1 John 2:18-27 NOT The Jesus

John is warning his readers about those who would try and convince others that they were the Christ or that Jesus wasn’t. That is the meaning of the term antichrist.

ANYONE, whoever they may be, who says that Jesus Christ is not the Messiah, the one and only begotten Son of God, is an antichrist. Peter, James, John and hundreds of others witnessed the TRUE Christ and have been sharing that firsthand experience with us for hundreds of years.

Also, you can’t have a relationship with the Father without including His Son. If you could then Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come. His work is what allows us that personal relationship. You can’t have one without the other; actually the others. God is a triune being. He is one, yet also three. Without any one of those three parts He is not complete and if we reject one of those parts we reject the whole.

I used to think of the Trinity like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. All three parts are required to make this delight but those three ingredients (bread, peanut butter and jelly) are not dependent upon each other so this analogy falls flat. Instead I see the Trinity as an egg. When you hold an egg in your hand you call it an egg. You don’t call it by its three main components. It is one item; until you separate it for individual purposes. The egg shell, egg yolk, and egg white all still bear the name of their whole too. Each part has its own characteristic and can be used individually but they can never exist without the other. All three parts are required for it to be a complete egg.

The Trinity is the same. You can’t have God without the Son and the Holy Spirit. Rejecting one is rejecting the whole. That is why anyone who denies Christ has no fellowship with the Father.

Many people had begun rejecting Jesus’ work in John’s day and many more since then. Some of them looked and acted like the Christians around them EXCEPT for that critical point. And that point IS critical! Without Jesus there is no salvation or complete forgiveness. There is NO righteousness apart from Jesus and without His righteousness there is no personal relationship with the Father. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter whom Jesus sent to us to live within us and guide us daily. Without Jesus, His Emissary has no place to go or welcome if He went.

This all boils down to, whoever you are listening to, if they reject Jesus REJECT them and their teaching! RUN the other way!!! You don’t have to wait for THE antichrist to show up to notice that there are little antichrists at work already in this world. But there is a great one still to come. And he won’t be immediately obvious either. He will do his best to slyly slip in and lead the people away. Be alert and DON’T fall for his tricks. And the best inoculation against false christ’s or antichrists is to get so familiar with the REAL one that no counterfeit even stands a chance.

Thank You Father for sharing with me Your REAL Son. Thank You for all the proof You provided through Him and Your Spirit while He walked among us on earth. Thank You for preserving those experiences for me through Your inspired writers.

Thank You Jesus for making a personal relationship with the Father possible. Without You I am HOPELESSLY lost! I enjoy our time together now but am eagerly awaiting our “bench time” when we finally meet face to face.

Thank You Holy Spirit for being my constant companion. You keep me close to the REAL source so no artificial can creep in. Keep me ever alert!