How do you actually know that you know God — not just know about Him, but really know Him? That’s the question sitting underneath all of 1 John, and chapter 2 is where John starts giving real, concrete answers. This week I walk through three tests John gives us for genuine knowledge of God, plus one of the most comforting ideas in the whole letter: we have an advocate. We Have an Advocate. When we sin — and we will — we’re not left without representation before God. John uses legal language: Jesus stands as our defender before the Father, and He’s able to do that because of propitiation, the idea (drawn from the Day of Atonement) that God’s righteous wrath against sin has already been satisfied through Christ’s sacrifice. Obedience as Love’s Maturity. John doesn’t soften this one: if you claim to know God without obedience, that’s not just inconsistency, it’s lying. But obedience isn’t opposed to love — it’s love brought to completion, matured, fully realized in actually walking like Jesus walked. Old Command, New Light. The command to love one another is both ancient (rooted all the way back in Leviticus 19:18) and brand new — embodied and demonstrated in a fresh way through Christ. I talk through why hatred toward other believers isn’t just a moral failing but something that actually blinds your perception, using a little history (looking at you, Henry VIII) to show how this plays out. Three Stages of Spiritual Maturity. John addresses children, fathers, and young men — not age groups, but stages of where someone is in their walk with God: just grasping grace, actively fighting spiritual battles, or settled into decades of tested knowledge. No group is condemned; each is just described honestly. Don’t Love the World’s Value System. This isn’t about hating creation — God loves the world enough to send His Son for it. It’s about three specific pulls: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — appetite, coveting, and the desire to be seen as significant. None of it lasts, and John ties our loyalty to what’s actually permanent. The Anointing That Protects Us. Against false teachers denying the full incarnation of Christ, John reminds his readers they already have everything they need through the Holy Spirit’s anointing — no secret knowledge required, just trusting what’s already been given. If there’s one thing I want to leave you with from this chapter, it’s the advocate. We’re not going to be sinless, but we have someone pleading our case who has already paid what was due — on our okay days and our worst days alike. 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