1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
John writes ”these things” (the Gospel story) that we might believe and have life. The result of believing and having life is that we may not sin. By faith in the gospel we actually become better people. We will bear fruit. The hoped-for result of faith in the Gospel, the indwelling Spirit, and Life living in us is that we will not sin. We live our lives in the expectation that we will live with less sinning.
But you know, God knows, and everyone else knows that we have not stopped sinning. Sin remains, for we still live in the flesh, in the world, and with the devil. Now here comes the promise: if we do sin, which we will, we have an Advocate with the Father. An advocate is an attorney who comes alongside, steps in between us and the Father, and pleads our case for forgiveness based on the Blood shed for all sins. And behold, God loves, accepts, forgives, and saves us for Christ’s sake.
The promised Holy Spirit is the Lawyer, ever living within, constantly and instantly pleading for us. This Advocate is always present to us even as our sin is ever before us. Thus we are living in two worlds at the same time: sin and forgiveness, judgment and mercy, Law and Gospel, flesh and Spirit. The amount of love, joy, and peace we experience depends to some extent on which we are remembering and believing. Focus in the promise: we have an advocate!