Daily Thoughts from 1 John: The Anointing (2:26-29)

Daily Thoughts from 1 John: The Anointing

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.  And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.  (1 John 2:26-29 ESV)

We often speak of someone being anointed, meaning he or she spoke or acted with great power from the Spirit.  But John is here saying that all his readers have received the anointing so that no one needs to teach them.  It will be apparent that John does not mean they don’t need teaching in the absolute sense, because that is exactly what he is providing them in this letter.  But they have an ability from the Spirit to discern false doctrine and so they stayed in fellowship with the apostles’ teaching.

I’ll never forget going door-to-door in Ecuador sharing the gospel and one woman telling us that she just knew the people who came before us, Jehovah’s Witnesses, were not teaching the truth.  She embraced the gospel with gladness.  God had given her radar for the truth.  God had given this to the Ephesian believers also.

John reassures his readers that they are in the truth but at the same time challenges them that they must continue in this truth so as to be confident at the judgment when Jesus returns.

There are two views of this:

1) It is not that they will fail at the judgment and lose their salvation, but rather that they will be ashamed for having in any way compromised their faith.

2) This is a warning that those who do not hold to the truth are not and never were saved and the apostle doesn’t want his readers to be in that number.  Only those who hold to the truth are true believers.

The latter seems more likely, given especially the next statement that begins another round of the tests for who are genuine believers, in this case, the test of righteousness (same as the test of obedience).

True believers persevere in their faith including righteousness and love and pure doctrine, as well as a correct perspective on sin (as we saw in chapter 1).  True believers persevere in the faith in part because they have spirits that can detect false teaching.  Have you experienced this anointing?