Monday, 6 April 2020
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:23
John just noted that whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. He then stated that the one who denies the Father and the Son is antichrist. Now, he further clarifies this by saying, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father.” What John is doing is slowly chipping away at all scenarios where people think they have the Father without the Son.
In this category, all religions that supposedly call on God as Father without going through the Son – because they deny Him – actually do not have the Father at all. This would include all Jews who deny the Son.
No Jew who says he believes in God, but does not believe in Jesus, has the Father. This also includes Muslims or any other religious expression that claims they have a connection with the monotheistic God, but who deny the Son. Deists would fall into this category, as would any other sect which denies the Son – meaning His relation to the Father, and which includes the thought of Jesus’ deity. As Jesus said –
“He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” John 5:23
The Father can only be worshiped, loved, and fellowshipped with through the Son. Without the Son, these cannot come to pass. With this understanding, and to reveal the all-inclusive nature of fellowship with the Father through the Son, John then says, “he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
All people who do not have the Son, also do not have the Father. But for any person who acknowledges the Son, they also have the Father. There is no division between the two, and in possessing one, the other is possessed, fully and completely within the possible parameters of such a relationship. In other words, this is speaking of the relationship. It does not mean that a person possesses all of the Father. If that were the case, the person would have to be God, because God is infinite. “Having,” as stated here, is to “have full access to.”
It is the Son who reveals the Father to man. In having the Son, there is – and there will be – an eternal unfolding (revealing) of the Father through the Son. The glory of God is fully accessible to the one who has the Son, and it shall be realized ceaselessly and endlessly because of this Father/Son relationship. Thank God for Jesus Christ who reveals the unseen Father to His elect.
Life application: John has made it absolutely clear – either one accepts Jesus Christ or he does not have any access to God the Father. In a denial of the Son, you forfeit your right to become a child of God and, as Paul says elsewhere, God’s wrath remains on you.
These verses may seem redundant or cumbersome, but that is the farthest thing from the truth. John is spending this time and detail because people were already attempting to diminish the work of Jesus. Since then, these attempts have become more pronounced and exacting in nature. For every subtle heresy which is refuted, a new attempt arises to claim the Bible is true, and yet its truths are manipulated to refute the very truths it proclaims.
One must proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, meaning both God and Man, or he has no part with the Father. There is no middle ground and no room for compromise. Where do you stand on this most important of all issues?
Heavenly Father, we pray for all those whose eyes are blinded to the truth of who Jesus Christ is. May Your glorious Holy Spirit move in a great way upon the earth, calling many from darkness to the splendid Light of Your Son – our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for the full and perfect fellowship we can have with You because of what You have done through Him! Amen.