A Study Through the Letters of JohnSample

Day 3: Remaining in the Truth of Christ

(Read 1 John 2:18-27)

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 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.

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

We humans love our calendars, whether online or hanging on the wall. Not only are they useful to keep track of appointments and events, but we want to know where we are in the year even more precisely than the seasonal signs tell us. Given this inclination, we must remind ourselves that times are in God’s hands. Only He knows when the “last hour” – or the time in-between Christ’s first and second coming - will come to an end. Yet God has given us signs, like the signs the weather gives us. One such sign, which John points to, is that there will be opposition to the truth of Christ from the evil one while we wait for Christ’s return in glory.

Writing over 2,000 years ago, John already sees evidence for this “last hour”. “Antichrists” who came from within the Church are striking at the core of the gospel by denying the truth of Jesus, full humanity and deity that John witnessed firsthand. In the face of this opposition to the gospel, John writes to strengthen the believers.

First, John brings clarity. He points out that those seeking to lead them astray with lies have left the Church - a sign that they never truly belonged to the fellowship of believers. Along with this, John isn’t afraid to call a lie, a lie. He says that those who deny that Jesus is the Christ are liars and antichrists. Further, he makes the gospel truth crystal clear - that the way to the Father is Christ: “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also”.

Second and perhaps even more importantly, John grounds them in their relationship with God. They have been sealed by the Holy Spirit as God’s own with a genuine “anointing from the Holy One”. As they remain in the One who is the Truth, they will discover that the Holy Spirit is their true teacher.

Deception continues to be a tool of the enemy against the Church in our times. Lies and distortions come from within and without, from the left and from the right. We as the Body of Christ must not be afraid to speak the truth of Christ clearly and to expose lies of all kinds. Rather than attach ourselves to agendas, ideologies, or human leaders, we must draw ever nearer to our Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. With humility and open hearts and minds, we must let the Holy Spirit teach us.

Focus verse for prayerful reflection:

“…But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.” (I John 2:27).

What truths have you learned from walking with the Spirit and remaining in Him?

Are there any places in your life where you are allowing deceptions or human agendas to influence you? Where might you make a shift to move closer to Christ in this, allowing His truth to shine into the situation?

For further reading:

Read John 16:12-15 for Jesus’ description of the Holy Spirit’s role in guiding His disciples in the truth.