1 John 2:23 Meaning: What Does It Mean to 'Have the Father'?

Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.

Meaning in one sentence

1 John 2:23 teaches that denying the Son means losing the Father; confessing the Son brings relationship with both.

I John New Testament Greek

Context

John wrote this letter to a church shaken by division. Some members had left, teaching that Jesus was not the Christ, the Son of God. John calls these people antichrists, they denied the Son and so cut themselves off from the Father. The believers who stayed had received an anointing from the Holy One; they knew the truth. In this verse, John makes the stakes clear: you cannot pick and choose which Person of the Godhead to accept. To reject the Son is to lose the Father. To confess the Son is to have them both.

Key Words

The Greek word for denies here is arneomai. It means to say no, to refuse, to disown. John is not talking about a momentary doubt, he means a settled rejection of who Jesus is. The word carries the weight of a deliberate choice to cut ties.

The other side is homologeo, translated confesses. It means to say the same thing, to agree openly. In the ancient world, this was a public declaration, not a private thought. To confess the Son is to line up your words with the truth of who Jesus is, and to let others know it.

And the verb has (echō) means to hold, to possess, to enjoy. When John says the one who confesses the Son has the Father also, he means a living relationship, not just an idea. You hold onto the Father the way a child holds a parent's hand, close, real, personal.

How Christians Read This Verse

Christians across traditions have seen this verse as a bedrock. John Calvin called it a first axiom of religion: God has given Himself to us wholly to be enjoyed in Christ. The Reformed tradition holds that the Father is only known through the Son. Wesley and the Methodists emphasize that confessing the Son brings actual communion with the Father. Baptist commentator John Gill stressed the inseparable correlation, deny the sonship of Christ and you lose the paternity of God. The Anglican Cambridge Bible notes that 'having the Father' means having Him as your own Father, a relationship sealed by confessing the Son. All point to the same center: you cannot split the two.

A common misunderstanding

Some think you can honor God as a Father while rejecting Jesus as His Son. Maybe the thinking goes: 'I believe in a higher power, but I'm not convinced about Jesus.' John says no. To deny the Son is to have neither the Father nor the Son. The relationship is not a menu you choose from. In fact, the only way to know God as Father is through the Son who reveals Him. You cannot have the one without the other.

Living This Out

This week you will be tempted to soften who Jesus is, maybe to avoid an awkward conversation, or to seem more inclusive. The moment you downplay His identity, you are drifting from the Father. Instead, let your confession be clear. It does not have to be a sermon; a simple 'Jesus is the Son of God, and He shows me the Father' is enough. That quiet honesty keeps your hold on both. And if you are unsure whether you can call God your Father, look to Jesus. Confess Him, and the relationship is yours.

Main takeaway: You cannot know God as Father while rejecting Jesus as His Son; the two relationships stand or fall together.

For Families

For ages 5, 8

If you tell everyone that a boy is not really his dad's son, his dad would be very sad. Jesus is God's Son. When we say yes to Jesus, God is happy to be our Father too.

For ages 9, 12

People sometimes say, 'I believe in God, but not in Jesus.' John says that is impossible. Jesus is the one who shows us what God is like. If you push Jesus away, you are pushing God away too. But if you tell others that Jesus is God's Son, you are holding on to the Father at the same time. You cannot have one without the other.

Questions People Ask

What does it mean to 'deny the Son'?

In this verse, 'deny' (the Greek word arneomai) means to reject or disown Jesus as the Son of God. It is not a single moment of doubt but a settled refusal to accept who Jesus is, the Christ, the Son sent by the Father. John was writing about teachers who had left the church because they would not confess this.

What does it mean to 'have the Father'?

To 'have the Father' means more than believing He exists. It means to enjoy a living, personal relationship with Him as your own Father. The Greek verb echō carries the sense of holding, possessing, and experiencing. As the Cambridge Bible notes, it means to have Him as your Father, part of the family of God.

Is this verse saying non-Christians cannot know God at all?

The verse is about the specific claim that Jesus is the Son of God. John is writing to counter false teachers who denied this. Historic Christian teaching holds that while all people have some general awareness of God, saving knowledge of the Father comes only through the Son. The verse affirms that confessing Jesus as the Son is the way to enter into that full, personal relationship with the Father.

Why does the second half of this verse sometimes appear in italics?

Some early English Bibles printed the clause 'he that confesseth the Son hath the Father also' in italics because it was missing from a few important Greek manuscripts. However, as Adam Clarke and others have shown, it is found in many ancient manuscripts and versions. Most modern scholars accept it as genuine. The point is that both halves of the verse say the same truth from opposite sides.

How does this verse relate to the Trinity?

The verse shows the inseparable connection between the Son and the Father. You cannot have one without the other. This supports the Christian understanding that the Father and Son are distinct Persons yet fully united. Jesus Himself said, 'I and the Father are one' (John 10:30). Denying the Son means rejecting the one through whom the Father is fully known.

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