Our answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” determines whether or not we experience true community and connection with God and others...

This week we have been looking at a section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John. We have looked on as John revealed the reality that there will be people who possess this same spirit of rebellion and opposition to God and His kingdom mission as the Antichrist will come from within the community of the church.

John then applied the reality that truth a lies cannot coexist by basically saying “Who is the liar but the one who claims that Jesus was not the fulfillment of God’s promise to send the Messiah? This is the one who places themselves in opposition to God as an antichrist, the one who rejects and repudiates God the Father and Jesus His Son. Whoever rejects and repudiates Jesus as the Messiah does not have a genuine relationship and connection with God the Father. However, the one who pledges allegiance to Jesus as the Messiah has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus and with God the Father also.”

John called the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to recognize those who are antichrists and who oppose God and the kingdom of God by their rejection and repudiation of Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah. And because of that reality, John commanded the members of the church at Ephesus to keep the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that they had heard from the very beginning of their relationship with Jesus at the center of their lives.

John then explained that if the members of the church kept the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that they had heard from the very beginning of their relationship with Jesus at the center of their lives, the result would be that they would experience an ongoing connection and community with God the Father and Jesus. John here is basically saying to the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history “If the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that you heard remain in you, then you will remain in close connection and community with both Jesus and God the Father”.  John then concludes this section of his letter by revealing to the readers of this letter of a reason behind this letter in 1 John 2:26-27:

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Now to fully understand what John is saying in these verses, we first need to understand what John is not saying. John is not saying that followers of Jesus do not need to have any pastors or teachers in their lives. John is not saying that followers of Jesus do not need anyone to teach them about Jesus.

Because, if that was the case, if followers of Jesus do not need pastors or teachers; if followers of Jesus do not need anyone to teach them about Jesus, then why is John even writing this letter? If all we need is the Holy Spirit, then why do we even have the Bible? John’s point here is that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus will confirm and affirm the teaching of true teachers of the message and teaching of the letters that make up the Bible.

John’s point here is that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus will expose the teaching of false teachers who were opposing the message and teaching of the letters that make up the Bible. John is calling the members of the church at Ephesus to remember that they have the anointing of the Holy Spirit which teaches them all things that are true about Jesus so that they do not need these false teachers to teach them anything that lines up in opposition to the message and teaching of Jesus.

And because of that reality, John commanded the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to allow the Holy Spirit, and what the Holy Spirit had confirmed and affirmed to remain in them, so that they would remain in close connection and community with both Jesus and God the Father.  And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in true community. And that timeless truth is this: Our answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” determines whether or not we experience true community and connection with God and others. 

Just as it was for followers of Jesus in John’s day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history; Our answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” determines whether or not we experience true community and connection with God and others. This morning, the timeless reality is that we experience true community and connection with God and others as a result of responding to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. You see, the most important question that any and every person will ask and answer is the question “Who is Jesus?”

Those who answer the question “Who is Jesus?” by claiming that that Jesus was not the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah who would provide all humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for reveal the reality that they have repudiated and rejected the relationship with God that they were created for. Those who answer the question “Who is Jesus?” by claiming that that Jesus was not the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah who would provide all humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for reveal the reality that they are still in opposition to God and His kingdom mission as a result of their selfishness and rebellion.

Those who answer the question “Who is Jesus?” by responding to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader reveal the reality that they have been rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship in communion with God and in community with others that they were created for. And as followers of Jesus, we are to allow what the Holy Spirit has confirmed and affirmed about the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to remain at the center of our lives, so that we will remain in close community and connection with both Jesus and God the Father. 

So here is a question to consider: How have you answered the question “Who is Jesus”? Is Jesus just a good moral teacher? Or is Jesus God-in-a-bod who is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah to provide all humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for?

Are you allowing what the Holy Spirit has confirmed and affirmed about the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel remain at the center of your lives, so that we will remain in close community and connection with both Jesus and God the Father?

Because the timeless reality is that our answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” determines whether or not we experience true community and connection with God and others...