Note from Jesus
Dear Disciple,
The foundation for everything you hold dear as a Christian and as My disciple is this one fundamental truth: I came as God, in human flesh, Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of the only true and living God. Peter confessed something very similar to this at a vital turning point in My ministry and in his life (Matthew 16:16).
Over the centuries, many have tried to make Me less than God come in human flesh, but for Me to be the Son of the Father meant no less than this. When I identified Myself as the Father’s Son, My Jewish opponents wanted to kill Me for “making himself [Myself] equal with God” (John 5:16-18 NLT). To come as the Son of God meant, and still means, that I was God in human flesh. I was God come in human flesh from conception through the cross to the resurrection and the ascension!
People have speculated trying to determine someone specific who is the evil antiChrist. However, John reminded My disciples that they needed to be seriously concerned about those among them who were obviously antiChrists: the many religious people who were (and still are) trying to separate My identity from the Father. They want to make Me less than God in human flesh. Some even claim that I was a created being — that I was not always in existence and not really God. These false doctrines and notions undermine the power of My cross (1 Corinthians 1:17-18; Colossians 2:15; Philippians 2:5-11). They discount the incredible grace of My full humanity in My incarnation (John 1:1-18). They dispute what it means for Me to be the true, living, and complete Word and Message of God (Hebrews 1:1-3). I was with the Father at creation. Not only did I make all things, but I continue to hold them together by My will and power (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-19).
I sent you the anointing, the Holy Spirit, to be with you. The Spirit will guide you into all truth so that you will not be led astray by the antiChrists in your day (John 16:12-15). You don’t need to fear these false teachers; just test the spirit of these teachers to see if they bring the truth about Me (1 John 4:1-6). If they do not, don’t associate with them. Those who do not hold to My genuine identity undermine Who I AM and what I did to bring you salvation.
If you hold to My true identity, if you believe in Me as Peter did, you can rest assured of this one certainty: you can be sure of your salvation!
Verses to Live
What follows is a collection of John’s strong words about the antiChrists who seek to undermine My identity. They existed in the early days of My church, and they exist in your day. Please know this: you must heed John’s words of warning, but not in fear. Trust in the Holy Spirit Whom I poured out on you when you were born into the Father’s family (John 16:5-11; Titus 3:3-7). The Spirit is your anointing, your assurance that you have the truth and that you belong to the Father. So believe in Me and trust what I say to you: your anointing will guide you into all truth and will confirm what John says about Me!
My children, this is the final hour. You have heard that the antiChrist, the greatest enemy to His kingdom, is coming, but in fact, many antiChrists are already here. This development tells us how late it really is. A group has left us, but they were not part of our family. If they were truly our brothers and sisters, they would have remained for the duration with us. When they left, they made it ever so obvious that they were not part of us.
You have been given an anointing, a special touch from the Holy One. You know the truth. I am not writing to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it. You know that no lie belongs to the truth. The liar is the one who says, “Jesus is not really the Anointed One.” This is the antiChrist, the one denying both the Father and the Son. Anyone who denies the Son does not know the Father. The one affirming the Son enjoys an intimate relationship with the Father as well.
Let the good news, the story you have heard from the beginning of your journey, live in and take hold of you. If that happens and you focus on the good news, then you will always remain in a relationship with the Son and the Father. This is what He promised us: eternal life.
I also am writing to warn you about some who are attempting to deceive you. You have an anointing. You received it from Him, and His anointing remains on you. You do not need any other teacher. But as His anointing instructs you in all the essentials (all the truth uncontaminated by darkness and lies), it teaches you this: “Remain connected to Him.”
(1 John 2:18-27)There is a sure way for us to know that we belong to the truth. Even though our inner thoughts may condemn us with storms of guilt and constant reminders of our failures, we can know in our hearts that in His presence God Himself is greater than any accusation. He knows all things. My loved ones, if our hearts cannot condemn us, then we can stand with confidence before God. Whatever we may ask, we receive it from Him because we follow His commands and take the path that pleases Him. His command is clear: believe in the name of His Son, Jesus the Anointed, and love one another as He commanded. The one who follows His teaching and walks this path lives in an intimate relationship with God. How do we know that He lives in us? By the gift of His Spirit.
(1 John 3:19-24)Any person who drifts away and fails to live in the teachings of the Anointed One, our Liberating King, does not have God. But the person who lives in this teaching will have both the Father and the Son. If any person comes to you with a teaching that does not align with the true message of Jesus, do not welcome that person into your house or greet him as you would a true brother. Anyone who welcomes this person has become a partner in advancing his wicked agenda.
(2 John 1:9-11)My loved ones, I warn you: do not trust every spirit. Instead, examine them carefully to determine if they come from God, because the corrupt world is filled with the voices of many false prophets. Here is how you know God’s Spirit: if a spirit affirms the truth that Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, has come in human flesh, then that spirit is from God. If a spirit does not affirm the true nature of Jesus the Anointed, then that spirit does not come from God and is, in fact, the spirit of the antiChrist. You have heard about its coming; in fact it is already active in the world. My children, you have come from God and have conquered these spirits because the One Who lives within you is greater than the one in this world. But they are of this world, and they articulate the views of the corrupt world, which the world understands. We come from God, and those who know God hear us. Whoever is not from God will not listen to us. This is the way we discern the difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
(1 John 4:1-6)How can we be sure that He truly lives in us and that we truly live in Him? By one fact: He has given us His Spirit. We have watched what God has done, and we stand ready to provide eyewitness testimonies to the reality that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone unites with our confession that Jesus is God’s own Son, then God truly lives in that person and that person lives in God. We have experienced and we have entrusted our lives to the love of God in us.
(1 John 4:13-16)Everyone who trusts Jesus as the long-awaited Anointed One is a child of God, and everyone who loves the Father cannot help but love the child fathered by Him. Then how do we know if we truly love God’s children? We love them if we love God and keep His commands. You see, to love God means that we keep His commands, and His commands don’t weigh us down. Everything that has been fathered by God overcomes the corrupt world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.
Who is the person conquering the world? It is the one who truly trusts that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus the Anointed is the One Who came by water and blood — not by the water only, but by the water and the blood.
The Spirit of God testifies to this truth because the Spirit is the truth. So there are three testifying witnesses: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. All three are in total agreement. If we accept the testimonies of people, then we must realize the testimony of God is greater than that of any person. God certified the truth about His own Son. Anyone who trusts the Son of God has this truthful testimony at the core of his being. Anyone who does not trust God calls God a liar because he ignores God’s truthful testimony regarding His own Son. And this is the truth: God has given us the gift of eternal life, and this life is in His Son. If you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you do not have the Son of God, you are not acquainted with true life.
I am writing all of this to you who have entrusted your lives to the Son of God — so you will realize eternal life already is yours. We live in the bold confidence that God hears our voices when we ask for things that fit His plan. And if we have no doubt that He hears our voices, we can be assured that He moves in response to our call.
(1 John 5:1-15)
Response in Prayer
Father, I don’t claim to comprehend all that it means for Jesus to be fully divine and fully human, to be Son of God and Son of a woman. But, dear Father, I do believe it even though I don’t fully understand it. I recognize that this truth is part of Your divine grace to share our humanity as one of us to redeem us and bring us to Yourself. So thank You for Jesus, my Savior, my Lord, and Your Son. Thank You for the Son of God Who walked among us and was God with us. I am astounded by both Your unfathomable love and this gracious mystery that has made me Your child. In Jesus’ mighty name, I praise and thank You. Amen.
‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.