1 John 2:18-27
18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.
27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
The Antichrist is Coming
For more on the Antichrist and his coming, check out The Last Hour, Antichrists, and the Antichrist.
Antichrists and Us
2:18b Many antichrists have come
• Antichrist = opposed to, or trying to supplant, Jesus Christ. And just as there were many antichrists in John’s day, there are many antichrists in the world today.
2:19a They went out from us
• They? These are the antichrists.
• Us? This refers to the Christian community (possibly even from the local body to whom John originally wrote). Us possibly also refers to John and the other apostles. For example, note the contrast with you in 2:20-2:21. The apostle Paul likewise warned of antichrists who brought false teaching purportedly on behalf of the apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).
2:19b but they were not of us
• of? The transliteration of the Greek is “ex” meaning “out of” or “out from within.” Note that Jesus used the same root word when He stated that Christians are not “of” the world (John 17:14). The implication is that of means of the same intrinsic substance or nature. Thus;
• What does this mean? They (these antichrists) were not actually part of the Christian community, and not apostles or representatives of the apostles. The rest of the verse brings further clarity:
2:19c For if they had been of us, (then) they would have continued with us
• This is a conditional statement.
Meaning, if the antichrists truly were of us, of the same nature, then they would have continued (remained). The root word for continued is μένω (men’-o) which is often translated “to abide / dwell.” This can be understood in two ways:
1. If these antichrists were truly of apostolic origin (if they had truly been abiding with the apostles), then they would have taught in accord with apostolic doctrine (1 John 4:6); and/or
2. The implicit doctrine here is the perseverance of the saints. That is, saints WILL abide with Christ (John 8:34-36):
“Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides (μένω) forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”
However, those who aren’t saints but still gather for a time in the Christian community will eventually fall away (Hebrews 6:4-6), apparently just like these antichrists.
2:19d but they went out
• Why?
2:19e that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
These antichrists departed that it would be manifest that none of them “were” of us. The word “were” (or “are” depending on translations) refers to a state of “being” or “existence” and not some temporary state, indicating that these antichrists never were of us (part of the body of Christ) though they may have appeared to be at some time.
2:22a Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
• These antichrists are liars.
• Why? They “deny” that Jesus is the (the definite article) Christ, God’s appointed Savior.
• What does it mean to deny in this verse? To claim that He is not the Christ (to reject Him as revealed in Scripture from one or more perspectives, such as denial that He is Savior or Lord)! It may also refer specifically to the docetists who deny the Incarnation (1 John 1:1-2) and thus the whole Gospel.
2:22b-2:23a This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father.
• What’s one key consequence of denying that Jesus is the Christ? Said person doesn’t have the Father either. Meaning, that he/she isn’t saved and has not inherited eternal life.
• What are some examples of those who claim to have the Father yet they deny the Son?
o Judaism teaches that a Messiah is coming, but that it isn’t / wasn’t Jesus!
o Islam teaches that Jesus was Messiah, but that he did not atone for sin on the cross (see The Kingdom of the Cults, p. 622-623).
o Christian Science has a concept of a “Supreme Being” and explicitly denies that Jesus the physical man was the Christ (see The Kingdom of the Cults, p. 259)
2:26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
• What is a key characteristic of these antichrists? Deception! As John later wrote (2 John 7):
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
You
2:18a Little children
• John is addressing his little children (παιδίον). Note that this is the same word used in 1 John 2:13. Although παιδίον may refer to children up to seven years of age, it is likely being used figuratively in this context by John to refer to Christians as beloved children of God, possibly who are maturing in their faith but still have much to know and understand.
2:23b he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
• What’s the implication? These little children acknowledge, and thus belong to and have, both Christ and the Father. Recall John’s previous encouragement to then (1 John 2:13b):
“I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father.”
• As Jesus once said (John 14:6-9a):
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.’ Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.’”
2:20a But you have an anointing from the Holy One
• Who is “you”? They’re defined by a key characteristic, i.e., they have an anointing — χρίσμα (khris’-mah). This word is related to that for Christ — Χριστός (khris-tos’) — which means The Anointed One. It’s as if John is saying:
Those who believe that Jesus is The Anointed One are themselves Anointed!
• Who is the Holy One? The root word for “Holy One” is ἅγιος (hag’-ee-os), meaning holy, i.e., like God and thus different from the world, or set apart by God from sin. The (definite article) Holy One is thus the Holy Spirit.
2:27a But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you
• What does this mean? Christians are individually (1 Corinthians 6:19) and corporately (1 Corinthians 3:16) temples of the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father (John 14:26) and the Son (John 15:26).
• As Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus (Ephesians 1:13-14):
“In Him (i.e., Christ … see 1:12) you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
As John later wrote (1 John 3:24b):
“And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
2:20b-2:21 and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
• Is John referring to the omniscience of Christians? Certainly not!
• What does John mean in these verses (1 John 2:27)? Possibly that they already know what John has been writing about in this epistle, such that it is merely a reminder. Yet it seems not limited to just that:
“But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
This can be understood in view of the apostle Paul’s teaching (1 Corinthians 2:9-12):
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
That is to say, John is affirming his primary audience that they were indeed Christians and thus baptized by the Spirit of God, such that the Spirit would bear witness to the truth from within them.
2:24b If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
• What does this conditional statement mean? It’s likely descriptive. If you’re a Christian, then at some point (the beginning of your Christian life) you heard and believed the word of God — for faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17) — one consequence of which is that the Holy Spirit and His word began to abide in you, a second consequence of which is that you will abide in the Son and the Father (you will abide in the Godhead). This is another way of declaring the perseverance of the saints.
2:25 And this is the promise that He promised us – eternal life.
• ζωή (dzo-ay’) – The root word for life means both physical and spiritual life (both present and future). It’s different than bios which refers to the present physical life (e.g., see 1 John 2:16).
• What’s the promise? Christians have eternal life, now!
Application (for “You”)
2:24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.
• What does this mean? “let that abide” is an imperative tense, it’s a command to “you,” those who already have the anointing from the Holy Spirit. I think that it means to not resist that which abides in you, to not be complacent, but to persevere and actively embrace and submit to Him! Why, in order to bear forth much fruit, to the glory of God, for our joy (John 15:1-11):
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
• This is one of the primary reasons that John wrote this epistle (1 John 1:1-4)!
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”
References
[1] http://interlinearbible.org/1_john/2-18.htm
[2] W.Martin (Hank Hanegraaff, Editor), “The Kingdom of the Cults,” Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, 1997.
