1 John 2:18-27
Scripture 1 John 2:18-27(ESV)
18 Children,
it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many
antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They
went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to
us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that
none of them belongs to us. 20 But you have been anointed by
the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. 21 I write to you,
not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know
that no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar but the
one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who
denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has
the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let
what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the
beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And
this is what he has promised us, eternal life.
26 I write
these things to you concerning those who would deceive you. 27 As
for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do
not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all
things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in
him.
Devotion
The end is near! So says the street corner
evangelist. John here gives affirmation to the evangelists cry in verse 18.
John, however, does make mention of the antichrist(s) who have already come. Indeed,
it seems that we are always in last days and there are always antichrists lurking
around the corner to seize the people of God unawares. Antichrists in the sense
John uses it here is anyone who denies that Jesus is one with the Father and
the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God incarnate Jesus is fully human and fully divine. Christ
stands for God; antichrist stands for everything that is opposed to God. All
down history there have been those individuals who have been thought to be the
antichrist think of the Pope, Napoleon, Hitler all have been thought to be the
antichrist. But the true antichrist has yet to come. The one who is in ultimate
incarnation of the devil. We may not be in the “last hour” yet. However, we are
one hour closer than before.
We have many false Christs who have
left the church to pursue their own errant teachings. They have left the church
for the purpose of making it plain that they are not real Christ followers. These
persons, however, seek to take others with them. They are a real danger to the eternal
destinies of those who can be persuaded to follow them.
What is the truth? This is the
question before the church. Are we in need of some new revelation from God? John
emphatically says no. We do not need a fresh communication from God, but we
need only to remember that which we have been taught. As 1 Thessalonians teaches
in chapter 4 verse 9, “But concerning brotherly love your brother you do not
need me to write to you; for you yourselves have been taught by God.” The
reason the apostle is writing was not to communicate fresh knowledge, but to
bring into active use the knowledge his readers already possessed. We need the
knowledge we already possess to become active and operative in our lives.
Who is a liar? The liar is the
person who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Those who deny the Son also deny
the Father and the truth is not in the one who denies the son. But to the one who
knows the Son also has the Father. This is not about confessing one creed or
another, but rather those who have a right relationship with the Son and the
Father.
We are to let God’s word abide in us
as we abide in Him. The word does not remain as a matter of course, but only
where that person is committed to receive it and unite with it. Where the word
abides there also the Son and the Father abide.
If we abide in God, we have the
promise of everlasting life. However, our knowledge is incomplete until Jesus
returns. John then concludes his attack
on false teachers with a warning and a word of encouragement for us. The
warning is that those who are spreading the false teaching are seeking to gain
control over the church. Lead if possible, even the elect into error. In the
last part of verse 27 John summarizes a threefold reason to trust the anointing
already received from Jesus. First, Jesus’ anointing teaches all things He does
not mean that the Spirit will bring a new teaching to what has already been received
by the church. Second the anointing is real and true compared with the false teaching
that have proven to be false. Third, The church has a history of the truth
being made known through the teachings of Jesus. The Holy Spirit has confirmed
this teaching. Therefore, the church can rest assured that they will continue
to produce the fruit of the spirit. So the church can abide in God `
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