For John, Christianity was empowered by the Holy Spirit. The antichrist was the other spiritual movement, fueled essentially by a supernatural force that was in opposition to God.
1 John 2: Those Who Leave
John claimed proof of salvation lay in Living by faith in holding onto the teaching of the apostles. Those who left had never been of them in the first place.
1 John 2: Proof of Salvation
Loving God and Loving the brethren, which in turn would mean Obedience to God by aligning our wills with the Lord’s, and serving and taking care of our brothers and sisters in the Lord by humbling our own wills for the sake of others.
1 John 2: Stop Pretending
Gnostics claimed there was no such thing as sin, therefore it was impossible to sin, for it did not exist. There was no point in seeking not to sin, because there was no such thing as “sin” or “sinning” in the first place. John strongly contested such thinking.