ANTICHRISTS: A WARNING - 1 JOHN 2:18-27

Antichrists: A Warning
2:18-27

There are those who do not just love the world, but are opposed to God. John called them antichrists. (18) He said they had heard that antichrist (singular) is coming, and now many antichrists (plural) have come. The term “antichrist” is only used in 1 & 2 John.

John said it was the last hour. This is similar to the term “last days”. This last hour, or days, began with the resurrection of Jesus and continues until he returns. There are some passages that focus on the days immediately before the return of Christ.

So, John wrote that it was the last hour and the coming of many antichrists is the sign that it is. (18) John refers specifically to those who were previously joined to their fellowship, but left. (19) John says, though, that they were never really part of them even when they were with them. If they had been, they would have continued with them.

Every congregation has those who come in, but do not really believe and commit to Jesus. Jesus himself  taught that in the parable of the wheat and tares (weeds). This parable, recorded in Matthew 13:24-30, shows a man sowing good seeds, but his enemy sneaking in and sowing weeds in the field. The weeds grew up in the field and grew among the stalks of wheat until the time of harvest, which represents the judgment.

In the case of the churches John wrote to, though, these antichrists, these weeds, left of their own accord. They did so that it might be revealed to the true church members that those others were not “of them”. They were not true members of the fellowship.  The implication here is that God had them leave to reveal who they are.

In contrast, John refers to believers as those anointed by the Holy One. This likely refers to the Holy Spirit whom the Father sent to indwell each believer. In that sense we are anointed with the Spirit. The Spirit gives us knowledge of the truth and the ability to resist lies.

The big lie we resist is the denial that Jesus is the Christ. (22) The person who denies that Jesus is the Christ is the antichrist. This is relevant for us because there are many who believe in some sort of God, but deny that God revealed in the Bible. They also deny the Son. They may accept that a man named Jesus lived, taught, and was a good man. But they deny his divinity, thereby denying the Son.

John makes it clear that it does not work that way. No one who denies the Son has the Father. (23) Again, Jesus taught this very truth. He said “no one comes to the Father except through me”. (John 14:6) But if we confess the Son, agree that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, we have the Son and we have the Father also. (23)

John admonished them to abide in what they heard from the beginning. (24) The beginning is the time they heard the gospel and believed. They need to let the gospel message abide in them, so they can abide in the Father and in the Son. Jesus commanded us to abide in him. (John 15:4)

If we abandon the gospel we heard at first, and deny Christ as the Son of God, we will not be true members of the church. But, if we abide in the gospel and in Christ, we will have eternal life. (25) That is promised to us.

In verse 26, John tells us why he wrote them. It was so they would realize the error of those who were trying to deceive them. God has given us what we need to do this, as we have the anointing of the Spirit, who will never lie to us.

Whenever someone in the church begins to teach something that denies the gospel, or purports to have new and special knowledge that is not in the Bible, we are to resist that teaching because it is false.

That happens often today. One year you read a book by a guy who appears to be a real Christian. A few years later, he writes a book that denies truth that is in the Bible. Then, you realize who he is, and you resist that teaching, preserving in the true faith. 

AFFIRMATIONS & EXHORTATIONS - 1 JOHN 2:7-17

The Commandment to Love
2:7-11

In the previous passage, John addressed his readers as “my little children”. He starts this new passage by addressing his readers as “Beloved”(or “dear friends in the NIV”). (7) This is again an expression of his affection for them, but also is used to focus them on this commandment to love.

By the “old commandment”, John refers to the gospel command to believe in Jesus and to love him and other believers. The beginning is the time they first heard and believed the gospel.

Then it seems John contradicts himself, for he says while it is an old commandment, it is a new commandment which is true in Jesus because the darkness is passing away and true light is already shining. (8)

Jesus gave a new commandment to his followers. He said “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”. (John 13:34-35)

Therefore we see that the commandment was new when Jesus gave it, but is now an old commandment to them decades after Jesus gave it and after they first heard it. This is John’s way of saying he is reminding them of this commandment to love each other, but it is not a new thing he made up; he is just teaching what Jesus taught.

This new commandment is true, or real, in Jesus and in those who follow him, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Jesus has ushered in a new era. The kingdom has arrived even though it is not consummated. Jesus is destroying the works of the devil and repelling the darkness that he brings. Darkness is the realm where sinful behavior predominates.

You have to love Jesus to accomplish this love for God and neighbor. In fact, you demonstrate that you are in Christ when you love your brother or sister in Christ. If you hate them, you are not in Christ. You are not walking in the light, but the darkness. (9) If you live in darkness, you do not even know where you are going, because darkness blinds your eyes. (11) This indicates that those who left the church in John’s time and location did not practice love for fellow believers. They likely hated John and those loyal to him and his gospel.

But if you love your Christian brothers and sisters, you do abide, or live, in the light. That light is Jesus who will not cause you to stumble, to fall into sin.

The loudest voices in American culture right now are blinded by their rejection of Jesus and his holy requirements. They do not see where they are going, and where the end is, because they are blind. But their way leads to destruction. Proverbs 14:12 says “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death”. When the absolute truth of God’s word is rejected, the only truth is that of the mob, the loudest voices, and it will always lead to darkness, death and judgment.

Affirmation and Exhortation
2:12-15

In this section, set out as a poem, John twice refers to his readers as children, fathers, and young men, both times in this order. At first glance, one might think that John is speaking to three different groups of people. However, John began this passage speak of the whole group as his little children. (2:1) He sums up the passage by referring to them all as “little children”. (2:28)

He has a relationship with them similar to a parent and child. He loves them, feels responsible for them, teaches them, and protects them. Therefore, the term “children” here seems to apply to the whole group of believers John addresses. This is further demonstrated by John’s statement the he writes them because their sins are forgiven for his (Christ’s) names sake. (12) All believers are forgiven by the Father because of the work of the Son.

Within the whole group of believers, John addressed two groups: fathers and young men. This seems to simply refer to older believers and younger believers. It is similar to 1 Timothy 5, where Paul instructed Timothy to treat older men and fathers and younger men as brothers.

We should also note that women are not excluded from this passage. The use of the masculine terms is the way people spoke at that time. Older women and younger women fit into these terms just like the men.

John writes to the older men and women (fathers) because they have known Jesus, he who is from the beginning. He writes to the younger people because they have overcome the Evil One. By abiding in God through Christ, they receive the protection of the Father and the son and are able to over come evil through their faith. They will not be led astray by those who have left the fellowship or those who are just in the world.

Again in verse 13, John refers to them as children, this time as children who know the Father. All of those who are in Christ know the Father. Jesus told his disciples, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7)

John then repeated his earlier statement that he wrote the older people because they had known Jesus from the beginning. But, writing to the younger people, he expanded on his previous statement. He added they they were strong and the word of God abided in them. They are strong because they have the word of God in them. In this context, the “word of God” likely means the commandment to believe in Jesus and to love one another. Since they are firm in their faith and obedience, they overcome the evil one.

So, we see that all of these statements are positive. They are affirmations of the strong faith of his readers. next, John will exhort them on a particular issue.

The Exhortation: Do Not Love The World
2:15-17

John instructed his readers not to love the world and the things in the world. He drew a stark contract between the things of the world and God. First, he said, if you love the world, you do not love the Father. (15) The “world” here is all of the attitudes and values that are opposed to God and the things he values.

The things of the world are the desires of the flesh (the cravings) are those things we want and desire for the wrong reasons. They are the desires of the eyes and the pride in possessions. (16) The desires, or lusts, of the eyes involve things we see and covet. You see a big house a friend owns and you covet it, for example.

Next is the pride in possessions (pride of life). This means being puffed up with pride because of what you have. You have a bigger house than your friends, or a more expensive car, or take fancier vacations, and you are proud of that.

John said these desires are not from the Father, they are from the world. You cannot love the Father and these things too. Additionally, these things will all pass away, along with the desire for them. All the expensive possessions that make you feel better than everyone else will pass away. Certainly they will pass away at the end, but they may also go away before then. Life is uncertain.

But, while possessions are temporary, the person who does the will of God is eternal. The man or woman who loves Jesus, lives in obedience to God’s word, and finds their joy in these things, will enjoy these things forever.

The one who loves worldly things will pass away with them and the world at the end.  

CHRIST OUR ADVOCATE (EXPANDED)-1 JOHN 2:1-6

2:1-2
Our Advocate

John knew, however, that all believers will sin even though they are committed to a life of obedience to Christ. So, event though he said he wrote so that his readers would not sin, he followed that by covering what happens when we sin. When we sin, all is not lost, because we have an advocate with the Father. That advocate is Jesus Christ.

The Greek word the English Standard Version (ESV) translates as “advocate” is “parakletos”. In ancient Greek writings, it refers to one who comes forward to speak on behalf of someone. It does not mean a professional, like a defense attorney, but a friend, sponsor or mentor.

For example, for several years I mentored a young man who had been somewhat of a rebel in high school. People who knew him then sometimes asked me how I could be friends with him. I spoke in his defense, telling how he had matured and changed. The NIV captures this thought and translates the word as “one who speaks to the Father in our defense”.

The fact that we need an advocate shows us that something bad has happened. Sin has broken our fellowship with the Father. We do not lose our salvation, but we lose our fellowship, our close communion with the Father. That is because the Father hates sin and cannot abide its presence. It is also because a sinful man or woman cannot stand to be in the presence of a holy God. Isaiah 6 demonstrates this. Upon encountering the Lord, whom the angels proclaim as holy, Isaiah cries out “woe is me” and acknowledges his sin.

So, Jesus is in the presence of the Father (“with the Father”) and speaks in our defense when we violate the Father’s laws. Jesus can do this because he is righteous. John calls him “Jesus Christ the righteous”. (2:1) He pleads his righteousness to the Father on our behalf. He is the one who has acted righteously and defends those who have not acted righteously.

Not only is Jesus our advocate, he is the priest who bears God’s wrath against our sins, turning away God’s wrath from us. That is why the English Standard Version (ESV) says he is the “propitiation” for our sins. He is the one who’s actions resulted in a change in God’s attitude toward us, from being against us as sinners facing judgment, to being for us as those who are in Christ. Jesus is able to advocate for the Father’s mercy because he has borne the Father’s wrath against sin on our behalf and turned God’s wrath away from us.

Some of the newer versions say “atoning sacrifice” rather than propitiation. However, atonement deals with the guilt of our sins, resulting in death and hell. While it is true that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, this passage is not dealing with that, but with God’s reaction to the sin of believers, an expression of his wrath against sin that separates us from him until we repent and confess. Therefore, the word “propitiation”, the turning away of God’s wrath, seems more appropriate.

When John says, not only for our sins, but also the sins of the whole world, he does not mean that everyone on the planet is saved from God’s wrath. John is not a universalist. But, he means that believers, those who know Christ, across the world, not just in north Asia, receive the benefits of Christ’s death for us.

How do we know that we know God? John tells us in verse 3. We can know that we have come to know God if we keep his commandments. Now, it is an easy jump to think John means the Ten Commandments, the Old Covenant law. But, John is not dealing with the Old Covenant here, but rather with life in Christ. Rather, the Father’s commandments are that we believe in his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another.

John states this clearly in 3:23, when he says “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he commanded us.” In is gospel, John recorded Jesus teaching this same truth, saying “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29) and “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” (John 13:34)  

In verse 4, John states this truth in the negative. He says, if we say we know God, but do not keep his commandments, we lie. In verse 5, he states it again in the positive: the believer’s love of God is perfected in the one who keeps God’s commandments.

John states it in another way in here 5: if we abide in God, we walk (or live) in the way Jesus walked. Leon Morris once wrote that “it is impossible for men who really know God to be unaffected in their daily living by this knowledge.”

John is not talking about legalism, a dry and joyless obedience to tedious rules. He is talking about loving Jesus in a way that compels us to imitate him and please him.

Remember that “knowing God” does not mean just knowing facts about him. It means to have a personal relationship with him, demonstrated by loving obedience. It involves having a true understanding of his nature. It means having fellowship with him.  

John brings this up at least partly because those who have left the church claim to know God, to have a relationship with him, yet live lives that indicate they do not. They claim to walk in the light but show that they live in the darkness. Our world is full of those type of people today.

Do not be like them.

Christ & the Church

I read Ephesians 5 today. The last paragraph of this passage has long intrigued me. Although we always teach this passage in reference to the family, Paul says it is about Christ and the church. In verse 32, he says "This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." I take this to mean the greater truth is about Christ's work for the church and a husband is a reflection of it. So, what did Christ do for the church? He died for it, he sanctified (set it apart), he cleansed it, all out of love for the church.

Christ did all of this for a purpose: that he could present to himself a church which is holy and blameless. 

'If God were not immutable (unchanging), he would not be God.’

Bavinck

Comfort in Life

From the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Jesus saves us, frees us, guards us, and keeps us. 

A PUBIC FAITH

"Our faith is not a private matter. The light cannot be hidden under a basket (Matt. 5:15)...The nature of our faith is to be a public faith, a contagious faith, a faith that needs to be shared, witnessed to, and shared with others so the that it becomes known around us." Leonardo de Chirico, TABLETALK, Vol. 43, No.6, p. 32. 

CHRIST OUR ADVOCATE - 1 JOHN 2:1

2:1-2

Our Advocate

John knew, however, that all believers will sin even though they are committed to a life of obedience to Christ. When we sin, all is not lost, because we have an advocate with the Father. That advocate is Jesus Christ.

The Greek word the English Standard Version (ESV) translates as “advocate” is “parakletos”. In ancient Greek writings, it refers to one who comes forward to speak on behalf of someone. It does not mean a professional, like a defense attorney, but a friend, sponsor or mentor.

For example, for several years I mentored a young man who had been somewhat of a rebel in high school. People who knew him then sometimes asked me how I could be friends with him. I spoke in his defense, telling how he had matured and changed. The NIV captures this thought and translates the word as “one who speaks to the Father in our defense”. 

So, Jesus is in the presence of the Father (“with the Father”) and speaks in our defense when we violate the Father’s laws. Jesus can do this because he is righteous. John calls him “Jesus Christ the righteous”. (2:1) He is the one who has acted righteously and defends those who have not acted righteously.  

Moses was a type of advocate. The books of Exodus and Numbers show how Israel would grumble or rebel against God in the wilderness and stir up God's wrath. But Moses would go to the Tabernacle and advocate for Israel, asking God not to destroy them. 

Not only is Jesus our advocate, he is the priest who offers sacrifice for sins, turning away God’s wrath. He is able to advocate for the Father’s mercy because he has paid the penalty for sins and borne the Father’s wrath against sin on our behalf.

With such a great advocate, how can we not repent and confess our sins?