Warning: Walking in the Light is Not Compatible with Denying the Son
2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many have become antichrists. From this we know that it is the last hour. 2:19 They separated from us, but they were not part of us. For if they had really been part of us, they would have remained among us. But they separated, in order that they might be revealed for what they are – that none of them are part of us. 2:20 You have an anointing from the Holy One and you all understand this.
2:21 I did not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and you know that absolutely no lie comes from the truth. 2:22 Who is the liar? Unquestionably the one who denies, saying, “Jesus is not the Christ.” This one is the antichrist – the one who denies the Father and the Son. 2:23 Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The one who acknowledges the Son, also has the Father.
2:24 As for you, see to it that what you heard from the beginning abides in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. 2:25 And this is the promise that He Himself promised us – eternal life.
2:26 I wrote these things to you about those who are trying to mislead you. 2:27 Now as for you – the anointing you received from ˹Jesus Christ˺ abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you about these things. But as His anointing teaches you about all these things (and it is true and is not a lie), indeed, just as it taught you – abide in Him.
2:28 And so, little children, abide in Him so that when He is revealed we may have confidence, and not turn away from Him in shame when He returns.
Translation by the author from the SBL Greek New Testament.
Summary of Verses 2:18-28
In this unit, John directs a warning against the disruptors who appear to claim that Christ is not central for having fellowship with God.
Click here to open a PDF document that explains and illustrates the structure of verses 2:18-28 in more detail.
Click here for a full outline of First John.
Verse 2:26
I wrote these things to you about those who are trying to mislead you.
The disruptors who separated (2:19) from the body of believers were antichrists who denied that Jesus is the Christ (v. 2:22). At the core of their false teaching was a denial of the true nature and identity of Christ.
Not only did the disruptors stray from the truth, but their intention was to mislead others by what they were teaching. John writes to warn those who have remained faithful, because even though the disruptors had separated, they still posed a danger because their attempts to deceive were ongoing.
Verse 2:27
Now as for you – the anointing you received from ˹Jesus Christ˺ abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you about these things. But as His anointing teaches you about all these things (and it is true and is not a lie), indeed, just as it taught you – abide in Him.
Notice the large gap between the main subject “you” at the beginning of the verse and its associated verb of command “abide” at the end of the verse: “Now as for you… abide in Him“. This perhaps adds stress to the statement by leaving the reader hanging until its completion.
Now as for you –
The readers are contrasted with the disruptors who are misleading them.
the anointing you received from ˹Jesus Christ˺ abides in you,
The noun “anointing” (χρῖσμα / chrisma) is used only two times in the New Testament, and only in First John – in verses 2:20 and 2:27 of this unit. In this context, it appears that the idea of anointing is to be understood in terms of the teaching passed down by the apostles from Jesus Christ that is comprehended and confirmed through the work of the Holy Spirit. As I. Howard Marshall explains in his commentary:
“The instruction given by church teachers must be accompanied by inner teaching by the Spirit which enables the hearers to sift out and accept what is true.” [MARSHALL p. 163]
and you do not need anyone to teach you about these things. But as His anointing teaches you about all these things…
The readers who remained faithful to the truth already knew everything they needed to know about the nature and identity of Christ. They only needed to be reminded of what they were taught from the beginning and remain in Christ. There is nothing they needed to learn from the disruptors.
“The antidote to false teaching is the inward reception of the Word of God, administered and confirmed by the work of the Spirit.” [MARSHALL p. 155]
This provides steadfastness so that the believer is not deceived and led astray by false teaching.
(and it is true and is not a lie),
The anointing is true in the sense that it is reliable and trustworthy.
indeed, just as it taught you – abide in Him.
Finally, he urges the readers to abide in Christ, based on what they had been taught.
The word “abide” (menō / μένω) is an important verb in First John and occurs 24 times in various tenses and moods. The dictionary definition is “to be in a situation for a length of time” [DANKER p. 227]. It can be translated in many ways such as abide, stay, remain, dwell, live, continue, tarry.
The use of menō is John’s distinctive way to describe the believer’s relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Abiding is the mutual continuous personal relationship between the believer and God that begins when a person becomes a believer.
– Mutual: God and the believer.
– Continuous: Constant and sustained.
– Personal: A close interactive familial relationship.
Greek Note: abide
The form of this verb in the Greek is μένετε / menete. The form can be either: (1) indicative and making a statement: “indeed, you abide in Him just as it taught you“; or (2) imperative and giving a command: “indeed, just as it taught you – abide in Him“. Nearly all scholars agree that it should be understood as an imperative.
Greek Note: in Him
The Greek pronoun translated here as “in Him” is αὐτῷ / autō. It can actually mean either: (1) “in Him” referring to the Father or Jesus Christ; or (2) “in it” referring to the the anointing and a reference to what the readers were taught. However, most scholars understand it to mean “in Him” because the command to abide is repeated in the next verse, 2:28. There it clearly refers to Christ, suggesting it should be understood as “in Him” at the end of verse 2:27.
Verse 2:28
And so, little children, abide in Him…
Verse 2:28 is the conclusion and logical inference of this unit that began at verse 2:18. Jesus Christ will return in the future, and so the believer must live in such as way so as not to be ashamed at His return.
…so that when He is revealed we may have confidence, and not turn away from Him in shame…
Verse 2:19 says that the disruptors “separated, in order that they might be revealed for what they are – that none of them are part of us.” The same verb is used here in verse 2:28 in reference to Jesus Christ. Some day he will be “revealed” again and those who abide will be revealed for what they are – confident and unashamed when He judges them.
…when He returns.
“returns” (παρουσία / parousia) refers to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. In secular usage the word could refer to the visit of important rulers or officials, which was often accompanied by magnificent festivities and celebrations. As I. Howard Marshall remarks in his commentary, even today “people will still turn out in great numbers on state occasions to see and cheer the ruler; how much more must this have been the case in the ancient world where to see the emperor was possibly the event of a lifetime. It is this kind of atmosphere which is conveyed by this word. It conceives of the return of Jesus to this world in visible splendor, like a monarch.” [MARSHALL p. 165]
Go back to Verses 2:21-25
Go forward to Verses 2:29
Your Personal Study
Read First John 2:29-4:6 below and answer the questions. As you read, keep in mind that this is the next major section of First John that focuses on the theme that God is Righteous: Fellowship Depends on Practicing Righteousness.
2:29 If you know that ˹God˺ is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of ˹God˺.
3:1 Look at the kind of love the Father has given to us, that we are called God’s children. And we really are! Because of this the world does not know us. And it is no wonder, because it did not know Him.
3:2 Beloved, right now we are God’s children, and exactly what we will be has not yet been revealed. But we know that when ˹Christ˺ is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3:3 And everyone who has such hope fixed on ˹Christ˺, purifies himself, just as He is pure.
3:4 Everyone who practices sin is also rebelling against God. In fact, sin is rebellion against God. 3:5 And you know that ˹Christ˺ was revealed to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 3:6 Everyone who abides in ˹Christ˺ does not sin. Everyone who sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
3:7 Little children, don’t let anyone deceive you. The one who practices righteousness is righteous just as ˹Christ˺ is righteous. 3:8 The one who practices sin is the Devil’s offspring, because the Devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was revealed was to destroy the works of the Devil.
3:9 Everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin because ˹God’s˺ offspring abide in Him, and he is not able to sin because he has been born of God. 3:10 By this it is clear who God’s children are and who the Devil’s children are. Everyone who does not practice righteousness is not God’s offspring, to be specific, the one who does not love his fellow believer.
3:11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
3:12 We should not love like Cain. He was an offspring of the Evil One, and violently killed his brother. Why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous. 3:13 So, fellow believers, don’t be surprised if the world hates you.
3:14 Because we love fellow believers, we know that we have passed out of death into life. The one who does not love abides in death. 3:15 Everyone who hates his fellow believer is a murderer, and you know that absolutely no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
3:16 This is how we know what love is: ˹Christ˺ laid down His life for us. So, we also ought to lay down our lives for fellow believers. 3:17 But whoever has a means of living, and sees his fellow believer in need, and closes his heart to him, how can God’s kind of love abide in that person?
3:18 Little children, let us not love by merely talking about it, rather let us love through actions consistent with the truth.
3:19 So this is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will be able to persuade our heart in ˹God’s˺ presence, 3:20 because if our heart condemns us, we know that God is greater than our heart and He knows all things.
3:21 Beloved, when our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God 3:22 so that whatever we request we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that please Him. 3:23 And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we love one another, just as ˹Jesus Christ˺ gave the commandment to us. 3:24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in ˹God˺ and ˹God˺ in him. And this is how we know that ˹God˺ abides in us, from the Spirit whom He gave to us.
4:1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits to determine whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 4:2 This is how you know God’s Spirit: Every spirit that acknowledges, “Jesus is the Christ who has come in the flesh,” is from God. 4:3 And without exception, every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus in this way is not from God. Indeed, this is a spirit from the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and even now is already in the world.
4:4 But you are God’s offspring, little children, and have overcome ˹the false prophets˺ because greater is the one who is in you than the one who is in the world. 4:5 They, on the other hand, are the world’s offspring. Because of this, they speak from the world’s mindset and the world listens to them. 4:6 But we are God’s offspring. The one who knows God listens to us. Whoever is not God’s offspring does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1. What does verse 2:29 teach us about the nature of God?
2. What do you think it means that God is righteous?
3. How does someone “practice righteousness”?
4. “Born of God” is a metaphor that compares the new life that comes about by believing in God with physical birth. What might that teach us about what it means to be born of God?
First John Translation.
First John Translation with Outline and Notes.
Bibliography of source information used for this series of posts.
Title Slide Image Credit: First John in Codex Alexandrinus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
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