But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 1 John 2:27
This scripture plainly says… the anointing which you have received from Him
This anointing that we have received from Him, teaches us concerning all things.
If a person has received the anointing then that anointing they have received teaches them concerning all things.
JLB
You are taking the verse out of context JLB.
The Biblical way to hear the Good News was to hear it being preached not be reading a book and working it out oneself.
“But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to
preach?” (
Rom 10:14).
All though Acts and Paul’s letters we hear about the word being
preached.
This was not just for the apostolic age. Jesus says about the end times:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come. (
Mt 24:14)
John, who wrote the text we are considering, records two promises that Jesus made to the apostles at the Last Supper. This was his final talk to them before his death and resurrection. He had been teaching them for 3 years and was soon to send them out on mission to take the gospel into the world where they would be facing new situations and new challenges.
He makes them two promises.
Firstly about the past – all he has taught them.
But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (
Jn 14:26).
Secondly about the future – to guide them in new situations
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (
Jn 16:13)
And we can see how this guiding happened in Acts 1 (the choosing of Matthias as a successor to Judas), and in Acts 15 (the Council of Jerusalem)
Now we move to John’s letter, chapter 2. He is writing to Christians who he personally has catechised, taught them everything, taught them the truth. He addresses them as “my children” (vs 1) and “beloved” (vs 7). However they are in danger of being led astray by false teachers. That is the context. And we need to start at vs 20 not 24 to get the immediate context
20.
But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all know.
Footnotes say some manuscripts say “you know everything” instead of
you all know.
They
know because John has
taught them.
21
I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it… [because John has taught them].
24
Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you[what they have already been taught].
If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father.
Now vs 26 & 27 in this context:
26
I write this to you about those who would deceive you [John is concerned that they are being taught falsely].
27
but the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you [because they have already been taught by John];
as his anointing teaches you about everything [that they have been taught],
and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him.
T
his is equivalent to the first promise Jesus made to the apostles. The Holy Spirit would bring to mind all the true teaching they had
already received. That presupposes that they had already received true teaching.
But you have to get that true teaching first. You cannot generate it from your own resources. You cannot reach the truth by starting from scratch, but only by receiving it from those who have already been taught it and can pass it on. Then when you are presented with false teaching, the Holy Spirit will bring to mind the truth that
you have already been taught.
This where Martin Luther and the other reformers went wrong. They thought they could reject the teaching authority of the Church and start from scratch with just the Bible. And that is why Protestantism has fractured into thousands of denominations with many opposing doctrines.
The Bereans are sometimes used to prove that we should search the scriptures for the truth. And indeed we should, but to confirm the truth of what we have been taught. This is what the Bearans did. Paul taught them
first, and
then they searched the scriptures to
confirm the truth of what he taught them.
