Jesus THE Truth

the idea of Truth is one of those concepts that has changed a lot in our culture over the last 50 years. Our culture’s relationship with truth has begun changing even more rapidly ever since the invention of the internet and then social media. Instead of being presented with one truth to believe. We get on our phones now and you will be bombarded by people with many different view points on everything from a political issue to if the NFL has rigged games for the Chiefs to win every superbowl till the end of time. most importantly we are presented with different truths as to who God is, if he’s real, what Jesus was actually like. What I want to do today as we continue through 1 John is give you THE truth. So that as you go through your day and your bombarded with everyone else’s truth you will know what real truth is so you spot the fakes, and you wont be confused or pulled away from Jesus who is the truth.

1 John 2:18–23 NIV

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.

Remember last week we left off with verses 15-17 where John is talking about not loving the world because the world is going to pass away. here he continues that reminding us this is the last hour. If you’re like me when you read that we are in the last hour by someone who lived over 2000 years ago, and Christ still hasnt come back. My initial reaction is I think you go it wrong buddy. That’s a pretty long hour. but this term means the time period between Jesus’ first coming and his second. John is reminding us of the urgency and danger of the time in which we live when he gives g us a warning that during this time period that we are still in now there will be people who oppose Christ. and if you are walking in the light of Christ that means they are going to oppose you as well. He mentions the antichrist. who all the opponents of Christ will rally behind at the end of time, but he also reminds us that there are antichrists among us now.

In every generation antichristian forces will manifest themselves in opposition to Christ and his church. Whether it is the sanhedrin who worked to kill Jesus. Doesn’t get more antichrist than that, or the Jews that Paul wrote about who were saying we need the law and Jesus. or Who John is writing about that are trying to convince the church that Jesus wasn’t God’s son, or in present day how we can be attacked if say the truth we believe is the only truth.

1. Truth is opposed because people reject Jesus.

The reason there are so many truths out there is because people reject the source of truth. If you reject the source than you reject everything that comes from it wether you realize it or not.

Im still partially in Christmas mode even though it was a month ago. I just finally got all the outside Christmas lights down so I can stop getting judged by my neighbors. now they can judge my dead grass instead. but at Christmas time one of the movies that Alysa and I always watch is Christmas vacation. The tv version of course but theres a scene in that movie where Aunt Bethany an older lady who’s mind has seen better days serves her jello. and in that jello she has put cat food. and the dad when he realizes it obviously stops eating that jello. I don’t know about you but if someone cooks for me and serves me cat food. I am never eating another thing they would ever make. I reject the source in that case the chef so i reject everything she makes.

When people reject what we say is truth from the Bible. they are actually rejecting the source of truth in Jesus. They reject what God says about marriage because they have rejected the God who invented it, they reject the authority of scripture because they have rejected God its author, They reject the sanctity of life because they reject the God that everyone is made in the image of from the moment of conception, the reject the reality and the severity of sin because they have rejected the God who we sin against. and they do what the people John was writing about were doing. They reject salvation because they reject Jesus as the source of it.

The scary part is that the people John was writing about who are rejecting Jesus are people who had left the church and are now opposing it. Turns out these people had never truly believed that Jesus was the source of truth because when they heard a truth that they liked better they left. John’s not talking about believers who stumbled are weren’t currently walking in the light. He is talking about people who were in the church but left and starting actively opposing it. John’s saying their actions show that they were never truly in the fellowship with us or with God that he talked about in chapter one.

They went to church but they weren’t Christians. They believed God existed but they werent Christians, They believed that Jesus taught some true things, but they werent Christians. Why because they viewed Jesus as a truth not the truth.

2. Jesus is not a Truth, Jesus is THE Truth

1 John 2:20–23 NIV

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.

No one who denies the son has the father. That is not the message we get from our social media, our movies, or music, or our news. but here it is plain as day if you want God who is the source of life. Than you cant reject the way that he has given us to himself.

John 14:6 (ESV)

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

Jesus did not say I am a way, I am not a truth. No He is the way, the truth the life. no one gets to the father and experiences eternal life without Jesus. To put it plainly. You cannot have God without believing in Jesus. Your friends who just believe God exists and even come to church on Christmas and Easter because its how they grew up are just as lost and without God as the agnostic who posts every other day about how God doesn’t exist. It is through Jesus that we get to the father. You know how we know that Jesus is the only way other than Jesus himself and John here saying it? because Jesus himself asked God. the night before his execution he prayed God if there is any other way. Lets do that, but God did not give another way. because the only way for us to come to the father and have our fellowship with him restored is by the sacrifice of a perfect offering. and Jesus was the only one who could fulfill that role. so He went to the cross. God watched his son die so that we could be brought back into perfect fellowship with him forever.

anyone who denies that, who rejects Jesus as the way. they don’t get to say they know the father. if they do John calls them a liar because Jesus, God, The Holy Spirit are one. To reject part of the trinity is to reject the whole trinity.

Jesus is not one of many truths. He is THE truth. It doesn’t matter how earnestly and sincerely you believe something that doesn’t make it true. I can believe that gravity doesn’t affect me all I want but if I jump off the courthouse I’ll find out real quick whats true. We are told to accept everyone to accept every view point. Everyone gets to determine their truth. and yes everyone get to choose what they believe but just cause you believe it doesn’t make it true. I believed Tennessee would win the national championship. That didn’t make it true.

I know me better than anyone else and let me tell you I don’t want my truth. Whatever truth I can come up with will be inferior. I want THE truth. which is that the Jesus of the Bible is the way the truth and the life. If I believe that for me shouldn’t that motivate me to speak up to the people in my life? If you truly believe that Jesus is the only way are you going to let a fear of rejection stop you from telling someone they aren’t going towards life they are going towards death?

You live what you believe? Do you believe he’s the only way? do you believe hes the only truth? do you believe hes the only path to eternal life? thats got to motivate you to action? I have a lot of Star Wars knowledge if I hear someone say something that isnt right I cant help but speak up and correct them. Hopefully you have more knowledge about Jesus than Star Wars. When you see someone saying something that isnt true about your Lord do you feel that need to correct them in love so that can know THE truth?

1 John 2:24–27 NIV

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.

I could have done a whole sermon just on these verses but Id like to finish first John in time to start an Easter series. There’s a lot here but I want to remind you of one of the main reasons John wrote this book was to reassure the believers of their salvation. He starts contrasting them with those who say Jesus is not the truth that he just described. He’s saying you who hold that jesus is the truth he remains in you and that eternal life is yours. He’s saying dont listen to the people who are trying to convince you Jesus isn’t enough. You believed Jesus is enough to save you and guess what he still is.

Then he gets to talking about the anointing they recieved from Jesus and that the anointing is all they need and they don’t need anyone to teach them. and its like hold up John is literally teaching them right now through this letter so clearly he doesnt believe that no one can teach them. what is he talking about?

3. The Spirit affirms Jesus as the truth through the Word.

Anointing is one of those words that changed a lot what it means over time. different denominations use it differently. I’m not interested in that. I am interested in how it was used in the Bible, and in the Old Testament anointing was given to a king or priest to be symbolic of the grace of God being poured out on someone to equip them for a task or ministry. What John is presenting here is that New Testament Christians which applies to them and us have been equipped with that same grace to live in the truth by the Holy Spirit whom God has poured out on every redeemed person.

We are dependent on the the Spirit for our initial understanding of the Gospel and response to it and we are also dependent on him as learn to apply God’s truth to new areas of our lives every day.

So when he says you dont need anyone to teach you. He is saying you dont need some charismatic preacher to come along a reveal some new secret revelation that only he has figured out, to receive the full truth. which is the lie that was pulling people away from the church there. You don’t need the newest tik tok preacher or podcast host to reveal to you some new truth for you to receive the full truth.

Jesus is the full truth. if you have recieved him the Holy Spirit is going to help you understand the truth even more fully, primarily through the word that the Holy spirit wrote.

The Message of John’s Letters 2. Let God’s Anointing Teach You (Verses 26–27)

If you have God’s Word in your hand and God’s Spirit in your heart you have everything you need to understand truth and grow in Christ

don’t go searching for a truth that your desires will lead you too. John’s already showed us that if you live chasing your own desires you will pass away with this world. you already have the real thing dont trade what is real and true for what is fake and counterfeit. Walk in the truth that you recieved when you trusted in Jesus for your salvation. Walk in the light.

Conclusion

I said at the begining that people reject truth because they reject Jesus. As we close as Christians here I want you to consider have you rejected the world and its truths the way that the world has rejected Jesus? Don’t let the world be your source of truth, don’t let your feelings be the source of truth. That will lead you to destruction every single time.

Don’t just not love the world like we talked about last week reject the world as your source of truth and cling to Jesus who is not just a Truth but THE truth. Walk in the light of He who is The way the truth and the life.

And don’t be led astray be good communicators who think they have the only truth. be reassured that Jesus is the only truth, be encouraged today that if you have the Spirit and your Bible you have everything you need. Don’t search for truth here (phone) when God has already given it to you here (Bible).

If you are here today and you have never accepted Jesus as the way the truth and the life and recieved the Holy Spirit today can be your day.

If you are here today and you know whats true but you’ve felt a draw to find more truth in the world. Let today be a day that you are reminded that Jesus is THE truth and if you have Jesus you have all you need. When your confronted with other truths this week be anchored in the truth of Jesus and walk in His light.