In a world that values sincerity over truth, John's letter delivers a powerful reminder that what we believe about Jesus determines everything else. This message unpacks 1 John 2:18-27, exploring why correct doctrine isn't just academic—it's the foundation of authentic Christian faith. "Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ" (1 John 2:22). We'll discover how the Christ we confess ultimately determines the life we express, and why remaining in the truth brings the assurance of eternal life Jesus promised. Join us as we examine what it means to walk in both truth and love, anchored in right belief about who Jesus truly is.
Big idea: John has insisted that actions reveal our heart, but now he equally stresses that beliefs matter. Denying Jesus’ deity separates us from the Father; abiding in the truth—by the Spirit’s anointing—secures fellowship and eternal life.
Review – John’s Stark Contrasts
Corrective Balance
God’s Word
1 John 2:18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come… 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ… 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also… 24 See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you… 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life… 27 The anointing you received from him remains in you… as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—remain in him.
Notes
Why Belief Matters
Remaining (“Abiding”) in the Truth
Application
BBCC Verse of the Week: But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. John 2:27 (ESV)
This passage stands at the heart of John’s message to his church(es). It brings all that he has said previously about his authority (1:1 – 4), about sin (1:6 – 2:2), and about God’s command to believe in Jesus and to love others (2:3 – 17) to bear on the pressing reason for his letter, that some people in the church who have been known as Christians have left, apparently rejecting, for whatever reason, the truth that Jesus is the Christ. Here we find John’s plea to his readers that they remain in Christ by continuing to adhere to the apostolic teaching about him. This passage leads from the idea of remaining in Christ to necessary ethical implications for those who are children of God — a topic taken up in 1 John. John argues that not every idea about Jesus Christ is simply a different perspective on the truth, but there are limits beyond which the truth does not extend. He declares the teaching of “those who went out” to be a lie that has no share in the truth about Jesus Christ taught by John and the apostolic tradition. He exhorts his readers to “remain” in Jesus Christ by not being misled to embrace ideas that lie outside the truth of the apostolic witness to the significance of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. – Karen Jobes
In what sense is it “the last hour”? How can John be right since, to put it frankly, quite a few “hours” have passed since this letter was written and the end has still not come?… John may be speaking theologically rather than chronologically. The early Christians understood that the first coming of Christ brought a change of eons, an unparalleled period when the knowledge of God, the presence of his Holy Spirit, and the defeat of Satan were at work. They were fond of speaking about this era eschatologically, for it encompassed elements of the “world to come.” Christians were experiencing the last days or the last times, as if to say, all that was left for history to culminate was for Jesus to return a second time, that coming would complete what this era had begun (see Acts 2:17; 1 Cor. 10:11; Heb. 1:2; 1 Peter 1:20, cf. Joel 2:28, Mic. 4:1). In this framework, the last times formed a last hour in which the struggle with evil and the unveiling of God’s power would intensify (1 Tim. 4:1; Jude 18), though the exact knowledge of when the eschatological era was being culminated remained unknown. Jesus was clear that speculation about the end of the world was inappropriate (see Mark 13:32, Acts 1:7). Yet he still gave an outline of those things that would characterize this era (Mark 13:28–37). There would be a cascade of falsehood and evil putting the church on the extreme defense. False christs and false prophets would be one feature (Matt. 24:24, Mark 13:22; cf. Rev. 13; 19:20). Paul even tells the Thessalonians to watch for “the man of lawlessness,” who is the antichrist, a powerful broker of evil forces (2 Thess. 2:1–12). Consequently, John is reminding his readers that the concentration of evil they are now experiencing fits perfectly the formula announced by Jesus and his apostles for the end of time. -Gary M. Burge
The true follower of Jesus the Messiah has been anointed by his Holy Spirit (vv. 20-21, 26-27) so that a real change of heart and character has happened. One of the key symptoms of that change is the recognition that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. He truly is the Son of God. The antimessianic movements are bound to deny this. If they don't, they have no reason to set up a new movement in the first place! The greatest lie of all is to deny the Father and the Son (v. 22). To deny that Jesus really is God's son is to cut off access to the Father as well, since we truly know the Father only through the Son. Don't do it, says John. These people are deceiving you (v. 26). You know this deep down, because that "anointing" remains within you. Without anyone teaching you from the outside, you know the truth deep within. In the Greek, the word for anointing is the same root word as Messiah. The Messiah is, literally translated, "the anointed one," God's anointed king, his one and only "son." You have been Messiah-ed, you have been anointed, so you must not be deceived by their denials. They are not only denying that Jesus is the Messiah; they are denying everything that makes you, now, who you truly are. This is the lie that will, if given its head, eat its way like rust into the imagination and heart of a Christian, or a church. How then does being anointed by the Holy Spirit help us recognize false claims about God and Christ? -N.T. Wright
For next week – Read 1 John 2:28-3:2 Pastor Samuel Sutter // sam@BBCCOnline.org
