1 John 2:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

NIV: No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

NASB: Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

CSB: No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.

NLT: Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

KJV: Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

NKJV: Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

This verse offers the other side of verse 22, which referred to those who deny the Father and Son. Specifically, those who reject Jesus are rejecting God, as well. A true believer will accept both God the Father and Jesus the Son. John specifically notes this by confirming that those who accept Christ accept God the Father. The person who confesses or believes in Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9) has the Father. This is because Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6) and is the only name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). This is the message they had heard from the beginning (1 John 2:24). Any different message was to be rejected.

Second John 1:7 also confronted this problem of those denying Jesus' status as God incarnate. A person who deceives by changing core teachings about Jesus is considered a false teacher and antichrist. This was true not only in the church to which John wrote 1 John, but in any time or place where this occurs.

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 5/5/2024 8:35:58 PM