My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor{Greek Parakleton: Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, and Comfortor.} with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
that ye sin not: Is this prohibition inconsistent with John’s declarations in chapter one, verses 8-10, in which he affirms that sin is a reality in the lives of Christian people? Certainly not! In those verses, John talks about an aberration in the life of a child of God. Sin happens in the life of one who walks "in the light," but it is not the usual direction of his life. John, in chapter two, heads off any idea that a Christian should just give in to sin since it is a fact of life. John did not want these Christians to say, "Since everyone is doing it, why refrain from sin? It is just a natural occurrence of life; so if it feels good, do it!" He says to his children in the faith, "Do not sin." A parent may send a child to school with the admonition, "Behave yourself," knowing full well that the child might misbehave. In like manner, John cautions his spiritual children that they should not sin while he knows they probably will. No parent would say to a child, "Misbehave a little," because of the probability of misbehavior; John does not say, "Sin a little," just because he knows of the sinful inclinations in his readers.