John addresses those who had knowledge of the coming antichrist, the man of sin spoken of by Paul in 2nd Thessalonians 2. It is possible their focus was on the one to come while overlooking, or not recognizing, the many antichrists already among them. The many antichrists were a sign of the times, revealing the lateness of the hour. Jesus warned that many false teachers and prophets would come and deceive many, claiming to be anointed of Him.
19: They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they were of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out so that it might be revealed that they were not all of us.
To this point in his epistle John has been showing the incompatibility of light with darkness, love with hatred, truth with lies, and sin with righteousness. Now he seems to get right down to where the rubber meets the road: those who are not having intimate fellowship with the Father and the Son, while claiming to, will not remain for long in fellowship with those who are. The darkness will have to flee from the light.
20: But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
The word antichrist means: opponent of the Messiah. It can also mean false Christ, or a substitute Christ. Christ is the anointed one of God but there is a false ministry anointing from antichrist. The bible speaks of false teachers and prophets, false brothers, and wolves in sheep’s clothing, but the anointing we have from the Holy One will give us discernment to know the true from the false.
When we surrender to Christ and make him Lord, we receive His anointing, the Holy Spirit is poured upon us and He lives in us. He becomes our teacher and leads us into all truth so that we can know Christ intimately. John seems to be saying that those who went out from their fellowship had a false anointing from antichrist and were led to deny the truth, but those who had an anointing from the Holy One remained, were teachable and knew the truth.
The anointing is always poured upon the head and runs down upon the rest of the body. Christ Jesus is the head of the body and we receive His anointing from being in fellowship with Him and His body the church. Where there is a lack of unity in the church, there is a disjointed body and lack of anointing, but where there is true, intimate fellowship with the head (Christ) and His body (the church), the false anointing (antichrist) will not remain with the true.
21: I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and know that no lie is of the truth.
John is not addressing his letter to those who are under the influence of antichrist, but to those who can bear witness with the truth. John is writing under the influence, or in the anointing, of the Holy One; therefore, those who also have that same anointing (teacher), will bear witness with what he is saying.
22: Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who denies the Father and the Son is antichrist.
A lie is opposed to the truth just as antichrist is opposed to Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is opposed to Christ. John previously spoke of those who claimed to love God yet hated their brother, calling them liars. Those who practice sin, yet claim to have no sin, are liars and have come under the influence of the spirit of antichrist, because they have denied the power of Christ to cleanse them from all sin. It is the anointing that breaks the yoke of sin and these have not come under, or submitted to, the true anointing.
23: Everyone who denies the Son neither has the Father. The one confessing the Son also has the Father.
The Father and the Son are one; therefore, we can not claim God as Father and be opposed to Christ Jesus the Son. The Pharisees claimed God and Abraham as their father yet they opposed Christ. Their father was identified by their actions: they continually looked for an opportunity to kill Jesus. Their father was the devil, a murderer from the beginning. No one can oppose the Son and claim God as their Father.
24: Therefore, what you heard from the beginning, let it abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you will abide in both the Son and in the Father.
Jesus said many would come claiming to be Christs, or anointed ones, and would deceive many. False teachers would also deceive and lead astray many from the faith. John is saying to hold on to the teaching received from the beginning and not to be led astray from the doctrines of the apostles. Those who follow after false teachers will be turned away from the truth and become fruitless vines, whose end is to be cut off. (See John 15: 5&6)
25: And this is the promise that He has promised us: everlasting life.
This is not just a matter of believing or adhering to sound doctrine, this is a matter of life or death, a matter of eternity. The devil is not just playing with smoke and mirrors for entertainment: he is a cold blooded killer. He wants to populate hell with rebels who oppose God’s anointed one.
26: These things I have written to you concerning those leading you astray.
Those under the influence of antichrist are used by Satan to draw away, or beguile, those who are immature in Christ. This epistle exposes the tactics of the enemy and gives believers a tool to test, and know, the false from the true.
27: But the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and no lie, and as He has taught you, abide in Him.
Continuing his thought from the previous verse, John again points to the anointing as a teacher that will confirm that which is true. He is not saying we do not need teachers in the body of Christ, but that what ever we hear from man must bear witness with the word that was from the beginning and confirmed by the anointing in us. We cannot just rely on the anointing that may be on the one teaching: we must have that inner witness because there is a false anointing sent out to mislead God’s people.
The sheep most easily captured by the enemy are those who are not close to the flock, but may have wandered after something that appeals to the eye, the flesh, or to pride. The things that are not of the Father, but of the world, are used to lure us into dangerous territory by false teachers and draw us away from the truth. They oppose, or are opposite, to Christ in that they promise greatness and gain rather than promoting humility and servant hood.
28: And now, little children, abide in Him, so when He is revealed, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him in His coming.
In a sense, this verse summarizes everything up to this point. Abiding in Him requires that we love God and not the things of the world; that, if we confess our sins, we can be forgiven. We must walk in the light, as He is in the light, in fellowship one with another and listening to the anointing we have from Him. This will keep us from the deception of the spirit of antichrist. Then we will not be ashamed but have confidence that we are ready to meet Him face to face when He returns for His church.
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