Are we being kept in the dark? Are we on the outside of an inside joke? These thoughts must have been passed around John's church, because they had been overtaken by a powerful religion that fed on other religions around it. It was powerful because it was based in secrecy, at least it was based in the idea that there was a secret. Without the secret, one could not experience the truth. In the eyes of this religion, there was the general population of "believers" and the higher tier of people who had discovered the secret- that the world itself is a distraction to truth. This group, known as Gnostics, taught that Jesus (or other religious leaders) had passed down secret knowledge to a few disciples and had dispersed them to tell the truth only to people with a certain "divine spark." Thus, churches had whisperings around them that they were on the outside while elite believers were on the inside. What if Jesus is not the Christ, but something else?
John challenges this hierarchical, secret-based system, arguing that it is so off-base that it challenges the fundamental purpose of Jesus. For God so loved the world, right? Jesus did not come to pass along powerful secrets to people, He came to reveal God to the world. And certainly there is some mystery there, but not a secret. Not something to hold over one another. Instead, something that gives us confidence and takes away our shame (1 John 2:28). The anointing of the Holy Spirit is the great equalizer, as we all receive one anointing. Therefore, let us shed the hierarchy of faith and recognize our one-ness in Christ!
It's a good satan trick to make us feel like there has to be more to salvation than just grace. That there must be a secret or the gift was just for a few. This verse is a good reassurance of grace.
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