1 John 2:24

Tuesday, 7 April 2020

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.  1 John 2:24

The Greek of this verse begins with the word “you” in the emphatic position, thus saying, “As for you…” This is then a verse of contrast to the previous two verses which began with “Who is the liar?” and “Whoever denies the Son.”

Instead of being counted among those who are of the spirit of antichrist, John is speaking to those who heard the truth of the gospel message and cling to it, live in it, and won’t be moved from it. With that understanding, it more rightly states, “As for you, what you heard from the beginning – in you let it abide.” John is telling them to remember that very message. But hearing and remembering isn’t enough.

Even those antichrists had heard the truth of the gospel and they also remembered. The difference is that they didn’t let it abide in them. It is one thing to have head knowledge, and it is a completely different thing to move that knowledge to a belief deep in your soul. This is why John next says, “If what you heard from the beginning abides in you.”

There are countless people who have heard the truth, and they have had it explained to them. And yet, they reject the Son in varying degrees, but the key point of their rejection is a denial of the Father/Son relationship. In denying this, they deny Christ’s deity. John says that if that principle point of doctrine abides in you, “you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”

As is commonly seen in the New Testament, the tenets of dwelling with, believing in, and acknowledging the Son are directly linked to doing the same with the Father (and the Holy Spirit also). It is interesting to note the order of verses 2:22, 23, and 24 –

He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either.
…you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

In denying the Father/Son relationship the person is an antichrist – meaning opposed to what God is doing in the redemptive plans of mankind. Therefore, if one denies the Son – meaning His deity – he does not have the Father. However, in accepting the truth of God in Christ Jesus, one abides in the Son. In abiding in the Son, one abides in the Father. It is Christ who makes this possible, and without Christ Jesus, it is impossible. The knowledge of the Father is linked directly to an acknowledgment of the Son.

John Gill wisely points out that these words are not acceptable to justify a loss of salvation. Rather, he says that “what is here said is not either the cause or condition of men being in the Father, and in the Son, or of their continuance in them, but is descriptive of the persons that are in them, and is an open and manifest evidence of their being and continuance in them. Such are in union with Christ, and at times enjoy sensible communion with him, and shall never be finally and totally removed from it.”

Life application: Concerning the members of the Godhead, to fellowship with one is to fellowship with all. To reject one is to reject all. It is no different than saying, “I believe that Clint Eastwood exists, but I don’t believe he existed yesterday and if he is alive tomorrow, I won’t believe he is the same person that is alive today.”

The entire thought process is mentally unsound and can only be attributed to an unstable person. The Bible proclaims the Father is God. The Bible proclaims Jesus is God. The Bible proclaims the Holy Spirit is God. Therefore, to reject any member is to deny the reliability of the Bible and completely blow any chance of proper faith in what God has clearly presented.

Lord God, we trust that Jesus is our Lord and that He is the Savior of mankind. He reveals the Father to us. We may not completely understand the doctrine of the Trinity, but we accept it by faith. We believe it because it is what the Bible presents. As the Bible is Your written word, we accept what is revealed there. Hallelujah! You have given us Your word, and it is our honor to accept it as such. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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