1 John 2:22-23

1 John 2:22-23

[22] Who  a liar  he that denieth  that  Jesus  the Christ?  He  antichrist,  that denieth  the Father  and  the Son.  [23] Whosoever  denieth  the Son,  the same hath  not  the Father:  (but) he that acknowledgeth  the Son  hath  the Father  also. 

What does 1 John 2:22-23 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The antichrists lie because they deny that Jesus is the Christ, God"s Son and our Savior (cf. John 11:25-27). This would have been the position of Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah and other false teachers to whom John alluded elsewhere. Among these were the Gnostics who believed that anything material was sinful and therefore Jesus could not have been God"s Son. [1] They considered Jesus and Christ as two distinct entities. [2] Docetists taught that Jesus was not truly a man and therefore not our Savior. Followers of Cerinthus believed that Jesus was not fully God but that God only came upon Him at His baptism and departed from Him before His crucifixion. [3] These false teachers all claimed to have the truth from God. However, John pointed out that since the Son and the Father are one, a person cannot deny the Son without denying the Father as well (cf. Matthew 10:32-33; Mark 8:38; John 12:44-45; John 14:10-11).
". . . anyone who claims to know God, but disobeys his orders, is "a" liar (... 1 John 2:4); but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ must be regarded as the-archetypal-liar ..." [4]
". . . we deny God by denying him his proper relationship with us." [3]
Some readers have understood the first part of 1 John 2:23 to mean that it is impossible for a true Christian, one who "has the Father," ever to deny the Son. This interpretation seems inconsistent with other Scripture ( 2 Timothy 2:12) as well as human experience. Some genuine Christians have denied Christ, to avoid martyrdom, for example. In the context John wrote about an abiding relationship with God, not just a saving relationship. So another explanation is that John meant that whoever denies the Son does not have the Father abiding in him. In this view, one who denies the Son does not have an abiding relationship with the Father. This describes all unbelievers and those believers who are not abiding in God. A third explanation is that John was describing what is typical: typically those having the Father do not deny the Song of Solomon , though there may be a few exceptions. However the broad "whoever" in this verse seems to imply that what John wrote is true of all. I prefer view two.
The second part of the verse is the positive corollary to the first part. Confessing the Son is the opposite of denying Him. Confessing the Son results in the Father abiding in the confessor. Confessing the Son involves a public profession of faith in Him, not just exercising saving faith in Him (cf. Romans 10:9-10; 2 Corinthians 4:13). Belief in the heart results in imputed righteousness, and confessing with the mouth results in salvation (lit. deliverance, namely, from the consequences of being a secret, non-confessing, believer). A non-abiding Christian might not confess Christ even though he or she believes in Him. Both denying Christ and confessing Christ deal with giving personal testimony to one"s faith in Him; they do not determine salvation. Thus denying Christ cannot result in the loss of eternal salvation nor can confessing Him obtain it. If John meant that no genuine Christian can deny the Song of Solomon , the corollary is that every genuine Christian must confess the Son. That would make public confession of Christ a condition for salvation in addition to trusting in Him, but this lacks biblical support.
To summarize, John warned his readers of the danger to their intimate fellowship with God that the teaching of those who denied that Jesus is the Christ posed. If they rejected the Song of Solomon , they could not expect an intimate relationship with the Father.
"The principle source of confusion in much contemporary study of1John is to be found in the failure to recognize the real danger against which the writer is warning. The eternal salvation of the readership is not imperilled [6]. It is not even in doubt as far as the author is concerned. But seduction by the world and its antichristian representatives is a genuine threat which must be faced." [7]