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In the Lord’s recovery we elevate Christ and Christ alone—Col. 1:18:
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We can testify that, in contrast to today’s Christianity, we have no high places.
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Having come to the church, we should have no “high places,” elevations where something other than Christ is uplifted; we should have nothing other than the person of Christ and the unique way of the cross—1 Cor. 1:30; 2:4; Col. 1:20; 2:11; 3:11.
３
In the church we enjoy Christ as the rich produce of the land; our enjoyment of Christ in the presence of God becomes our worship, our church life, and even our Christian living, and we grow and mature on the ground of oneness—Eph. 3:8; 4:3, 14-16.
Ⅳ
We must be fully exercised to separate ourselves from any heresy (apostasy) and heretics (apostates):
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Heretics do not confess that Jesus is God incarnate (not confessing that He has come in the flesh through the divine conception of the Holy Spirit); thus, they deny the deity of Christ—1 John 4:3; 2 John 7; cf. Luke 1:31-35; John 20:28-29; Rom. 9:5.
Ｂ
The Spirit works in the believers to confess to them that Christ came in the flesh—1 John 4:1-2:
１
Anyone who rejects Christ’s incarnation and thereby rejects His redemption also denies Christ’s resurrection.
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If anyone denies Christ’s incarnation, that one denies Christ’s holy birth, humanity, human living, redemption through crucifixion, and resurrection; this utterly annuls the enjoyment of the life-giving Spirit as the reality of the processed Triune God—2:23.
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A heretic is one who denies the divine conception and deity of Christ, as today’s modernists do; such a one we must reject, not receiving him into our house nor greeting him; thus, we will not have any contact with him or any share in his heresy, heresy that is blasphemous to God and contagious like leprosy—2 Pet. 2:1-3; 2 John 10.
Ｄ
Just as bringing to others the divine truth of the wonderful Christ is an excellent deed (Rom. 10:15), so spreading the satanic heresy, which defiles the glorious deity of Christ, is an evil work; it is a blasphemy and abomination to God; it is also a damage and curse to men.
Ｅ
No one who is a believer in Christ and a child of God should have any share in this evil! Even to greet such an evil one is prohibited! A severe and clear separation from this evil should be maintained!—2 John 8-11.
Morning Nourishment
1 Cor. 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.1 John 4:2 In this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.
We should have nothing other than the person of Christ and the unique way of the cross. Then we will enjoy Christ in the church as the top portion of the rich produce of the land. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” p. 289)
Second John 7 says, “Many deceivers went out into the world, those who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.” The deceivers mentioned here were heretics, like the Cerinthians, the false prophets (1 John 4:1). These deceivers do not confess Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. This means that they do not confess that Jesus is God incarnate. Thus, they deny the deity of Christ. Jesus was conceived of the Spirit (Matt. 1:18). To confess Jesus coming in the flesh is to confess that, as the Son of God, He was divinely conceived to be born in the flesh (Luke 1:31-35). The deceivers, the false prophets, would not make such a confession. An antichrist is one who denies Christ’s deity, denying that Jesus is the Christ, that is, denying the Father and the Son by denying that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 2:22), not confessing that He has come in the flesh through the divine conception of the Holy Spirit (4:2-3). (Life-study of 2 John, p. 7)
Today’s Reading
The Spirit works in the believers to confess to them that Christ came in the flesh….According to 1 John 4:2, the discernment of spirits is based upon whether or not a spirit confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Because the spirit of a genuine prophet is motivated by the Holy Spirit of truth, this spirit will confess the divine conception of Jesus and affirm that He was born as the Son of God. To deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is to deny His divine conception, His incarnation, His birth, His humanity, His human living, and also His redemption. The New Testament makes it emphatically clear that Christ’s redemption was accomplished in His human body and by the shedding of His blood. Anyone who rejects Christ’s incarnation and thereby rejects His redemption also denies Christ’s resurrection. If Christ had never passed through death, it would not have been possible for Him to enter into resurrection. If anyone denies Christ’s incarnation, that one denies Christ’s holy birth, humanity, human living, redemption through crucifixion, and resurrection. This utterly annuls the enjoyment of the genuine Trinity. In the light of this we see the crucial importance of the Spirit’s work in the believers to confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.In 2 John 10 John…says, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not say to him, Rejoice!” The pronoun him refers to a heretic, an antichrist, a false prophet, who denies the divine conception and deity of Christ, as today’s modernists do. Such a one we must reject, not receiving him into our house or greeting him. Thus, we shall not have any contact with him or share in his heresy, heresy that is blasphemous to God and contagious like leprosy.
Just as bringing to others the divine truth of the wonderful Christ is an excellent deed (Rom. 10:15), so spreading the satanic heresy, which defiles the glorious divinity of Christ, is an evil work [cf. 2 John 11]. It is a blasphemy and abomination to God, and it is also a damage and curse to men. No believer in Christ and child of God should have any share in this evil. Even to greet such an evil one is prohibited. A severe and clear separation from this evil should be maintained. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 995-997, 2394)
Further Reading: Life-study of 2 John, msg. 2; The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 93, 224