Departure, Denial, and Death: The Deadly Centrality of the Deity of Christ - John 2:21-23

Introduction

We find ourselves continuing on with the apostle John here in 1 John 2 as he continues his train of thought begun back in verse 18 regarding antichrists.

John has argued that the church has now embarked upon “the last hour.”

This theme has popped up before. We saw earlier in chapter 2 that the incarnation of Christ, the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, indicated the inauguration of the eschaton. In other words, Jesus’ existence at the apex of history marks the beginning of the end. We are now in the last hour, the last days, the last age. If you would bear with me in a little foolishness, like the hair band Europe so famously sang, it’s the final countdown. The darkness is passing away, the night is almost gone, the true light is already shining, and full day is almost upon us.

But another reality that Christians must experience and endure in these final days in which we live is the reality of false teachers, false prophets, schismists and antichrists, infiltrating the church, spreading division, and teaching unsound doctrine. The presence of false teachers is a clear indication that the end is coming, and is in fact near.

John describes the departure of these antichrists from true Christian fellowship in verse 19, and presses home the reality that any false teacher, no matter how orthodox his teaching may seem at first, will eventually go out from the true church and prove himself to have never been part of Christ’s people at all.

John adds depth and layers to his teaching tonight as we get into verses 21-23, issuing a warning to the church, followed by a clear statement of what constitutes the teaching of the antichrists, and makes an important statement about the practical unity of essence between the Father and the Son.

The Departure of Lies

John issues yet another purpose statement here in verse 21. What is it?

I have written to you because you know the truth.

John is extending the thought of verse 20: these believers know the truth because they have received an anointing from the Holy Spirit, in other words, the Spirit of God dwells within them and illuminates the truth to them, and therefore allows them to distinguish between truth and lies.

In classic Johannine fashion, he states his premise negatively and positively, adding emphasis to the statement.

John is saying therefore that he is writing first because they know the truth, and secondly because no lie is of the truth.

By giving this statement, John is providing positive reinforcement. They know these things, but nevertheless he writes to build up that knowledge, to bolster it and add to it.

John rightly follows the wisdom of Solomon, who says:

Proverbs 9:9 LSB

Give knowledge to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Make a righteous man know it and he will increase his learning.

Paul and Peter both follow this pattern as well:

Romans 15:15 LSB

But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me by God

2 Peter 1:12 LSB

Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been strengthened in the truth which is present with you.

John again marks a dividing line between the true church and the false church, between the confessors and the professors, between those who say they are in the light, and those who truly walk in the light. This time, he draws the line on truth and lies.

He also restates his point from verse 19: They went out from us because they are not of us. They, the antichrists, are now positioned as liars in verse 21. As the antichrists are not of the true church, so also the lies are not of the truth. John equivocates the two contrasts, placing the antichrists in the realm of lies and deceit and darkness and the true church in the realm of truth and integrity and light.

Likewise, just as false teachers will eventually be exposed and expelled out of the true church, so also their lies will eventually be exposed and expelled out of the truth.

Truth and time always win, as it has been said. Eventually the ruse is up and the true nature of a thing becomes apparent. So also it is with false teachers and antichrists.

They are like oil and water, as it were. They simply cannot coexist, though from our perspective it may take time to fully expose and expel the false teachers out of the church. However, at the proper time, the lies will depart from the truth even as the false teachers depart from the church.

Nevertheless, John understands the necessity of the truth and therefore writes to combat the lies that come against it.

Out of this verse we ought to make a number of assertions:

The church is the repository of truth.

John’s statement here that the church knows the truth implies another important truth: the church is the repository of the truth. This place and these people have been given an indescribable gift: special revelation. God has given us His Word and He has illumined our minds by the power of the Spirit to understand it and apply it. We have a responsibility, therefore, to guard this truth and to prevent antichrists and false teachers from twisting and distorting it.

The Scriptures have been written and passed down through the centuries for the purpose of separating truth from lies.

John writes specifically to reinforce the truth and to reinforce it in opposition to error. This is a hard truth for many Christians today. It can be difficult to consider the Scriptures polemically, or in a way that attacks other worldviews and forms of thought. But the reality is this: the Bible is intolerant. The Bible is polemic. The Bible is elenctic. The Bible stands in opposition to falsehood at every turn and has no qualms about positioning itself as the source and interpretive grid of truth. In fact, a brief scan of the prophets and the epistles and much of the teaching ministry of Jesus is actually attacking and opposing false teaching. Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Titus, 1 and 2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, many portions of Revelation, many portions of Hebrews, all position themselves not primarily as plain beacons of positive truth, but are actually written in sharp reaction to false teaching that was being spread through the church. Likewise, the great creedal and confessional statements of the church were produced not primarily as simple positive statements of truth, but as reactionary attacks against heresies of their day. John writes for this purpose, and likewise all the Biblical authors write for this purpose: to separate truth from lies.

The church needs regular positive reinforcement of the truth so that it might be preserved and propagated

John writes the truth to an audience that already knows it, but nevertheless needs to hear it again. Why? Because continual reinforcement builds strength. You don’t become strong by going to the gym one time. You don’t become healthy by eating one healthy meal. You don’t become a subject matter expert by reading one book one time. You become strong and healthy and knowledgeable by repeated and sustained exposure. So also for the Christian. If we are to effectively preserve and propagate the truth as it’s repository, we must be repeatedly exposed to truth. To use the athletic analogy, we must get reps in truth if we are to get strong in the truth. To use the food analogy, if we are to be healthy Christians, we must repeatedly eat healthy truth meals. To use the subject matter expert analogy, if we are to grow in our mastery of the Word and of sound doctrine, we must immerse ourselves in the Scriptures and in the teachings of the masters of church history who immersed themselves in the Scriptures and wrote down their insights for our benefit.

So if we are to be faithful to walk according to these assertions, what must we do here at West Hills Church?

We need to understand that part of our role in our community is as a repository of truth.

In Zack Snyder’s 2013 film reboot of the character of Superman, there’s a turning point in the film where General Zod has come to Earth to first destroy Superman, and then level the entirety of the earth’s surface so that he can rebuild Krypton on earth. He announces his intent to the entire world, and Clark Kent has a choice to make. Does he remain in hiding? Or does he don the cape and save Earth? Zack Snyder does something very compelling at this point, and something that’s instructive for the way that John wants the church to be perceived. In the film, Clark Kent does not go up to some mountaintop and meet with a guru to figure out what he needs to do. He doesn’t go meet with a psychic palm reader. Where does he go? He goes to the local church there in Smallville, and he asks the pastor what he should do.

This scene reflects a perception of the church that was common for centuries, but in our day has been lost. That perception is this: the church is the place where people should go when they are searching for answers, for direction, for truth. Clark Kent, as a popular representation of truth and justice and traditional values, rightly understands that to go to the church and speak with the pastor is the right and wise thing to do in his moment of internal turmoil. He needs truth and he knows that he will find it behind the doors of the church.

As a church then, we must be committed to positioning ourselves in our community as the repository of truth. John tells us as much. I have written to you because you know the truth. We possess a rich treasure in the written word, as both the source and interpretive grid of all truth. We must understand that and believe that as a church if we are to position ourselves as the repository of truth in our communities.

The church at large in America today has fallen prey to the lie that Christianity is a single option at the Golden Corral buffet of worldviews and values systems. We might even say it is the best option, but nevertheless all others are valid. With this mindset, evangelism becomes sales. If you want to make disciples you have to just be the best salesman and convince whoever you’re talking to that Christianity is the best option to meet their needs.

As church we need to recover and champion the assertion that not only is historical orthodox Christianity the best option at the Golden Corral buffet, it is the only option that is actually real food. Everything else is a mirage. As a church we must be unashamed of this. We must be bold in this. If our community is to turn to the church for direction, for wisdom, for truth, we first have to believe that we have received it fully and exclusively, and that we have been entrusted with it’s preservation and propagation.

This leads us to another practical implication:

We need to act in our role as repository of truth.

Once we understand our role in our community as the repository of truth, we have to act in accordance with our role. We have a responsibility to be boldly vocal about the truth, to speak to our neighbors about the truth, and to remind them as we have opportunity that if they want truth, if they want knowledge, if they are lost and want direction, it starts within these four walls.

So are we about these things as a church? Are we faithful to be vocal contributors to our communities in this respect?

We need to be diligent to separate truth from lies.

We’ve discussed our responsibility to these truths from John in regards to our role in the community and in our relationships with unbelievers. But we also have a responsibility internally. This really strikes at the heart of John’s intent in verse 21. John’s primary concern is with how churches are dealing with lies and deception inside the church.

Therefore, as a church we have a responsibility to be diligent to separate the truth from lies.

How do we do this?

As we have said before, the place to start is to be intimately familiar with the genuine article. If we are to detect deception and counterfeits, we must be intimately familiar with what is real and true. This means regular broad reading of Scripture and regular deep study of Scripture. It means prayer for discernment, that God will reveal lies and encourage us in the truth. It means commitment to reading and memorizing the historic creeds and confessions of Christian orthodoxy. It means being willing to identify and name false teachers and false teachings that have infiltrated the church.

We need to both give and receive positive reinforcement of the truth.

John writes to these churches knowing full well that they already have a close and intimate knowledge of the truth. Yet he still writes. Why? Because as a pastor he understands that we need reminders to sustain the weakness of our faith. These reminders, in the context of the local church, must be given and received in humility, acknowledging our own weakness and our own propensity to stray from the truth. As the old hymn says, we are prone to wander, prone to leave the God and the truth that we love.

How do we receive positive reinforcement of the truth?

First, by sitting under the faithful preaching of the Word of God. Much of what Scott and I do from upfront is not teaching you anything new or blowing your mind with some fantastic new theological discovery. It is simply repeated, sustained reminders of the truth, over and over and over again, for the purpose of building strength into you.

Second, by speaking the truth to one another. This serves two purposes. First, if you’re able to articulate something to someone else, it means you have a full understanding and grasp of that thing. These repeated declarations of the truth from your own mouth build up your own understanding of it. Secondly, when you articulate the truth to someone else, you likewise build up their understanding and reinforce their knowledge. This symbiotic truth dialogue between believers forms the framework for a healthy, antichrist-proof, false-teaching-proof church. So I encourage you, start these conversations even tonight by asking such questions as: Where have you been in the book? What truth did you learn? What truth were you reminded of? What questions came up? My wife and I have this conversation every night and it’s one of my favorite parts of my day.

Lies depart from the truth. John is clear. He writes to ensure that the church is actively participating in driving lies away from the church and building one another up in the truth. But John wants to be even more clear. He wants to help this church identify a particular lie that was infiltrating the church in John’s day, and also infiltrates it in our day.

The Denial of Homoousious - Verse 22

John explains the content of the lie being perpetuated by the antichrists and false prophets who went out from the church in verse 22. The lie is this: Jesus is not the Christ.

What does John mean by this? What does it mean to deny that Jesus is the Christ?

In order to understand this, we need to a step back theologically and understand what it means that Jesus is the Christ. What does the word Christ mean?

Christ is simply the Greek version of the Hebrew word Messiah. Christ is therefore a title meaning “Chosen One.” Walter Bauer defines it as a title denoting the fulfiller of Israelite expectation of a deliverer, an anointed one of God. We might further press into this definition in the covenant context to say that the Christ is the title of the one anticipated by Abraham as the seed and by David as the son and by Eve as the serpent-crusher.

We might further define the word Christ according to it’s contextual usage in the New Testament. Without getting too deep into all of the linguistics and grammar and such, we might summarize by saying that typically in the New Testament, the Biblical authors use Jesus to refer to the Son of God in His humanity, while they use Christ to refer to the Son of God in His divinity. It is this usage pattern that gets to the heart of John’s intention here in verse 22.

1 John 4:2-3 provides clarity here:

1 John 4:2–3 LSB

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

What John is saying in these two verses is this: the heresy that this church is facing is that claim that Jesus was not truly God and truly man in the flesh, the God-man. Essentially they were denying the incarnation.

If we hold to the position that John wrote his entire corpus within a relatively short period of time, meaning that he wrote his gospel, his letters, and his apocalypse basically one right after the other, it makes sense that John would be so insistent in His gospel that Jesus was in fact truly God, truly divine, truly begotten of the Father. Theologians and scholars have rightly said for two millennia that, more than any other gospel account, John’s gospel is concerned with proving and defending the homoousious of Jesus, namely, that he shared an identical divine essence with the Father. This would seem to be for a specific pastoral reason: John is working to defend the church from this lie that is now in view in both chapter 2 and chapter 4 of 1 John - that the Son has not come in the flesh, and whoever Jesus may have been, He was not God and did not possess homoousious, or the same divine nature and essence of God the Father.

John’s language here is harsh and vehement. He is passionate about this issue. Why? For John, it is of central importance. Listen to Charles Hodge explain the centrality of the divinity of Christ:

Systematic Theology § 1. Testimony of the Old Testament

The doctrine of redemption is the distinguishing doctrine of the Bible. The person and work of the Redeemer is therefore the great theme of the sacred writers. From the nature of the work which He was to accomplish, it was necessary that He should be at once God and man. He must participate in the nature of those whom He came to redeem; and have power to subdue all evil, and dignity to give value to his obedience and sufferings. From the beginning to the end, therefore, of the sacred volume, from Genesis to Revelation, a Godman Redeemer is held up as the object of supreme reverence, love, and confidence to the perishing children of men. It is absolutely impossible to present a tithe of the evidence which the Scriptures contain of the truth of this doctrine. It is to the Bible what the soul is to the body—its living and all-pervading principle, without which the Scriptures are a cold, lifeless system of history and moral precepts. It seems, therefore, to be a work of supererogation to prove to Christians the divinity of their Redeemer. It is like proving the sun to be the source of light and heat to the system of which it is the centre. Still as there are men, professing to be Christians, who deny this doctrine, as there have been, and still are men, who make the sun a mere satellite of the earth, it is necessary that a part at least of the evidence by which this great truth is proved should be presented, and should be at command to resist the gainsayers.

Hodge rightly says that the divinity of Christ is at the very heart of the Scriptures, the gospel, and the story of redemption. If Jesus is not true God of true God, light from light eternal, begotten, not created, everything we claim to hang our hats on as Christians becomes cold and lifeless. This is the doctrine that supplies the energy and vigor to what we believe and the actions those beliefs imply.

Francis Turretin gets even more precise:

Institutes of Elenctic Theology Third Question: The Necessity of the Incarnation

The work of redemption could not have been performed except by a God-man (theanthrōpon) associating by incarnation the human nature with the divine by an indissoluble bond. For since to redeem us, two things were most especially required—the acquisition of salvation and the application of the same; the endurance of death for satisfaction and victory over the same for the enjoyment of life—our mediator ought to be God-man (theanthrōpos) to accomplish these things: man to suffer, God to overcome; man to receive the punishment we deserved, God to endure and drink it to the dregs; man to acquire salvation for us by dying, God to apply it to us by overcoming; man to become ours by the assumption of flesh, God to make us like himself by the bestowal of the Spirit. This neither a mere man nor God alone could do. For neither could God alone be subject to death, nor could man alone conquer it. Man alone could die for men; God alone could vanquish death. Both natures, therefore, should be associated that in both conjoined, both the highest weakness of humanity might exert itself for suffering and the highest power and majesty of the divinity might exert itself for the victory.

A truly divine yet truly human God-man, the theanthropos, is the central requirement for salvation. Therefore, for someone to deny this reality and this requirement is to be, simply, a liar.

What’s more, for John, such people ought to be quickly and determinatively expelled from the fellowship of true believers. John is clear: the church cannot allow it’s member to deny the divinity of Christ. He must be affirmed as true God of true God, light from light eternal if He is to be confessed in truth.

John takes the idea deeper in the second phrase of verse 22 with a parallelism. The liar denies that Jesus is the Christ and the antichrist denies the Father and the Son. To deny one is to deny the other, and if they are either denied or confessed together, the logical implication is that they are of the same essence. For Jesus to be the Christ, the promised Messiah, the fulfillment of the covenant expectation of Eve and Abraham and David, Jesus must therefore also be of the same essence with the Father. Not like the Father, not close to the Father, not similar to the Father, not the chief of all creation. No. For Jesus to be the Christ He must be of identical essence to the Father.

Like verse 21, verse 22 must prompt some theological assertions for us tonight:

Jesus is truly God and truly man

We need look no further than the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 8, Article II for a comprehensive theological affirmation regarding the hypostatic union of natures in the person of Jesus:

The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition Chapter VIII. Of Christ the Mediator

The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance, and equal with the Father, did, when the fulness of time was come, take upon him man’s nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin; being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion.n Which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.

We affirm this against Arianism, which teaches that Jesus is the first and greatest of God’s creation. Jesus is not the first and greatest of God’s creation, but is the very Word by which God spoke and sustains the creation.

Likewise we affirm this against Socinianism, a more recent version of the ancient heresy of Arianism that asserts that because the hypostatic, homoousious union of natures in the person of Jesus cannot be fully comprehended by the human mind, nor reconciled with human reason, it is therefore false, and as a result the divine nature of Christ should be denied.

Further, we affirm this against Latter Day Saints or Mormonism which believes that Jesus is the flesh and blood Son of God, making him a separate entity from the Father, much like Scott is a separate entity from his son Micah. LDS teaching is a denial of the hypostatic homoousious, the essential sameness of the Father and Son.

Further, we affirm this against Jehovah’s Witnesses, who insist that Jesus is the firstborn of the created order, greater than angels but inferior to God.

Further, we affirm this against Christian Science, which, as a flagbearer of modern day Gnosticism, asserts that the material is an illusion and therefore Jesus the man was an illusion, possessed by the Spirit of God but not divine in His essence.

Further, we affirm this against Islam, which asserts that Jesus was a good man and a prophet, but not God, because Islam believes in “proper monotheism,” in that God is a unity and not a tri-unity or Trinity.

Affirming the homoousious hypostatic union is a first-order doctrine

In other words, affirming that Jesus is God very God, come in the flesh, without conversion, composition, or confusion, is a fellowship-breaking doctrine. To deny this truth is to deny the very heart and soul of the Christian faith. The strength and vehemence with which John says that the one who denies this truth is a liar is all the proof we need that John believes that this is an essential doctrine that must be affirmed for someone to be considered a Christian.

This truth is non-negotiable. It cannot be compromised.

We would affirm that there are some doctrines that are second and third order, where we would be able to affirm that such a person is a Christian, though perhaps we might not worship at the same local church. These would be things like infant baptism vs believers baptism, premillennial or amillenial eschatology, or methods of church government.

The doctrine of the deity of Christ is not, however, one of these doctrines. This a dividing line doctrine. If you do not confess that Jesus is true God of true God, light from light eternal, John says that you are a liar, you are an antichrist, and you are not part of the fellowship of true believers.

For John, this doctrine is of massive importance. But the question remains, why? For John, as a pastor, and for us, as Christians in 2023, why the fuss? Why is it so critical that we know and affirm that Jesus is truly God and truly man?

John tells us in verse 23: this is important because this is a salvation issue.

The Deadly Implication

John is very straightforward and clear in verse 23 with a positive/negative contrast. If you deny the Son you do not have the Father, and if you confess the Son you have the Father also.

John is doing two things here.

First, he is subtly restating his point from verse 22: If having the Son means having the Father, the implication, however subtle, is that they are one and the same in at least some respect. If Jesus is not God in the flesh, then theoretically you could have Jesus but not have God. John excludes such a possibility here.

Secondly, he is affirming that the only way to come into relationship with the Father is to do so through Jesus.

The intimacy of this Father-Son connection is put on display throughout the gospels.

Matthew 11:27 LSB

“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Jesus teaches here that intimate knowledge of the Father is only possible for those to whom He is revealed by the Son.

John 8:19 LSB

So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

Jesus explains further here by teaching that true knowledge of Him equates to true knowledge of the Father.

John 10:30 LSB

“I and the Father are one.”

This succinct statement wraps it up well. The Son and the Father are of one essence. To receive one is to receive the other, and the only way to receive the Father is by way of the Son, as articulated famous in John 14:6

John 14:6 LSB

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.

Why is this important for us? One simple reason: Jesus’ divine nature is the answer to the plight of humanity.

Out of everything humanity lost at the fall, nothing is more precious than the close, intimate relationship with God that was enjoyed by Adam and Eve before they sinned. The story of redemption is the story of God’s people, Christ’s bride, returning like the prodigal son to the Father, from estrangement back to intimacy.

This is the end game, according to Revelation 21:3

Revelation 21:3 LSB

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

Three times the loud voice from the throne affirms that God’s final goal of redemption is that He would be among, among, among His people.

The restoration of that relationship is ultimately what human history is all about.

But God is spirit, holy, and is completely unlike us. God cannot dwell with humanity in it’s natural state. So there must be a link, a lynchpin, a mediator to realize this plan of redemption.

Such a mediator must, by logic, be both truly God and truly man in order to truly and really mediate between the two and facilitate the restoration of the relationship so that God might once again dwell among men.

If Jesus is to be the way, the truth, and the life, the singular and exclusive means by which men are to be reconciled to God, He therefore must be the theanthropo, the God-man, for only an entity such as this is able to to adequately, perfectly, and eternally reconcile both parties and both natures into one.

To put it another way, the union of natures within the person of Christ guarantees the union of natures between men and God. If God very God, light from light eternal, chose for himself the virgin’s womb as a temple in which to dwell, will He not certainly choose to dwell with all His people on the last day?

Why is this so important for John? Why is this so important for you? Simply, because your salvation depends on it. If Jesus was a mere man, we are of all people most to be pitied. But if Jesus is the holy light, offspring of Heaven firstborn, the eternal God’s coeternal beam of brightness, then we are of all people most to be envied, for in this Mediator we possess hope upon hope.

The doctrine of the deity of Christ is a first order doctrine because upon it hangs our very salvation. If Jesus if not God, we cannot be saved. If Jesus is not God, we cannot be reconciled to the Father. If Jesus is not God, the covenant hope of Eve and Abraham and David cannot be realized.

But friends, Jesus is God. In Him the fullness of deity dwells. He and the Father are one. And so we know, that just as the human and the divine dwell together in the person of Christ, so also the human and the divine will dwell together in the New Jerusalem. What a gospel. What a hope. What a peace.