate with the Father. The Greek word translated “with” is pros, with the accusative, a preposition of motion, implying living, acting, in union and communion with. The Lord Jesus as our Paraclete is living in communion with the Father.
John’s use of Father as the divine title here indicates that our case is a family affair, a case between children and the Father. Through regeneration we have been born children of God. After regeneration, in case we sin, it is a matter of children sinning against their Father. Our Advocate undertakes for our sinning to restore our interrupted fellowship with the Father so that we may abide in the enjoyment of the divine fellowship.
First John 2:2 goes on to say, “And He is a propitiation concerning our sins, and not concerning ours only, but also concerning the whole world.” The Greek word for propitiation here is hilasmos. Our Paraclete, who shed His blood for the cleansing of our sins (1 John 1:7), is our propitiation, a word that indicates appeasing or peacemaking. The Lord Jesus offered Himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 9:28), not only for our redemption but also for God’s satisfaction. In Him as our Substitute, through His vicarious death, God is satisfied and appeased. Hence, Christ is a propitiation between God and us. With this propitiation as the basis, He does His work as our Paraclete.
In His work in His heavenly ministry, Christ is also our High Priest, according to the order of Melchisedec, interceding for us (Heb. 5:10; 7:24-26). The order of Melchisedec is higher than the order of Aaron. The order of Aaron was for the priesthood only in humanity, whereas the order of Melchisedec is for the priesthood both in humanity and divinity. As such a High Priest He ministers to us whatever we need, dispensing the processed Triune God into us as our supply to fulfill God’s eternal purpose.
Christ has been constituted our High Priest according to the power of an indestructible life (Heb. 7:16), which nothing can dissolve. It is an endless life, being the eternal, divine, uncreated life and the resurrection life that has passed through the test of death and Hades (Acts 2:24; Rev. 1:18). It is by such a life that Christ ministers today as our High Priest with an unalterable priesthood, a priesthood that, like Him, is forever (Heb. 7:24; 13:8).
Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, seeing He is always living to intercede for them.” The word translated “uttermost” also means completely, entirely, perfectly, for all time and eternity and to the end. Because Christ lives forever without change, He is able to save us to the uttermost in extent, time, and space.
Christ is able to save us completely because He is interceding for us. He is our perpetual, constant, and eternal Intercessor. As our High Priest Christ undertakes our case by interceding for us. He appears before God on our behalf, praying that we may be wholly saved and brought fully into God’s eternal purpose. Christ intercedes for us constantly, and eventually His intercession will overcome, subdue, and save us. We all shall be completely saved by His intercession. God has appointed Him to take care of us, and He is now caring for us by interceding for us. He is interceding for us now, and He will save us to the uttermost.
Hebrews 7:26 goes on to say, “Such a High Priest befits us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners.” As such a perfect One, He surely befits us. We, having a fallen and corrupted nature, need the work of such a High Priest to save us all the time.
Hebrews 7:26 also says that Christ has “become higher than the heavens.” In His ascension Christ “has passed through the heavens” (Heb. 4:14), and now He is not only in heaven (Heb. 9:24) but is also higher than the heavens. Because our High Priest is higher than the heavens, He is able, in His heavenly ministry, to rescue us and save us to the uttermost.
Finally, in His heavenly ministry Christ is a Minister of the true, the heavenly tabernacle (Heb. 8:2), serving God’s people with the bequests, the blessings, of the new testament. As our heavenly Minister with a more excellent ministry, Christ is carrying out the better covenant. He does this by making the facts of the new covenant effective. Every fact in the new covenant is made effective by the heavenly Minister with His more excellent ministry.
Christ, the heavenly Minister, is also executing the bequests in the new testament. Whatever is a fact in the covenant is a bequest in the testament. Facts refer to certain things that have been accomplished but which are not yet designated until they are bequeathed. After the accomplished facts have been bequeathed, they immediately become bequests designated for us. Whatever is in a covenant is a fact, but whatever is in a testament is a bequest. What were facts in the covenant have now become legally designated for us as bequests in the testament. There are four facts of the new covenant which have become bequests in the new testament: the propitiation for unrighteousness and forgiveness of sins; the imparting of the law of life; the blessing of having God and of being His people; and the inward ability of knowing the Lord. In His work in His heavenly ministry Christ is now serving us with these bequests.
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