1-3 John - 1st John 2:21-23 Truth and Falsehood - part 1

OK, well, today we're down. This is kind of a summary of all the of all the divisions in Chapter two of First John. So we're down to the section in which I kind of label truth and falsehood. So I have the next two lessons. We're going to actually go back a little bit and read. I'd like to read part of the previous. Let's go to the next chart here. Can I get someone to read in 1 John starting in verse 18 and read 18 through 23 in 1 John chapter 2? verses 18-23.

Your children, this is the last hour. And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they are going. We show that none of them belong to us.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the Antichrist. He denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

As we covered last week, it starts out, this is the last hour, the last days, the last times, and it talks about the particular antichrist, the beast, that's described in Daniel and in Revelation. But then actually, I think more appropriately here, I think the focus is on that there are many types of antichrist, plural.

And so that's kind of the warning that's going to come down into these verses here that we're going to cover today. I want to go back and look at 20 just a little bit because I felt that we kind of ended abruptly last week we didn't really I think Steve actually had a question about that last week about the anointing so I spent a little time on that but I want to also point out that it says in verse 20 you know it kind of contrasts it says you know the antichrist is coming and many antichrists have gone out from us and they really weren't part of us and then John says but you you have an anointing, and you have an anointing, and you know it. You know you have an anointing. So I want to kind of spend a little time on that.

But that kind of connects to 21 here, because he's going to say, I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it. So he's really saying that I think here that believers actually have the Spirit of God in them, so they have the ability to know the truth. Whereas these mini-antichrists, the false teachers, they don't have a clue. I mean, they may think they're godly, they may pretend to be godly, but they're not.

But he says in 20, but you have an anointing. So I want to look at that a little bit. So I kind of drew upon a chart that Hal put together quite a few years ago, back in 2002. And he kind of lists the ministries of the Holy Spirit. And one of those ministries is this, he anoints you.

So I think when we look at this, whenever scripture comes along and says you have something, this is a possession of yours, that's something to take note of as a believer. I have this as a possession. I don't have to ask for it. I don't have to wish for it. You have it. Just like you have all this other marvelous list that the Spirit of God works in your life. And actually I found another verse I thought was very appropriate for this that kind of filled in some of the gaps.

In terms of anointing, let's look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verses 20-22. Could someone read that? Chapter 1 of 2 Corinthians 20-22. So you notice there in verse 21, He, God the Father, establishes us with you in Christ, and part of that is He anoints us in God, who sealed us, who gave us His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge, or a down payment. So we have these wonderful blessings when we come to trust the Lord Jesus, that we have what's called an anointing. Some people have said that's really kind of a synonym for indwelling.

That's just part of the package. We have this wonderful, we may not realize it, but we have this wonderful set of blessings from the Lord. Tom? chapter of Romans where you're dealing with the old you. Up until then, I didn't know the grace of the Holy Spirit in me. mysterious kind of doings. It's very precise and accurate and wonderful. Anything else on the anointing?

There are a tremendous amount of verses on that besides the first John which we have. We're going to cover it again in 27 basically. in verse 27, but that and the first 2nd Corinthians verse are the places it talks about that. But you notice in the context of this verse it basically says that He establishes us in Christ and anoints us in God who sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. So it's part of this you know, package of blessings that the believer has.

And anointing, you know, it kind of has reference back to the Old Testament, I think. But just in the New Testament context, I think it's synonymous with, and that's what other people have kind of said it's synonymous with, the indwelling of the Spirit. I don't know if it's up there or not. I was looking for it in my mind. There's a verse that says that we are the holy of holies. It's in Corinthians, right? I was looking on that list and I don't see it there.

Actually, it's funny, I looked at this list that Hal put together for this class, I thought there were actually some more. I had this in my archives and I kind of put it up there, here's a good one. So I had this one and there are some other ones I believe.

I know Mike recently, within the last couple of years, has done a study in the Holy Spirit. So you go through all those wonderful blessings we have. But I wanted to put it in context so it's not some mysterious something that comes along. It's very precise and accurate and this is what God is doing in the believer's life for your benefit. So it is anointing a... because in the Old Testament it was used with oil. Oil, right. And it was like they were recognized publicly with a display, you know, putting oil on their head. That they were set apart for a specific duty, like the kings.

Right. But here it's like the Holy Spirit is the down payment. Right. The blessings. I mean, that's the verse you picked here. Right, that's true. And also in John, it's like he's the one that reveals the truth because he's there appointing us to know the truth almost. Exactly. You know, not that we're going to be kings and stuff, but that we know things because he's... Exactly.

Well, I think, you know, I think actually verse, I didn't, verse 27 in the first, if you turn to 1 John 2 again, Look at verse 27. That's the other place. We'll cover that next week. Yeah, right. I was wondering about that last week. Yeah, and it says, As for you, the anointing which you receive from Him abides in you. So that's that. I think that's Menel.

Abides in you and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true, and is not a lie, just as it's taught you, you abide in Him. So there's a very intimate, that anointing is a very intimate thing, right? You're abiding in Him, and it's...

And He's a person. Exactly, right? It's an aspect of a person, so the Holy Spirit is involved in that. So, Donna? I was just going to say, in the Zodiatis, before you went to John 16, 1630, 13, how be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that he shall speak, and he will show you things to come. Right, right. And that's a wonderful verse back in the Gospel of John. That's very good. Thank you. So the spirit is intimately involved in the believer's life. I think anointing just kind of speaks to that. Each believer has a purpose that God has planned in advance for us.

So the first part of verse 21 says, I have not written to you because you do not know the truth. And so I just collected, so far we've had, John likes to use that phrase. And he basically says, we write so that your joy may be made complete. He said in verse 4 of chapter 1. He says, I am writing so that you may not sin. I am not writing, kind of similar way, he uses a negative sometimes for emphasis. I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment. I am writing a new commandment to you. That's interesting. And that's where Bob, you know, it sounds like what's going on here. Exactly. Which one is it? Right.

And then 212, I'm writing I'm writing because your sins have been forgiven for his namesake. I am writing to you fathers and I'm writing to you young men. I have written to you children and then 14 very similar. I have written to you fathers. I've written to you young men. So that's a very kind of favorite phrase of John that he wants to kind of says I have written to you. I am writing to you.

And he has a reason for each of those. So we come to this verse and he's basically going to tell us that, you know, you really as a believer, you have this anointing from the previous verse, right? You have the information. But maybe, and it's true, just think of the number of believers out there, true believers, that they're off the path.

I mean, it's sad. I think we have relatives that I mean, they're off into miracles and all kinds of stuff. And it's sad. They're believers, but the Holy Spirit is there, but they've been beguiled or taken in by other things that seem more fanciful. I don't know how else to say it. It's kind of sad. That's a large part of believers. Even though they're true believers, they're taken in by...

So, I think this is very appropriate for today's world. You know the truth, and he's going to home in on a particular aspect of the truth here. He's going to home in basically on who Christ is, and that he's central. Not just, you know, you could say there's a whole bunch of other topics out there that he could write about, but he's going to home in just on the truth about the Lord Jesus and why that's central. If you deny who Christ is, You're not at square one.

So that's where he's heading in this. So then he comes, he says, but because you know it. And it's interesting. So if you kind of rephrase that, I did write to you because you do know the truth. So the truth is central here. We're going to have the truth versus lies, or the liar. That's going to be the tension here these next couple of verses. So he wants you to know the truth. And he's going to tell you what truth he's talking about here. And the word for truth here is oida, to perceive, to be aware of, to understand. It's the concept of full knowledge in contrast with like Gnosko, which is experiential knowledge.

This is something that you know. And what's interesting is that the verb tense here is in what's called the perfect tense. We've talked about this before. Completed action in past time with abiding results into the present. It's the same verb tense that was in the previous verse. You knew this in the past and you continue to know up into the present.

But even though that's true of that verb, he still wants to tell you about it. And I'll show other verses that say, you know this body of information, but I'm going to tell you again, because I'm concerned that you need to be reminded. You may forget. You may go astray. So that seems to be a constant. John's doing this a lot. He comes back and says, you know this, but I'm going to tell you again, because I'm concerned about you. And Paul did that too.

There are a series of verses in scripture that have the idea of know truth, know the truth, and so let's look at a couple of these. 2 Peter, 2 Peter, and we're going to see that idea that you know it, but I'm going to tell you again because you need to hear it. 2 Peter, verse 1 and verse 12.

Therefore, I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things Though you know them and are established in the present truth Okay All right. So basically he says Therefore I shall always be ready to remind you so he he wants to remind it sounds very similar to this, right? He wants to remind you of these things even though you know, he says you know them and You've been established in these truths, which is present with you. So, I mean, it really speaks, I think, to what John's talking about, that, you know, you have the anointing, you have the Spirit of God in your life, but I'm ready to remind you, to tell you about these things, even though you already know them and have been established in them. And we can think of just multitude of situations where people are like that. They have the They have the truth, but there are often some, you know, wherever. How about 1st Timothy, chapter 4. 1st Timothy, chapter 4, verse 3. They have to write.

Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from food which God created to be received with thanksgiving. by those who believe and know the truth. And the reason I chose this one because that combination of that you've come to faith in Christ, we believe, and therefore as a result of that you have the truth, you have the information, you have the Spirit of God in your life.

Now you maybe need to be taught more, but you have the truth. And the truth is going to be Christ basically. And then John And actually, we don't need to determine that. That's pretty familiar. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. I find even unbelievers like to use that. You notice that in the pop videos. And it's always whatever truth they found somewhere.

Go ahead, Tom. I'm kind of thinking of all these different writers, Paul, and Peter, and John, that they might have even harkened back to that area in Samuel where he said, as for me, I will Far be it from me that I cease my pray for you and I will continue to teach you those things which are good and right. In other words, he was reminding Saul what's the real deal here.

This is what needs to be done. Absolutely. That's good. So now he says, because you know it and because no lie is of the truth. So this is kind of interesting phraseology. So this is, no lie is of the truth. So literally, it's every lie is not of the truth. And of is this word, ek, or out of. Or even maybe even more specific, every lie is not out of the truth as a source.

So if I were Randy, came in just at the right time. My condolences. I draw two circles. I put truth in one and lie in the other. There's no place in which those two meet. No lie is of the truth. There's no meeting point for these two. The lie and the truth. And that's what he's trying to convey. Don't ever say that the lie has some truth in it. A little white lie, you know, you've heard that expression. Or a half-truth. A half-truth, right? They don't meet. They cannot meet.

And that's important. Because later on, people will say, well, I have the Father. Isn't that good enough? And we hear that today. Well, you believe in God. Isn't that good enough? Well, I'm sorry. Christ is the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. God set forth his son. I mean, you know, if you discount the son, you don't have the father. And that's where he's going to get to that point. And that's where he's headed with this set of, you know, no lies are the truth. So the lie that you, well, I have the father. Isn't that good enough? No, that's not. I'm sorry. That's not it. You can't. So, good. Okay.

And then I just, And the place you want to go, the defining passage on what the lie is and the liar is in John 8. John 8. I'd like to read 42 through 45. John 8. And this is kind of a familiar passage, hopefully. Can I get someone to read that 42 through 45? Jesus said unto them, If God were your father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Why do you not understand my speech, even because you cannot hear my word? Ye are of your father the devil. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Thanks, Roy. So, right in here in verse 44, he says that no truth, kind of says the flip side of this, he says no truth, No truth is in a lie. So there again we have that confirmation that truth and a lie are separate entities and there's no overlapping point at all.

It cannot be. And then this goes on to point out that we're going to see that the liar, the origin of lies, is Satan basically. And that was from the beginning. That's unchanged. He speaks a lie. He speaks from his own nature. He is a liar and the father of lies.

So that's kind of the defining passage on what a lie is. OK, so it's going to go on. So next question, who is the liar? And notice here that the construction here is pretty straightforward. The liar identifies the subject, who. And notice it's the liar. So now we're going to move into and look at the Antichrist. We're going to start talking about that a little bit. So the liar. And he's also going to define what he means by what aspect, what lie is critical, if you will. The lie that's critical, but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. So that's a critical lie.

Literally, it's present tense, the one to nine. You know what I kind of found here as I look through this? I think of Randy's picture last week. Wow, I could go over here, and I could go over here, and you could do that. Stay on task, stay on task. There might be a tendency to say, well, this is talking about the Antichrist, so I could go off and look at that.

But I think he's saying, the Antichrist is a prime example, but it's the mini-Antichrist that I'm concerned about, the ones that are types of Antichrist. That's what I'm going to focus on, because they're going to deny who Christ is. They're going to deny who he is, just like the Antichrist does. But I'm more concerned about them. The Antichrist is coming. Don't worry about that. I mean, you should worry about that in a sense, be saved. But it's the one who are walking around here, who went out from us, who were not part of us. That's who I'm concerned about.

So denies from Byne is actually to refuse something, not to know or recognize him, to reject him either in the face of foreign. The last part was a little bit weak, I thought. But anyway, it's denying who he is. And let's look at Jude here, Jude chapter 1. This talks about denying. Actually, we're going to see denying is going to occur three times in the next couple passages here. Jude 1. Let's read 3 and 4.

Someone would do that. To be loved while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you, appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out of this Here's Jude, and he has the same concern. A concern that he's writing appealing to them that they have to remember that there are people that have come in and they should contend for the faith. And what's the issue?

The issue is denying the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's a common theme through all the writers. I'm concerned about these people that are around you. They're going to deny who Christ is. They're going to lead you astray. So John's, you know, that's a common theme.

So actually what we're going to see coming up here, we're going to see that, talk about denying that Jesus is the Christ. denying the Father and the Son, and then denying the Son. So those three, denying can be used three times, twice in this verse and once in the next verse. So okay, so now we're still in verse 22. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

So that's the key issue that's set there. So is, we're getting down to is here. It's come to that. But this is cool. Maybe some of you remember, I just love my brother Hal. He would explain this verb in the Greek. I still remember it and still love it. Every time I do it, it's wonderful. It's this verb, amy. Does anybody remember what amy means? The meaning of amy? It's a state of being verb. It's the state in which something continuously exists. So this is saying that Jesus Christ continuously exists. Jesus continuously exists as the Christ, the Messiah. Which is, that's powerful. Okay, good, good, okay.

Alright, so this is just, you know, you guys know all this, but this is just good. I found it good to kind of, now Jesus is the transliteration of Joshua. meaning Jehovah is salvation or is the savior and Christ Christos is literally the anointed and it's translated in the Septuagint by the word Messiah and that was a title that Christ you know constantly constantly over and over all throughout the New Testament. Which would that not be the equivalent of promised one too? That's what Messiah means.

Right, I think that's a good point. That's good, thank you. So what I found is that in these verses here, let's look at the first one and then I'll talk about the Acts passages. 1 John chapter 5. I'll just read that. It says, Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God, Whoever loves a father loves a child born of him. So, through the rest of the passage here, we're going to see the connection between the Father and the Son.

They're one in essence. God is one in essence, but three persons. And that's key. That's why pulling God, so to speak, apart, and say, I'm just going to believe in God the Father, or a God out there can't be, because God is one in essence. So this verse basically talks about believing that Jesus is a Christ, born of God, whoever loves the Father loves the child. So all these verses just speak of this oneness, this uniqueness of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But particularly in this case, the Father and the Son relationship.

What we're going to find in these Acts passages here, that's one of the central messages, as you might guess, when they went out to the Jews in all these different synagogues and places. What was the message that they gave them? Jesus is the Messiah. So let's look at some of those. Acts 9. Can someone read verse 22?

But Saul kept increasing his strength and confounding the Jews who lived at the Right. So that was the pivotal point. That's what he presented and that's what just so you know. They couldn't handle that, right? And then you go over to Acts 17. Explaining and demonstrating that Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead. And saying, this Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.

Right. He's not just... He is the Christ. The Messiah. Powerful stuff here. And then 18.5. But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. And then lastly, 18.28. Isn't that beautiful?

Did Paul use his persuasive personality? He said he didn't do well in public, right? He used the Scriptures. That's so wonderful. By the Scriptures, that Jesus was a Christ. Paul himself said he was not... In person, he liked to write. He did better in writing. Corinthians 15, when we go there to read the gospel, Paul writes so clearly, and he wraps into the text, according to the Scriptures.

I came to you with the Scriptures, and this was the gospel, and this was the Messiah. And you know, the funny thing is, up until just right now, I always thought about the facts that were there, and less about the according to the Scripture part. That was kind of like, well, Bible memory verse, better make sure you remember according to Scripture, but not taking into account, the context of the faithfulness of the Old Testament to proclaim this coming Messiah, and so that Paul could so easily go, listen, I got a vision.

But that wasn't where it stopped. the Lord showed me that these things were already true and already revealed. And notice how it says how powerfully, and that's where the power was in God's Word that He declared to them. That's what struck me too. I said, wow, look at this. Every time He said, Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the Christ, and they just couldn't refute that. They couldn't counter that.

And that's the way, you know, I had a chance to share with a gentleman who was actually was dying about a couple months before his death. And to my knowledge, he never heard the scriptures at all. And so this friend, who's also a believer, we went to his house and so I prepared some verses and I just read through the verses about the gospel and who Christ is. At the end of that, he said, I've never heard that before. And we just kind of just, the only part that makes me a little bit uncertain is he never, between that and his death, he never actually said he accepted that. Now, all of a sudden, the Bible became very important to him. We gave him a copy, but he never, in the subsequent discussions, never actually said, boy, what you said, I really believe that now.

Of course, that's what I wanted to hear. But it was hard. But that just shows that I said, wow, I just, I put these verses, you know, I just, we have a sheet and I read them and he, we look through these verses and he said, I never heard that before. And I just, it's just astounding. And he's, he was 75, 74, 75. So hopefully he heard it to salvation. That's my prayer. So anyway. Okay. All right. So, okay.

Who is a liar but the one who denies that Jesus is a Christ And he says, who's doing that? This is the Antichrist. I thought this was really kind of expanding on what Randy did last week. I like this. I think it was Vines was quoting Westcott here. Anyway, can mean either against Christ or instead of Christ, or perhaps combining the two. I thought that was kind of good. And then ultimately, the Antichrist, the one assumes the guise of Christ, but opposes Christ.

That's just kind of, I was just trying to really, really nailed it really well. Go ahead. I'll talk to you first. I think of these old advertising approaches, except no substitute. Except no substitute. I was thinking of something slightly different.

The thing that is interesting is that When we went back and looked at what Christ was saying in John, he said Satan was a liar and an imposter, and all these things. And really the Antichrist just embraces that, takes on that persona. Take me instead. I will be your Jesus. And it's terrible. It is. It's awful. All right, so I think as Randy may have pointed out too, the Antichrist, you know, Antaean Christos, only appears actually, it's only in John's writings. And Randy covered one last week.

Let's look at 4.3, 1 John 4.3.

That was really pretty good, 1 John 4.3. How about maybe 2 and 3?

1 John 4.2 and 3. by this know ye the Spirit of God.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God and is that spirit of Antichrist of which ye have heard that it should come and even now already is in the world.

Yeah, I kind of think that's the essence of what John's trying to say about his reference to Antichrist. He's not trying to give us a... Yes, he says Antichrist. Revelation and Daniel will really talk about the deeds of Antichrist and what Antichrist is going to do and the whole timeline. He's concerned it's those mini-Antichrists out there. That's what his... Oh no, it's on his heart, it seems like. It's a mini-Antichrist. You kind of pick up... Well, he writes the letters as father job. My dear children.

And I think of as a kid you want, or as a parent you want to warn your children, listen, there's the really really bad guy, that's the guy who's going to abduct you or whatever else, but you want to be careful about all the other people that you could be hanging out with and surrounding yourself with because these are the ones that are going to It may subtly turn your heart, subtly turn you away from where you should be going.

Yeah, because the Christian doesn't really have to be concerned about the Antichrist. No, he doesn't. Because he won't be here. No. But it's the ones that, you know... Right. It's a mini-Antichrist. It's a spirit. We're going to see this word, the spirit of Antichrist. Donna? Is that as general as just like the spirit of the world? The spirit of Antichrist?

Yeah. If it's not of Christ. And that's a good point. It seems like, at least in 1 John, he's tying it to denying who Christ is. But you're right. The world does that all the time. It doesn't want you to talk about Christ. God is okay. I had the experience with burying my mother. I wanted to put on the tombstone, and we did. Thank you, Lord. I prevailed. I wanted to put, safe in the Lord Jesus. Well, they objected to, they, my sister, objected to Jesus. She said, well, why not just safe in the Lord? She was okay, safe in the Lord, but not safe in the Lord Jesus.

I said, I'm sorry. We prevailed. I'm sorry. I couldn't do that. I mean, that's just what it is. Constantly. You know, don't be, oh yeah, God, that's okay. You know, Tom. You could have kind of almost, but would probably would have gone over like a lamp on, but you could have said, What I've engraved, I've engraved. What I've written, I've written. I don't know what she quite would have... She hasn't, to my knowledge, hasn't read the scriptures. I appreciate your prayers for my sister. She's in dire straits from a lot of perspectives. Not only from salvation. That's what she primarily needs.

What's her name? Her name is Patricia or Tricia. Yeah, I know. It's interesting how the name's going. Patricia is not a... Is it coming back? I don't know. Maybe it is. We'll see. Roger. Yes, I'm sorry. This is a rabbit. I don't know if we want to go there or not. Okay.

It's a very subtle distraction from who Jesus Christ is. He is the promised one. Focusing on that versus, is he your Lord? Emphasis on you. It's so subtle. No, I agree. All those little things, they're so close. They sound so good. Just a little turning of that truth. Well in that case you could argue that he is Lord, I mean that's by definition, but what's the idea of making him Lord? He already is Lord. Well, and then things went through on that. You know, as you have these many little antichrists that you're talking about, doesn't that set the stage so that when the antichrist shows up, he's embraced? Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it's a little bit scary. It is. A little bit scary. It's very, you know.

Okay, we've got to go on here. Okay, so now we're going to talk about the concept of the father and son. This is the second time. The one who denies the father and the son. So it's a package deal. They're one in essence. And it's present tense. Whoever denies the son. Again, there's all these participles in here. Present participles. Everyone denying the son. OK.

So I'm just kind of curious. We'll look at a couple here. Who denied the sign of scripture? I actually didn't thought of that one. Who else? Peter. Good. I wouldn't thought of the third one. Pharisees, Sadducees, that's all the Sadducees, all the C's. They were awash.

They all said, well, we'll ask him this. This will trick him. We'll ask him that. We'll do this and do that. And Peter, of course, he denied him three times. But Peter's maybe like us. Maybe like every believer. We may deny him for whatever reason. We're afraid. Whatever it might be.

Now, of course, he's focused here on who Christ is. After I put these down, I thought, well, these are really to the point, and they may not be necessarily, but I was kind of curious about. So if you deny who Christ is, that he is the Messiah, he is God's Son, you don't have the Father. So if you don't have the Father, you really, you know, neither has the Father. Okay, and then let's see here. Let's look here.

This verse here is just going to talk about, in John 5, just talks about the intimacy between the Father and the Son. The Father and the Son, they don't act as separate entities. They act totally in conjunction, totally as one in essence. So let's just get, I'll start reading in verse 19. It says, therefore, Jesus answered and was saying to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of himself. So is the son separate, just roaming around? Okay, I want to do my thing now. No, he doesn't. I'm number two, right? Number one's up there, I'm number two. I'm getting a little bit carried away here.

Unless it is something he sees the father doing, for whatever the father does, these things the son also does in like manner. For the father loves the son and shows him all things and he himself is doing. greater works than these will he show him that you may marvel. For just as a father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the son also gives life to whom he wishes. So this kind of struck me that this is the intimacy.

The father and the son are one in essence. They are not independent. And they never spoke of themselves that way. They always spoke of themselves as one. And then the converse, whoever confesses the Son, literally the one confessing in present tense, and this is too bad Bud isn't here. I'm going to give him a hard time about this.

So homo legeo, the same word as the confessing that we see in 1 John 1.9, to speak the same thing, to say the same thing. So in this case, they're saying the same thing about the Son.

So let's look at The first John 4.2.

It says, By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit, actually we've read this before, that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. And then in the second John, it says, For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. So not acknowledging that Christ has come in the flesh, who he is, of course this is talking about the positive of that. And when you do that you have the Father also. And the emphasis there. has come and would be passed and in the flesh, we'd be modifying that in the sense that God has become enfleshed and that's the essence of the messiahship, that the promised one would come. In a synopsis, I believe the opposite would be God hasn't yet sent his messiah. There's nobody that has become flesh from God, just the opposite. Christ is the only one. True.

Actually, back there in 2 John, we didn't read it, but verse 9, which I have coming down here, it says that Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teachings of Christ and then does not does not have God so there's so they They need to acknowledge who Christ is and what he taught The one who abides in the teaching has both a father and the son So that kind of that's kind of synopsis of what we just we just covered if you separate them and you you say no I'm not gonna believe that You don't have the Father, but if you believe in both, God is one in essence, and his message is comprehensive there. Alright, any last thoughts? So we'll continue on next week, basically the same kind of thing with the Antichrist and with the truth. Well, let's close.

We thank you, Father. We thank you for this day, Lord. We thank you for the blessings we have, Father. There are many rabbit trails out there, to use a popular thing. There are many things that distract us from who Christ is and what he's done. We're thankful that you give us your spirit. We have that as a permanent possession and that you will guide us into all the truth, Lord. We thank you for the wonderful Savior we have. We ask it in his name. Amen.