In this message we shall give a further word on 1 John 2:22-27 in relation to the compound Spirit typified by the compounded ointment described in Exodus 30.
First John 2:22 speaks of the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, and then it goes on to speak of antichrist as one who denies the Father and the Son. Why does this verse put these two matters together? Why does it speak both of the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ and of the one who denies the Father and the Son? The answer to these questions is that to deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny the Father and the Son. It is also the case that to deny the Father and the Son is to deny that Jesus is the Christ. This indicates that Jesus is the Christ and that Christ is the Father and the Son. It also indicates that Jesus, Christ, the Father, and the Son are all one. If we deny one, we also deny the others because They all are one. Verse 23, a confirmation of verse 22, goes on to say: “Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who confesses the Son has the Father also.” If we deny the Son, we deny the Father. But if we confess the Son, we shall have the Father. Here we have the same matter viewed from different aspects. On the one hand, if we deny the Son, we deny the Father. On the other hand, if we confess the Son, we confess the Father. The reason for this is that the Son and the Father are one. Not only are the Father and the Son one, but Jesus, Christ, the Son, and the Father are all one.
First John 2:25 says: “And this is the promise which He promised us, the eternal life.” In verses 22, 23, and 25 we have Jesus, Christ, the Son, the Father, and eternal life. All these are one all-inclusive Person as the one compound ointment in Exodus 30. What is eternal life? Eternal life is Jesus, Christ, the Son, and the Father. The all-inclusive Person revealed in these verses is the eternal life.
At the time of the apostle John certain heretical teachings tried to separate Jesus from Christ, and Christ from the Father. Heretical teachers used their natural, human mentality to analyze the all-inclusive divine Person of Christ. But they had no way to systematize this Person. They could not figure out how Jesus could be the Christ or how Christ could be the Father. Some even claimed that Christ was God but not man. They argued that it was not possible for one person to be both God and man at the same time. Others claimed that Jesus was a man but not God. However, the apostle John wrote, “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). The Word is God (John 1:1), and the flesh here denotes humanity. This means that, according to John’s word, there is one Person who is both God and man.
In dealing with certain opposers, we need to ask four questions. First, is not Jesus the Christ? Second, is Christ not the Son of God? Third, is the Son of God not God Himself? Fourth, is God not triune, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit? All genuine Christians would agree that Jesus is the Christ, that Christ is the Son of God, that the Son of God is God, and that God is triune. If we agree to all this, then we must go on to say that Christ is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Furthermore, we need to see that Jesus, Christ, the Son of God, God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all one all-inclusive Person.
There are some who teach a trinity of separation; we teach the Trinity in the way of all-inclusiveness. The teaching of certain ones concerning the Person of Christ and the Trinity is based upon the principle of separation, which is the attempt to separate the Father, the Son, and the Spirit one from the other. Actually this principle of separation is the source of many heretical teachings concerning the Person of Christ and the divine Trinity. This attempt at separation has caused serious problems.
The divine revelation in the holy Word is not based on this principle of separation. On the contrary, it is based on the principle of inclusiveness. The divine Person is all-inclusive, and He cannot be divided. Some, however, have declared strongly that the Three of the Trinity are three separate Persons. This attempt to separate the Father from the Son, and the Son from the Spirit has led to heresy both in ancient times and today.
According to what John teaches in chapter two of his first Epistle, whoever denies even a part of Christ’s all-inclusive Person is an antichrist. Here we have a principle that applies to many of today’s teachers. These teachers may be genuine Christians, yet, at least in part, they are antichrist in their teaching because they deny Christ in a particular aspect of His all-inclusive Person. To deny Christ in any way is to be antichrist, at least to a certain extent. This is the reason John refers to the heretics as antichrist. Their teachings were antichrist in that in some way or in some aspect they denied Christ. For example, the teaching that says that Christ is God is pro-Christ, not antichrist. But the teaching that Christ is only God and not man is antichrist.
Some admit that Christ is the Creator, but they deny strongly that He is also a creature with respect to His humanity. To say that Christ is the Creator is pro-Christ, but to deny the fact that with respect to His humanity He is a creature is to utter something that is antichrist. We must be pro-Christ in an all-inclusive way and say that He is both the Creator and a creature.