As John continues in the letter of 1 John, we encounter yet another tie-in to Jesus as the truth (the importance of which was discussed in the previous article), in contrast to anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.
Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
1 John 2:22-23 NIV
So, who would say that Jesus is not the Christ? Both in the first century and today, this might include different groups with teachings like the following:
- Those who said that someone else was the Messiah. (“Messiah” is the same as “Christ”; Jesus is “The Anointed One” of God, and both of these words translate to that.) False Christs had been reported before Jesus arrived, and more have falsely claimed that title afterwards.
- Those who said that the Messiah was yet to arrive in the future. Certain beliefs, both in the apostle John’s era and today, fall into this category, as they still look for a future Messiah..
- Those who said that Jesus couldn’t have been the Christ, because of some quality that they believed disqualified Him, like being human. The Gnostics and Docetists from first-century Galatia (whose teachings were countered in the book of Galatians) fell into this category.
For the recipients of the letter of 1 John, this meant that other teachings that didn’t accept Jesus as the Christ were missing the mark. For instance, as a commentator [Womack, p.71-72] pointed out, the Gnostics claimed that they knew more than “regular” Christians, with “special knowledge”. However, adding to the truth of Jesus didn’t make them smarter; it made them liars.
However, there’s a simple name given here for all of these people who don’t accept Jesus as the Christ (or Messiah). Someone like that is called an “antichrist”. (By the way, John had also referred to this term earlier, in verse 18.) And, that makes sense: If anyone doesn’t accept the truth about the one true Christ, then they were – and are – a liar, whether they know it or not. Maybe not everyone who taught (and teaches) the wrong thing was/is lying on purpose, but they are wrong, and by opposing Jesus Christ, they are “anti-Christ”.
Now, some people spend a lot of time trying to find an individual they consider to be “The Antichrist”, as they look around to try and figure out who it might be in the world. Political leaders seem to get picked as candidates for this role fairly often, but then their time fades as God controls the time and scope of their authority (see Acts 17:24-28).
However, as this passage from 1 John teaches us, we should be aware of what we might call “lowercase a” antichrists. Let’s recognize any teaching or teacher that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Christ is opposed to Him. This doesn’t mean that followers of Jesus should treat non-Christian people as enemies (although we may need to separate false teachers from the church, in order to preserve the truth about Jesus), but we should identify lies for what they are, in the hope that more souls can find – and follow – the truth.
As verse 23 says, if someone doesn’t accept Jesus (who is the Son of God – the promised Messiah from God the Father), then they aren’t accepting God the Father as well. God the Father pronounced a blessing upon His Son at Jesus’ baptism, and verified the sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice by raising Him from the dead. Add to that all of God’s additional testimony over the centuries, and the result is that suggesting anything other than Jesus being the Christ, the Son of God…well, that would be calling God the Father a liar, too.
The good news, though, is that accepting (“acknowledging” [NIV] or “confessing” [NASB], here) Jesus also connects us with God the Father. For instance:
- Jesus serves as a High Priest between us and the Father, interceding for us.
- Jesus’ sacrifice justifies us, so that we can be pronounced righteous and enter into fellowship with God the Father, who is perfectly holy Himself.
- And, accepting Jesus as the truth confirms our belief in what God the Father promised, delivered, and affirmed in Jesus’ ministry.
When we accept Jesus and His life of service and submission to the Father, we accept God the Father as well. After all, we can’t yield our wills to God the Son without yielding them to the One who Jesus followed.
I sincerely hope that you have found the truth of Jesus Christ, and have discovered just how loving and kind God is, both in saving us and in welcoming us to His family. Whether you have or not, though, my prayer for you today is that you will be able to discern the difference between truth and lies – between Jesus Christ and antichrists – and that you will find joy and freedom in the truth that restores us to the love and power of our Creator.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for February 23, 2025
References:
- 1717 Bible Studies, 1, 2, and 3 John, © 2025 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1, 2 & 3 John, by Morris M. Womack. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 