Deception can pop up in our world, including in the church. How do we deal with deceivers? Join Dr. Marty Baker as we take a look at 1 John 2:19-24.
As I have told you before, I love Four O’clock flowers. They are sturdy, handle heat well, bloom profusely, and produce their seed in the fall so you can have a new crop the following year. Here is some growing at the foot of my mailbox. In just a few weeks, trumpet-shaped flowers will cover these green leaves for the rest of the hot summer.
Looking at these flowers, it appears they are healthy and doing well, and they are. But if you look closely, you will notice they have been infiltrated by an alien plant that resembles them. Do you see it? If you can’t, let me show and educate you.
Ah, now do you see the unwanted guest, a weed? If you were me, what would you do? If I am too lazy to pull it, it will take over my Four O’clock, inhibiting its growth and limiting the number of flowers it should produce. So, what do you think I need to do? That’s right. I need to quickly address these Four O’clock look-a-likes by taking radical action and removing them. Unfortunately, from what I know of this type of weed, I will need to address its presence all summer because it grows prolifically in Virginia.
Who among us dares to argue that gardening is not a spiritual experience foolishly? Not I. This gardening lesson is a perfect metaphor for leaders and saints in local churches. It tells us we must constantly be on the lookout for false saints masquerading as faithful saints so they can infiltrate the church and re-educate it with their devilish, dangerous doctrines. Yes, they will initially blend in, but their deviant teaching(s) will become apparent to those who know the truth of the Word of God. At that juncture, we need to do what John did with the various churches in Asia Minor, which were infiltrated by Gnostic teachers dressed up like godly teachers. He wasted no time taking them to task, exposing their false teachings to the churches, reminding saints of the content of sound doctrine, and challenging them to remain committed to truth and to love each other . . . as opposed to fighting each other.
In 1 John chapter 2, starting with verse 18, John, the wise and insightful shepherd, gives us great advice concerning properly handling those who seek to subvert the faith from within the local church. His clear, concise teaching here starts with a question from the text before us.
How Should Saints Deal With Destructive Doctrinal Deceptions? (1 John 2:18-24)
First up, we should always . . .
Consider The Times (1 John 2:18)
Here is John’s first point of action:
18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now, many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2).
His counsel couldn’t be more on target in our testy, morally, spiritually, and philosophically twisted times. Before the arrival of the primary menace to the world, the Antichrist, a Satanically inspired man (Rev. 13), who hates law and order (2 Thess. 2:3), despises morality and loves immorality, manufactures lies to dupe the masses, seeks to amass political power beyond any other ruthless leader in world history, and who will eventually demand the worship of humanity, we should not be surprised at little antichrists who will be all over the place before his arrival the end of time. They are here relentlessly pushing immorality for morality, sexual perversion as if it were purity, unreality as reality, lawlessness in the place of lawfulness, victimology for the actual perpetrators, and a hatred for the Church, which stands in their way of total domination and control of the culture so they can reshape it into their licentious liking.
Remember: knowing what the wicked weed looks like and the knowledge that it will seek to sneak into local churches for nefarious purposes dressed up as supposedly “noble” purposes, educates us. Hence, we are prepared to act and not be caught napping. Unfortunately, the churches John oversaw were caught off-guard. The wicked Gnostic weed grew unhindered for the most part, resulting in confused saints and divided churches.
In addition to being aware of the times in which we live, which were foretold long ago by God, a second concept we need to be mindful of is this:
Consider The “Teachers” (1 John 2:19)
These false teachers, who were likened to the spirit of the Antichrist, eventually showed their true carnal colors:
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out so that it might be shown that they all are not of us (1 John 2).
Were these teachers believers, they would have had no reason to leave the various churches. When, however, their deviant doctrinal teachings failed to square with sound historical doctrine, and the majority of the saints witnessed this, leaving became their only viable choice.
Saints, please listen up. No church should desire to keep everyone because, as Paul warned the Ephesian church leaders from the Asia Minor area years before, “and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:30). Paul’s prophetic word proved true when you read the spiritual condition and issues of these Asian churches in John’s day as recorded in the book of Colossians and Revelation chapters 2 and 3. When doctrinal heresy is afoot, its purveyors must be confronted in love and held accountable. If they need to have a class canceled, then so be it. If they are asked to leave, then so be it. And since they are most likely not believers, they must be challenged to drop their false teaching and embrace the truth of the saving gospel of Jesus, the prophesied Savior and Messiah.
Textually, it is also possible that John’s words here have a double reference. The Greek prepositional phrase, ‘Out of us,’ “(Εξ ἡμῶν ἐξῆλθον, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν· εἰ γὰρ ἦσαν ἐξ ἡμῶν, μεμενήκεισαν ἂν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν· ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα φανερωθῶσιν ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν πάντες ἐξ ἡμῶν (1 Jn. 2:19), is emphatically placed at the head of the sentence to stress the shocking nature of their departure. Who were they? Probably false teachers who hooked up with the disciples. What better group to identify with to give you power, prestige, and instant acceptance among the churches? Hence, when these men broke away from the disciples, doctrinally speaking, it was a big deal. You can hear the whispers: “Can you believe they left?” “Yes, based on what we learned about them.”
The prepositional phrase, “out of us,” possibly identifies these men with the false teachers from among the disciples. I say this beside it is the exact phrase used in Acts 15:24:
NIV Acts 15:24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.
BYZ Acts 15:24 ἐπειδὴ ἠκούσαμεν ὅτι τινὲς ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐξελθόντες ἐτάραξαν ὑμᾶς λόγοις, ἀνασκευάζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν, λέγοντες περιτέμνεσθαι καὶ τηρεῖν τὸν νόμον, οἷς οὐ διεστειλάμεθα·
The historical context here concerns the Jerusalem Council, where Jewish believers debated with Judaizers whether Gentile believers had to place their faith in Jesus and perpetually observe the Mosaic Law and rituals or believe in Jesus to be saved. The Judaizers, or false teachers, had negatively impacted churches for the main church in Jerusalem, under the leadership of James, the Lord’s half-brother, to hold a debate to deal with the weeds in question. Thankfully, the Church landed on the side of grace and not on the side of grace plus works, which was a false gospel.
Church, sit up, and take note. Our job as elders is to guard the flock against outer and inner attacks. Don’t be shocked, then, when one in the future arises from among us who appears, at first, to be with us doctrinally speaking but then who eventually reveals he (or she) espouses deviant and heretical views of Scripture.
Years ago, a Jewish “Christian” showed up at an apologetics class I taught. He was dressed in black with a Hasidic-type black hat, and he instantly captured everyone’s attention. He pulled a black suitcase behind him full of Hebrew books, and he wasted no time ensuring everyone knew he was well-read and academically gifted. Usually, first-time guests don’t speak up in classes like this, but he did. His observations and comments seemed so sound that believers approached me afterward and asked whether I thought he was an angel of God (Heb. 13:1). Something struck me as odd about him. I guess it was my inquisitive mind’s spirit of discernment at work. So, I walked over and engaged him. He told me he held a doctorate in Egyptian Hebrew hieroglyphics within a few minutes. When I told him I had just left a Ph. D. program in Hebrew that I couldn’t finish because of a special needs son, he started getting antsy to leave. When I told him I had never encountered this particular Hebrew dialect he was supposedly fluent in as a “scholar,” he became agitated and uncomfortable.
Thank the Lord for protecting His church. He didn’t last too many more weeks beyond this pastoral encounter, and eventually, he self-selected. Today, as your leaders, we remain committed to holding teachers accountable, and we ask the same from you as well, for one does not always know who the “Gnostics” are at first.
A third and final concept helps us deal with wicked weeds masquerading as the real flowers of God.
Consider The Truth (1 John 2:20-23)
First, I invite you to read the text with me. Afterward, we will come back and offers some salient observations:
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.
John turns here from the false teachers to the saints, the true believers, who were the object of the false teaching. From what we read in verse 20, the false teachers sought to dupe the saints into believing they lacked actual spiritual knowledge because they didn’t possess the esoteric anointing of the Gnostic religious system of thought/doctrine. The modus operandi of false teachers is always the same: Only when you embrace the secret, special teachings we espouse are you genuinely enlightened and spiritual.
Baloney, says John in so many words.
If you believe in the redemptive power of Christ’s gospel, you don’t need special enlightened Gnostic teachers to teach you because you are already anointed with the Holy Spirit. When did this special anointing occur? Good question. Before I answer this, let me first make a couple of observations.
One, note the present tense nature of the main verb, “you have” (Καὶ ὑμεῖς χρίσμα ἔχετε, 1 Jn. 2:20). The placement of the personal pronoun, “you” after the opening connective, kai, makes the saint’s possession of this special anointing most emphatic. The verbal tense can, therefore, easily be classified as a gnomic present denoting the ongoing nature of this particular divine anointing.
Two, the word to anoint is charisma (χρίσμα). In the OT, oil was used to anoint prophets, priests, kings, and special artisans for the tabernacle/temple with the power of God’s Spirit for the task at hand (Ex. 40:15). Here, the anointing is “from the Holy One.” The adjective holy is used substantively here to denote the Holy Spirit. Typically, when this genitival construction is used in the NT, it is either preceded or followed by the genitival word pneumatos (πνεύματος ), meaning the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:32; 28:19; Luke 2:26; Acts 1:8; 2:33, 8; 9:31; 10:45; 13:4; 16:6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 9:8). You, the saint, therefore, perpetually have the Holy Spirit as your special anointing.
When did you get anointed? At the moment of conversion and faith. When you were saved, you were not only forgiven of your sin, but the Holy Spirit came and sealed you until the day of redemption (Eph. 1:16-18; 4:30); he mystically baptized you for all time into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13), He indwelt you (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Rom. 8:11), and He regenerated your spiritually dead body (John 6:63; Titus 3:5). Therefore, you don’t need a second baptism of the Spirit because you already have Him in your life.
What is the goal of this anointing? To fill you with His presence as you yield to Him, resulting in you living a powerful godly life (Eph. 5:18), to give you guidance regarding how to walk with Christ (Gal. 5:16-25), to empower you for holy living (Gal. 5:17; Rom. 8:13), and, as we see here in 1 John 2, verse 20, to be your personal teacher regarding doctrinal truth. This, of course, is not to diminish the role of the pastor-teacher (Eph. 4:10ff) or other spiritual teachers who communicate the Word of God to you. But it does emphasize that the Spirit is doing in your life just what Jesus promised He would:
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you (John 14).
13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. (John 16).
He is present with you daily to make sure you know the difference between spiritual truth and error, and He will convict you if you start heading in the wrong direction. And, no, these texts don’t mean that Christians know everything. It does mean that the Holy Spirit teaches you the truth as you read and study the Word, listen to sermons, and attend small groups. At BCC, you certainly have been given doctrinal truth significantly, for it is woven through our ministry. If anything, you know all the truth you need to know about the gospel, the Bible being God’s Word (and why this is so), the doctrine of sin, and so forth. Hence, when exposed to false teaching, you should immediately pick it up because of the teaching you have received and the powerful presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit. He will always say, “What you hear is not sound doctrine.” Therefore, based on His holy presence, you don’t need special religious people in your life giving you esoteric information so you can be genuinely anointed. You have all the anointing you need to pursue truth and holy living. John drives the reality of this concept home with these words:
21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
The saints he wrote to were believers, despite what the Gnostics told them. And these saints knew why they were saints because they already knew the truth of this from the Word of God and the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, teaching which deviated from this was nothing but an outright lie. Jesus is either the God-man and Savior or He is not. Since all the historical and prophetic evidence corresponds to this premise, it must be inevitably true instead of false. Let us rest in the spiritual truths God has revealed to us. Let us also, be ready and willing to call false teaching what it is: an outright lie about how to reach God and have a relationship with Him.
Turning from believers in verses 22 through 23, John focuses again on the antichrists or false teachers:
22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
In typical Gnostic fashion, Cerinthus (A.D. 100) denied the incarnation of Christ. To him, Christ was just a spiritual being who was not 100% divine and who happened to adopt the physical body of Jesus. In Gnostic teaching, Jesus was also not the Christ or Messiah. Here John gives us insight into what the Gnostic taught.
John rightfully called these teachers liars because their teaching did not square with history or biblical evidence. Had Jesus just been a mere man, He could have never lived a perfect life to pay for the penalty for our sins. Had He just been God, He would have been separated from identifying with us and our tragic spiritual situation. But because He was the God-man and Messiah, He was perfectly suited to bear and forgive our sins. Jesus, however, was and is the long-awaited Christ, the divine Savior and King. How important is this truth? Just listen to the exchange between Jesus and Martha in John 11:
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world” (John 11).
To believe this is to be saved. To disbelieve this is to be lost. To accept this is to have a relationship with the Son and the Father. To deny is to fail to have a relationship with the Son and Father.
Mark this well, for this is where all false religious systems show their true colors. When they deny the full humanity and deity of Jesus as the Christ, they are a lie hell. So, I must ask you a personal question: Are you wrapped up in a belief system rejecting the deity of Jesus? Does it reject the fact that He became a man in time and space? Does it reject Him as the one and only Messiah prophesied of old? If so, your system is a complete lie and will not lead you into a relationship with God or guide you to heaven. Quite the opposite. It will drag you down into eternal punishment.
So, what false teaching have you embraced about Jesus? Here is what Jehovah’s Witnesses say about Jesus:
“Our Lord Jesus Christ is a God . . . still the united voice of the Scriptures must emphatically assert that there is but one Almighty God, the Father of all” (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. V, p. 55).
“At the time of his beginning of life he was created by the everlasting God, Jehovah without the aid or instrumentality of any mother. In other words, he was the first and direct creation of Jehovah God . . . He was the start of God’s creative work. He was not an incarnation in the flesh but was flesh, a human Son of God, a perfect man, no longer a spirit, although having a spiritual or heavenly past and background” (The Kingdom is at Hand, pp. 46-49).
“The true Scriptures speak of God’s Son, the Word, as ‘a god.’ He is a ‘mighty god,’ but not ‘the Almighty God, who is Jehovah’—Isaiah 9:6 (The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 47).
No, this doctrinal lie shall keep you a slave to sin and darkness.
Here is what Islam teaches,
O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes regarding your faith; say nothing about Allah except the truth.1 The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger of Allah and the fulfillment of His Word through Mary and a spirit ˹created by a command˺ from Him.2 So believe in Allah and His messengers and do not say, “Trinity.” Stop!—for your own good. Allah is only One God. Glory be to Him! He is far above having a son! To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And Allah is sufficient as a Trustee of Affairs (Surah An-Nisa 4:171).
Jesus was just a prophet. To teach otherwise in their belief systems is nothing short of blasphemy. Conversely, John says they are guilty of believing a lie, for Jesus was and is truly God and man. And He had to be both of these to adequately deal with our sin problem (Heb. 4:14-16).
If you are an atheist, agnostic, or skeptic, you are also bound up in the chains of a lying system, for they reject, by definition, the deity of Jesus. They reject the reality of God altogether too. For the atheist, there is no positive evidence for God. For the agnostic, there is insufficient evidence for God or gods. For the skeptic, absolute truth is unattainable. Therefore, it is better and supposedly wiser to abstain from judgment on issues of truth. Jesus, of course, in any of these systems is rejected outright. To John, however, these systems are rejected by the living God as lies, for they deny the truth about His Son’s person as the divine Messiah and Savior.
If you are entrenched in a lying system, I pray that God would draw you to Himself so you can be saved when you come to the full realization of the true person of Jesus, the Christ. Are you prepared to walk from the lies to the truth? The truth shall most certainly set you free from your sin and God’s judgment on your sin (John 8:32).
For those who are saints, remember how to deal with false teachers and their teaching: Consider the times in which you live . . . they are prophesied to be evil. Consider the teachers you are listening to . . . they are false if they don’t square with Scripture. Consider the truth . . . the truth about Jesus, that is. He is the Lord who left glory to become the God-man, the Savior, and the Messiah. Despite what the culture says, there is no other God or Savior besides Him.
