A little Journey through 1 John: Jesus IS God!

Currently I am studying 1 John. This has been an interesting journey as I have read this book before but wanted to take a look at it again to see what the mind and heart may have missed. One thing that I was very intrigued was the bluntness of John. This is the same John who wrote the Gospel, and Revelation. John has a more black and white approach to issues and topics going on. Instead of leaving a grey area, he describes things exactly like his Gospel: either children of light, or of the devil, (1 John)-you either walk in the light or walk in darkness, either a follower of Christ or your an anti-christ, you either love the world or love God. See the contrasting examples?

But what most struck me was how God once again shows us that Jesus is the only way , and that Jesus was unique over every other religion because He WAS God!

Lets begin:
1 John 2:22-23

#1-"Who is the liar? It is the man whoo denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist--he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies Sonhas the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also."


vs.22- "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ."

-John focuses his attention to deity of Jesus. To deny that Jesus was God or His diety means to deny the Father. You can look at the Gospel of John and the others for many many many references of Jesus being God but this is the clearest:

John 10:30-"I and the Father are one."


-Jesus is telling us that He and the Father (God ) are one. He was speaking to Jews who were trying to debate him. Later in the verse they are ready stone because He claims to be God.


vs. 22 cont.--"Such a man is the antichrist--he denies the Father and the Son."

-John isnt saying that it is the actual antichrist, but simply someone who doesnt recognize Christ as being God Incarnate. Anti means "to be opposed to." Therefore an antichrist is someone opposed to Jesus being the Christ--(God, divine) But one must remember that when one denies the Father he also denies Jesus.

vs. 23--"No one who deines the Son has the Father: whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also."

-now vice versa because the Father and Son are 1--the one who denies the Son doesnt have the Father. You cannot have the Father without the Son! This needs to be taken into account with other religions and groups: Islam, Jews,Christian scientists, Jehovahs witness...etc.

To further this Jesus is God, and the exclusivity of Jesus being God we look further into

1 John 4:2
"Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God."

First John is addressing the growing group called Gnostics (gnosis: Greek for Knowledge) or Gnosticism which taught that the divine Christ came upon the human Jesus at baptism then left him at the cross. Also John is stating that the best way to figure out who are false teachers are ones who do not acknowledge that Jesus is God in the flesh (meaning God "embodied in human form").
This is reinterated later in the chapter:

1 John 4:15
"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God."

First the book has used the word acknowledge several times...lets dissect this word and gets its definitition.

Acknowledge: 1. to admit the existence or reality of.
2. to recognize as being valid
3. to express recognition
synonyms--admit, own, avow, concede, confess...

If anyone admits...
If anyone confesses...
The fact of this verse is that the person who recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God ( the title is a title of divine nature) God is dwelling in Him and he in God. Meaning that Jesus being God Himself dwells in you. This is the reason why to come to salvation we must acknowledge, or confess that Jesus is God, (Romans 10:9) we must believe that Jesus was who He said He was. That He was what was prophesied for thousands of years!

THE POINT:

1. That these verses continue to further the fact that Jesus was God in the flesh. (1 John 4:2) Which is exclusive to only Jesus. No other religion can claim that there intercessor or person IS God.
2. To know the Father you MUST know the Son no excuses.
3. You cannot have the Father without the Son---Jesus and the Father are 1(Jn 10:30)
4. Any religion claiming Jesus to be anything other than God in the flesh are considered to be antichrists and rejected. (1 John 2:18, 1 John 4:3)

May God Bless you and keep you!