Smoodock's Blog

John tells us, whosoever believes Jesus is the Christ, is the born of God, meaning that one is one of the children of God (1John 5:1, cp. verse-2). The Jewish authorities assumed and taught that, because they were Abraham’s seed (John 8:33, 39), they were the children of God (John 8:41), but Jesus rebuked them (John 8:42), as did John the Baptist (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8). In both instances John and Jesus claimed that being the son of Abraham or God involved doing the works of Abraham and / or God. So, in the context of the New Covenant Scriptures, the child is the son of the father / Father he obeys (John 8:39, 41, 44, 47).

We need to keep in mind that most of John’s readers were Jews who embraced Jesus as their Messiah. When they trusted him, they were fulfilling their Jewish faith. The Church in the first century AD was not as it is today, completely separate from Judaism. The Church was as Jesus was during his ministry, very much involved with Jewish people, many of whom didn’t believe him. The Jewish authorities of the first century AD would never have permitted a foreign religion to preach and worship alongside of them in Judea and Galilee. This is why the Galatians were so easily overturned in their faith. They were Jews, predominantly, who said they believed in Jesus, but in works they denied him, because they believed those from James, who came preaching the Law. This is also what the Church meeting in Acts 15 was about, and care had to be taken in the wording of their judgment. To go too far would have incurred the wrath of the Jewish authorities who had used the zealots to destroy believing Jews in all the Jewish lands (cp. Acts 23:12-15).

As time went on efforts were undertaken to expunge the Messianic Jews from Judaism. It expanded from persecuting the Hellenist believers like Stephen (Acts 8:1), to persecuting and expelling the Apostles and the more moderate Messianic believers (Acts 12:1-3). Finally, even the most conservative believers under the leadership of James, the brother of the Lord, were persecuted and slain at the command of the Jewish authorities.[1] The Jews had no authority over other religions, so it stands to reason that the Church of the first century AD remained connected with their Jewish roots. In this context, then, it can be better understood how the false teachers (i.e. the antichrists – 1John 2:18, 22; 4:3) could have come in and disturbed the peace of believers. Hence, the need for John’s epistle to explain the difference between a believing Jew and a non-believer (though he may profess Jesus as a good man or crucified under false charges).

John’s point in saying: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…” (1John 5:1) is that anyone, including gentiles who trusted in Jesus, were children of God. This was heresy to the Jews who by this time had been shoring up the faith of the Jews with strange doctrines that made the messiah only a military leader. In the first century AD they introduced a Judaism without the need of a Savior, and this was the antichrist that denied the Gospel and the need for Christ.[2] It might be prudent to restate here what my Jewish friend Howie told me in a religious discussion years ago about the difference between Judaism and Christianity:

“You have a personal relationship with God as you would have with a parent. He cares about you, wants you to live successfully, and towards that end…

“He gives you the oral and written Laws/Teachings, a prescription for life. Internalize and believe in that prescription and…

“You will find resurrection and everlasting life.

“…Paul changed the triad and, in a sense, created a new religion. Father God loves you, and gave his son in sacrifice for your sins. If you internalize and believe in that sacrifice, you will find resurrection and everlasting life. The beginning and the end are the same. The middle piece changes. For Jews it’s their oral and written teachings; for Christians it’s the sacrifice of Jesus.”[3]

In essence, this is how a Jew of the first century AD perceived himself in relation to God, and identified himself in that relationship as a child of God (cp. John 8:41). On the one hand the Jew related to God through the Law. They added the Oral Law (the Talmud), creating Judaism, which has no need of a Savior. On the other hand, we had the Messianic Jews, who far outnumbered the gentile believers at the time of John’s writing, who believed they fulfilled their Jewish faith by believing in Jesus, and thereby they were born of God. They receive of his Spirit (1John 4:14) and participated in divine nature (2Peter 1:4), and through this Spirit they trusted in Jesus as their Messiah (cp. Colossians 1:27).

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[1] See: Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1 (verses 197-200). NOTE: each persecution undertaken by the Jewish authorities began under one of the sons (or son-in-law) of Annas of the Gospels officiating as high priest. Stephen was killed and the Hellenist believers were persecuted under Caiaphas and continued under two of Annas’ sons: Jonathan and Theophilus. The persecution and expulsion of the Apostles began under the officiate of Matthias, another son of Annas. Paul was captured and measures were taken to kill him under the second officiate of Jonathan, the high priest and son of Annas. James, the brother of Jesus, was slain at the command of Ananias, the officiating high priest and son of Annas. Finally, the war with Rome began under the officiate of Matthias, the grandson of Annas of the Gospel record. Thus, is represented the continued and ever increasing effort of the Jewish authorities to get rid of Jesus and his followers.

[2] The antichrists of today are supposed Christian leaders who deny the power of Christ alone to save the believer. They preach law, adherence to a denomination, a political point of view, and such like—but always something plus Jesus is needed, never Jesus alone is Savior of the world. They may extol him in words, but they deny him in their works.

[3] See the full quote, as I preserved it from my discussions with him, in my study: Antichrist – Salvation Without Christ!