Before we consider 2:3-6, I would like to say a further word concerning propitiation. John says in 2:2, “He is a propitiation concerning our sins, and not concerning ours only, but also concerning the whole world.” According to its biblical meaning, propitiation leads to enjoyment, for it ushers in fellowship between God and us. According to Paul’s word in Romans 3:25, God has set forth Christ a propitiation-cover through faith in His blood. This indicates that Christ is not only the One who propitiates, but also that He is the place of propitiation. Christ as the propitiation place is the place where God and His redeemed people may converse, have fellowship, and enjoy one another.
In his first Epistle, John indicates that God’s provision not only includes the blood of Jesus and God’s righteousness and faithfulness, but also includes the Advocate who pleads our case with the Father and who Himself is our propitiation, our peacemaker. Christ Himself is actually the peace between God and us. This peace is the ground on which we and God may converse, have fellowship, and enjoy one another.
In the first section on the conditions of the divine fellowship (1:5-10), the problem that affects our fellowship is sin. If we sin, we need to confess. If we confess our sins, the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from our sins. Then in His faithfulness and righteousness, the Father will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. Furthermore, our Lord Jesus Christ will be the Advocate with the Father to handle our case. Eventually, this precious One will be our propitiation and thus the base, the ground, where we enjoy God and have fellowship with Him and He with us.
We may use an example from family life as an illustration of how Christ as our propitiation restores pleasant fellowship between us and the Father. Suppose the children in a family offend their father by disobeying him. As a result, their fellowship with the father is broken. However, the children repent and confess to the father, and he forgives them. Nevertheless, the situation is still not altogether pleasant. Then the mother may come in as the peacemaker, as the one who helps all the parties to be peaceful and happy. She may even prepare something for the family to eat so that they may have an enjoyable time together. This is an illustration of what Christ does as our propitiation. After we confess our sins and are cleansed by the blood and forgiven by the Father, the Lord handles our case with the Father and then becomes the very enjoyment that appeases the Father. This is Christ as our propitiation.
As we consider this matter, we shall realize that this is not merely a doctrine but is something very experiential. From experience we know that when we confess our sins, we have the sense that the blood has cleansed us and that the Father has forgiven us. Immediately, there is also a sense of enjoyment. That enjoyment is Christ as our propitiation. It is by this enjoyment, by Christ as our propitiation, that we may converse with God and He with us, and that together we may enjoy Christ and have fellowship around Christ. Therefore, Christ is the enjoyment that is the propitiation with God for us. Eventually, He becomes the very ground of our fellowship with the Father. It is in this way that our fellowship, which is broken through sin, may be recovered. Praise the Lord that by the five provisions—the blood, God’s faithfulness and righteousness, the Advocate, and the propitiation—we are restored to full fellowship with God!