1 John 2:20-25

1 John 2:20-25

And you all have an anointing from the Holy one and you all know all things.  I did not write to you all because you all do not have the truth but because you all have known it and because every lie is not out of the truth.  Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?  This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son.  Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son also has the Father.  What you all heard from the beginning, let it remain in you all.  If what you all heard from the beginning should remain in you all, you all will also remain in the Son and the Father.  And this is the promise that He promised to us: eternal life.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

John uses a great image in the opening words of this section.  He tells them that they he did not write to them because they do not know the truth but because they did.  Here is what John is saying.  Not every Christian has equal knowledge with respect to the depth of God.  That’s the purpose served by religious scholars.  But every Christian does know the depth of salvation – which is the most important part!  When one knows Christ, one knows salvation.  When one accepts that I cannot save myself and relies fully on God one has the complete understanding of salvation!  John doesn’t need to tell them how to be saved; he needs to remind them about what they already know!  We who are in God may have different levels of understand regarding God’s depth, but we all know salvation fully.

Do you know salvation fully?  Are you fully submitted humbly before God?  If you know salvation fully, how does that put you on an equal playing field with every Christian on the planet?

Second Thought:

John then makes an incredibly bold claim – and we should neither miss the boldness of this claim nor should we be unprepared for the bold assertion contained within.  John says that the liar is the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ: Messiah.  Then John says that anyone who does not have the Son by definition does not have the Father.  This is where the boldness comes into play.  There are many religions out there that desire to convince us that they are just a different route to the same God.  They desire to be seen under the “all paths lead to the same destination” form of spiritual logic.  But John does not agree with that line of thinking.  All paths do not lead to the same destination.  The only way to have the Father is to have the Son.  According to John, there is one and only one path to salvation.  If someone tries to convince you that they can get to the Father without going through Jesus, they are a liar.  Jesus Himself makes this assertion in John 14:6.  “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Have you ever heard someone claim to know God without needing to know Christ?  Why is it important to hear John’s and Jesus’ words on this issue?  Do you think it is fair that there is only one way to the Father?

Third Thought:

There is a great promise to those who do remain in the Son: eternal life.  All those who allow the teachings of Christ to remain in them have the promise of eternal life.  It really is that simply.  Allow the teachings of Christ to remain in you.  Mold you life to the will of God.  Let you agenda’s die and instead pursue the agenda of Christ.  Do that and the promise of eternal life is your promise, too.

Do you allow Christ’s teachings to remain in you?  Where is this difficult in your life?  Where is this easier?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 John 2:26-27