1st 2nd and 3rd John Week 4

1 John 2:15-27

Verse 15-16 – The Gnostics were teaching that everything physical is evil. Here John, having acknowledged the reality of the world, tells the Gnostics that he is not advocating loving the physical world. In fact, he says that if we love the world, the love of God is not in us. Although the world is real, it and its trappings are not to be the focus of our lives.

Verse 17 – John reminds us (and the Gnostics) that the things of this world will deteriorate and disappear. He is not denying that the world is antithetical to Christ. He is saying that we must not allow the things of the world to be our focus.

Verse 18-19 – Gnostics are considered by John to be little children. He lumps us in there with them.

John declares “it is the last time.” This is a unique reference to the time between Christ’s first coming and His second coming. We’re in it…we are in the last time. It is the time when antichrist will arrive.

Antichrist can (and will) refer to a particular person. It also refers to anyone who opposes the truths of God in Christ. In verse 18 John recognizes that there is one antichrist and that there are many antichrists. It is to these latter antichrists that John speaks of. They are those who fall away from orthodox Christianity. The Gnostics would have been included in this group.

Verse 20-23 – Here John borders on insult. He premises that Gnostics know better than what they teach. He also says that the saved “know all things.” “All things” is a reference to the sufficiency of Christ.

John teaches that the Gnostics actually know the truth, they just refuse to acknowledge it. He declares that there is no lie in the truth. That seems obvious, but John often uses the obvious to solidify his message.

Since the Gnostics denied the reality of Jesus, they were enemies of the gospel. They and their ilk are antichrist. 

Believers, in contrast, are blessed with an anointing from God. Deniers of Christ will never know God. Those who have the Holy Spirit living in their hearts not only know God, but have Him.

Verse 24-25 – Christians have received the message of the one who was present at the beginning, Jesus Christ. We are to allow Christ to live in us. Our part of the bargain is to live in the reality of Christ in our hearts and to dwell in Him. God has promised that if we do we will receive what He has promised us: eternal life.

Verses 26-27 – John restates the reason he wrote this book. It was to give you confidence to refute what the false teachers were teaching. Because Christ lives in us, we have the ability to know-that- we-know the truth of Christ. We can revel in the Truth. When we do, there is no man’s teaching that can sway us. We shall abide in Him with Holy assurance.

We will be able to say with Paul, “…I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)