Who is a part of the visible church and who is part of the invisible church?

This week we are 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 1 John. Yesterday we looked on as John revealed the reality that while the antichrist, the last great world leader who will place himself in opposition to God and His kingdom mission that we read about in the Book of Revelation, has not yet appeared, there are already present those who possess the same spirit as the spirit of the antichrist and are adversaries to God and His kingdom mission.

And some people who possess this same spirit of rebellion and opposition to God and His kingdom mission that would come from the antichrist will come from within the community of the church. There will be those who profess to have a relationship and connection with Jesus and appear as part of the visible church, but in reality, do not have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus.

And because of that reality, these antichrists who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church, had revealed the reality of their true spiritual condition by leaving and forsaking community and connection with the church. John’s point is that true followers of Jesus would have remained and continued in connection and community in His church.

Now a natural question that arises here is “Well Dave, if that John is saying is true, then how can we know who is a part of the visible church and who is part of the invisible church? How can we know who is really in possession of a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and who is simply professing that they have a relationship with Jesus? How can we know who has true connection with God and who is actually opposed to God?

If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that you are asking a great question. And fortunately for us, we see John provide the answer to that question is what he says next. So let’s look at what John says next, beginning in 1 John 2:20-25:

²⁰ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

Now when John states “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know”, John is revealing the reality that it is 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 that empowers them to know the truth about Jesus and the message of the gospel.

And it is the truth of the message of the gospel which John talks about in verse 21. When John uses the word truth, this word refers to the truth of the message and teaching of Jesus that forms the basis of Christianity. John’s point in verse 21 is twofold.

First, John explains that he had written this letter to the members of the church at Ephesus because they know the factual reality about the message and teaching of Jesus that forms the basis of Christianity. In other words, they know the truth about what it means to experience a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus. Second, John explains that he had written this letter to the members of the church at Ephesus because they know that no lie is of the truth. John is reminding the members of the church at Ephesus that lies and truth cannot coexist. This morning, either something is true, or it is a lie. Two contrary claims cannot be equally true. One claim is true, and one claim is false.

John then applied this reality to the circumstances that were occurring at the church at Ephesus and that still can occur today in verse 22. If John was writing verse 22 and 23 in the language that we use in our culture today, these verses would sound something like this: “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 is calling 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, in verse 24, John commanded the members of the church at Ephesus to let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.

In other words, John was commanding 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.

Friday we will discover that reason together…