My little children, these things I write to you, so
that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous. And He
Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for
the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)
John uses the address “dear children” in a warm,
fatherly way. He is not talking down to
his readers but is showing affection for them.
At this writing, John was a very old man. He had spent almost all his life in ministry,
and many of his readers were indeed his spiritual children.
