Untitled Sermon (14)

I. Opposition to Jesus signals a new time (18-23)

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition Chapter 2

Παιδία, ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν, καὶ καθὼς ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἀντίχριστος ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ γεγόνασιν· ὅθεν γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν. 19 ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθαν, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν· εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἡμῶν ἦσαν, μεμενήκεισαν ἂν μεθʼ ἡμῶν· ἀλλʼ ἵνα φανερωθῶσιν ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν πάντες ἐξ ἡμῶν. 20 καὶ ὑμεῖς χρῖσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ οἴδατε πάντες· 21 οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν, καὶ ὅτι πᾶν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἔστιν. 22 τίς ἐστιν ὁ ψεύστης εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀρνούμενος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ χριστός; οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱόν. 23 πᾶς ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν υἱὸν οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει· ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει. 24 ὑμεῖς ὃ ἠκούσατε ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, ἐν ὑμῖν μενέτω· ἐὰν ἐν ὑμῖν μείνῃ ὃ ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἠκούσατε, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν τῷ υἱῷ καὶ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ μενεῖτε. 25 καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπαγγελία ἣν αὐτὸς ἐπηγγείλατο ἡμῖν, τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον.

26 Ταῦτα ἔγραψα ὑμῖν περὶ τῶν πλανώντων ὑμᾶς. 27 καὶ ὑμεῖς τὸ χρῖσμα ὃ ἐλάβετε ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ μένει ἐν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ἵνα τις διδάσκῃ ὑμᾶς· ἀλλʼ ὡς τὸ αὐτοῦ χρῖσμα διδάσκει ὑμᾶς περὶ πάντων, καὶ ἀληθές ἐστιν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ψεῦδος, καὶ καθὼς ἐδίδαξεν ὑμᾶς, μένετε ἐν αὐτῷ.

(18) What the last hour brings

children, it is the last hour and just as you heard that the anti-Christ is coming, and now many anti-Christs have come about. by which we know that it is the last hour.

1 John 2:18 NASB95

18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

- The last hour is coming.

The period of time that describes the end of times in relation to the time from the ascension of Jesus to the Father to His second coming.

There is definitely a narrow band of time that seems to speak of the period of time at the end of this period that describes the 7 year period of tribulation. I don’t believe that this is that time that is mentioned.

Ironically, John does give a picture of that shorter period of time right before Jesus comes back in “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”

Jesus’ Warning

1 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.

2 “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.

In the meantime, even before the tribulation comes there exists a difficult related with a group of people called the antichrists.

3 “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.

- What is the antichrist? or antichrists?

4 “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

*

The phrase antichrist is often associated with a particular person that is identified in the period of tribulation that plays a prominent part in the end of the age. talks about this: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?”

* The phrase antichrist is often associated with a particular person that is identified in the period of tribulation that plays a prominent part in the end of the age. talks about this: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?”

The word for antichrist includes this preposition: ἀντί, It’s usage can mean “opposite, over against” or it can mean “instead, in the place of”.

ἀντί, Prep. governing gen.:—orig. sense, over against. (Cf. Skt. ánti ‘opposite’, ‘facing’, Lat. ante, etc.)

A. USAGE:

In this case, I think that John is reminding them that at one point in time the “antichrist” is coming that was identified in other passages. (the one who professes to be a substitute for the messiah) Yet, there are several antichrists that have arisen that are opposing the Lord Jesus Christ. (against) Thus, it signals that the time for the end really is not all that far away.

I. of Place, opposite, over against, formerly quoted from several places of Hom., as Il.21.481 ἀντὶ ἐμεῖο (where now ἀντίʼ ἐμεῖο, i.e. ἀντία); Τρώων ἄνθʼ ἑκατόν (i.e. ἄντα) 8.233; so ἄντʼ Αἴαντος (i.e. ἄντα) 15.415, cf. Od.4.115, Hes.Op.727; but ἀντί is so used in X.An.4.7.6, IG2.835c-l68; αἱ ὀπαὶ αἱ γιγνόμεναι ἀ. τόρμων mortises facing tenons, Hero Bel.97.5; ἀντὶ μαιτύρων in the presence of witnesses, ἀντὶ το͂ ἀρχο͂ BCH87.3 (vi/v B.C.), Leg.Gort.1.40; ἀντὶ τῆς ὄψεως ἡμῶν Eudox.Ars18.

II. of Time, ἀντὶ νυκτός the same night, SIG1025.43 (Cos); ἀντι ϝέτεος GDI2561 A 45 (Delph.); ἀντʼ ένιαυτοῦ IG5(2).266.8 (Mantinae, i B.C.); ἀνθʼ ἡμέρσας· διʼ ὅλης τῆς ἡμέρας, Hsch.; cf. ἀντετοῦς.

III. instead, in the place of,

(19) Who are the antichrists?

Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S., & McKenzie, R. (1996). A Greek-English lexicon (p. 153). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

19 ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθαν, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν· εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἡμῶν ἦσαν, μεμενήκεισαν ἂν μεθʼ ἡμῶν· ἀλλʼ ἵνα φανερωθῶσιν ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν πάντες ἐξ ἡμῶν.

they went out from us but they were not from us. for if they were from us, for they would be remaining with us but that they may reveal because they all were not from us.

1 John 2:19 NASB95

19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

- The crazy thing is that these came from among those in the church.

These people that oppose Christ had been part of the community. They were participating in the fellowship and activities of this believing community of the church. However, they were oppositional to Christ (antichrist) so they were not really part of His church because you can’t oppose the cornerstone and be part of the church.

The picture is that these people would have stayed in fellowship with these believers if they were truly on board with the Lord Jesus Christ.

In addition, this leaving was an opportunity for the church to realize that these people were not of the same ilk in Jesus Christ.

- An important side note about these that left

For the first time, we are told about a group that had been part of the church but were really not believers.

As I consider the earlier verses in this book, the admonition given was not to these people or to illustrate these people that had left. Thus, the first hint of anybody that was there but not really part of the believers is just now mentioned.

(20-21) The anointing of the Christian

and you are anointed from the Holy one and you know everything.

1 John 2:20 NASB95

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

- What is the anointing about?

The word “anointing” used here is found here and verse 27 in the entire Bible. A cognate verb “to anoint” is used in several other places in the New Testament.

As it speaks of Jesus we find “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

In the Gospels, we see a quotation of Isaiah that Jesus applies to Himself in “ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,

38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

In a similar but different way, Paul talks about being anointed by God in “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”

And recovery of sight to the blind,

21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,

To set free those who are oppressed,

The anointing is the Holy Spirit whom the Lord gives to everyone when we come to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

- The result of the Holy Spirit’s anointing is knowledge

14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

The phrase is “you know all things” implying that the anointing of the Holy Spirit leads to being able to have knowledge in all things.

Stephen Smalley talks about John’s reason for writing this phrase: “He is attacking the heretics on two grounds: their claim that only a chosen few had a real knowledge of God; and their insistence that those few knew everything. Against such esoteric claims the writer emphasizes that the knowledge of God (through Jesus) is the inheritance of “all” Christians (πάντες) inclusively. The “chrism is no longer confined to kings and priests”; for, under the new covenant, “knowledge is the common possession of all”. By saying this, moreover, and not “the Christian knows everything,” John implicitly denies the belief of the heretics that they possessed all knowledge.”

(21) Don’t change the course

21 οὐκ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτήν, καὶ ὅτι πᾶν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἔστιν.

I don’t write to you because you don’t know the truth but because you do know it, and because all false is not from the truth.

1 John 2:21 NASB95

21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

- John’s reason for writing them has nothing to do with their lack of knowledge of truth.

John doesn’t write to them because they have to be instructed in new truth about God but because they already possess that truth. In other words, the thrust of the message is almost a warning against the false teaching that has been coming into the church. This teaching would be associated with those who are opposed to Jesus Christ (antichrists).

is a picture that a believer does know truth when it says “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

In addition, lies are not rooted in the truth but are founded upon something else that is false. When a lie is uncovered, it isn’t just a variation of some truth it is an outright falsehood.

(22-23) Those with secret knowledge are liars

What is the lie except the one who denies that Jesus is not the Christ? This is the anti-Christ, the one who denies the Father and the son.

1 John 2:22 NASB95

22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

- The definition of a liar

The one who is denying that Jesus is the Messiah is not speaking the truth. It’s not that other things couldn’t be said that are lies but the line in the sand theologically is getting Jesus Christ right.

Just to be clear, denying that Jesus is the Messiah is a broad category that covers all sorts of heresy about Jesus. While certainly it is a denial about Jesus being the Messiah, it is also a denial about the nature of Jesus and the type of messiah that He was (denial of being flesh).

- The denial of the Father is also at stake

This isn’t just an affront to Jesus, it is also an attack against God the Father.

The Word Made Flesh

If you deny the Son, Jesus Christ then you are deny the Father since they are related. Consider Johns Gospel on why a denial of one is a denial of the other , “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In a nutshell, the understanding of the doctrine of the trinity is very helpful in comprehending it all. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit mutually dwell one another in a manner that you can’t speak of God as being three gods but one God. Yet, each member of the trinity can be spoken of in a matter that they are persons and not a blob. Therefore, you cannot expect to be surprised that denying Jesus is actually denying the Father as well because each triune member is interconnected together.

The flip side of this denial is that confessing belief in Jesus Christ is a confession that they have the Father.

all who denies the son neither has the father. the one who confesses the son also has the father.

1 John 2:23 NASB95

23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

II. It’s is really about abiding (2:24-27)

(24) Abide in what was taught

you whom heard from the beginning, he remains in him. whomever remains in him who he heard from the begging and you in the son and remain in the father.

1 John 2:24 NASB95

24 As for you, 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.

- The call for abiding in the correct teaching

What was heard from the beginning of the apostolic teaching, is the Gospel. It did not change and it would not change.

When heresy comes along in Christianity, it tries to tie Christianity into a new idea that has its roots somewhere else. The Gospel message is something that is authentic, historic and unchanging.

Abiding in this sense is to remain solid with the Gospel teaching rather than to branch out into a new and different type of “spiritual teaching”.

- The issue of abiding is an issue of spiritual direction

I see this as an issue of sanctification and fellowship with God rather than an issue of salvation. First, these are those of the church being addressed rather than the antichrists. Second, this is speaking about remaining in the teaching.

Those that allow the apostolic teaching that has always been there to permeate their minds, they will abide in fellowship of both the Father and the Son.

As John Stott agrees “they will remain in the Son and in the Father, in the sense of experiencing an intimate spiritual communion with both.”

(25-26) Words of truth not words of persuasion

Stott, J. R. W. (1988). The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 19, p. 116). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

- The promise doesn’t go away with winsome words

25 καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπαγγελία ἣν αὐτὸς ἐπηγγείλατο ἡμῖν, τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον.

and the promise is this which he promised to you, eternal life.

1 John 2:25 NASB95

25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

- The promise doesn’t go away with winsome words

This is a reminder about the promise that is tied into the Apostles teaching that is rooted in Jesus Christ since the beginning. The promise of eternal life is still good for us whom have believed in the Gospel message.

The antichrists’ message has been to question and evidently do so in a convincing rhetoric to lead some astray in what teaching they are trying to follow. I am not convinced that they may necessarily follow commands that say “abandon your faith” but rather teaching that operates on a flawed doctrine about Jesus.

Thus, no matter how winsome these antichrists may be with their words that call is to remember that the promise doesn’t change.

26 Ταῦτα ἔγραψα ὑμῖν περὶ τῶν πλανώντων ὑμᾶς.

these things I wrote to you concerning the deception of you.

1 John 2:26 NASB95

26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

- These writings are about the believers being led astray from the truth.

John is very clear that he has written this letter because these antichrists are seeking to deceive them.

Sometimes, people in the church go looking for something different on account of the flesh. The flesh at work can cause someone to fall into a false teaching because they stumble over that sinful thing that is attached to the teaching.

Here, there are people who have left the church but are trying to coerce others through their teaching to be led astray.

(27) Stay strong by the truth and the One whom indwells you

and you received the anointing from him whom remains in you, and you don’t have a need that one teaches you but as his annointing he taught you concerning everything, and it is truth and it is not a lie and just as he taught you, remain in him.

1 John 2:27 NASB95

27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

- The reminder about the Holy Spirit’s anointing.

Here, it is even more clear that the “anointing” is not a ceremonial washing but something or someone that remains in the believer. Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit is what indwells the believer.

On account of the Holy Spirit, the reminder again is that a believer doesn’t need a special teacher to hear truth that wouldn’t be available to him. It is not saying that there shouldn’t be teachers to help people learn.

David Jackman points this out in his commentary “If he meant that they had no need of teaching, he would hardly have written the letter! He has already told them (verse 21) that he is writing to people who know the truth, but they still need to be taught. What he means here is that because the Holy Spirit is the divine teacher given to each and every believer, there is no additional secret ‘knowledge’ into which they need a gnostic sect leader to initiate them. The Holy Spirit is the author of the apostolic testimony (our New Testament) which is his great teaching tool.”

- The reminder about abiding

“it” is referring to the teaching. The anointing of the Holy Spirit provides us with the understanding of God’s Word as we read and are taught it. As a result, don’t fall for the new “secret” teaching but what has been tried and true.

The teaching is focusing on abiding in Christ no matter what. The idea is to remain fully committed to following the instruction about abiding in Christ.

Why would this be pertinent in the discussion? There existed at that time and still shows up to this day the idea that Christians need something different to be really spiritual. This picture is that believers haven’t discovered some secret spiritual truth that allows one to advance in spiritual growth that isn’t tied to an abiding fellowship with God.

Jackman, D. (1988). The message of John’s letters: living in the love of God (pp. 77–78). Leicester, England; Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.