Do Not Remain As Children In Your Understanding And Be Lost In Space

The Daily (NASB) Reading: 1 John 2:20-24

After addressing “the paidia” (children) (1Jn.2:13,18), that is, those who “know about the Father” through the basic skills of learning (Rom.1:18-23), which was and remains a common grace by which we may ready ourselves to become his “little ones,” as we defined in a previous study (1Jn.2:1,7,12), but coming to him as little ones that possess the divine nature of his love that have been forgiven and are no longer (paidia) “slaves” of that love which is of the world (2Tim.3:5-7; Gal.4:7; Jn.15:15), and warning them about the antichrist that is coming and (the many) that are present in the world, having gone out from the revelation of this love, but is now turning back to addressing these “little ones” who remain in God’s love because of the “anointing” of the Holy One that is in them. (v.20)

Therefore who are the “you” (plural) that have this anointing from the Holy One? (v.20)

Again, the logical contrastive conjunction here distinguishes “the little ones” from the paidia (children). Therefore this addresses those spiritual children that have been freed from the slavery of the lesser title and have received the assurance that they not only know the Father but are rather known by the Father through the holy standard of his divine love (1Jn.2:14).

1 Corinthians 8:1–3 (NKJV)

1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

Galatians 4:9 (NKJV)

9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?

Romans 8:29–30 (NKJV)

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

1 John 4:4–6 (NKJV)

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Therefore what makes the distinction between the obvious spiritual divide of these two classes or “races” of spiritual children if it is not the very image of God? (v.21)

This race of children (teknia) (1Jn.2:11), which share the same substance according to the flesh with those still called slaves (paidia) (Acts.17:26), is a holy race through this “anointing” that has given them “all things” (NKJV) in Christ. And they know “all things” because of the Spirit that has been given to them.

1 John 3:20–24 (NKJV)

20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask, we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him and He in him. And by this, we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

1 Peter 2:9–10 (NKJV)

9 But you are a chosen generation [race/class], a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

But the opposing race of (teknia) are slaves because they are dispossessed of the standard of God’s light, love, and life (Acts.17:27; Eph.2:12; 4:18; Col.1:21).

1 John 3:10 (NKJV)

10 In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Ephesians 2:3–5 (NKJV)

3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children (teknai) of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Psalm 51:5–6 (NKJV)

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin, my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part, You will make me to know wisdom.

Therefore the children (teknia) of the natural means may be elevated as a higher spiritual race through the knowledge of the Holy One. (v.20)

Ephesians 2:5–6 (NKJV)

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Acts 13:35 (NKJV)

35 Therefore, He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’

Proverbs 9:10 (NKJV)

10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Therefore it is “procrastination” to neglect the spiritual duties of forcing yourself to know “all things” that are (in the Holy One) because he has not withheld them from us (1Cor.2:12; Rom.9:33; 10:13; Acts 10:43; Jn.6:54; Lk.6:47; 9:24; 12:8; 14:11; 20:18; Mk.10:15)! Therefore, according to Romans 1:20, even as children who are slaves to the devil, we are without excuse.

Isaiah 5:18–19 (NKJV)

18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope; 19 That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.”

2 Corinthians 1:18–22 (NKJV)

18 But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. 20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Therefore, how much more responsible are these “little ones” who not only know the Father but know “all things” that have been revealed through Him in truth? (v.21)

These children of God’s holy image of love have an even greater duty not to lie against the truth lest it be revealed that the love of the Father was never in them (v.15).

Colossians 3:9–11 (NKJV)

9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Therefore only in these children (teknia) will the image of God abide as all and in all. They are called little ones because they continue to abide in the message that they heard from the beginning and have been affirmed in the truth.

Ephesians 4:20–24 (NKJV)

20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore we must consider that there are “many” ways to deny that Jesus is the Christ because of the knowledge of the truth that is in his exclusivity, which sets us free from the love of the world. (v.21)

Therefore to deny that Christ is the revelation of God is to deny the Father as well. And since “all things” of the Father are given to us through Christ, we deny “all things” by denying Christ and continue to practice a lie. No lie can be of the truth. In Greek, it is “every lie,” speaking of the “many ways” by which the way of truth will be blasphemed.

2 Peter 2:1–2 (NKJV)

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

Every practice that is not of the way of truth as the truth is in Christ is a demonstration that the image of God is not in us because it is a heretical practice that we continue in as it is a lie that abides in the darkness.

Mark 12:14–17 (NKJV)

14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and you care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

1 John 1:5–10 (NKJV)

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Therefore it is not just a matter of denying that Christ is God or that he did not come in the flesh but of the “many” ways in which the exclusivity of Christ’s way is blasphemed. (v.22)

Therefore to deny the fruit of the Holy Spirit that is manifested by this divine love which accords with the standard of this truth is to lie and deny that “this” Jesus is the Christ, for there are “many” who have put on “another” Jesus that doesn’t abide in the truth, and it was “they” who went out from “them” because “they” were not of “them” but are rather of the spirit of antichrist.

John 8:44 (NKJV)

44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

2 Corinthians 11:1–4 (NKJV)

1 Oh that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!

Galatians 1:6–12 (NKJV)

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. 11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

How, then, can those of the spirit of antichrist still possess the image of God if they don’t have the Father? (v.23)

They cannot act in the image of God as long as they remain in darkness because they do not confess the Son of God by which the nature of his light and love is revealed and given in truth, for “the” man was made to represent (the image) according to the divine likeness of God.

Genesis 1:26

26 Then God said, “Let Us make Adam in Our image, according to Our likeness (period).

Genesis 1:27

27 So God created [that] Adam in His own image; in the image of God, He created him [singular] (period).

John 3:16–21 (NKJV)

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Therefore the divine light and love that is (according to) the fruit of the Spirit of God is required in order to have the true worship of God.

John 4:22–24 (NKJV)

22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Therefore those that went out from this image and likeness of worship have chosen to abide in the heretical ways of what is falsely called knowledge.

1 Timothy 6:20–21 (NKJV)

20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—21 by professing it, some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

Hebrews 5:12–14 (NKJV)

12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Therefore as John confesses that the Holy Spirit is abiding with them by the anointing that was established in them (v.20), they are to let that truth remain, which was from the beginning. Therefore what was it that they heard from the beginning? (v.24)

It was the gospel of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the promise of eternal life, through which God embodied in flesh and blood, being born of a woman and crucified as a man, that rose from the grave, defeating Death and Hell as the demonstration of the power of the Word of Life (1Jn.1:1). Therefore it is the power of the gospel that they must let abide in them so that they will continue to be enabled to abide in the Father through the Son. To forsake the image and likeness of divine truth is to love darkness rather than light and to murder the children for which Christ died.

1 John 3:10–16 (NKJV)

10 In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this, we know love because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Therefore we must remind ourselves of this eternal life daily through this "test" as we see this Day approaching and cleanse ourselves from the natural born heresies that are in us through the washing of the water of the Word’s body of ministry and by the sprinkling of the blood through the covenant of the Table of His fellowship.

1 John 1:6–7 (NKJV)

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

1 Corinthians 11:18–20 (NKJV)

18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part, I believe it. 19 For there must also be heresies among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.

John 15:3 (NKJV)

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Ephesians 5:25–27 (NKJV)

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Hebrews 10:22

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and [the body] washed with pure water.