I John 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
In verse 20 we see another blessing that God provides for His child. The Greek word translated as “unction” refers to “an endowment”. An illustration used to explain this further is “to smear something on”. The true child of God is not left defenceless against the antichrists mentioned in the verses above. The true child of God does not need to fall for the deception of the antichrists. John was told to address the saints as “little children” in verse 1. Little children are dependent upon their parents for protection. Christians are dependent upon the Holy Spirit for protection. We are not sharp enough to discern the many tactics of the devil. God knows all things. He will protect His child. The important thing is for His child to listen to Him.
As a deceiver speaks, he will say things that will trigger an alert in the true child of God. That is a good starting place. This is not a “gut feeling“, it is a mental and heart felt sense that something is not right here.Through questioning and through listening to God first of all and the deceiver as well, the saved person can know the truth.
John declared that “ye”, the saved person knows all things. We know all things as we yield to the Word of God and to the Spirit of God.
In verse 21 we are reminded that John was writing to saints. These were saints that had been instructed in the truth already. He was not giving them things they did not know before. We are again reminded of the fact that God does not leave His child in the dark. He gives us all the facts we need. Noah had all the facts he needed to build the ark. When he left that ark he had all the facts he needed to avoid making an alcoholic drink. He listened to God in building the ark. He ignored God in making that alcoholic drink. He was saved by listening to God in the building of the ark. He caused great harm to himself and his family in not listening to God regarding alcoholic wine.
Every true child of God has all the resources needed to walk faithfully with the Lord. The problem is when we ignore what God says and we allow the sin of pride to convince us that we can indulge in a certain sin and it will not harm us.
John reminded the readers that no lie is of the truth. There is no such a thing as a “half truth”. There is the truth and the rest is a lie. In a previous devotional, I used the illustration of the man who was excited about a book he was reading. I looked inside that book and discovered right away that the book was not worth reading. The author used three different perversions in that book. He could not possibly be relaying truth when he was using perversions in his work. Little children, left to themselves, would think that there might still be some good even if the person used perversions to draw his conclusions. Little children, who follow God, would know this is a recipe for disaster.
In verse 22 we are further shown who the liar is. The person who denies that Jesus is the Christ is antichrist. That person denies the Father and the Son. You cannot say you believe in God the Father and then deny His Son. You cannot say you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and then deny the Father. The Godhead cannot be divided. The Jews tried to separate Jesus Christ from His Father. He rebuked them and showed them they were the ones who were denying both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. If a person truly believes in God they will not fight against the truth.
The gullible person will take a person’s word at face value without looking at who is speaking. I have had conversations with charismatic people who defend false teachers like Kenneth Copeland. They say that he admits that Jesus Christ is Lord and so they are God-fearing people and we should not doubt their teaching. Kenneth Copeland and his ilk have proven over and over again that they do not know the true Jesus. The heresies they teach expose them very clearly. Those who cannot see that are spiritually blind.
In verse 23 we are further reminded that you cannot separate the Godhead. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons and the Church of Christ and many other groups deny the Son. Even the Catholics deny the Son. They elevate Mary above Jesus Christ. You cannot take away from the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and still legitimately believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot add the excesses of the Charismatic movement and still legitimately believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus rebuked Peter for trying to redefine Who He was. He did not tolerate that corruption. Jesus exposed the Pharisees for their corruption of the true God. At Jesus’ trial, He allowed the Jews and Roman soldiers to lie about Him and to mock Him. He prayed to His Father that He might forgive them. However, those who insisted on their rebellion were not forgiven. They died in their sins.
In verse 24 we see the answer to the above issue. The true child of God needs to “let that therefore abide in you …” The true child of God must choose to accept the truth and deny the lies. We need to make sure that we are accepting the truth and we are firm on holding to the truth. Notice that John is speaking of things that were known from the beginning. They had heard them from the beginning. John 1:1 declares:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The truth is known to the saints. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commanded the disciples to:
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
The responsibility of the true child of God is to tell others the truth. Every lost person knows enough to be condemned before God. John 3:17-20 makes it clear that we are all born under condemnation. Every person has the opportunity to be brought out from under that condemnation because of John 3:16. Verse 21 of that passage tells us that the lost person comes to the light and is saved and then lives in the light and his actions prove he has come to the light.
In our text we see again that the saved person has eternal life. That life is evidenced in the steadfastness of the true child of God. The true child of God is not on a roller coaster ride. He is walking on the narrow way and he is growing in the Lord.
It is important to know the truth and to walk in the truth. It is important to understand that those who are saved cannot dabble in lies and be strong in the Lord. It is also important to know that the loving God will not allow His true child to remain in that carnal state. He will chasten him to bring him along in the way he must walk. Christians have been bought with a price and they must glorify God in their body and in their soul. God wants His Light to shine brightly in this dark and dying world. Be sure that you know the Light and that you are willing to allow that Light to shine through you.
Pastor Bartel
