Uncovering The Wisdom Of The ScripturesSample

The Genius of the Gospel

Scripture: 1 John 4:2

The letters of John are the only biblical documents in which the term antichrist appears. Given the apocalyptic climate of our times, we should note that this isn’t referring to an evil counter-Christ who is out to take over the world. For one thing, the term is plural—“Well, they’re all over the place, antichrists everywhere you look” (1 John 2:18). 

But more significantly, John was referring to those who remove humanity from Jesus. A lot of religious leaders were doing this when John wrote his letters. These teachers sounded very “religious,” but in fact they denied that “the Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14, emphasis added). This incarnation, this becoming flesh, is the very genius and distinction of the Christian gospel. 

Love for a dehumanized Jesus dissolves into nothing. If Jesus is divested of all human characteristics, then our love for him and those around us will be stripped of the practical reality that is essential to life on earth. 

The only Jesus John knew was a God-in-the-flesh Jesus, whom he had heard with his own ears, seen with his own eyes, touched with his own hands, eaten with, and walked with all over Galilee (see 1 John 1:1). The spirit of the antichrist denies that Jesus was truly human, human in the way we’re human. 

Loving a dehumanized Jesus means loving in a way that has nothing to do with meeting the real needs of people in our communities. We become lovers of ideas and feelings, lovers of ecstasy and novelty.

But community, at the core of which is love of God and love for our neighbor, is lived out in the midst of sin. For all their fancy talk about Christ, for all their super-spiritualities, people who preach a dehumanized Jesus are just what John said they were: against Christ—antichrists. When they tell us that ordinary people aren’t all that important—that real Christians are concerned with big ideas and urgent causes and stirring visions, not with dull and obnoxious people who pull us down—we can return to our knees and worship Jesus in all the ordinariness of his humanity, and then get up off our knees and go back to our families and friends to love them afresh. 

How does recognizing the humanness of Jesus help you become more aware of the real needs of people around you?

For More Insights

Visit MessageBible.com/devotionals for more insights from The Message Devotional Bible. Many of the notes and reflections found in this special edition are adapted from the works of Eugene H. Peterson with permission. “The Genius of the Gospel" is adapted from Christ Plays in 10,000 Places.