from that holy place by them, we have the assurance that full provision has been made for

this very uncleanness. And we learn to our joy (I John 1: 4) that not only have we been

sanctified once and for all in the offering of Christ, that not only may we look forward to

the day when we shall be presented holy, but that it is gloriously true that in the

continuing present "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son is cleansing us from all sin". The

symbolic washing of John 13:, with the Lord's differentiation between the one bathing

that renders the believer "clean every whit", and the daily cleansing of the feet that

contact with the world and our present imperfect condition render necessary, helps us to

appreciate the teaching of I John 1: 7.

Not only is the walk in view, but fellowship: "We have fellowship one with another,

and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." So, in the Gospel, the

Lord had said: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me" (John 13: 8). If we wait

until we "have no sin" before we "walk in the light", we shall never in this life know

fellowship with God. We are invited to walk in the light with the assurance that daily

cleansing is provided.

Grace is so far beyond our ordinary thoughts that there is always the likelihood, as the

apostle Paul knew only too well, that some will say, "Shall we continue in sin that grace

may abound?" So in I John 1: 7. There is no minimizing of sin, but rather detestation of

it. Even the redeemed, who are so at one with the Lord that a description of their unity

seems to exhaust the resources of language (John 17:), even they must realize that sin is

so deep-dyed, so part of our very nature, that even those who walk in the light and have

fellowship with God cannot dispense with the continual cleansing of His precious blood.

So, in I John 2: 1, the apostle checks any false conclusions that may have been forming

in the minds of some by saying:--

The word here translated "Advocate" is paraclete, which in John's Gospel is

translated "Comforter". If we read I John 2: 1 in the light of Heb. 7: 25, we shall see

that the high-priestly intercession is in view here rather than the pleading of an advocate

in a court of law. Cleansing has no place in a court of law; it pertains to the temple, to

access, worship, and fellowship.

There is an O.T. passage which should be read with I John 1: 7 because it illuminates

other facets of the truth regarding the important question of sin, confession and cleansing

and the presence of the Lord. It hardly seems fitting, however, to attempt to crowd its

message in at the end of an article, and we therefore reserve comment upon this passage

for our next paper.