1 John 2:18-29
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
Devotion
In keeping with his warning about not being intwined in this world system, John now writes concerning the Antichrist. The spirit of the Antichrist is to deny that Jesus is the Christ, which involves a denial of the Father and the Son. Any system of teaching which makes Jesus anything less than He is set forth to be in the Gospels is the expression of the Antichrist.
As believers, we need to be on our guard against such false teachings. In his commentary on 1 John, G. Campbell Morgan writes, “To be influenced by purely human philosophy and wisdom will ever bring the church into bondage to the Antichrist. Therefore, let the ‘little children abide in Him,’ that so at His coming there may be boldness and not shame.”
In verse nineteen, John writes that some who had made a profession of faith in Christ had all the outside evidence of being believers. They claimed the name of Christ and they even identified themselves with a local body of believers. They were baptized! They participated in communion. But John says that the way you can tell whether or not one is really a believer is that eventually a person will show his/her true colors and leave the fellowship if he/she is not a child of God. They will eventually find their way back into the world.
John closes out this chapter by declaring that anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is operating in the realm of the Antichrist. Those who deny that Jesus is the Christ have no true fellowship with the Father. To deny the Son is to deny the Father. John wants his readers to recognize those false teachers who are being led by the spirit of the Antichrist. John encourages his readers to “continue in Him.” This means they are to live in constant fellowship with Christ. When they do this, they can be confident and unashamed at His second coming.
In verse twenty-nine, John is saying that all believers should reflect the Father. If they do not take after the Father, they must not be the Father’s children. This is the final proof!
Questions to Ponder
What is the difference between the Antichrist and antichrists? Why does John warn against antichrists? Do you know someone who claimed to be a Christian but has since returned to the world? How would this passage of Scripture apply to them? What does it look like for you to “continue in Him”? How are you living out God’s Word today?
Prayer Points
- Praise the Lord our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three in one!
- Pray for yourself and brothers and sisters in the faith, that we will abide in Christ and Christ in us by His Holy Spirit. Pray for us to be rooted and grounded in His Word and in constant fellowship with the Lord.
- Thank Him for His Holy Spirit that is a seal upon us until the day He calls us home or when He returns.
- Confess any turning of your heart toward the things of this world and invite the Lord to be at the center of your heart once again.
- Daily ask for the infilling of His Holy Spirit and pray for your heart to yield to Him throughout the day – depending upon Him, listening, and obeying.
Suggested Prayer
Oh God, You are my God and there is none like You! You are a glorious Father and wonderful Savior. Thank You for the power and presence of Your Holy Spirit that lives in me and every believer. What a blessing to be Your son/daughter, so richly blessed, so deeply and perfectly loved. Lord, I want to bring to You those I know who are prodigals. I lift them up to You and ask that Your kindness bombard them and that they would return to You this week. Remind them of Your forgiveness, grace, and mercy. Cause them to be tired of how they are living and lead them into Your everlasting arms. For those who have never been Christians, I ask that You would remove the blinders and let them see the glory of the Lord in the face of Christ Jesus. Send messengers to love them and show Your faithful Father’s heart. I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.