1 John 2:22–28 — Friday, January 2,
Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
In 1995, the French biblical scholar Ignace de la Potterie observed that Christians throughout history often imagined “the Antichrist” as a political tyrant—from Nero to Stalin. Yet he noted that if we want to know what John himself meant by the term, we must turn not to Revelation, but to the First and Second Letters of John, where the word is used with clarity and purpose.
Today’s reading gives John’s own definition: “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.” (1 John 2:22)
The letters reveal a Christian community undergoing a painful internal crisis. Some members had withdrawn (2:19), rejecting the basic apostolic proclamation that Jesus is the Christ. For John, the term “Antichrist” did not refer to political enemies outside the Church, but to a spirit of deception within the community that distorts the identity of Jesus. What was at stake was not power or influence, but the truth of the Gospel and the unity of the Church.
The Church today is not unfamiliar with confusion or competing interpretations of Christ. Across Christian traditions, believers sometimes encounter strong personalities, divergent teachings, and movements claiming special insight. These tensions can unsettle hearts and strain communion. John reminds us that beneath every outward disagreement lies a deeper spiritual question: Which spirit is shaping my understanding of Jesus—the Spirit of Christ, or something else?
John offers two safeguards for discernment.
- Remain rooted in the apostolic proclamation
He urges believers: “Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.” (2:24) The heart of Christian faith is not endlessly shifting. The Church’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Father remains the center against which all teaching is measured. Fidelity to this foundation is not rigidity; it is the living continuity that allows the faith to endure.
- Trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit
John reminds the community of the “anointing” they have received—the presence of the Holy Spirit who dwells within every believer. This echoes Jeremiah’s prophecy of a new covenant where all would “know the Lord” directly (Jer 31:34), and Jesus’ own promise that the Spirit would teach, remind, and lead His disciples “into all truth” (John 14:26; 16:13).
This inner teaching of the Spirit does not eliminate the need for the Church’s magisterium or for authentic teachers. Rather, it assures believers that genuine teaching is always confirmed within the heart by the One who is Truth. The Spirit guards the Church from deception and draws each believer back to the center — Christ Himself.
A Word for the Church Today
Moments of tension, disagreement, or doctrinal confusion are not new. John faced them in the first century, and the Church continues to encounter them in every generation. But the apostle’s counsel remains steady: “And now, little children, abide in him.” (2:28)
To abide in Christ is to remain faithful to the apostolic message and to walk humbly under the guidance of the Spirit. Yet John’s counsel also has an ecumenical resonance for our own time.
In his recent apostolic letter In Unitate Fidei, Pope Leo XIV reflects on the remarkable progress of the ecumenical movement. Full visible unity among Christians has not yet been reached, but believers across traditions increasingly recognize one another as brothers and sisters who share the same baptism, the same confession of the Triune God, and the same desire to witness to the Gospel. The Pope reminds us that what unites Christians is far greater than what divides them, and that in a fractured and conflict-torn world, even imperfect unity can become a sign of peace and an instrument of reconciliation.
If the Holy Spirit guards us from falsehood, then that same Spirit also draws us toward communion. Division is never the fruit of the Spirit; unity in truth always is. The Spirit who teaches us who Christ is also teaches us who we are to be: members of one body, witnesses of one hope, and artisans of peace in a world marked by fragmentation.
To abide in Christ, then, is to be anchored in truth and opened to unity.
Where the Spirit abides, deception loses its power, and the Church—despite her wounds—becomes again a living sign of reconciliation in a broken world.
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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