Day 233, 1 John 2
When you marry someone, neither of you changes, yet everything changes. If you are adopted by foster parents, nothing changes but everything changes. It is the same with Jesus: when we accept the offer of eternal life-giving relationship, everything changes but we are still the same person. Today, John explains how we know we have changed. We not only say we are different, we also live differently. This is not some personal effort to check the boxes on God’s list of correct behaviors. No, it is the result of the transformation that comes from union with Him.
There are three stages of spiritual maturity listed in the middle of the chapter, and then a contrast between truth and lies. Where we focus the affections of our hearts matters greatly. A focus on the ways of the world will blind us to God’s truth, while a focus on Jesus’ revelation of God’s love will protect us from every anti-anointing influence (antichrists). See the footnote on verse 18.
You can’t claim to follow God and reject Jesus - it is impossible to separate them in this way, yet that is what some of the false teachers were doing. Rather than trying to argue with these lies, John highlights the anointing we receive as children of God. That anointing (literally Christ-ing) leads us into truth. It is the Spirit of Christ who is our anointing. Thus we are children of our Father God.
Have a great day!
Mark.