1 John 2:23
“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →To deny the Son is to be without the Father; to confess the Son is to have the Father too.
What Does 1 John 2:23 Mean?
John states the principle starkly. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father. But the one who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. The Son is the way to the Father, and there is no other.
This binds the Father and the Son inseparably. We cannot claim to honor God while rejecting His Son, for it is in the Son that the Father is made known and embraced. To confess Jesus is to be brought into fellowship with the Father Himself. John gives his readers a clear test and a sure comfort: to hold the Son is to hold the Father too.
In the Original Language
homologeo (ὁμολογέω), 'to acknowledge' -- to confess openly, here the confession of the Son that brings the Father.