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1 JOHN CHAPTER FOUR
OBSERVATION STAGE
The purpose of
the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand in
accordance with the framework in which it was written: a framework which
is defined by the normative rules of language, context and logic and
without imposing undue, unintended meanings to it 
.which largely limits the observer to the
content offered by the books of 1st John and the Gospel of John. Other
passages must have a relationship with the context at hand, such as a
Scriptural quotation or reference in the passage at hand. This will serve
to avoid going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more importantly, it
will provide the framework for a proper and objective comparison with
passages located elsewhere in Scripture.
Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.
(1 Jn 3:24 NASB) "[And] the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit Whom He [gave] us.
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world;
(1 Jn 4:2 CBL Interlinear) by this [by testing the spirits] the Spirit of God is being made known. Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God;
(1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
(1 Jn 4:4 NASB) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world.
(1 Jn 4:5 NASB) They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.
(1 Jn 4:6 NASB) We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Manuscript evidence for 1 Jn 4:6
Sinaiticus , B, 33, 1739, Maj TR WH NU. Good testimony supports the inclusion of the clause rendered "the one who is not of God does not hear us."
A few manuscripts (A, L, 1241, 1881) omit the clause. The omission could be due to homoeoteleuton - the last two words of the second and third clauses in this verse are identical. However, we cannot be certain that the change was accidental inasmuch as it occurred in four independent witnesses. Some scribe(s) may have purposely excised the third clause as being superfluous. But John had a penchant for antithetical restatement]
(1 John 4:7 NASB) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Manuscript evidence for 1 Jn 4:7
Most manuscripts have John saying "everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." The statement in isolation could be taken to mean that all people who love are those who are born of God and know him. By adding "God" after "loving," the scribe of A provided a corrective: Everyone lovingGod is born of God and knows God. But this misses the mark John was speaking of brotherly love - love among believers.
(1 Jn 4:8 YLT) he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love.
["did not know God" in the sense of at the beginning moment that a child of God, born of God is not demonstrating love he is not loving God. It does not signify never has known God in the sense of never became a child of God, born of God, as some contend.
The Greek phrase "ouk egnO" rendered "did not know God" is in the aorist tense indicating punctilear action in this context of not knowing God evidently action that began at the time that the action of not loving God was begun. By virtue of the context, this action of not knowing God on the part of the child of God, born of God was ongoing after it had begun by virtue of the Greek phrase "ho mE agapOn" rendered "he who is not loving" - a present participle - indicating an ongoing expression of not knowing God while that child of God, born of God is not expressing agapE, godly love. So while one is not expressing agapE, godly love, one did not know God from the beginning of that expression; and throughout that time of expression of not knowing God, does not know God.
This does not constitute a test of ones salvation unto eternal life, as some contend. For the one who is characterized by the phrase "did not know God" during the time that one was not expressing agapE, godly love can be and is - according to the context of 1 John chapters 1-4:8 - a child of God, born of God who is experiencing not knowing God while he is not expressing that agapE, godly love. For a child of God, born of God cannot claim to be without sin, (1 Jn 1:8, 10); and hence will have periods of time of not expressing agapE, godly love; and thereby during those periods will not be knowing God - all the while continuing to have possession of eternal life - the promise given to them by God when they believed in His Son for it, (cf. 1 Jn 5:9-13).
(1 Jn 4:9 NASB) By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His [One and only] Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
(1 Jn 4:10 NASB) In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
(1 Jn 4:11 NASB) Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
(1 Jn 4:12 NASB) No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
(1 Jn 4:13 NASB) By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
(1 Jn 4:14 NASB) [And] we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
(1 Jn 4:15 NASB) Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
[Manuscript evidence 1 Jn 4:15]:
As often happened in the course of textual transmission, scribes expanded the divine title in this verse. The scribe of B expanded the title rendered "Jesus" to "Jesus Christ." This expansion, included in WH (showing its favoritism to B, was probably prompted by 4:2).
(1 Jn 4:16 YLT) and we - we have known and [have] believed the love, that God [has] in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in the love, in God he [does] remain, and God in him.
[Manuscript evidence 1 Jn 4:16]:
According to most Greek manuscripts (including the three earliest, P9, Sinaiticus, B), there are two perfect tense verbs in this verse: "we have known" and "we have believed." But A and 33 read the present tense "we believe." The change was probably intended to counter any notion that "faith is simply a 'past' experience, although the perfect tense itself contains a 'continuous,' and thus perfect, reference'
According to all Greek manuscripts except P9, the following expression is "the love which God has in [toward] us." In P9, the divine name rendered Theos, (normally written as the nomen sacrum 'ThS' is written as (1) ChThS, where the scribe had mistakenly written Ch before the normal nomen sacrum, or as (2) ChRS, a special way of writing the nomen sacrum for Christos. If the latter is correct, then P9 has a singular reading here: 'Christ' instead of TR WH NU's 'God.' However, having examined the actual manuscript, I am not certain that the scribe intended to write a rho, which has an altogether different shape in another word in P9 (See the first line of the recto in the misspelled word rendered taprisen).
(1 Jn 4:17 NKJV) Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
[Manuscript evidence 1 Jn 4:17]:
After John says that "we may have confidence in the day of judgment," nearly all Greek manuscripts read "because as that one is, so are we in this world." This causal explanation is perplexing because it seems to mean that Christians - without any maturation - are now even as Christ is, when experience speaks against this. Some scribes, seeing this problem, made two adjustments. The first is an interpolation, which adds "with respect to having put on human nature" before this clause (in 1505, 1611, 2138). This interpolation suggests that Christians will be judged as humans, which is a nature they share with Jesus Christ, and so they are said to be even as he is - i.e., both Jesus Christ and the believers are human. The second alteration appears in 2138 only; it adds the words "he was blameless and pure in the world" in order to describe in what way Jesus was "in the world." The third alteration is not as drastic, but effective; it changes the present tense verb "we are" to a future tense, "we will be" - so Sinaiticus, 2138 with the resultant rendering, 'as that one is so we will be in this world.' This change allows for the maturation process. All three changes occur in the eleventh-century manuscript 2138, which reads in full" "We may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as that one is [was] blameless and pure in the world, so we, who [aso] have human nature, will be in this world."
(1 Jn 4:18 YLT) fear is not in the love, but the perfect love [does] cast out the fear, because the fear [has] punishment, and he who is fearing [has] not been made perfect in the love;
(1 Jn 4:19 NASB) We love, because He first loved us.
[Manuscript evidence 1 Jn 4:19]:
WH NU A, B, 1739 "we love"
Sinaiticus, 048, 33, syr cop(bo) "we love God"
Psi Maj "we love him"
John's First Epistle is an exhortation to community love; he encourages the members of Christ's community to love one another as a demonstration of true spirituality. His epistle is not an exhortation to private mysticism or an appeal to the advancement of divine affections. Although these are worthy practices, they are outside of John's focus. In fact, those presuming to have personal affections for God must have those affections tested by their love for the community of believers (see 4:20).
Thus, both variant readings, which display scribal gap-filling, are misleading. John was not saying that we love God alone, as a result of Him having first loved us; rather, he was saying that we are now able to truly love because God demonstrated what love is when He sent His Son to die for our sins. In other words, John purposely left out the object of 'we love' because the object is not of primary importance - the action is.
(1 Jn 4:20 NASB) If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
[Manuscript evidence 1 Jn 4:20]:
WH NU Sinaiticus, B, Psi, 1739, syr(h) cop(sa) "he is not able to love God Whom he has not seen"
The variant reading positions the sentence as a rhetorical question, when John probably intended it to be a proclamation of a significant spiritual truth, which is the way the WH NU reading presents it (on the basis of superor documentation). Thus, the rendering found in most modern versions goes something like this: 'He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God Whom he has not seen" (so RSV).
(1 Jn 4:21 NASB) And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
[Manuscript evidence 1 Jn 4:21]:
Most manuscripts read "this is the command we have from Him." Attempting to identify the pronoun, a few witnesses (A, 048(vid), it(r)) change "from him" to "from God."
A) (1 Jn 3:24) AND THE ONE - THE CHILD OF GOD, BORN OF GOD, WHO KEEPS GOD'S COMMANDMENTS ALBEIT IMPERFECTLY, ABIDES IN GOD, AND HE IN HIM. WE KNOW BY THIS THAT HE ABIDES IN YOU, BY THE SPIRIT WHOM HE GAVE US AS CHILDREN OF GOD, BORN OF GOD
(1 Jn 3:24 NASB) "[And] the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit Whom He [gave] us." =
The last verse of 1 John chapter 3 appears to be best considered as the first verse of chapter 4. For 1 Jn 3:24 is a thematic statement for the section in 1 John which follows. First John chapter two has already provided instruction for the child of God, born of God relative to the subject of keeping God's commandments and thereby of abiding in Him:
****** EXCERPT FROM FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO ******
THE PHRASE IN 1 JN 2:3 RENDERED "IF WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS" CANNOT BE CONVEYING IN THE ABSOLUTE SENSE THE BELIEVER LEADING A SINLESS LIFE OF ABSOLUTELY PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS. THIS WOULD CONTRADICT 1 JN 8, 10. BUT 1 JN 2:3 IS CONVEYING A BELIEVER LIVING IN A REMARKABLY CONSISTENT PATTERN OF BEING IN FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD BY WALKING IN THE LIGHT OF HIS ABSOLUTE RIGHTEOUSNESS, CONSTANTLY CONFESSING HIS SINS TO GOD AND OBEYING HIS COMMANDMENTS
(1 Jn 2:3 NKJV) "Now by this we know that we [have known] Him, if we keep His commandments." =
(1 Jn 2:3 CBL Greek Interlinear) "kai ..en toutO ginOskomen hoti egnOkamen ......auton
.........................................................."And by this ....we know .......that we have known Him
ean tas .entolas ................autou tErOmen."
if ....the commandments His .....we keep."
This verse best rendered "Now by this we know [present tense] that we [have known] [perfect tense] Him, [God] if we keep His commandments," (YLT, instead of "we know that we know Him" (NKJV, ASV, KJV), or "we know that we have come to know Him," (NASB, HOLMAN, NIV). The verse conveys a knowing in the sense of a recollection of having begun knowing God in the past with ongoing present results of knowing God (perfect tense) as a result of knowing that we have been keeping His commandments.
The Greek verb "tErOmen" rendered "we keep" is used in this epistle six times with 'commandments' as its object (here and in verse 4; in 3:22-24; and 5:2-3); once with 'His word' as the object (verse 5); and in 5:18 with 'himself' as the object. The verb fundamentally means 'to keep watch over, guard.' To keep a commandment simply means to 'carry out a command.' But the Greek verb (tErOmen) carries an additional connotation of being 'observant' or 'careful' about the commandments. The English 'to keep a commandment' does not suggest this additional idea found in the Greek. John is not thinking, therefore, about mere performance of the commands of God, but rather about that attitude of obedience which is marked by concern for, and attentiveness to, God's will. We are to 'guard' His commands!
Author John's transition from believers having fellowship with God and with His Son Jesus Christ, (1 Jn 1:5-2:2), to believers having become disciples knowing God / Jesus Christ in a more intimate sense beginning in 1 Jn 2:3 is one which logically follows as the believer as a disciple becomes more and more consistent with walking in the light of God's Absolute Righteousness, (1 Jn 1:7), by more and more consistently acknowledging His Perfect Light which shines upon him through the believer's acknowledgment of God's handiwork in His creation, (Ro 1:20), through consistent study of the Word of God, (1 Jn 2:14), through confession of his sins to God, (1 Jn 1:7, 9), and as a disciple through obedience to God's commandments, (1 Jn 2:3).
The measure of a believer's knowledge of God will correspond to the extent of his obedience to God's commandments, i.e., his godly conduct. Note that the believer's fellowship and knowledge in view in 1 John is of both the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ without distinction. To know One of them intimately is to know the Other; for they are separate Personalities, but comprise absolutely one God, (Jn 10:30-33).
Note that the Greek verbs rendered "we know" and "we have known," "ginOskomen" and "egnOkamen" respectively are from the infinitive "ginOskO," which means to know. This verb can be and is used interchangeably with "epiginOskO" which can have the same meaning in the particular context that it appears without regard to which verb is chosen by the writer to use. Some falsely contend that "epiginOskO" has a specialized meaning in Scripture to convey a special knowledge of God, but the verb "ginOskO" does that in 1 Jn chapter 2 as well - the two verbs are synonymous as every koine Greek dictionary indicates.
Since salvation unto eternal life is received only by a moment of faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for it; wherein the one believing in Him may know Christ as ones Savior, (1 Jn 5:9-13; Jn 3:15-18); and since 1 Jn 2:3 has in view what an already saved individual / believer has known of God at those times when he is keeping God's commandments; then 1 Jn 2:3 does not have in view what an unbeliever must do and/or know in order to acquire eternal life.
Since 1 Jn 2:3 has in view a believer having a certain knowledge of God commensurate with the manner in which he is keeping God's commandments, then that which is in view in 1 Jn 2:3 is a knowledge of God beyond the saving knowledge one receives when one believes in Jesus Christ for eternal life - a further knowledge which is not a measure of whether or not one has eternal life which the latter measure of knowledge is solely based on that moment of saving faith, (1 Jn 5:9-13); but it is a measure of an already saved believer's spiritual maturity, (cf. Jn 14:15; 15:10; 1 Jn 3:22, 24). Further details of this greater knowledge of God depends specifically upon the individual circumstances in each particular believer's mortal life, moment by moment - a measure of which is the extent to which that believer in that moment is keeping God's commandments, however long or short that moment is.
The phrase rendered "If we keep His commandments" cannot be conveying in the absolute sense the leading of a sinless life of absolutely perfect righteousness. This would contradict Scripture, (ref. 1 Jn 1:8, 10; 2:1; 2:1). But it is conveying the sense of a believer living in a remarkably consistent pattern of remaining in fellowship with and growing in the knowledge of God by walking in the light of His absolute righteousness, constantly confessing his sins to God and obeying His commandments - * "remarkably" as defined by the grace of God working in the life of each individual believer.
(John 14:6 NASB) "Jesus [says] to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
(John 14:7 NASB) If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.
Jesus was reproving the disciples considering the context of verses 8 and 9 which follow. Promising them a future knowledge that is tantamount [equivalent] to salvation is not in view. So Jesus was not promising the disciples that they would come to know the Father as they had known Himself, the Son, but that they should have already known the Father as manifested in the Son - a knowledge which goes beyond what one would come to know through a moment of saving faith in Jesus Christ.
The phrase rendered "If you had known Me," is similar to the message to the pharisees in John 8:19 NASB, "So they [the pharisees, v. 13] were saying to Him, 'Where is Your Father?' Jesus answered, 'You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.' ) So just as in John 8:19, Jesus was promising to the disciples that they would know the Father even as they had come to know the Son. The phrase "If you had known Me," of Jn 14:7a is affirmed by the next statement in 14:7b, "from now on you know Him and have seen Him" in the following two verses]:
(John 14:8 YLT) Philip [says] to him, 'LORD, [show] to us the Father, and it is enough for us;'
(John 14:9 YLT) Jesus [says] to him, 'So long time am I with you, and [you have] not known me, Philip? He who [has] seen me [has] seen the Father; and how [do you] say, ['Show] to us the Father?"
So after announcing that He is 'the way, the truth, and the life,' (Jn 14:6), the LORD goes on to say to all the disciples, 'If you [Greek, plural] had known Me [implication: but you didn't], you [Greek, plural] would have known [implication: but you don't] My Father also; and from now on you [Greek, plural] know Him and have seen Him.' When Philip asks to see the Father, Jesus again responds, "Have I been with you [Greek, plural] so long, and yet you [Greek, singular] have not known Me, Philip?' Clearly, there was a sense in which Philip and the other disciples did not know the One in Whom they had believed.
(1 Jn 2:3 NKJV) "Now by this we know that we [have known] Him, if we keep His commandments." =
So 1 Jn 2:3 cannot be taken as a way of knowing whether or not one is saved unto eternal life by virtue of keeping God's commandments. The verse does not say that one can know that one is saved on the basis of whether or not one is keeping God's commandments. For 1 Jn 5:9-13 indicates that the knowledge that one is saved comes exclusively on the basis of the individual knowing that he has believed in Christ for eternal life and nothing else. Secondly, 1 Jn 2:3 does not say that one who obeys God's commandments knows he has eternal life; rather it says that one who is a believer and who obeys God's commandments has known God in the sense of beyond what he knows from his moment of saving faith - evidently a greater knowledge on a more intimate level than he received when he became a believer. Further details of this greater knowledge of God depends specifically upon the individual circumstances in each particular believer's mortal life, moment by moment - a measure of which is the extent to which that believer in that moment is keeping God's commandments. Finally, in view of an individual's flawed nature which includes his mentality - his perception, salvation unto eternal life cannot be confirmed in an individual on the basis of that individual's perception that he is keeping God's commandments, yet may not be - especially if he is boasting about it. For he may not know all of what God commands of him, because of inadequate study of God's Word. On the other hand, 1 Jn 2:3 does address whether a believer - a child of God, (cf. 1 Jn 2:1-2, 12; Jn 1:12-13), has a certain knowledge of God as a result of keeping His commandments - a knowledge beyond the saving knowledge of God and Jesus Christ which one acquires when one has trusted in Jesus Christ for eternal life, (ref. 1 Jn 5:9-13).
[Hodges, The Epistles of John, Walking in the Light of God's Love, Zane C. Hodges, Grace Evangelical Society, Irving, Texas, 1999, pp. 75-78]:
"When Jesus framed His great statement about being the Resurrection and the Life and about guaranteeing eternal life to every believer, He asked Martha, 'Do you believe this?' (John 11:25-26). Martha's reply was a strong affirmation, 'Yes, LORD, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God. Who is to come into the world' (John 11:27).
To the same effect is the story of the conversion of the man born blind. Jesus asks him, 'Do you believe in the Son of God?' (John 9:35). When the man inquires, 'Who is He, LORD, that I may believe in Him?' Jesus replies majestically, 'You have both seen Him and it is He Who is talking with you' (John 9:36-37). The blind man does not respond to this by saying, 'I hope I believe' or 'Whether I believe or not will be seen from my works!' Instead he says, 'Lord, I believe' (John 9:38). The idea that a believer cannot really know he has believed is a theological construct without a shred of support from the Word of God."
****** END OF EXCERPT FROM FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO ******
A cont.) (1 Jn 3:24 cont.) AND THE ONE - THE CHILD OF GOD, BORN OF GOD, WHO KEEPS GOD'S COMMANDMENTS ALBEIT IMPERFECTLY, ABIDES IN GOD, AND HE IN HIM. WE KNOW BY THIS THAT HE ABIDES IN YOU, BY THE SPIRIT WHOM HE GAVE US AS CHILDREN OF GOD, BORN OF GOD, cont.
(1 Jn 3:24 NASB) "[And] the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit Whom He [gave] us." (cont.) =
Of those children of God, born of God, those who keep His commandments, albeit imperfectly, will abide in Him, and He in them. Children of God, born of God who are keeping God's commandments - abiding in His Word, know that He [God the Holy Spirit] abides in them - by the Spirit Whom He [Jesus Christ] gave us. This implies that the Holy Spirit operates within the life of the child of God, born of God such as prompting him:
» to study / abide in God's Word, (1 Jn 2:14, 27);
» of what to say to others from Scripture, (1 Jn 2:14);
» to care for the unsaved and to share his faith with them, (Mt 28:19-20);
» to express agapE love toward the brethren, (1 Jn 2:10; 3:14, 18-19);
» to confess his sins - to walk in the light of God's Righteousness, (1 Jn 1:5-7, 9);
» to be assured that his sins are forgiven, (1 Jn 1:9, 2:12);
» to look forward to Christ's appearing and thereby to be assured of his eternal destiny,
» to keep God's commandments, (1 Jn 2:3, 2:25; 3:2-3, 24);
» to walk in the same manner that Christ walked, (1 Jn 2:6);
» to not love the world or the things in it, (1 Jn 2:15);
» to know that they are born of God unto eternal life because the world hates them like it hated Christ, (1 Jn 3:13);
» to confess the Father and the Son, especially that the Son having come in the flesh, (1 Jn 2:23);
» to know that God is Light - perfect Righteousness; and in Him there is no darkness, no unrighteousness at all, (1 Jn 1:5-7; 2:29; 3:5);
» to know that he is a child of God, born of God, (1 Jn 3:1-3); etc.
[Expositor's Bible Commentary – Volume 12: Hebrews through Revelation]:
[1 Jn 3:24]: "In this summary verse the author states for the first time in this epistle the mutual reciprocity involved in "living" in God. Obedience issues in the perfection of the "fellowship" between God and us. We "live" in him. He "lives" in us. We come to our "fellowship" with the Father through the "fellowship" the Son has with the Father (John 14:20; 17:21-23). The Son also enters into fellowship with us (15:4-5); and through him we have fellowship with the Father and with one another, just as the sign of our fellowship with the Father and with the Son is our love for them (cf. John 17:23-26). Clearly, Jesus' words in the Gospel of John are the basis for this expansion of the relation of love to "living" in God in 1 John."
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.
"3:24. Two new themes appear in this verse. The first theme is the epistle's first reference to God, or Christ, abiding in each obedient believer. Those who obey His commands (cf. 2:3; 3:23; 5:2-3) live (menei, "abide") in Him, and He in them. That the abiding life involves this mutuality is made plain in the Parable of the Vine and the Branches (John 15:4-5, 7). The second new idea is the epistle's first of six explicit references to the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 John 4:2, 6, 13; 5:6, 8; cf. "the Holy One" in 2:20). The way a believer can verify that God lives (menei, "abides") in him is by the operation of God's Spirit in his life. John then showed that God's Spirit is the Spirit of both faith (4:1-6) and love (4:7-16)—the two aspects of the two-part "command" given in 3:23."
........................................................................................................................................ (1 Jn 3:24)
B (1 Jn 4:1-3) BELOVED, DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TEST THE SPIRITS TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE FROM GOD, BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS HAVE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD; BY THIS THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS BEING MADE KNOWN. EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES JESUS AS CHRIST HAVING COME IN THE FLESH IS FROM GOD. AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT DOES NOT CONFESS JESUS IS NOT FROM GOD; THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST, OF WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT IS COMING, AND NOW IT IS ALREADY IN THE WORLD.
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world; (1 Jn 4:2 CBL Interlinear) by this [by testing the spirits] the Spirit of God is being made known. Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God; (1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." =
The Greek word "pneumati" rendered "spirit" in 1 Jn 4:1-3 can refer to a human spirit or to supernatural spirits like satanic angels or demons, but also to an attitude or disposition such as the spirit of fear or of power or of love or of a sound mind. Any of these may be in view in 1 Jn 4:1-3 relative to conveying something other than what God the Holy Spirit has conveyed. But there is only one Spirit Who is the Teacher of the children of God, born of God, (1 Jn 2:27). And John warned that "many false prophets have gone out into the world;" who claim to be God's teachers. So the human spirit may or may not at times be controlled by the Holy Spirit in the sense of conveying God's Word. The supernatural spirits - satanic angels or demons do not convey a message from the Holy Spirit at all. And the attitude or disposition of an individual such as the spirit of fear, power, or love or of a sound mind may not be controlled by the Holy Spirit. So what is communicated by word or deeds must always be tested to assure that the message and the individual is from God.
Although 1 Jn 3:24 stipulated that those children of God, born of God, who keep His commandments, albeit imperfectly, will abide in Him, and He in them. And although Children of God, born of God who are keeping God's commandments, who are abiding in His Word, know that He [God the Holy Spirit] abides in them; and although this knowledge is confirmed by the Spirit Whom He [Jesus Christ] gave us which implies that the Holy Spirit operates within the life of the child of God, born of God; and although author and apostle John previously wrote that children of God, born of God are to receive instruction from the Holy Spirit,
1) [Compare 1 Jn 2:27]:
(1 Jn 2:27 NASB) "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him;"
nevertheless John declared to his "AgapEtoi" = "Beloved" children of God, born of God, in 1 Jn 4:1: "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world;" And in 1 Jn 4:2a, he wrote, "by this [by testing the spirits] the Spirit of God is being made known. And in 1 Jn 4:2b, "Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus .as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God." So not every spirit is the Holy Spirit. Other spirits such as those of the many false prophets who have gone out into the world have been conveying messages that are not from God.
................................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 4:1).
B cont.) (1 Jn 4:1-3 cont.) BELOVED, DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TEST THE SPIRITS TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE FROM GOD, BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS HAVE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD; BY THIS THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS BEING MADE KNOWN. EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES JESUS AS CHRIST HAVING COME IN THE FLESH IS FROM GOD. AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT DOES NOT CONFESS JESUS IS NOT FROM GOD; THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST, OF WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT IS COMING, AND NOW IT IS ALREADY IN THE WORLD, cont.]:
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world; (1 Jn 4:2 CBL Interlinear)..by this [by testing the spirits] the Spirit of God is being made known. Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God; (1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." =
2) [1 Jn 4:2a CBL Greek Interlinear]:
"en toutO ginOsketai .....................to pneuma tou Theou."
"by this ....it is being made known the Spirit ...of ..God."
3) [Manuscript evidence for 1 Jn 4:2a]:
Although the Greek words "en toutO" rendered "by this" can refer forward to the rest of verse 4:2, there are no clear explanatory clauses that indicate that the reader should look forward. It makes better sense to treat 1 Jn 4:2a as a reference backward to 1 Jn 4:1, signifying 'by testing the spirits - this is how it is being made known that what is being conveyed is from the Spirit of God.' So 1 Jn 4:1 should end with a colon, and 1 Jn 4:2a complete the thought as follows: (1 Jn 4:1) Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world; (1 Jn 4:2a) by this [by testing the spirits] it is being made known the Spirit of God."
Sinaiticus-corr2, A, B, C, L, Psi-corr3, 33, 614, 945, 1739, 1852, 1881 - "ginOskete" = "you know," active voice.
Psi-org, byz - ginOsketai, = "it is being made known," middle voice.
The exceptional use of the middle voice of ginOskO in the 3rd personal singular rendered "it is being made known" instead of the first person, active voice, "you know." Since the active voice phrase "you know" predominates in First John with this verb, "ginOsketai" in 1 Jn 4:2a was evidently changed to "ginOskete" in order harmonize it with the other places that John has this verb form, (e.g., 2:3, 5, 18, 29; 3:19, 24; etc.). But "ginOsketai" which is rendered "it is being made known" better fits the context of the Spirit of God being made known by testing the spirits.
B cont.) (1 Jn 4:1-3 cont.) BELOVED, DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TEST THE SPIRITS TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE FROM GOD, BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS HAVE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD; BY THIS THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS BEING MADE KNOWN. EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES JESUS AS CHRIST HAVING COME IN THE FLESH IS FROM GOD. AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT DOES NOT CONFESS JESUS IS NOT FROM GOD; THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST, OF WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT IS COMING, AND NOW IT IS ALREADY IN THE WORLD, cont.]:
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world; (1 Jn 4:2 CBL Interlinear) by this [by testing the spirits] th e Spirit of God is being made known..Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God; (1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." =
The second phrase of 1 Jn 4:2b is best rendered as follows:
4) [1 Jn 4:2b CBL Greek Interlinear]:
"Pan ...pneuma .ho .......homologei IEsoun .......Christon en ..........sarki
"Every spirit .....which .confesses ...Jesus ...[as] .Christ ....in [the] .flesh
elEluthota ....ek tou .theou estin."
having come of ........God ...is."
5) [1 Jn 4:2 CBL Interlinear]:
(1 Jn 4:2b NASB) "Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God;"
Since there is no word for "that" which appears in most versions in the phrase rendered "confesses that Jesus;"
and since the Greek verb form "elEluthota" rendered "having come" modifies "Christon" rendered "Christ," indicating Jesus to be Christ having come in the flesh;
and since
John's principal concern in this test is that Jesus of Nazareth, a Human
being should be recognized as the "Christ," the Anointed Son of
God, Who is God
.which belief
in this truth is a saving one, (cf. 1 Jn 2:22; 5:1; cf. Jn 20:30-31);
then 1 Jn 4:2b is best rendered "Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God;" indicating to a child of God, born of God that what is conveyed to him is from God.
This is a key test to authenticate if the spirit is from God. So if that spirit confesses that Jesus is the Christ - the Anointed One, the Son of God, Who is God come in the flesh, then he is from God. A negative result confirms that the spirit is an ungodly, supernatural spirit; a human spirit that has become the agent of an ungodly supernatural spirit; or a rebellious human spirit of man in opposition with God - all of which are characterized as antichrist. Note that in John's time as well as in today's times, many have contended that 'Jesus' was a mere man and that the divine 'Christ' was an incorporeal, spiritual being who descended on Him at His baptism, but departed from Him before He died. So the spirit who affirms Jesus as Christ having come in the flesh is from God for those moments he has made that confession because he has been enlightened and motivated by God's Spirit to make that confession.
If the individual demonstrates not believing that Jesus as the Christ the Messiah Who is the Son of God, came to earth in the form of Humanity, in the flesh, then that individual is not in fellowship with God, and may not be a child of God, born of God. So whatever spirit one is communicating with is not to be trusted as from God.
Note that tests
should always be made of whatever individuals might say or act out by
comparing what they are communicating or acting out with a proper
interpretation of God's Word utilizing the normative rules of language,
context and logic .
Although tests of what an individual declares is from God's Word, and / or
what he does such as ones 'good' works cannot rule out an individual from
being saved unto eternal life since no man can claim to be without sin -
including making erroneous interpretations of God's Word, (1 Jn 1:8, 10).
On the other hand, any test which produces a result which does not match
up to Scripture, the person / spirit and what is communicated must not be
trusted.
....................................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 4:2b)
B cont.) (1 Jn 4:1-3 cont.) BELOVED, DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TEST THE SPIRITS TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE FROM GOD, BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS HAVE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD; BY THIS THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS BEING MADE KNOWN. EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES JESUS AS CHRIST HAVING COME IN THE FLESH IS FROM GOD. AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT DOES NOT CONFESS JESUS IS NOT FROM GOD; THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST, OF WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT IS COMING, AND NOW IT IS ALREADY IN THE WORLD, cont.]:
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world; (1 Jn 4:2 CBL Interlinear) by this [by testing the spirits] the Spirit of God is being made known. Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God; (1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." =
6) [Manuscript evidence of 1 Jn 4:3a "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God"]:
TR WH NU Sinaiticus, A, B, C, 33, 1739 Maj has "every spirit that does not confess."
Variants 1739mg it, vg Irenaeus Clement, Origen and Augustine have "every spirit that destroys"
In this verse, the 'spirit' is the ungodly spirit operating in the false prophets, through whom that spirit would not confess that Jesus is from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist (2:18) and the spirit of error (4:6). According to nearly every Greek manuscript, the spirit is identified as one that does not confess Jesus. Some ancient translators and commentators, however, saw an opportunity here to make an anti-gnostic statement by changing the text to read 'every spirit that annuls Jesus' or 'every spirit that severs Jesus' (as in the Vulgate). The annulling would be to destroy the orthodox teaching about Jesus' incarnation; the severing would be to divide 'Jesus' from 'the Christ,' as was done by Docetists and Nestorians.
So John confirms to his beloved in 1 Jn 4:3a, "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God," in the sense of actively, outwardly and often. This is a sweeping conclusion that warns the child of God, born of God not to trust in what is being conveyed from the spirit who does not outwardly and clearly confess that Jesus - the Humanity of Jesus is from God - in the sense of denying that Jesus Christ - the Anointed Son of God, Who is God came in the flesh - in the Humanity of Jesus of Nazareth.
[(1 Jn 4:3a) Hodges, op. cit., pp. 177-178]:
"It is noteworthy that John does not say 'every spirit that' denies, but rather 'every spirit that does not confess.' Heretical teaching can mask the full extent of its deviation from the truth by simply failing to affirm some pivotal biblical truth. This is often done to make its false doctrine more palatable to the Christian audience it seeks to reach. But, says John, even the failure to confess 'Jesus' as 'Christ come in flesh' is a clear indication that the religious outlook in question 'is not of God.' If a religious leader or movement cannot speak loud and clear about the fundamental Christological and soteriological truth that 'Jesus' is the 'Christ,' then that leader or movement does not have its source, or dynamic, in 'God."
7) [More manuscript evidence of 1 Jn 4:3a]:
WH NU A, B,
1739, cop(bo) Origen have "Jesus
Variant 1 Psi (33) have "Jesus coming in the flesh"
Variant 2 Sinaiticus has "Jesus [as] Lord having come in the flesh"
Variant 3 TR Maj vg(ms) have Jesus [as] Christ having come in the flesh"
There are other minor variants in this part of the verse, but the four readings listed above are the primary ones. The WH NU reading, which has early documentary support, was expanded in two ways. First, the words "having come in the flesh" were either pedantically carried over from 4:2 or purposely added to make sure that the confession included an insertion of the orthodox position on the incarnation. Second, the name of 'Jesus' was enlarged to 'Jesus Lord' or 'Jesus Christ.' These could be normal expansions of nomina sacra [the sacred name of Jesus], or the scribes may have been intending to clarify the orthodoxy of the confession. It was not Jesus Who came to live in the flesh - since He did not have the human name Jesus until after His incarnation - it was 'the Christ' or 'the Lord' Who came in the flesh and took on Humanity in the man Jesus. In other words, all these changes were attempts to make it even clearer that John was refuting the heretical view that 'the Christ' as a divine aeon descended into Jesus at the time of His baptism and then withdrew from Him before He died on the cross. Stott (1988, 159) said it well: 'The truth is not that Christ came 'into' the flesh of Jesus, but that Jesus was the Christ come 'in' the flesh.' This is probably what motivated various ancient Latin translators to make the text condemn those who separated 'Jesus' from 'the Christ'...
The expanded reading in 1 Jn 4:3a, "Jesus Christ come in the flesh," was popularized by TR and KJV. But John needed only to write 'and every spirit not confessing Jesus,' because the preceding verses make it perfectly clear in what regard one is confessing Jesus - namely, as the incarnate one - the Word, the Son of God made flesh, Jesus did not merely appear to be a man; He actually became a man with a human body. John's 'statement is directed against the gnostic error promulgated by Cerinthus, that the Christ descended into an already existing man.
..................................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 4:3a).
B cont.) (1 Jn 4:1-3 cont.) BELOVED, DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TEST THE SPIRITS TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE FROM GOD, BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS HAVE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD; BY THIS THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS BEING MADE KNOWN. EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES JESUS AS CHRIST HAVING COME IN THE FLESH IS FROM GOD. AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT DOES NOT CONFESS JESUS IS NOT FROM GOD; THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST, OF WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT IS COMING, AND NOW IT IS ALREADY IN THE WORLD, cont.]:
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world; (1 Jn 4:2 CBL Interlinear) by this [by testing the spirits] the Spirit of God is being made known. Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God; (1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." =
John further warned in 1 Jn 4:3b about the spirit that does not confess Jesus being from God, "this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world."
****** EXCERPT FROM FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO ******
(1 Jn 2:17 NASB) "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 Jn 2:18 NASB) [Little children], It is [a] last hour [in the sense of the ever increasing ungodly character of the end of the age]; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is [a] last hour. (1 Jn 2:19 NASB) They [many antichrists, (v. 18)] went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." =
In 1 Jn 2:18, author John writes to his readers, once again referring to them as "Little children," i.e., believers in Jesus Christ who have had their sins forgiven, (ref. 1 Jn 2:12; cf. 1 jn3:1-3), who look to John as Apostle and teacher.
Whereupon John continues the message of verse 17: "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever" as follows: "It is [a] last hour [in the sense of the ever increasing ungodly character of the end of the age]; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is [a] last hour."
[Compare 1 Jn 2:18 Interlinear]:
"Paida, ...............eschatE hOra estin; kai ..kathOs ..........Ekousate ..hoti .[ho] antichristos
"Little children, last ........hour .it is, ..and .according as .you heard that [the] antichrist
erchetai, ...kai ...nun .antichristoi poloi ..gegonasin; .hothen .ginOskomen hoti eschatE
is coming, .even now .antichrists ..many have arisen whence we know ........that last
hOra estin."
hour .it is."
The definite
article if it were present in this verse to qualify the words rendered "last
hour" in 1 Jn 2:18 would indicate the specific last hour - the last
period of time - of the passing away of the world in its immoral, ungodly
state; but since there is no definite article accompanying the Greek words
"eschatE hOra" rendered "last hour" in the NASB which
occurs in this verse in the two places it is present; then the verse
therefore indicates a sense of the ever increasing ungodly character of
the end of the age during which the world will exist in ever increasing
ungodliness and moral decay signifying the character of that age as it
transpires into expiration. The particular age in view is the age which
began when Adam and Eve were displaced from the Garden of Eden and moral
decay and ungodliness began to prevail. Scripture further breaks this age
of ungodliness down into what can be called as follows: the age of
Gentiles, then the age of the Law and God's chosen people, Israel; and
then the age of the Church, the body of Christ comprised of both Jews and
Gentiles who believe in God's Son for eternal life.
So the last hour is further defined since it began when the world became corrupted: the time of the Fall of Adam and Eve through the time of John's writing of his epistles which is into the Church Age which is a time of the first century on - many centuries after the age of ungodliness began in Adam and Eve's time after the Fall.
The age in view in 1 Jn 2:17-18 is referred to in Scripture throughout Old and New Testaments:
(Ro 5:12 NASB) "Because of this: [just] as through one man the sin did enter into the world, and through the sin the death; and thus to all men the death did pass through, for that all sinned."
This allows for from any period of time - short to an extended period of time to pass within which "hour" the ever increasing ungodly character of the age is demonstrated in the world with escalating lusts, and ungodliness until Christ ends it all with His Second Coming:
(1 Jn 2:17 NASB) "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."
So in the absense of the definite article, the words rendered "last hour" in 1 Jn 2:18 make no definitive chronological or temporal assertion, as some contend. So the time of the end of the age of the world in moral, ungodly decay to be replaced by a godly one was not stipulated in 1 Jn 2:17-18 as yet a short time away. There have been nearly 2,000 years that have passed by since John wrote these words. Events since the first century have occurred which can be characterized as fulfilling the eschatological descriptions that point to the progression of predicted events to the end of the age in view in 1 Jn 2:17-18 which began with the Fall of Adam and Eve and continues through the present with a number of particular economies which God instituted, (Gentiles, Jews, The Church) - events that can be characterized as increasingly evil and destructive. Antichrists have come along throughout this period of centuries, as well as many wars and rumors of wars and catastrophic disasters, empires rising and falling with antichristlike leaders - all of which author John and the other bible authors have referred to throughout Scripture:
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
(1 Jn 4:2 NASB) By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
(1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
(1 Jn 4:4 NASB) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world.
(1 Jn 4:5 NASB) They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them."
(Mt 24:3 NASB) '''As He [Jesus] was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
(Mt 24:4 NASB) And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you.
(Mt 24:5 NASB) For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.
(Mt 24:6 NASB) You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
(Mt 24:7 NASB) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
(Mt 24:8 NASB) But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
(Mt 24:9 NASB) Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
(Mt 24:10 NASB) At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
(Mt 24:11 NASB) Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many." '''
Note that author John in his gospel uses the word rendered "hour" in a similar manner in 1 Jn 2:18 not to indicate the specific time it will take for an event / period to come about but to indicate the ever increasing ungodly character of that event / period, (cf. Jn 2:4; 4:21; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23).
John goes on to write in 1 Jn 2:18, "and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is a last hour in the sense of that which is characteristic of the end of the age - not the least of which the Antichrist is coming as part of the endtimes of the age preceeded by many antichrists. Only John used the word rendered "antichrist" in 1 Jn 2:22; 4:3; 2 Jn 7. Antichrists are those who stand openly against the LORD - even try to present themselves as authoritative representatives of God, sometimes as God Himself. They are false teachers and enemies of the truths found in Scripture. This opposition to God may be expected to increase and intensify as time goes on, culminating in the person and activities of one who will gather together under his banner all the anti-God forces in a final attempt to dethrone God. The Book of Revelation by John depicts his activities and defeat.
(Rev 13:1 NASB) "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
(Rev 13:2 NASB) And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
(Rev 13:3 NASB) I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
(Rev 13:4 NASB) they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?'
(Rev 13:5 NASB) There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.
(Rev 13:6 NASB) And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
(Rev 13:7 NASB) It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.
(Rev 13:8 NASB) All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain."
(2 Thess 2:1 NASB) "Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,
(2 Thess 2:2 NASB) that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
(2 Thess 2:3 NASB) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
(2 Thess 2:4 NASB) who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." ................................................................................................................................. (1 Jn 2:18).
In 1 Jn 2:19, John wrote, "They [many antichrists, (v. 18)] went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us."
In view in verse 19 is an historical event of a number of antichrists who left the first century congregation of believers in Jesus Christ in Jerusalem where the apostle John and other apostles taught as led by the Holy Spirit, (Acts 1:2-8; Eph 3:1-12) - indicating that the doctrines taught there were true and from God. This group of people who went out from the Jerusalem Church were stipulated as "not really of us," in the sense of not being of the faith of believers in Christ. Verse 18 stipulates that they were antichrists. Antichrists are those who are against the LORD Jesus Christ, who often present themselves as authoritative representatives of God, sometimes as God Himself. They were false teachers and enemies of the truths found in Scripture. They had evidently spent some time in the Jerusalem fellowship where the apostles were first gathered to teach. It is implied that for much of that time, they concealed their opposition to what the apostles were teaching while outwardly feigning agreement with what was taught. Whereupon they began to claim to have their own separate authority with God and taught their own doctrines apart from and against what the apostles were taught by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Shortly after this, cause came upon them to voluntarily depart from the fellowship "so that it would be shown that they all are not of us" - implying that God was the cause.
Note that if they had been believers who departed from the faith, then they would have been characterized by author John as having been in accord with the believers in the Jerusalem Church whereupon they departed from what was taught. But that is not the case. Since author John stipulated that they "were not really of us," then it is concluded that they were never believers.
The fact that the antichrists in 1 Jn 2:19 were never believers is further corroborated by the rest of the verse: "for if they had been of us," [implying they never were], they would have remained with us; [which they did not]; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they are not of us," implying that they found cause and voluntarily left, proving that they were not truly part of the congregation in the sense of being believers. They never were believers as evidenced by the authority of Scripture authored by the apostle John in 1 Jn 2:19.
Verse 22 further characterizes these antichrists as unbelievers:
(1 Jn 2:22 NASB) "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son."
1 Jn 2:22 corroborates that since antichrists - whether unbelievers or apostasized believers - are characterized as denying that Jesus is the Christ - denying that faith alone in Christ alone provides eternal life, then those antichrists in view in 1 Jn 2:19 who are stipulated there as those who "were not really of us" had never believed that Jesus is the Christ for salvation - hence they never had eternal life - have always been unbelievers who secretly infiltrated the Jerusalem Church.
(1 Jn 5:1 NASB) "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him."
The Apostle Paul also wrote similarly of the Jerusalem Church being secretly invaded by unbelievers:
(Gal 2:1 NASB) "Then after an interval of fourteen years I [Apostle Paul] went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.
(Gal 2:2 NASB) It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.
(Gal 2:3 NASB) But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
(Gal 2:4 NASB) But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.
(Gal 2:5 NASB) But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you."
This is not to say that all
individuals who leave a congregation, fall into moral failure, or
demonstrate unfaithfulness to the doctrines of the faith, even the gospel,
is absolute proof that they were not saved unto eternal life or have lost
their salvation; for this is determined only by whether or not an
individual at some time believed that Jesus is the Christ unto eternal
life, (ref. 1 Jn 5:1, 9-13); thereafter he is eternally secure,
.
On the other hand, Scripture provides tests for discerning whether or not an individual - whether an apostate Christian believer or unbeliever - is from God in the sense of acting in accordance with the Holiness of God:
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
(1 Jn 4:2 NASB) By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
(1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
(1 Jn 4:4 NASB) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world.
(1 Jn 4:5 NASB) They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.
(1 Jn 4:6 NASB) We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
Although Scripture does indicate that believers can fall away from the faith and believe and act the way the antichrist's believed and acted in 1 Jn 2:19, (cf. Acts 15:1, 5, 24-26), author John clearly indicated that those particularly in view in 1 Jn 2:19 who had departed from the Jerusalem Church were all antichrists who were never of the faith of the believers in the Church in the first place; for they all had denied that Jesus is the Christ and never did believe in Him at all, (1 Jn 2:22). Hence in the case of 1 Jn 2:19 they were all unbelievers - never having become believers.
They were not believers who departed from the faith that they had expressed in Christ alone for eternal life which is in view in other passages as a reality:
[Compare Acts 15:1, 5, 24-26]:
(Acts 15:1 NASB) "Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.'
(Acts 15:5 NASB) But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.'
(Acts 15:24 NASB) Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,
(Acts 15:25 NASB) it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
(Acts 15:26 NASB) men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
................................................................................................................................ (1 Jn 2:19).
(1 Jn 2:22 NASB) "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. (1 Jn 2:23 NKJV) Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also" =
In verse 21, author John reminded his "children" that he did not write to them because they have not known the truth, but because they have known it. And he stated relative to lies, "and because no lie is of the truth," in the sense that even partial agreement is still a lie and not the truth, especially since in view are Absolute Truths from God juxtaposed to the lies of antichrists in the Jerusalem Church.
Then in verse 22 he wrote about certain liars - antichrists and their lies: "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?" - in the sense of their denying that Jesus is the Anointed / Chosen One Who is the Propitiation for all of mankind's sins - the sole basis which one must believe in for salvation unto eternal life. And it is the sole basis for why when they believed in Jesus as the Christ for forgiveness - "for His name's sake," they received the anointing of the Holy Spirit:
[Review 1 Jn 2:1-2, 12, 20; 5:1]:
(1 Jn 2:1 NASB) "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous;
(1 Jn 2:2 NASB) and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
(1 Jn 2:12 NASB) I [write] to you, little children, because [your] sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.
(1 Jn 2:20 NASB) But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.
(1 John 5:1 NASB) Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him."
John then declared: "This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son," implying that they denied the Father and the Son - a denial of the basis for ones salvation unto eternal life! It was an assertion that the antichrists held to a wholly different belief in Who God is, that His Son was not the Son of God, nor the Christ at all! This is a completely different point of view - a lie perpetrated upon the believers in the Jerusalem Church, counter to everything that the apostles taught in that church. These heretics taught that Jesus was a mere man - not God incarnate, nor the Son of God - solely a human who was indwelt temporarily by the Christ, Whom they believed was a divine spirit Who left Jesus just before He went to the cross. To deny the work of Christ is to deny the Father as well, for they are One and Their Purpose relative to mankind was to propitiate mankind through Jesus' Humanity - His sacrifice for the sins of all mankind on the cross. So the antichrists' view of God was totally unscriptural. The antichrists' teaching if true would nullify the entire message of Scripture and destroy the only means by which men might be saved, through Jesus Christ, the Son of God's propitiation in His Humanity on the cross for all mankind. So John was urging his "children" to recognize that anything that the antichrists had to say was a lie and no lie was of the truth, implying that none of what they said or did could be of God, Who is Absolute Truth; nor could any of it be of the Holy Spirit Whom the children of God received, (cf. 1 Jn 1:5-7), when they believed in what the apostles taught them to believe for salvation unto eternal life, (1 Jn 2:1-2; cf. Jn 1:1-14; 3:1-18).
............................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 2:22).
(1 Jn 2:23 NKJV) "Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; *he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also."
[* WH NU include the second phrase rendered "the one who [believes in] the Son has the Father also, with the excellent support of Sinaiticus, A, B, C, P, Psi, , 33, 1739, it, syr, cop. This is followed by all English versions. TR omits this phrase, with the support of Maj, it(z), vg(ms), cop(boMs). The omission is the result of homoeoteleuton: the last three words in both clauses in the verse are identical, hence an error is presumed by some and the last phrase omitted. The WH and NU readings provide the full thought: Denial of the Son is tantamount to denying His Father, just as confessing the Son is tantamouint to confessing the Father - for the Two are One - a doctrinal teaching which is repeatedly taught by John]
In 1 Jn 2:23, author John concluded the point he had begun making in verse 22 - that the antichrists and whoever else denies the Son in the sense of not believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God Who in His Humanity died on the cross and thereby propitiated all mankind relative to all of their sins, (cf. 1 Jn 2:1-22), does not have the Father in the sense of not believing in Who God the Father is either. Instead they believe in the lies of a false god, perpetrated by such as the antichrists John wrote about who invaded the Church in Jerusalem. And by denying Christ, one denies the truth of the gospel - the only means by which one may be saved unto eternal life.
If any of those who denied the Son have never trusted in Christ during their lifetimes then those do not have eternal life and thus do not have the Son or the Father especially as Savior. Those who deny the Son who are believers do not have Christ or the Father in fellowship with them to bless them in their temporal lives - but are under God's severe discipline because of the degree to which they have departed from the faith.
And on the other hand, "the one who (Greek, "homologOn" =) acknowledges the Son in the sense of believes in the Son, has the Father also. So the one who believes in the truth of Who the Son is - what the Word of God says about Who He is as taught by the apostles - has the Father also. This makes it clear that there is a singular dependence upon the reality of God and eternal life being available solely through the Son - His propitiatory sacrifice for sins unto forgiveness unto eternal life. Those who claim that they have God but exclude the Son have neither the Father nor the Son to benefit them with eternal life and/or fellowship depending upon whether or not they did at one time believe in the Son in accordance with the Word of God.
(Jn 1:18 NASB) "No one has seen God at any time; the [lit., One and only] God Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has [lit., declared] Him"
No finite human being has seen God at any time, (Jn 1:18a); but the One and only God, (Jn 1:18b), the Word, Who has always been face to face with God - able to see and intimately know God, (Jn 1:1-2), Who is in the bosom of the Father - in the closest personal intimate relationship with Him, (Jn 1:18b) - has become flesh, (Jn 1:14). And in His Perfect Humanity, the One and only God, has come into the world, (Jn 1:14), to declare through Himself Who God is to mankind, (Jn 1:18). Mankind can now behold the glory as of the One and only from the Father, full of the grace and truth of God, (Jn 1:14). The Word become flesh has made God knowable and known to mankind, so that men can choose to know God and trust in the Word unto an eternal life familial relationship with God, (Jn 1:12-13).
[Hodges, op. cit., pp. 113-114]:
"John now supports the claim made in the previous verse that to deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny both 'the Father' and 'the Son.' In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus makes the statement, " 'He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him Who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him Who sent Me' " (John 12:44-45). So perfectly reflective of His Father was Jesus, that both His words and works were those of the Father (cf. John 14:10-11). To deny 'the Son' was to automatically deny 'the Father' (cf. verse 22). Therefore, it could be said that the one who 'denies the Son does not have the Father either.' That is to say, he 'does not have' either 'the Son' or 'the Father.'
Such a statement is often taken to mean that the antichrists were unsaved, which they may well have been. But it is hazardous to press the language used here too far. The verb translated 'have' in English (Greek: echO) is an extremely common one in Greek and is used by John in various senses. It can, of course, mean 'to possess' and John uses it of the possession of the Son or of eternal life (cf. 5:12-13). But it can also mean 'to have at hand, to have at ones disposal' (e.g., John 4:11; 5:7; 1 John 2:1). Moreover, expressions like 'to have fellowship' (to experience fellowship; 1 John 1:3, 7), 'to have a commandment' (to be under a responsibility to: 1 John 2:7; 4:21), or even 'fear has torment' (fear involves torment: 1 John 4:18) show the extremely flexible use this author makes of the verb to have.
It is quite likely in light of 2 John 9... that the claim that the denier of 'the Son does not have the Father either' is either meant to assert that such people are operating totally bereft of any divine involvement or cooperation. Neither 'the Son' nor 'the Father' has anything to do with their activities. This would be true whether the person in question was unregenerate or a believer who had 'departed' from the faith (cf. 1 Timothy 4:1)."
............................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 2:23).
****** END OF EXCERPT FROM FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO ******
B cont.) (1 Jn 4:1-3 cont.) BELOVED, DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TEST THE SPIRITS TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE FROM GOD, BECAUSE MANY FALSE PROPHETS HAVE GONE OUT INTO THE WORLD; BY THIS THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS BEING MADE KNOWN. EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES JESUS AS CHRIST HAVING COME IN THE FLESH IS FROM GOD. AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT DOES NOT CONFESS JESUS IS NOT FROM GOD; THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST, OF WHICH YOU HAVE HEARD THAT IT IS COMING, AND NOW IT IS ALREADY IN THE WORLD, (cont.)]:
(1 Jn 4:1 NASB) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world; (1 Jn 4:2 CBL Interlinear) by this [by testing the spirits] the Spirit of God is being made known. Every spirit that confesses ... Jesus.as Christ [having come] in the flesh is from God; (1 Jn 4:3 NASB) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world," (cont.) =
Notice that every spirit that does not openly and persistently confess Jesus is not from God but from the spirit of the antichrist. They who deny that Jesus in His Humanity is the Christ - the Son of God, Who is God - is one of the many antichrists who were appearing in the first century and therafter until the Antichrist who is called the False Prophet, will appear in the end-time. ................................................................................................................................. (1 Jn 4:3b).
C) (1 Jn 4:4) YOU ARE FROM GOD, LITTLE CHILDREN, AND HAVE OVERCOME THEM; BECAUSE GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN YOU THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD
(1 Jn 4:3 NASB) "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 Jn 4:4 NASB) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world." =
Author John writes in 1 Jn 4:4 reminding his "little children" that they have overcome the spirit of the antichrist, referring to the spirit of those who do not confess Jesus, which antichrist is coming and is already in the world. He reminds them, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world."
****** EXCERPT FROM FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO ******
(1 Jn 2:12 NASB) I [write] to you, little children, because [your] sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.
(1 Jn 2:13 YLT) I write to you, fathers, because [you] have known Him Who is from the beginning; I write to you, young men, because [you] have overcome the evil [one]. I *write to you, little [children], because [you] have known [God] the Father:
[The variance *"egrapsa," aorist tense rendered "I wrote" is in 01Sinaiticus, 02A, 03B, 04C, 025P, sa. bo. Lach. Treg, Alf, Word, Tisc, We/Ho, Weis, Sod, UBS provides the best manuscript evidence. On the other hand, the Greek word "graphO," present tense rendered "write" is in O18K, byz - not the best evidence, but it is consistent with the context of the previous two phrases which are also present tense, presenting John's point that he is writing his epistle to all believers for the purposes he is stipulating in his writing. In either case the perfect tense, "you have known" in the last phrase works with either variance to say the same thing]
(1 Jn 2:14 YLT) I [** write] to you, fathers, because [you] have known Him Who is from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because [you] are strong, and the Word of God in you [remains], and [you] have overcome the evil [one]."
(** byz, variants have "Egrapsa," aorist tense rendered "I did write" in the YLT, which parallels the other verb rendered "I did write" in the verse. It has superior manuscript evidence in 01sinaiticus, 02A, 03B, 04C, 020pSI, 33, 323, 614, 630, 945, 1241, 1505, 1739, 2495, but either verb form conveys the same message without much difference. Author John wrote what he wrote. Other variants are not substantively different as well) =
Once again, in 1 Jn 2:12, author John confirms who his readership is with, "I [write] to you, little children, because [your] sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake." [or literally, 'Because sins have been forgiven [Greek perfect tense] you for His name's sake.']
So John is writing to his "little children," in the sense of to those who are born again children of God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, (cf. 1 Jn 2:1-2, Jn 1:12-13, 3:16), who have had their sins forgiven them unto eternal life.
Their forgiveness is true and eternal because they are declared to "have been forgiven ... for His name's [Christ's] sake" - (literally, 'on account of His name'). That is, their forgiveness is predicated upon the absolute effectiveness of Christ's name, sealing that forgiveness as absolutely true and eternal because He is the Eternal Son of God, (cf. 1 Jn 5:9-13; Jn 1:1-3). Note that saving faith unto eternal life is elsewhere in John's writings defined as a moment of belief in His name - the name of the Son of God, (cf. 1 Jn 5:13; John 1:12; 3:16-18).
Although in the previous chapter, 1 Jn 1:9 speaks of the provision for forgiveness of sins through confession as an ongoing availability for the believer for a temporal forgiveness for fellowship with God; in view in 1 Jn 2:12 is a one time experience of forgiveness of sins unto eternal life to become once for all time children of God the Father unto eternal life, (cf. 1 Jn 1:13; Jn 1:12-13; 3:16) - an eternal forgiveness is in view which characterizes all of John's intended readers, including the "fathers" referred to in 1 Jn 2:13a - those who have matured as believers unto a more intimate relationship with God the Father by coming to have known Him Who is from the beginning - of all Creation, i.e., the Eternal God.
So from the beginning of this letter, the subject has not been how to have or retain eternal life; nor has it been about passing certain tests for individuals to discern who are the false professors of the faith who do not have eternal life - as many throughout this age have contended. For all men are flawed and incapable of determining absolutely the temporal or eternal spiritual condition of another - this is for God alone to absolutely determine.
On the other hand, the subject of chapter two is about children of God who have already been forgiven and who are secure in their eternal life, (1 Jn 2:1-2, 12-13) and how they might advance in the Christian life toward an intimate fellowship with God and His Son Jesus Christ, (1 Jn 2:3-11):
(1) by walking in the Light of God's Absolute Righteousness and confessing ones sins to receive temporal forgiveness of sins and purification from all unrighteousness unto temporal fellowship with God, (1 Jn 1:3, 7, 9).
(2) by keeping His commandments, (1 Jn 2-3);
(3) by studying and keeping His Word, (1 Jn 2:5a);
(4) by being perfected in God's love, (1 Jn 2:5b);
(5) by being in Him, (1 Jn 2:5c);
(6) by abiding in Him, (1 Jn 2:6a);
(7) by walking in the same manner as Jesus did, (1 Jn 2:6b);
(8) by demonstrating of godly, "agapE" love of ones brother(s) in Christ, (1 Jn 2:7-11).
...................................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 2:12).
Following verse 12, author John then writes in verse 13, "I write to you, fathers, because [you] have known Him Who is from the beginning; I write to you, young men, because [you] have overcome the evil [one]. I *write to you, little [children], because [you] have known [God] the Father:"
[The variance *"egrapsa," aorist tense rendered "I wrote" is in 01Sinaiticus, 02A, 03B, 04C, 025P, sa. bo. Lach. Treg, Alf, Word, Tisc, We/Ho, Weis, Sod, UBS provides the best manuscript evidence. On the other hand, the Greek word "graphO," present tense rendered "write" is in O18K, byz - not the best evidence, but it is consistent with the context of the previous two phrases which are also present tense, presenting John's point that he is writing his epistle to all believers for the purposes he is stipulating in his writing. In either case the perfect tense, "you have known" in the last phrase works with either variance "write" or "wrote" to say the same thing]
So in verse 13, the "fathers" are stipulated as having come to "have known " Him Who is from the beginning [i.e., God]." For the phrase "from the beginning" conveys One Who existed from the beginning of Creation and before, i.e., the eternally existing One, i.e., God. This verse implies a more intimate experience of God beyond the salvation experience. So the term rendered "fathers" are those who already have become believers - those whose sins have been forgiven unto eternal life, (1 Jn 2:12) - who have come to a more intimate experience of God which is in view beginning with 1 Jn 2:3 and continuing on through verse 11:
The experience of having come to know God in a more intimate experience beyond the salvation experience is further described in the following verses:
(1 Jn 2:3 NKJV) "Now by this we know that we [have known] Him, if we keep His commandments."
(1) by walking in the Light of God's Absolute Righteousness and confessing ones sins to receive temporal forgiveness of sins and purification from all unrighteousness unto temporal fellowship with God, (1 Jn 1:3, 7, 9).
(2) by keeping His commandments, (1 Jn 2-3);
(3) by studying and keeping His Word, (1 Jn 2:5a);
(4) by being perfected in God's love, (1 Jn 2:5b);
(5) by being in Him, (1 Jn 2:5c);
(6) by abiding in Him, (1 Jn 2:6a);
(7) by walking in the same manner as Jesus did, (1 Jn 2:6b);
(8) by demonstrating godly, "agapE" love of ones brother(s) in Christ, (1 Jn 2:7-11).
The message of the fathers having come to have known God is repeated in the first phrase of verse 14:
(1 Jn 2:14 YLT) I [write] to you, fathers, because [you] have known Him Who is from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because [you] are strong, and the Word of God in you [remains], and [you] have overcome the evil [one]."
.................................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 2:13a).
The second phrase of verse 13, 1 Jn 2:13b, states, "I write to you, young men, because [you] have overcome the evil [one]." The Greek verb ("nenikEkate," perfect tense) rendered "you have overcome" indicates a past victory with ongoing results. Since all believers have overcome the evil [one], i.e., the devil, (cf. 1 Jn 3:12; 5:18; cf. Jn 17:15; Eph 6:16; 2 Thess 3:3) - which overcoming is all through Christ by the grace of God. These "young men" are thus confirmed as believers.
(Jn 16:33 NASB) "These things I [Jesus Christ] have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace..In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
(1 Jn 3:8 NASB) "The one who [does] sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil."
(1 Jn 5:1 NASB) "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
(1 Jn 5:2 NASB) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
(1 Jn 5:3 NASB) For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
(1 Jn 5:4 NASB) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.
(1 Jn 5:5 NASB) Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
Further information about whom author John is referring by the phrase "young men" in 1 Jn 2:13b is given in verse 14:
(1 Jn 2:14 YLT) I [** write] to you, fathers, because [you] have known Him Who is from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because [you] are strong, and the Word of God in you [remains], and [you] have overcome the evil [one]."
Notice that the "young men" are further described as being "strong, and the Word of God in you [remains], and [you] have overcome the evil [one].
So the phrase "young men" in 1 Jn 2:14b also refers to those having an intimate experience beyond the salvation experience by the phrase, "and the Word of God in you [remains]," (cf 1 Jn 2:5a) - hence they have already experienced salvation unto eternal life in order to have gone beyond that experience and remain strong in the Word of God in the sense of being obedient to it for a period of time. And in addition, as all believers are, they are described as having victory over the evil one: "and [you] have overcome the evil [one]" which applies to all believers as previously established - all by the grace of God.
So the only destinguishing factor author John leaves for his readers to discern is the time each individual is for the moment in - relative to the faithful, godly pursuit of the doctrines of the faith implied by the words "children," "young men," and "fathers."
................................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 2:13b)
The third phrase of verse 13, 1 Jn 2:13c, states, "I write to you, little [children], because [you] have known [God] the Father"
So in 1 Jn 2:13c, the "little children" are stipulated as having come to "have known [God] the Father," also implying a more intimate experience beyond the salvation experience - which implies that the "little children" had already become believers as well. For the previous verse had determined that their sins have been forgiven unto eternal life, (1 Jn 2:12, cf. Jn 1:12-13; 3:16; 1 Jn 5:9-13). The phrase "having known God" implies that one has had an intimate experience beyond the salvation experience which was described beginning with 1 Jn 2:3 and continuing on through verse 11.
Elsewhere in the letter the whole readership is addressed as 'little children' (2:1, 18, 28; 3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21). So in the First Epistle of John believers are continuously in view. Hence the only destinguishing factor author John leaves his readers relative to the Greek words "teknia" (v. 13) and "paidia" (v. 14) which are virtually synonymous - both rendered "little children;" "pateres" rendered "fathers," in verses 13 & 14; and "neaniskoi" rendered "young men" in verses 13 & 14 is evidently the times that children of God, born of God may be in depending upon the moment relative to their faithfulness to the doctrines of the faith in the Word of God. So the potential for each of his "little children" to grow in the faith is available to all of his readers - all believers.
...................................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 2:13c).
The following verse, 1 Jn 2:14, "I [write] to you, fathers, because [you] have known Him Who is from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because [you] are strong, and the Word of God in you [remains], and [you] have overcome the evil [one]," repeats and corroborates much of the message of 1 Jn 2:12-13.
(1 Jn 2:14 YLTa) I [** write] to you, fathers, because [you] have known Him Who is from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because [you] are strong, and the Word of God in you [remains], and [you] have overcome the evil [one]."
(1 Jn 2:14 YLTb) I [** write] to you, fathers, because [you] have known Him Who is from the beginning; I did write to you, young men, because [you] are strong, and the Word of God in you [remains], and [you] have overcome the evil [one]."
Notice that the "young men" are further described as being "strong, and the Word of God in you [remains], and [you] have overcome the evil [one].
So the phrase "young men" in 1 Jn 2:14b also refers to those having an intimate experience beyond the salvation experience by the phrase, "and the Word of God in you [remains]," (cf 1 Jn 2:5a) - hence they have already experienced salvation unto eternal life in order to have gone beyond that experience and remain in the Word of God in the sense of being obedient to it for a period of time. And in addition, as all believers are, they are described as having victory over the evil one: "and [you] have overcome the evil [one]" which applies to all believers as previously established.
So the only destinguishing factor author John leaves for his readers to discern is the time each individual is for the moment in - relative to the faithful, godly pursuit of the doctrines of the faith implied by the words "children," "young men," and "fathers."
................................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 2:14).
****** END OF EXCERPT FROM FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO ******
C cont.) (1 Jn 4:4 cont.) YOU ARE FROM GOD, LITTLE CHILDREN, AND HAVE OVERCOME THEM; BECAUSE GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN YOU THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD, (cont.)
(1 Jn 4:3 NASB) "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 Jn 4:4 NASB) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world," (cont.) =
Author John exhorts his little children, his first century readers with encouraging words, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them [the antichrists, (1 Jn 4:3)]; because greater is He Who is in you [the anointing from the Holy One, (1 Jn 2:20) - the Holy Spirit, (1 Jn 3:24)] than he [the spirit of the Antichrist (1 Jn 4:3)] who is in the world." He reminds them that they have the Holy Spirit within them Who has already and will continue to overcome the spirit of the antichrists all around them for them and for all children of God, born of God throughout the age.
****** EXCERPT FROM FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO ******
The preferred reading of 1 Jn 2:20 is best rendered in the NASB as follows: "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know." It is supported by WH, NU, Sinaiticus, B, P, pSI,c op(sa), Tisc, Weis, UBS.
Note that a viable alternative rendering from TR, A, C, K, L, byz, 049, 33, 1739, Maj, it, syr, cop (bo), is as follows:
(1 Jn 2:20 YLT) "And [you] have an anointing from the Holy One, and have known all things;
The two readings of 1 Jn 2:20 could have easily been confounded for one another in the transmission process inasmuch as there is only a two-letter difference ("pantes" vs "panta") between the two. Both readings have decent documentary support. The anointing of the Holy Spirit that each and every believer receives is to help them all - hence the better reading of "and you all know" to discern the false from the true relative to what they hear and read with respect to whether or not what they have heard or read is in accordance with God's Word.
According to the reading of the variant, the emphasis is on the anointing and how it enables believers to know everything: "you have an anointing from the Holy One and you know everything."
The alternate reading of verse 20 which is rendered in the YLT is less preferable because Scripture does not assert that believers can know everything that is available to know in the world by an impartation from the Holy Spirit within them into their minds. Nor does Scripture teach that believers can immediately know everything that Scripture teaches, especially without listening to what their human godly teachers have to teach and without studying Scripture themselves, as some contend.
(1 Jn 2:19 NASB) "They [many antichrists, (v. 18)] went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (1 Jn 2:20 NASB) But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. (1 Jn 2:21 YLT) I did not write to you because [you] have not known the truth, but because [you] have known it, and because no lie is of the truth." =
In 1 Jn 1:20 NASB, author and Apostle John reminds his readership - children of God, forgiven of sins unto eternal life, believers, (1 Jn 2:1-2; 12-14, 25) that they have an anointing from the Holy One, i.e., the Holy Spirit, (cf. 1 Jn 2:27). Author John reminds his readers of this anointing from God evidently because the antichrists in the Jerusalem Church had claimed to have their own anointing via performance of their own rituals that provided them with superior knowledge which was neither supported by the apostles nor Scripture nor by God.
The term "anointing" in 1 Jn 2:20 describes the impartation of the Holy Spirit (see Isa 61:1). Christians, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, are joined to Christ, "the Anointed One," and share in His anointing.
(2 Cor 1:21 NASB) "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,
(2 Cor 1:22 NASB) Who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.'
(Jn 14:26 NASB) " 'But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.' "
(Jn 16:13 NASB) But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come,' "
Hence according to 1 Jn 2:20 NASB, the believers of the Church in Jerusalem "all know" in the sense of having the capacity through the Spirit to discern what is true and what is not concerning what they were being taught in the Jerusalem Church from the Word of God. So in accordance with the preferred reading in 1 Jn 2:20 NASB, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know," the believers in the Jerusalem Church were all able to know through the work of the Holy Spirit upon their minds - to discern which teachings were true, i.e., of the Holy Spirit - teachings from the Word of God which were heard through the Apostles' teaching in the Jerusalem Church and through their own personal study of Scripture; and which teachings were untrue - those pertaining to what the antichrists who were there in the Church were teaching (1 Jn 2:19, 22).
............................................................................................................................... (1 Jn 2:20).
(1 Jn 2:21 YLT) "I did not write to you because [you] have not known the truth, but because [you] have known it, and because no lie is of the truth." =
So chapter two of John's first epistle was not exclusively written in order to inform believers of the truth in order to provide them instructions on how to test whether another is genuinely saved or not, as come contend. The message that John wrote is not new information - new truth from God; it is a reminder to his readers, born again children of God, of Absolute Truths from God which they have already come to know. His message in chapter two was one of assurance to his readers that they have known the truth of the doctrines of the faith - the absolute truths from God - from the beginning of their being taught by the apostles in the Jerusalem Church - from the beginning of their Christian experience, (1 Jn 2:7, 13-14, 21, 24). So they have known that they are assuredly children of God, (1 Jn 2:1-2; Jn 1:12-13), who have their sins forgiven unto eternal life, (1 Jn 2:12, 25); who have received the anointing of the Holy One - the Holy Spirit, (1 Jn 2:20, 27), who can have fellowship with God, (1 Jn 1:1-10); etc., etc. And having known this, they can discern and resist false teaching through the indwelling Holy Spirit's confirmation of the veracity of it within their minds.
And John also
wrote, "I did not write to you because [you] have not known the
truth, but because [you] have known it, and because no lie is of
the truth - that is, if what his readers and all believers have
learned from the Word of God in accordance with the framework in which it
was written: a framework which is defined by the normative rules of
language, context and logic and without imposing undue, unintended
meanings to it , then a
departure from that truth, even if in partial agreement, is still a lie
and not the truth especially since in view are Absolute Truths from God as
compared to the lies of the antichrists who deny Christ Himself. So
statements that are not completely in agreement with God's Absolute truths
are lies, such as what the antichrists had been trying to teach in the
Jerusalem Church. Nothing can be claimed to be in part false and in part
from God, as many have contended throughout time, beginning with the devil
in the Garden of Eden.
Note that the Jerusalem Church - the people to whom author and apostle John wrote to firsthand had the benefit of the apostles' teaching as inspired by the Holy Spirit - as evidenced in the books that a number of them wrote that are part of Scripture. Hence it is not inconceivable that the Jerusalem congregation did indeed know many of the truths from God's Word.
.............................................................................................................................. (1 Jn 2:21).
****** END OF EXCERPT FROM FIRST JOHN CHAPTER TWO ******
[(1 Jn 4:4) Hodges, op. cit., p. 179]:
"It is precisely 'because He' (God's Spirit)... 'is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world' that victory over the world's deceptions is possible. Since, as John will later say, 'the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one' (5:19), to have victory over the world's deceptions is to have victory over Satan's deceptions. John is very confident that the Holy Spirit will enable his readers to repulse the attempted incursions of the antichrists.
But it should always be remembered, whatever the level of our spiritual growth, that we are not, in and of ourselves, immune to false doctrines and satanic deception. If we have victory at all it is because the Holy Spirit within us is mightier than the Archdeceiver, and we must rely on Him to keep us cleaving to God's truth."
D) (1 Jn 4:5) [SUMMARY IN CAPS]:
(1 Jn 4:3 NASB) "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 Jn 4:4 NASB) You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world," (1 Jn 4:5 NASB) They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them." =
777
[(1 Jn 4:5) Hodges, op. cit., p. 180]:
"The 'They' which begins this verse represents an emphatic Greek pronoun (Autoi) just as did the 'You' (Hymeis) which began verse 4. The antichrists, or Revisionists, are here viewed in sharp contrast with the readership. Whereas the readers are 'of God,' the Revisionists are 'of the world.' The origin of their conceptions lies in the stanic perspective of the world (cf 5:19) and represents some or all of the world's constituent elements, which stand in opposition to God (2:15-16...).
Accordingly the Revisionists bring a 'worldly' message: 'they speak .. of the world.' There is no Greek word that corresponds to 'as,' which has been supplied to make the meaning clearer. The precise Greek phrase for 'of the world' (ek tou kosmou) occurs twice here and this illustrates the flexibility of this sort of phrase, of which John is very fond (cf. discussions under 3:8, 10b, and 19). The Revisionists are 'of the world' in that they are fundamentally in league with the godless world system. They 'speak of the world' in the sense that their message is worldly in content and perspective. Not surprisingly, 'the world hears them.'
This last statement suggests that the antichrists received a good hearing from many who were part 'of the world.' It has been true down through the centuries that heterodoxy has a far greater appeal to worldly people than does orthodoxy. Very manyreligious movements are composed mainly of unsaved people who find the false theology of the movement attractive. In particular this has proved true in connection with the truth that 'whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God' (1 John 5:1). The worldly perspective is that this is far too easy and cannot possibly be true. Works-oriented churches thus have great attracting power for many who are outside of Christ, not to mention Christians who may also fall into this trap (cf. Galatians 5:4).
If we wonder why false theology seems to run rampant in the professing Christian church, the statement of this verse is the biblical answer."
[(1 Jn 4:6) Hodges, op. cit., pp. 181-182]:
"As in the case verses 4-5, this verse begins with an emphatic pronoun, 'We' (HEmeis). Thus we have in verses 4 through 6 three contrasting pronouns, 'You - They - 'We.' It can hardly be doubted that three distinct groups are intended, the 'You' referring to the readers, the 'They' referring to the Revisionists, and the 'We' referring to the same group designated as 'we' in the Prologue (1:1-4). In other words, the 'We' refers to the apostles.
Only the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ could ever correctly make the statements that are made here. As the authoritative representatives of the Risen Lord of the Church, they were the only teachers whose doctrine was the touchstone of Christian orthodoxy. In the fullest sense, they were 'fof God' because their doctrine came directly from Him and was not only true but fully sufficient, since what they had not personally learned from Jesus Himself the Holy Spirit had taught them (cf. John 14:25-26; 16:12-15).
They could thus confidently affirm that 'He who knows God hears' ('listens to') us.' As noted under the discussion of 2:3 (see also 2:13-14), in this epistle the concept of 'knowing' God suggests progress beyond mere spiritual infancy (cf. discussion ujnder verse 7 below). While it is true that immature Christians are often swayed by false doctrine (cf. Ephesians 4:14; Hebres 5:12-14), it is a mark of the mature Christian that he is responsive to apostolic teaching as over against 'worldly' teachings (cf. previous verse and Ephesians 4:14). The knowledge of God is thus inseparable from apostolic teaching, a fact that needs reemphasis in our own day and time.
It follows, of course, that 'he who is not of God does not hear ('listen to') us.' As has been frequently pointed out in this Commentary (e.g., under 3:8, 10b, and 19), expressions such as 'of God' (or, 'of the devil,' 'of the truth,' etc.) signal concepts whose meaning is determined by context. Here it may be suggested that John is thinking of anyone out of touch with 'God' (not under His influence or that of His Spirit) as the kind of person who rejects apostolic authority and teaching. Such a person could be a believer or an unbeliever.
The words, 'By this we know,' can be naturally taken of the apostles, who are the subject of the earlier statemetns of this verse. Had John had the readers particularly in mind here, a switch to 'By this you know' would be expected (in light of the 'You' in verse 4). Here again the phrase 'By this' refers backward to the statements he has just made.
The apostles themselves, who were, after all, only men, were able to make appropriate discriminations between 'the spirit of truth and the spirit of error' on the basis of each spirit's submission, or lack of it, to apostolic truth. That this was needful even for the apostles should be plain upon reflection. In the early church, with its open meetings, there was ample room for verbal expression (cf. 1 Cor 14:12-32), and Paul himself enjoined the principle that 'the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets' (1 Cor 14:33). Paul also felt constrained to say, 'No one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed' (1 Cor 12:3), as though this had happened under some pretense to inspiration. In the context of the early church, where the gift of prophecy existed, the apostles themselves had at times to determine whether what was said in the churches came from God. But if there was a refusal to 'confess Jesus as Christ come in flesh,' 'the spirit' that spoke (whether supernatural or human) was 'that of the Antichrist' (verse 3) and therefore not a 'spirit of truth' but 'of error.'
This statement about apostolic knowledge of 'the spirit of error' underlines their role in protecting the church from the ravages of false teaching. A great number of the New Testament epistles were written with precisely this goal in view. That is most emphatically true of the present epistle. So when John condemns the Revisionists as 'false prophes' who are 'of the world' (verses 1-3, 5), the judgment he makes about them is authoritative and final.