According to John’s word in 2:1 our Advocate with the Father is Jesus Christ the Righteous. Our Lord Jesus is the only righteous Man among all men. His righteous act (Rom. 5:18) on the cross fulfilled the righteous requirement of the righteous God for us and all sinners. Only He is qualified to be our Advocate to care for us in our sinning condition and restore us to a righteous condition so that our Father, who is righteous, may be appeased.
Instead of saying “Jesus Christ the Righteous,” we may say “Jesus Christ, the right One.” Jesus Christ certainly is the One who is right, the right One, and only this right One can be our Advocate with the Father. The reason we have a problem and the Father has a case against us is that we are the wrong ones. Because we are the ones who are wrong, we need the righteous One to take care of our case.
In 2:2 John 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 and in 4:10 is hilasmos. In 1:7 we have the blood of Jesus; in 2:1 the Person of Christ as our Advocate; and now, in 2:2 we have Christ as a propitiation concerning our sins. Our Advocate, who shed His blood for the cleansing of our sins, is our propitiation. This word “propitiation” indicates appeasing or peacemaking. When a child is wrong and his father has a case against him, there is no peace between them. In such a situation, there is the need of peacemaking and of appeasing the father. This peacemaking, this appeasing, is propitiation.
As an aid to understanding the word propitiation in 2:2, it will be helpful to review what Paul says in Romans 3:25 regarding the propitiation-cover: “Whom God set forth a propitiation-cover through faith in His blood, for the showing forth of His righteousness in respect of the passing by of the sins that occurred before in the forbearance of God.” The Greek word for propitiation here is hilasterion. This word is different from hilasmos in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 and hilaskomai in Hebrews 2:17. Hilasmos is “that which propitiates,” that is, a propitiatory sacrifice. In 1 John 2:2 and 4:10 the Lord Jesus is the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. Hilaskomai means “to appease, to reconcile one by satisfying the other’s demand,” that is, to propitiate. In Hebrews 2:17 the Lord Jesus makes propitiation for our sins to reconcile us to God by satisfying God’s righteous demands on us. But hilasterion is “the place of propitiation.” Therefore, in Hebrews 9:5 this word is used for the cover, the lid, of the ark (translated “mercy seat” in the King James Version) within the Holy of Holies. In Exodus 25:16-22 and Leviticus 16:12-16, the Septuagint also uses this word for the cover of the ark. The law of the Ten Commandments was in the ark, exposing and condemning by its righteous requirement the sin of the people who came to contact God. By the lid of the ark with the atoning blood sprinkled upon it on the day of atonement, the whole situation on the sinner’s side was fully covered. Hence, it was upon this lid that God could meet with those who broke His righteous law without, governmentally, any contradiction of His righteousness, even under the observing of the cherubim that bore His glory overshadowing the lid of the ark. The propitiatory or expiatory sacrifice, which foreshadowed Christ, satisfied all the requirements of God’s righteousness and glory. As a result, God could pass by the people’s sin that occurred at that time. Furthermore, in order to show forth His righteousness, God had to do this. This is what is referred to in Romans 3:25. For this reason, Romans 3:25 uses the same word, hilasterion, to reveal that the Lord Jesus is the propitiation place, the propitiation-cover, whom God set forth for showing forth His righteousness by passing by the sins of the Old Testament saints, for, as the propitiatory sacrifice, He made the full propitiation on the cross for their sins and fully satisfied the requirements of God’s righteousness and glory.
The Lord Jesus Christ has 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 the propitiation between God and us.
John says in 2:2 that Christ is the propitiation not only concerning our sins, but also concerning the whole world. The Lord Jesus as a propitiation concerning man’s sins is for the sins of the whole world. However, this propitiation is conditional upon man’s receiving it by believing in the Lord. Unbelievers do not experience its efficacy, not because it has any fault, but due to their unbelief.