Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 John 2:24-29.
But
ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things (1 John 2:20).
But
the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not
that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,
and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in
him (1 John 2:27).
In
the epistle of I John the apostle writes to a church that is battling false
teachers (antichrists) (2:18) and has experienced schism (2:19).
One
of his words of assurance is to remind them that they have the anointing of the
Holy Spirit. The term in Greek is chrisma. It appears only three times
in the NT and all three are in 1 John 2 (vv. 20, 27). It is translated as “unction”
in 2:20 and as “anointing” in 2:27.
The
best way to understand this term is as a reference to the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit. In his public ministry Christ promised the disciples he would send
“the Comforter,” “the Spirit of truth” to them who would “dwell with you, and
shall be in you” (John 14:16-17; cf. John 14:26; 16:13). Paul also writes to
believers about the “Spirit of God” which dwells in them (see Romans 8:9, 11).
In v. 20 Christ said that with the unction of the
Holy Spirit believers will “know all things.” This is especially related to
discernment. With the Spirit’s help they will be able to know the antichrists and
not to follow them. John reinforces this in 2:27, “the same anointing teacheth
you of all things.”
John also says something in 1 John 2:27 that
might be easily misconstrued. He states, “and ye need not that any man teach
you.” Was Christ calling for some kind of radical egalitarian community where
there would be no human teachers? Or where, perhaps, everyone was a teacher? To
understand John’s meaning we must appeal to “all the counsel of God” (Acts
20:27), as articulated in the Reformation principle of Scripture interpreting
Scripture.
What does the NT convey about teachers in the
church? Christ gives “pastors and teachers” to the church, “for the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body” (see
Ephesians 4:11-12). Paul noted that local church bishops are to be “apt to teach”
(1 Timothy 3:2). He stated that not everyone should be a master (teacher)
(Hebrews 3:1). He also said that the one who is taught should support “him that
teacheth in all good things” (Galatians 6:6).
1 John 2:27 cannot be cherry picked to say that
there is no role for teachers in the church.
John’s point, however, is to say that believers
have a Teacher whose expertise and skill and power and influence will
necessarily take precedence over every human teacher, and that is the indwelling
Holy Spirit of God. Since the believer has this anointing, he will be guided
into discernment. He does not, for example, rely on the magisterium of the Roman
Church or the magisterium of the secular academy, but upon the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not some “extra-ordinary” gift
for only some believers. It is an “ordinary” gift given to all believers. We are
thankful for the Holy Spirit which dwells in each follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ and teaches him all things needed for life and godliness.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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