II. I come now to show you how Jesus Christ manages his office as an Advocate for us. And that I may do this to your edification, I shall choose this method to open it first. Show me how he manages this office with his Father. Second. I shall show you how he manages it before him against our adversary.
First, how does he manage his office of Advocate with his Father?
1. He doth it by himself, by no other as deputy under him, no angel, no saint; no work has a place here but Jesus, and Jesus only. This is what the text implies: “We have an Advocate”; speaking of one, but one alone; without an equal or an inferior. We have but one, and he is Jesus Christ. Nor is it for Christ’s honor, the honor of the law, or the justice of God that anyone but Jesus Christ should be an Advocate for a sinning saint. Besides, to assert the contrary, what doth it but lessen sin, and make the advocateship of Jesus Christ superfluous? It would lessen sin should it be removed by a saint or angel; it would make the advocateship of Jesus Christ superfluous, yea, needless, should it be possible that sin could be removed from us by either saint or angel.
Again; if God should admit of more advocates than one, and yet make mention of never a one but Jesus Christ; or if John should allow another, and yet speak nothing but of Jesus only; yea, that an advocate under that title should be mentioned but once, but once only in all the book of God, and yet that divers should be admitted, stands neither with the wisdom or love of God, nor with the faithfulness of the apostle. But saints have but one Advocate, if they will use him or improve their faith in that office for their help; if not, they must take what follows. This I thought good to hint at, because the times are corrupt and because ignorance and superstition always wait for a countenance with us, and these things have a natural tendency to darken all truth, so especially this, which brings to Jesus Christ so much glory and yields to the godly so much help and relief.
2. As Jesus Christ alone is Advocate, so is God’s bar, and that alone is that before which he pleads, for God is to judge himself (Deut 32:36). Heb 12:23). Nor can the cause for which he is now pleading be removed from any other court, either by appeals or otherwise. Could Satan could remove us from heaven to another court, he would certainly be too hard for us, because there we should want our Jesus, our Advocate, to plead our cause. Indeed, sometimes he impleads us before men, and they are glad of the occasion, for they and he are often one. Still, then we have left to remove our cause, and to pray for a trial in the highest court, saying, “Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal” (Psa 17:2). This wicked world does sentence us for our good deeds, but how then would they sentence us for our bad ones? But we will never appeal from heaven to earth for right, for here we have no Advocate; “our Advocate is with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
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