1 John 2:21-25

 

1 John 2:21 (KJB)

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

 

John was not writing to reveal some new truths but he was mainly confirming what they already knew. In the previous verse he alluded to the fact that they knew the truth because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. He adds another fact that no lie can ever spring from a root of truth. This means that no lie and truth can co-exist. It is akin to the reality that darkness and light cannot co-exist. Wherever there is a light, it dispels the darkness, even if it is a weak light.

 

1 John 2:22 (KJB)

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

 

The Gnostics had taught that Jesus could not have been the Christ because they claimed that deity could never exist in mortal flesh which was considered evil and sin-filled. This is why they denied that Jesus was the Christ, however, they neglected to take into consideration that Jesus did not have the sin nature by birth because His earthly father was not Joseph, but the Holy Spirit. This means that when Jesus was on earth, He was sinless and His flesh was also not corrupted by the sin nature. Today we have atheists and agnostics and a host of false religions which deny that Jesus was Christ. The New Age makes Him out to be just another ascended master akin to Buddha or Confucius, this means that they are all liars and what is the end of all liars? (Rev 21:8 KJV) But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Those who deny that Jesus is the Christ also deny the incarnation of Christ. Then the verse goes on to state a fact concerning antichrist. There are so many who are looking for some political figure to arise, yet verses like the one above details who antichrist is. The word “is” is in the present tense, which means that antichrist was alive in John’s time which was about 90 A.D. and this means that antichrist will be around till the last day. The definition of antichrist is one who denies the Father and the Son. The word “denieth” is in the middle voice which means that it is the person himself who is denying the Father and the Son. A second century heretic named Marcion denied that God was the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, which means he was denying that divine connection between them. Some deny that Christ was even the Son of God in Heaven. Harold Camping , the president of Family Radio headquartered in Oakland, California made this heretical assertion, "Christ became the Son of God after He arose from the dead before the foundation of the world." This is nothing more than another form of Gnosticism because many of the Gnostics taught that Jesus became the Son of God after His resurrection or some even believed only by His adoption. Christ was the Son of God from all eternity. (Gal 4:4 KJV) But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, God could not send forth His Son, if He was not His Son already. (Micah 5:2 KJV) But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

 

1 John 2:23 (KJB)

Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

 

Here is another eye opening verse which should be heeded by the world’s religions. If a person denies that Jesus is the Son of God, this means that they are unsaved but it also means that they do not even have the Father. The Jews and the Muslims think that they are praying to God when they pray, but this verse is teaching plainly that their prayers are vain words hitting the ceiling and bouncing back. These two religions deny the deity of Christ and therefore are totally dead religions and their adherents are heading for destruction on the last day. There is no such thing as prayers being heard by God without them going through the Son. The modern church lies to these religions by not giving them the truth that denial of the Son means that the Father denies them. (Mat 7:23 KJV) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

 

1 John 2:24 (KJB)

Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

 

Heard - Hearing with understanding

 

Here is the Christian response to those antichrists who teach the false religions. It is also the response which we must adhere to today and always. If you notice what John is saying here, he is saying that what these Christians heard from the beginning, that is, the truth of the Gospel without any additives, pure Gospel. If they continue to follow the true Gospel, this means that they shall continue in the Son and the Father. The word continue carries with it the meaning of “abide or remain.” Those who continue in the truths of the Gospel are giving evidence of their true salvation versus those who claimed to be Christians but left because they were not of the truth. (Mat 10:22 KJV) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. The greatest evidence of true conversion is the fact that a person will endure the opposition of this world for the sake of the Gospel. This is what John is saying that if they would continue to abide in the truths which they have learned, then they would also continue in fellowship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the completed written word today with all the writings of the prophets and apostles, and it is the Scriptures which we are to adhere to. If we continue to order our life according to the Scriptures, then that will also be proof of our true conversion. The key to living a strong Christian life is to be strong in the Scriptures. (Acts 18:24 KJV) And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

 

1 John 2:25 (KJB)

And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

 

Those who have been truly saved have been given the promise of eternal life. (2 Cor 1:20 KJV) For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. All the promises of God are as if they have already been fulfilled, it is just the timing that prevents them from being fulfilled at the moment but time too will pass. Eternal life is not something which begins after physical death but it is something we start living the moment we become saved. We pass from death unto life and that life is eternal. So in one sense the promise of eternal life is fulfilled when a person becomes saved and in another sense it is culminated in eternity. Right now we have a blend of eternal life and the transient life but upon our promotion to glory or the return of the Lord Jesus Christ on the last day, our transient vessel is changed and we life forevermore in the presence of Christ. (1 Cor 15:49 KJV) And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

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