Mensa Otabil - They Were Not of Us (10/18/2025)
First John chapter 2, verse 19: «They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.»
So, so far, John has been talking about the antichrists-not one person but several antichrists. He doesn’t tell us who they are, but now he’s given us a clue as to who the antichrists were. He says that they used to be with them, which means that they were once members of the church. They belonged to the group of believers but had now departed from it. There are people who once followed Christ but have now turned against Him. The antichrists, therefore, are not just people who leave a church; when people leave your church, they don’t become antichrists. The people left Christ, so it is departing from Christ and turning against Him that made them antichrists, not just because they stopped going to one particular church or another.
John tells us here that there are people who can be among a group of believers. They go to church, they sing like everybody else, and they seem to be with the church. Sometimes they can even be pastors, and then they depart and turn against everything that Christ stands for, living lives contrary to Christ and turning people away from Him. He says that is the antichrist. He also states that the reason they do that is that they were not originally of us. What does that mean? It means that they were going through the motions, but they didn’t have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So, it is possible to go to church, be in a church department, be a pastor, and be known as a man of God while still not being of Christ. That means you don’t know Him intimately in your heart as your Lord; your life is not surrendered to Him.
It is those who turn away later who become enemies of the cross. Unfortunately, there are people who can still be in church, be called pastors, or be regarded as men of the church but have turned against Christ. In what way have they turned against Christ? Their words, their actions, and their deeds-everything they do is so un-Christ-like that people who look at them turn away from Christ. They thus become people who still belong to the group but have departed from Christ. There are several antichrists in the world, and John warns us against them to be mindful. If anyone says he belongs to Christ but does not live for Him, he has turned away.
It seems that he is in church, but he is living for the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eyes. That person has turned away from the truth, has moved from the eternal to the temporary, and is now working against Christ. We must all be mindful and careful that in our walk with the Lord, we don’t reach the point where we become against Christ-antichrists-where our lives detract people from Him. May the Lord help each one of us to be good testimonies of Him at home, in the office, and wherever we find ourselves. The people watching us will see that, in truth, these are children of God-Christians who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, I want to live for Christ and Him alone. Help me to remain true to You till the end. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Well, that’s the end of our study for this week. Tomorrow, I start a new study, and I’ll catch you again. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom-peace and life to you.