1 John 2:23

Hath not the Father. Those who attacked Christ’s position may have felt that in so doing they in no way detracted from the Father. The apostle emphasizes their error by stating that such teachers do not possess the close communion with God they thought they enjoyed, and their profession would prove vain (cf. on 1 John 4:3; cf. Matt. 10:33).

Acknowledgeth. Or, “confesseth.” The last half of the verse appears in italics because this statement does not appear in the Greek text from which the KJV was translated. However, textual evidence favors (cf. p. 10) the inclusion of the statement. The construction harmonizes with the apostle’s literary device of clinching an argument with a negative or positive affirmation of his preceding statement, as the case may be.