Book of 1 John Chapter 2 Vs. 23

 Warning Concerning Antichrists

1 John 2:23 "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also."

Whosoever denieth the... No man can be born again or be saved from sin who denies that Jesus is the Son and the Christ of God. He cannot know God or Christ (1Jhn. 5:1; Mat. 1:21; John 3:16; 14:6; 17:1-3).

denieth Greek: arneomai, to deny (see, Heb. 11:24).

Because God has chosen to reveal Himself definitively in Christ, it is not possible to know God personally and truly without fully acknowledging Christ in the fullness of His power and being.

Jesus said, If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. For there to be a Father there had to be a Son. To deny the Son, would be to deny there was a Father. The Father and the Son are inseparable.

Hath not the Father (οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει)

Properly, hath not even the Father, though he professes to reverence the Father while rejecting the Son. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Compare John 8:42.

(but) he that... This was printed in italics to show that the translators considered it doubtful. Perhaps it was wanting in some of the MSS. which they used. It no doubt should be restored to the text as genuine because:

1. It is in perfect harmony with the first part of the verse.

2. It is in harmony with many other passages (John 3:16; 6:37, 6:44, 6:53; 8:19, 8:24; 14:6; 1Jhn. 5:1, 5:5, 5:10-12).

3. It is found in the text of more than 20 of the best MSS.

4. It is found in many of the ancient versions—the Syriac, Arabic, Coptic, and others.

5. It is quoted as part of the text by the early church Fathers—Origen, Cyprian, Cyril, and many others.

6. It is restored to the Greek texts of Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregalles, Alford, Wordsworth, Nestle, and others.

7. It is restored in modern versions—Weymouth, Moffatt, Berkeley, Concordant, Centenary, Goodspeed, Rotherham, Fenton, Revised Standard Version, and others.

This denial involves also a denial of the Father. Any claim they might make to having the father’s approval is false. One cannot have the Father without the Son. To reject One is to reject the Other.