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stay with him

1 John 2:18-27 (JDV)

1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know that it is the last hour.
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; because if they had belonged to us, they would have stayed with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.
1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Sacred One, and all of you know the truth.
1 John 2:21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth.
1 John 2:22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son.
1 John 2:23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.
1 John 2:24 That you have heard from the beginning should stay with you. If what you have heard from the beginning stays with you, then you will stay in the Son and in the Father.
1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he himself made to us: permanent life.
1 John 2:26 I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing you received from him stays in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, stay with him.

stay with him

John describes a moment in the first century when a significant number of people, once considered part of the Christian community, departed from it. Their leaving was not a quiet withdrawal but the beginning of new groups formed around their own teachings and convictions. After separating themselves from the fellowship, they attempted to persuade others to follow them. This was not merely a disagreement within the family of faith; it was an active effort to draw believers away from the apostolic message and the shared life of the church.

John names these individuals “antichrists.” The word is intentionally strong. It carries the weight of opposition, deception, and danger. John is not speaking about a distant apocalyptic figure but about real people whose actions opposed the work of Christ by undermining the unity and truth of the church. The term is meant to awaken a proper sense of seriousness. Defection from the body of Christ is not a minor matter. It is a rupture in fellowship, a rejection of apostolic teaching, and a denial of the life that flows from abiding in the Son and the Father.

By using such a charged word, John is not trying to stir panic but to sharpen discernment. He wants the believers to understand the gravity of what is happening around them. Those who left had once appeared to belong, but their departure revealed that their connection to the community was superficial. Their leaving exposed the true nature of their commitment. John’s language helps the church see that not every claim to Christian identity is genuine, and not every spiritual-sounding voice leads toward Christ.

At the same time, John writes with pastoral intent. His goal is not only to warn but to encourage. He wants those who remain to stay anchored in the truth they have received. He reminds them that they possess an anointing from the Holy One, a divine enablement that equips them to discern truth from falsehood. His words are meant to steady the faithful, to strengthen their resolve, and to assure them that abiding in Christ is the path of life.

In this way, John’s message becomes both a caution and a comfort. It exposes the seriousness of turning away from the body of Christ, and it affirms the importance of remaining in the fellowship where the truth of Christ is proclaimed and preserved.

LORD, we want to stay with you.