1 John 2:18–29 — antichrists, the anointing, and abiding

Through 1 John, part 4 · 1 John 2:18–29

Many antichrists (v. 18)

"Children, it is the last hour." Nothing has to happen before the end comes; it's imminent, and it has been since John wrote. "As you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come." The Antichrist is a figure spoken of by Daniel, by Jesus (Matthew 24:5, 24), and in Revelation — one who is contrary to Christ and the gospel. But the defining trait of any antichrist is denying that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Anti-Christ: against the Messiahship of Jesus. John says the presence of many such people is how we know we're in the last hour.

They went out from us (v. 19)

"They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us."

Obviously the openly unsaved deny Jesus. But John is talking about people who claimed to follow Him and then denied His deity. There were groups teaching that "the Christ" came upon the man Jesus at His baptism and left Him before the cross. The New Testament is clear that Jesus is the same God as the Old Testament — "before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58); "the Word was God" (John 1:1); and when He said "I am he" in the garden, the soldiers fell to the ground (John 18:6).

Here's the principle. Perseverance doesn't earn salvation; it shows it. The people who abandoned the deity of Christ didn't lose their salvation. They never had it.

The anointing (vv. 20–21)

"But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth." The Holy One is Jesus, and the anointing is the Holy Spirit He gives. Through the Spirit we have the capacity to discern truth — "when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). Through the Spirit's guidance and the Scripture He wrote, we stay in the truth. Those who aren't saved don't have that guide. John isn't writing because they don't know the truth, but because they do — and to expose that the lies springing up don't come from it. The Christ didn't come upon Jesus. Jesus is the Christ.

You can't have the Father without the Son (vv. 22–25)

"Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son." Some claim to worship God while denying Jesus or His deity. It can't work. To deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny the Father, because the Father is the one who said He was. "No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well" (see John 5:37–47). You can't have one without the other.

So "what you have heard from the beginning is to remain in you." What will help you continue? Trusting in Jesus — who He is and what He's done as the Christ. "And this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life." An irrevocable guarantee.

You don't need a guru (vv. 26–27)

John writes "concerning those who are trying to deceive you" — to lead you astray, to make you wander. They have a worldly message for worldly people. But "the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you don't need anyone to teach you." That doesn't mean no teachers — John is teaching them as he writes it. It means the Holy Spirit illuminates the Scripture to every believer, and there should be no doctrine you hold that doesn't come from the Bible. You may have personal applications you feel led to; what we hold ourselves and each other to is Scripture. Kings, priests, and prophets were anointed for their work; the anointing is God-given wisdom to carry out ours. Without the Spirit we can't learn the truths of Jesus; with Him we can learn all of them, and He will never teach you contrary to the truth. So abide in the Spirit — meditate on the Word, memorize it, mention it.

Abide (v. 28)

"So now, little children, remain in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming." Abide — John 15. Remain: He's the focal point. Rest: all the good that comes out of us is His work. Rely: He is sufficient. Abide in His Word, in prayer, in worship, in His church. The ones who will be ashamed at His coming are those who professed Christ without possessing Him.

Like produces like (v. 29)

"If you know that he is righteous, you know this as well: everyone who does what is right has been born of him." Our lives are to be continually conformed to the standard of Jesus — His character and His commands. Those born of the Righteous One will be righteous. If there's no righteousness, there's no Righteous One. The fruit comes from the root. A righteous Savior produces righteous living.

Professing and possessing

Sit on that last line a minute. The ones who'll be ashamed at His coming are the ones who professed Christ without ever possessing Him. You'd want to know which of those you are, right? If you can't say for certain, that's not cause to panic. It's cause to settle it. Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, and He went to a cross carrying your sin and came back out of that grave alive. Call on Him. Rest on Him and nothing you've done. Possess Him instead of talking about Him.

Believers, the anointing is already yours. You don't need a guru and you don't need somebody with a platform to tell you what's true. Meditate, memorize, mention. Take one verse out of this chapter this week — verse 28 will do fine — and carry it around. Say it out loud in the truck. Say it to somebody at work who's confused about who Jesus is. What He gave you was never meant for storage.

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