02/01/2026
Reflection on 1 John 2:22–24
John speaks with clarity and urgency: truth matters, and what we believe about Jesus is not a small detail but the foundation of our faith. He identifies the “liar” as the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ—not to provoke fear, but to protect the community from teachings that hollow out the gospel while using religious language.
At the heart of this passage is relationship. To deny the Son is to lose the Father, not because God withdraws in anger, but because God has chosen to reveal Himself through the Son. Jesus is not an optional pathway to God; He is the revelation of who God is. To reject Him is to reject that revelation.
John then turns from warning to invitation: “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.” Faith is not sustained by novelty but by remaining—abiding—in the truth first received. In a world full of shifting ideas, spiritual shortcuts, and redefinitions of Jesus, the call is not to chase every new insight but to stay rooted in the gospel that gave us life.
Abiding is active and relational. When the truth of Christ remains in us, we remain in both the Son and the Father. This mutual indwelling is not merely doctrinal correctness; it is lived faith—shaping how we love, hope, endure, and obey.
Ultimately, this passage invites self-examination:
What do I truly believe about Jesus?
Am I abiding in the truth, or just familiar with it?
Does my faith rest on Christ as He is revealed, or on a version more comfortable to me?
To abide in Christ is to live anchored—secure in truth, held in relationship, and confident that in knowing the Son, we truly know the Father.