1 John 2:1

My little children, &c.— St. John has several times called the Christians to whom he wrote, little children; not that it is to be supposed they were all his converts, though probably many of them were; but he was an apostle, and, as such, he looked upon himself as a father, and all Christians under his care and inspection as his children. It was a tender and affectionate appellation, denoting his paternal authority, love, and concern for them. If any man sin, might be rendered more properly, If any man have sinned; that is, "have formerly sinned;" and thus it falls in admirablywell with the connection: "I write these things unto you, that you may not hereafter sin; and if anyman have formerly sinned, I write likewise to inform him, that if he repent, he need not despair of mercy; for we have an Advocate with the Father, &c." Jesus Christ is here represented as our Advocate with the Father: he is sometimes also represented as our Intercessor, which, in English, signifies "one who petitions or prays for favour for others." But what principally concerns us upon this subject is, that the Greek words ευτυγχανω, and υπερεντυγχανω, are of a more lax meaning, and signify to interpose or intervene in any way, whether by authority, petitioning, pleading, or otherwise. See Romans 8:27; Romans 11:2. According to the import of the Greek words, an intercessor, who pleads the cause of another, is the same with an advocate; for an advocate pleads the cause of his client before his prince or judge. An accuser and an advocate stand opposed to each other: the first is applied to the devil, who is called The accuser of the brethren: Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is our Advocate with the Father, maintaining and pleading our cause, always fully patronizing those who come to him in faith—that great exalted Saviour, who was himself by way of eminence, and in such a degree as no other person dwelling in human flesh ever was, so perfectly righteous, that his obedience absolutely answered the demands of the divine law in all its extent and purity.