1 John 2:18-27

18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore 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 it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20

In the gospel story, we see a number of great acts of God as he carries out his plans for humanity. It starts with God creating the universe and humankind. After humanity rejected his idea for life, God set into motion a great plan to rescue humanity from themselves and renew the world that they had made a mess of. The pinnacle of this plan was in what we call the incarnation - God coming to earth as a human being - this is Jesus. Jesus took the sins of the world upon himself and put them to death and defeat on the cross and by his resurrection. Then we have what’s known as Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is sent from the Father and Son to inhabit believers, so that they experience the unceasing presence of God while they live for his glory and continue the work of Jesus.

And that’s where we are in history, today. We are in the overlap of the kingdom of God that is very present in this world through God’s people and the kingdom of the world that still stands in opposition to God and his Son. The Bible calls this period of time that we are in “the last days” or “the last hour.” It is the last hour because, in this timeline, there is just one final act of God before this plan of redemption and renewal is complete. That last act of God is the return of Jesus to take his place as King - completely defeating all that is evil and making the earth the permanent dwelling place for God and his people. And so as we wait for this last act of God, we are living in the last hour.

But as we look at this timeline that we are living in, the Scriptures teach that the establishment of Christ’s kingdom will be opposed by the coming of the antichrist. Now, just the mention of that word likely gives rise to all sorts of questions and comments and endless topics of intrigue - but John isn’t interested in going down that rabbit hole, and neither am I, except to say that we must be careful that what we believe regarding this opposition figure comes from Scripture and not from speculation or here-say, nor should we focus on this figure more than we should. With over 800,000 words in the Bible, only 4 of them are antichrist.

John is interested, however, in saying that, just as we know that one is coming who is THE antichrist, there are presently many antichrists in the world right now. Now that is something that we need to talk about for a bit. What does John mean when we says that many antichrists have already come into the world?

Well let’s look at the word itself. Antichrist. We know what it means to be anti something. In Colorado there are two main rival burrito joints: Chipotle and Qdoba. People out there have VERY strong feelings about these two burrito joints, to the point that you could very well call them anti-Qdoba or anti-Chipotle, because they would do everything in their power to oppose the group going to the one they disfavored.

In the same way that’s what this word means. Evidently there were people in Ephesus, people who were once a part of the Christian community, who in their lives and in their teaching opposed Christ. They taught against his Kingship, against his Christ-ship, against his rule and the truth of his death and resurrection. And in this way, they were antichrists.

But the word has another connotation. It’s not just opposing Christ, but it carries the idea of rivaling Christ as well. Jesus warned his disciples of false Christs who would come - people who claimed to have the power and ability of the Savior and Redeemer and King of the world. But they are pseudo-Christs, rivaling the one true King. And so John is also talking about people who’s teaching encourages Christians to replace the true Christ with someone or something else. And in this way, they were antichrists.

Now there is a danger for us here. When we talk about false teachers in this text and in the many others in the Bible, there is a danger that we fashion images in our minds of street-corner preachers or televangelists with blatantly flawed and unconvincing theologies, or mainline protestant or unitarian churches that have stepped away from the authority of Scriptures and have moved away from the way of Jesus that has been handed down through the teaching of the apostles. Those are certainly false teachers - teachers who claim to know and teach the truth but are in fact so far from the mark. And they are indeed leading people astray!

But many of us are unmoved by those camps of false teachers, and we can think that false teaching is not an issue for us. But this is not true, because we learn in so many more ways than just listening to a presentation from an instructor. There comes a moment in everyone’s life when we do or say something that surprises us because of how similar it is to something we’ve seen our parents do. Our parents never sat us down as said, “Now when someone pulls out in front of you, this is what you should do with your hands...” And yet we learned it nonetheless.

We live in a world filled with messages that seek to lead us astray from the way of Jesus and the truth of the gospel. We are constantly being taught that Jesus is not the King, that we do not need a Redeemer, that there is no divine judge, and so nothing should stop us from living and doing whatever we desire. Even more so are we lured towards replacing Jesus with counterfeit Christs. We’re taught that other things or people can provide the same joy and hope and satisfaction that Jesus claims to offer. We’re taught that we need these things whether it’s the next technological gadget or more zeroes on our paycheck, but that we need these things to live meaningful and fulfilled lives. They are worth all our time, effort, and energy; and quickly these things can displace Christ at the center of our lives.

We either confess Christ or we deny him.

Point 2

John rightly says that many antichrists have come, but they are perhaps not what we would think, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. Because what we believe about Jesus is the most important thing about us.

Look at verse 22 with me.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

Believing Jesus to be the Christ is not just intellectual. Believing that Jesus is God in the flesh who has come to establish a new world order characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and all the rest of the fruits of the Spirit, this belief is not merely an intellectual affair so that if we get it wrong we say that our theology is simply defective, but really it’s not that big of a deal.

It is a big deal. It’s a huge deal, because to deny or belittle the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the King is to cut the heart out of the entire Christian faith. In Ephesus these false teachers were claiming that Jesus of Nazareth was simply a man who was inhabited by the Christ - the Messiah and Son of God. The Christ inhabited Jesus throughout his ministry, but left him at his death. Jesus was not the Christ. And as we just said, the teaching all around us makes that very claim, though in a much more modern language: Jesus is not the Christ. He is not the one who can satisfy. He is not the one who is worthy of everything we have. He is not the King to whom I answer nor the Redeemer that I adore.

We need to clearly see that there is no middle ground presented here. In John’s mind we either confess that Jesus is the Christ or we deny it. And the consequences of that choice are clearly laid out for us. There is no life with God apart from belief in Jesus, because to deny Jesus is to deny God. When we pursue a counterfeit Christ (whatever that may be for us), we lose not only the Son, but we lose the Father as well, because there is only route to God. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (). But when we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the King, and the Savior, there is absolutely nothing that can break our relationship with the Father. And so what we think about Jesus is the most important thing about us, and there is no middle ground. We either confess that he is the Christ or we deny it.

Now that can feel like a harsh reality. Our lives are filled with distractions and counterfeit Christs and false teachings that all seek to pull us away from the truth that Jesus is the Christ, and pull us away from living in light of that confession on a daily basis. But in fact, this is exactly why John is writing this letter: to show us how to persevere in our life with God even in the midst of deceptive teachings. How do we stay the course as followers of Jesus? John gives us two lines of defense: abide in the gospel and abide in the Spirit.

So that’s t

English Standard Version Chapter 2

20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

In each of these verses, John adamantly emphasizes that his readers are different. What we actually have is a word play.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Belief in the Son is not merely a matter of knowing the right things.

Look at verse 20.

Perseverance and protection are found in the Word and Spirit.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

The first defense is to abide in the gospel. John loves the word, “abide.” Sometimes it’s translated “remain,” or “continue on.” It’s the idea of settling into something for good. The first step in persevering in our walk with God is to recognize that we didn’t take the first step in our walk with God. We didn’t initiate the journey or become new creations on our own. It is only by God’s grace that we follow Jesus at all, and so we are not asked to start the walk but rather we are called to enjoy it, to remain in it, to abide in it.

In a world of false teaching and distraction we can persevere in our life with God by abiding in the gospel story. At Redeemer, we say that the gospel grounds who we are. By that we mean that the truth of God’s love, grace, and power which has been revealed to us in Jesus, forms the building blocks of our lives. Our identities and activities are defined by the truth that Jesus is making all things new. Another way of saying that is we aim to abide in the gospel.

I saw a Peanuts comic the other day where Lucy and Linus are inside watching a torrential downpour out the window. Lucy is amazed at the amount of rain and says, “What if it floods the whole world?” To which Linus responds, “It will never do that. In the ninth chapter of Genesis, God promised Noah that would never happen again and the sign of the promise is the rainbow.” Lucy is relieved and says, “You’ve taken a great load off my mind.” And Linus responds with wisdom beyond his years, “Sound theology has a way of doing that!”

When we abide the gospel, make a home in that story, and enjoy it daily, the great loads that we carry, the distractions that we face, the lies that we hear, they fall to the wayside. Theology isn’t for the academic or the pastor. Theology is simply the study of God, and it is the anchor for every believer who lives in turbulent waters. Many of us don’t actually need to learn anything new about God, but rather we need to learn more deeply and practice more fully the great truths we have been aware of from the very start. John says, “let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.” Let the grace and mercy of God abide in you. Let the promise of forgiveness and renewal abide in you. Let the power to repent that comes from the Spirit abide in you.

This doesn’t happen by accident, nor does it happen automatically. The way we abide in the gospel is by ensuring that his truth has the priority in our lives. Is the gospel story central in your life? Does it ground who you are? Does the gospel direct what you do? If you’re uncertain about your answer to these questions, then this next one is perhaps the most important: what are you doing about it? What are you doing to ensure that God’s word is on your mind, upon your lips, and deep in your heart? Maybe it’s time to turn the radio off, put down the remote, close the laptop and recall the promises of God, the story of God, the mission of God, and our call to participate in this great story that he is writing as he is making all things new. Abide in the gospel story.

Are you reading the Word? Are you praying with your family? Are you discussing the truths of the gospel in community like what happens at our Gospel Communities? These aren’t simply things to check off a list, they are ways we re-prioritize, re-focus, and create new rhythms of life that center on the gospel story that Christ is making all things new. These are ways we abide in the gospel.

And finally, John says our defence against false teaching is to abide in the Holy Spirit that abides in us.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you,

The Christos has given us a Chrisma. The Anointed One has given us an anointing - in fact, he has given us the same anointing that he was given at his baptism. For the same Spirit that anointed the Christ at his baptism has been given to us, so that we are not alone in our defence against false teaching and counterfeit Christs. We do not stand against them by our own strength, but we resist and hold firm to the truth of the gospel by the Spirit’s power and working in us.

The Spirit teaches us

A mentor of mine used to tell a story of a mouse and an elephant walking across a rope bridge. They got about halfway across when the mouse jokingly started to lean left and right to rock and swing the rope bridge back and forth. The elephant joined in and the swing started to really sway and rock while the two laughed and laughed. When they got to the other side the mouse looked up at the elephant and said, “Did you see how much we made that bridge swing?” Was the mouse really contributing to the swaying bridge? Well, yes. But it was the elephant that did most of it.

My mentor would tell this story to describe what life with the Spirit was like. We cannot resist the false teaching in our world on our own power, our own intellect, our own morality; and by the grace of God, we don’t have to. Because the Christ has anointed us with the Spirit who teaches us his truth and continues to apply the truth to our lives. One writer put it memorably. “The Spirit of God takes the Word of God to make the children of God.”

Our task, then, is to abide in the Spirit. To settle into this anointing for good. To desire his instruction. To long for his transforming power. To depend on it for perseverance and growth in our faith. It’s not just the gospel story that we need, it’s the Spirit’s instruction and help, as he makes it new and alive in our hearts.

These two things: abiding in the gospel and abiding in the Spirit are our defence against counterfeit Christs and false teaching. They are how we persevere in our faith. And, finally, according to John, they are how we experience eternal life even now.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

What we look forward to in the new creation is available to us now. We long for the day that God makes his home with us, but the good news of Jesus says that even now we can make our home with God, if we abide in the gospel and in the Spirit. Let’s pray.

Related Media

Related Sermons