1 John 2:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

NIV: I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.

NASB: These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

CSB: I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

NLT: I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray.

KJV: These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

NKJV: These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.

Verses 12–14 mention "writing" or "I write" six times. Verse 21 adds another. This verse adds an eighth. Each occasion introduces something John desires to emphasize. In this case, he draws attention to the false teachers he calls antichrists in verses 18–27. These false teachers denied Jesus was the Christ (1 John 2:22). They did not have both the Father and the Son.

According to John, these people are attempting to deceive the believers. People can be deceived by themselves (1 John 1:8), by others (1 John 3:7), and, as mentioned here, by false teachers. Second John 1:7 adds, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist." In Revelation 12:9, one of the five names of Satan is "the deceiver of the whole world." Satan is the ultimate source of deception, which explains why John referred to false teachers as antichrists.

First John 2:18–27 warns against those who oppose Christ in their teachings. These ''anti-Christs'' deny that Jesus is God. They reject Him as part of the Trinity, or claim He did not appear in the flesh. John again makes reference to truth ''abiding'' in someone, encouraging his readers to hold to the gospel that saved them.

Chapter 2 explains the fellowship Christians have with God. Christ is our advocate, even when we sin. Christians are not to love things of the world, or to love the world. Instead, we are to live, love, and act like Christ. False teachers, and those who deny Jesus are called ''liars.'' Those who demonstrate a Christ-like behavior are ''born of'' God.

Chapter 1 introduced the primary themes of John’s letter. Chapters 2 and 3 lay out a detailed description of how Christian conduct is meant to be marked by obedience to the truth. Christians are called to live like Christ. Therefore, those who do not (live that way) do not have ''the truth'' in them. Later chapters of this letter will fill in how Christian love and conduct give us confidence in our daily lives.

First John seems to assume that the reader is familiar with the gospel. Rather than re-state these facts, John is concerned with building confidence in Christian believers. At the same time, his words encourage believers to examine their own lives for signs of their relationship with Christ. This letter also challenges false teachers and their incorrect claims about Jesus. Many themes are shared with the Gospel of John.

Accessed 11/23/2024 7:06:34 PM