Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 John 2:27
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.
27, 28. The Place of Safety; Christ
27. But the anointing which ye have received ] As in 1Jn 2:2, we have the false and the true Christians put side by side in contrast; but this does not justify us in turning S. John’s simple ‘and’ ( ) into ‘but’. As in 1Jn 2:24, we have the pronoun put first with great emphasis, and as a nominativus pendens. Moreover, the reception of the chrism refers to the definite occasion when Christ poured out His Spirit upon them, viz. their baptism; and therefore the aorist should be retained. Wherefore, as R. V., And as for you, the anointing which ye received.
abideth in you ] We often, in order to convey a command or a rebuke gently, state as a fact what ought to be a fact. This is perhaps S. John’s meaning here. If not, it is an expression of strong confidence in those whom he adresses.
ye need not that any man teach you ] This seems to confirm the reading ‘ye know all things’ in 1Jn 2:20. The believer who has once been anointed with the Spirit of truth has no need even of an Apostle’s teaching. This seems to be quite conclusive against ‘little children’ anywhere in this Epistle meaning children in years or children in knowledge of the Gospel. S. John writes throughout for adult and well-instructed Christians, to whom he writes not to give information, but to confirm and enforce and perhaps develope what they have all along known. Of course S. John does not mean that the anointing with the Spirit supersedes all necessity for instruction. The whole Epistle, and in this chapter 1Jn 2:6-7 ; 1Jn 2:24, are conclusive against such a view. S. John assumes that his readers have been thoroughly instructed in ‘the word’ and ‘the truth’, before receiving the outpouring of the Spirit which shews them the full meaning of ‘the word’ and confirms them in ‘the truth’. If S. John has no sympathy with a knowledge which professed to rise higher than Christian teaching, still less has he sympathy with a fanaticism which would dispense with Christian teaching. While he condemns the Gnosticism of his own age, he gives no encouragement to the Montanism of a century later.
but as the same anointing ye shall abide in him ] We have here to settle, first the question of readings, and then the question of construction. ‘But as His anointing’ ( BC, Vulgate, Syriac) is certainly superior to ‘But as the same anointing’ (AKL, Coptic), and still more is ‘ ye abide ’ or ‘ abide ye ’ ( ABC, Versions) superior to ‘ye shall abide’ (KL). The A. V. deserts Wiclif, Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Rhemish, to follow the Genevan in adopting the future. The construction is not so easily determined, but does not seriously affect the sense. We may render, (1) But as His anointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, do ye abide in Him; making only one sentence with a long protasis. Or (2) we may break it into two sentences, each with a protasis and apodosis; But as His anointing teacheth you concerning all things, it is true and is no lie; and even as it taught you, do ye abide in Him, The majority of English Versions, including R.V., are for the former: so also the Vulgate. Commentators are much divided; but Huther claims to have most on his side for the latter. He has against him Alford, Braune, De Wette, Dsterdieck, Ewald, Lcke, Neander, Westcott. The sentence seems to be a recapitulation of the section. ‘As His anointing teaches you concerning all things’ recalls 1Jn 2:20; ‘is true and is no lie’ recalls 1Jn 2:21-23; ‘do ye abide in Him’ recalls 1Jn 2:24-25. Probably we ought to supply a new nominative for ‘taught’, viz. ‘He’, i.e. Christ understood from ‘in Him’. This explains the difference of tense: ‘taught’ refers to the gift of the Spirit of truth made once for all by Christ; ‘teacheth’ to the continual illumination which is the result of the gift. It is comparatively unimportant whether we consider ‘do ye abide’ ( ) as indicative, like ‘abideth’ just before, or as imperative, like ‘abide’ in the next verse. See on 1Jn 2:29.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But the anointing which ye have received of him – See the notes at 1Jo 2:20.
Abideth in you – The meaning is, that the influence on your heart and life, which results from the fact that you are anointed of God, permanently abides with you, and will keep you from dangerous error. The apostle evidently meant to say that he felt assured that they would not be seduced from the truth, and that his confidence in regard to this was placed in the fact that they had been truly anointed unto God as kings and priests. Thus understood, what he here says is equivalent to the expression of a firm conviction that those who are true Christians will not fall away. Compare the notes at 1Jo 2:19-20.
And ye need not that any man teach you – That is, what are the things essential to true religion. See the notes at 1Jo 2:20.
But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things – This cannot mean that the mere act of anointing, if that had been performed in their case, would teach them; but it refers to what John includes in what he calls the anointing – that is, in the solemn consecrating to the duties of religion under the influences of the Holy Spirit.
And is truth, and is no lie – Leads to truth, and not to error. No man was ever led into error by those influences which result from the fact that he has been consecrated to the service of God.
Ye shall abide in him – Margin, or it. The Greek will bear either construction. The connection, however, seems to demand that it should be understood as referring to him – that is, to the Saviour.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. But the anointing which ye have received] That ointment, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, mentioned Joh 2:20, where see the note.
Ye need not that any man teach you] The Gnostics, who pretended to the highest illumination, could bring no proof that they were divinely taught, nor had they any thing in their teaching worthy the acceptance of the meanest Christian; therefore they had no need of that, nor of any other teaching but that which the same anointing teacheth, the same Spirit from whom they had already received the light of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ. Whatever that taught, they needed; and whatever those taught whose teaching was according to this Spirit, they needed. St. John does not say that those who had once received the teaching of the Divine Spirit had no farther need of the ministry of the Gospel; no, but he says they had no need of such teaching as their false teachers proposed to them; nor of any other teaching that was different from that anointing, i.e. the teaching of the Spirit of God. No man, howsoever holy, wise, or pure, can ever be in such a state as to have no need of the Gospel ministry: they who think so give the highest proof that they have never yet learned of Christ or his Spirit.
And is truth] Because it is the Spirit of truth Joh 16:13.
And is no lie] It has nothing like the fables of the Gnostics. It can neither deceive, nor be deceived.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But the anointing which ye have received: it is evident, that the ancient anointing of persons to some eminent office, was not a mere empty rite of investiture, or authorization, but also a symbol of their qualification by another Spirit then coming upon them. Whereupon our Lord Jesus was eminently the Christ, or anointed One, not only as denoting his solemn investiture with the sacred offices of King, Priest, and Prophet, which were all wont to be entered into by unction; but as signifying also his receiving the Spirit, (not by measure), by which he was most perfectly qualified for them. And whereas he is also said to have made those that believe on him, in a far inferior sense, kings and priests to his Father; to them also he imparts of the same Spirit, Rom 8:9, whence they are said to be anointed too, 2Co 1:21,22. And hence, as is here said, and 1Jo 2:27, they do not need, & c.
Ye need not that any man teach you; not as if they had absolutely no need at all of human teaching, for the apostle supposes not himself to be now doing a vain or needless thing; but that they had less need, having the internal principles of light and life in them, they were in a great measure capable of steering their own course. They had in themselves a living, ingrafted word, enabling them to teach and commune with themselves, as Deu 30:11,12; Ro 10:7-9. Hereupon their own reins could instruct them, Psa 16:7. Or, they could instruct themselves, , as that may be read, Col 3:16, the word of Christ dwelling richly in them. Therefore they did not so need to be taught, as those that know not the first principles of the oracles of God.
Teacheth you of all things; i.e. all such necessary and essential things to the life and being of Christianity, of which sort that doctrine concerning the Messiah was, which he was now speaking of; not all things simply, for that had been to attribute to them far higher knowledge than he could pretend to himself, even that which was peculiar to God only. Nor was that knowledge which they had of those necessary things to be thought the effect of an immediate inspiration, but such as by ordinary external means they had already learned, but made vital and efficacious by the special sanctifying influence and operation of the Holy Ghost; who having begotten in them a correspondent impress to those great truths which are after godliness, formed the new creature in them, which is begotten of the word of truth, had made them capable of dijudication, or of distinguishing by a spiritual sense, Phi 1:9,10, between things that were grateful, suitable, and nutritive to the life of the new creature in them, and such things as were noxious and offensive. Whereas, in reference to things more remote from the vitals of religion and godliness, none can assure themselves of such a privilege. And as to these, they are to expect it in the way of their own sincere and diligent endeavours and prayers, as the effect of the habit of grace, maintained and kept up in life and vigour; and a reward of their sincere resignation and subjection of heart and soul to the governing power of truth, so far as it should be understood and known of them, according to that of our Saviour, Joh 7:17; If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, & c. And thus they might certainly keep their station, and
abide in him; unto which they are therefore exhorted.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. ButGreek, “Andyou (contrasting the believing readers with the seducers; thewords ‘and you’ stand prominent, the construction of the sentencefollowing being altered, and no verb agreeing with ‘and you’ until’need not’) . . . the anointing,” c. (resumed from 1Jo2:20).
received of him (Joh1:16). So we “are unto God a sweet savor of Christ.”
abideth in youHetacitly thus admonishes them to say, when tempted by seducers, “Theanointing abideth in us we do not need a teacher [for we have theHoly Spirit as our teacher, Jer 31:34;Joh 6:45; Joh 16:13];it teaches us the truth; in that teaching we will abide”[BENGEL].
andand therefore. Godis sufficient for them who are taught of Him; they are independent ofall others, though, of course, not declining the Christian counsel offaithful ministers. “Mutual communication is not set aside, butapproved of, in the case of those who are partakers of the anointingin one body” [BENGEL].
the same anointingwhichye once for all received, and which now still abides in you.
of“concerning.”
all thingsessential tosalvation; the point under discussion. Not that the believer is madeinfallible, for no believer here receives the Spirit in all itsfulness, but only the measure needful for keeping him fromsoul-destroying error. So the Church, though having the Spirit inher, is not infallible (for many fallible members can never make aninfallible whole), but is kept from ever wholly losing the savingtruth.
no lieas Antichristianteaching.
ye shall abide in him(1Jo 2:24, end); even as “theanointing abideth in you.” The oldest manuscripts read theimperative, “abide in Him.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But the anointing which ye have received of him,…. The Spirit, and the grace of the Spirit, which they had received out of the fulness of grace which is in Christ; and is compared to oil or ointment; [See comments on 1Jo 2:20]; for Christ, the anointed, is the fountain of it all, and it is had from him in a way of giving and receiving. So the second “Sephira”, or number in the Jews’ Cabalistic tree, which is wisdom, has for one of its surnames, the fountain of the oil of unction i this
abideth in you; the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, “if it abideth”, which spoils the text, for the words are not conditional, but affirmative: grace is an internal thing, it is oil in the vessel of the heart, and where it once is, it abides; as does every grace of the Spirit, as faith, hope, love, and every other: grace can never be taken away; God will not take it away, where he has once bestowed it, and men and devils cannot; it can never be lost as to the principle and being of it; it is an incorruptible seed, and a living principle, which can never be destroyed, notwithstanding all the corruptions in a man’s hart, the pollutions of the world, and the temptations of Satan:
and ye need not that any man teach you; not that they were perfect in knowledge, for no man is absolutely, only comparatively so, in this life; or that they needed not, and were above and exempt from the instructions of Christ’s faithful servants; for John himself taught them, and to teach and instruct them was the end of his writing this epistle to them; but the sense is either that they needed not the teachings of these men before mentioned, the antichrists, liars, and seducers, being better taught, and having an unction by which they knew all things; or they needed not to be taught as if they were babes in Christ, as unskilful in the word of righteousness, but so as to increase in spiritual knowledge, and go on to perfection, and be established in the present truths, at least so as to be put in remembrance of them; or rather they needed not, nor were they to regard any mere human revelation and doctrine, for the whole Gospel was come by Jesus Christ, and no other is to be expected or received by men, nor any doctrine but what is according to the revelation of Christ; wherefore saints under the Gospel dispensation are taught of God by his Spirit, according to the word of truth, and by the ministry of it, and have no need of learning every man from his neighbour, or from his brother, any separate revelation; so that this passage does not militate against the external ministry of the Gospel, or human teachings according to that perfect rule and declaration of the whole mind and will of God by Christ under the Gospel dispensation:
but as the same anointing. The Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions read, “his anointing”; that is, God’s or Christ’s; and so the Syriac version renders it, “that unction which is of God”; meaning the same as before: the Ethiopic version renders it, his Spirit, which, though not a true version, is no improper or impertinent sense of the phrase: and this
teacheth you of all things; truths and doctrines necessary to salvation, as in 1Jo 2:20;
and is truth, and is no lie; or true and not a liar; which is a just character of the spirit of truth, in opposition to the spirit of error; and holds good of the grace of the Spirit, which is truth in the inward parts, and is genuine and sincere:
and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him; in Christ, from whom they received this anointing, [See comments on 1Jo 2:24]; or in the anointing itself, in the grace of the Spirit, in which they stood. Some versions read in the imperative, abide in him, or it, as in 1Jo 2:28.
i Cabala Denudata, par. 2. p. 8.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And as for you ( ). Prolepsis again as in verse 24.
Which ye received of him ( ‘ ). Second aorist active indicative of , a definite experience, this anointing (), from Christ himself as in verse 20. This Paraclete was promised by Christ (John 14:26; John 16:13) and came on the great Pentecost, as they knew, and in the experience of all who yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit.
That any one teach you ( ). Sub-final use of and the present active subjunctive of , “that any one keep on teaching you.”
Teacheth you ( ). Present active indicative. The Holy Spirit was to bring all things to their remembrance (Joh 14:26) and to bear witness concerning Christ (John 15:26; John 16:12-15). Yet they need to be reminded of what they already know to be “true” () and “no lie” ( ), according to John’s habit of positive and negative (1:5). So he exhorts them to “abide in him” ( , imperative active, though same form as the indicative). Precisely so Jesus had urged that the disciples abide in him (Joh 15:4f.).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you. As Jesus Christ is the anointed one, so each believer has thru His church received this anointing, special empowering, clothed with power from on high. Luk 24:49; Act 2:1-47.
2) “And ye need not that any man teach you.” Because our Lord has assured His disciples that the special clothing, anointing, or help that should come to them thru the Holy Spirit should guide them in all truth, John assures them that they have no supplement from any man – such as the antichrists arising. Joh 6:13.
3) “But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things.” This “once for all” anointing, empowering help thru spiritual gifts that came upon the church at Pentecost, had guided and was a sufficient guide, teacher and help in all things thru the Word of truth. Joh 17:8; Joh 17:17; 2Ti 3:16-17.
4) “And is truth and is no lie”. In essence of nature this anointing of the Spirit, clothing, empowering, guide thru the word, is genuine, not a lie, deception or falsehood.
5) “And even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. The empowering, clothing, armor that the Holy Spirit anointing brought to them, led them to talk and witness of Jesus, to abide in Him; Joh 16:13-14; Act 1:8; Rom 8:14; Rom 8:16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
27 And ye need not Strange must have been the purpose of John, as I have already said, if he intended to represent teaching as useless. He did not ascribe to them so much wisdom, as to deny that they were the scholars of Christ. He only meant that they were by no means so ignorant as to need things as it were unknown to be taught them, and that he did not set before them anything which the Spirit of God might not of himself suggest to them. Absurdly, then, do fanatical men lay hold on this passage, in order to exclude from the Church the use of the outward ministry. He says that the faithful, taught by the Spirit, already understood what he delivered to them, so that they had no need to learn things unknown to them. He said this, that he might add more authority to his doctrine, while every one repeated in his heart an assent to it, engraven as it were by the finger of God. But as every one had knowledge according to the measure of his faith, and as faith in some was small, in others stronger, and in none perfect, it hence follows, that no one knew so much, that there was no room for progress.
There is also another use to be made of this doctrine, — that when men really understand what is needful for them, we are yet to warn and rouse them, that they may be more confirmed. For what John says, that they were taught all things by the Spirit, ought not to be taken generally, but to be confined to what is contained in this passage. He had, in short, no other thing in view than to strengthen their faith, while he recalled them to the examination of the Spirit, who is the only fit corrector and approver of doctrine, who seals it on our hearts, so that we may certainly know that God speaks. For while faith ought to look to God, he alone can be a witness to himself, so as to convince our hearts that what our ears receive has come from him.
And the same is the meaning of these words, As the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth; that is, the Spirit is like a seal, by which the truth of God is testified to you. When he adds, and is no lie, he points out another office of the Spirit, even that he endues us with judgment and discernment, lest we should be deceived by lies, lest we should hesitate and be perplexed, lest we should vacillate as in doubtful things.
As it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him, or, abide in him. He had said, that the Spirit abode in them; he now exhorts them to abide in the revelation made by him, and he specifies what revelation it was, “Abide,” he says, “in Christ, as the Spirit hath taught you.” Another explanation, I know, is commonly given, “Abide in it,” that is, the unction. But as the repetition which immediately follows, cannot apply to any but to Christ, I have no doubt but that he speaks here also of Christ; and this is required by the context; for the Apostle dwells much on this point, that the faithful should retain the true knowledge of Christ, and that they should not go to God in any other way.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
27. But every thing depends upon our retaining this chrism, this true anointing. As long as we possess the holy chrism we will adhere to the holy Christ. It is the rich assurance of the testifying and sanctifying Spirit that insures against apostatizing to the fellowship of them that seduce you. It gives you a reality of assurance that ye need no teachers.
According as you firmly retain that ye shall (rather, will, the simple future) abide in him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And as for you, the anointing which you received of him abides in you, and you need not that any one teach you, but as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you abide in him.’
John is confident that they will not be led astray because ‘the anointing they have received’ abides in them and teaches them concerning all things. Again we can refer to Joh 14:26; Joh 16:13. The Spirit of truth (the anointing) takes of the word and, abiding within them, teaches them the truth, so that they abide in ‘Him’. Thus they need no other teachers from outside. Those appointed to watch over them and minister by the Spirit in the assembly are sufficient. Thus will they receive truth and not Satan’s lie.
The anointing was received ‘from Him’ and they abide in ‘Him’. Again we ask if this is the Father or Jesus Christ. This continual ambiguity suggests that the relationship with Father and Son was seen as so much one that he did not care to distinguish. As he said in 1Jn 2:23 ‘he who confesses the Son has the Father also’. However, 1Jn 2:28 suggests that we should see the primary reference as to Jesus Christ.
The Christian’s Hope 1Jn 2:28 to 1Jn 3:1 .
That this is a new sub-section is suggested by the reference again to ‘little children’. Each sub-section is opened with such an appellation (1Jn 2:1; 1Jn 2:7; 1Jn 2:12; 1Jn 2:18 ; 1Jn 3:2; 1Jn 3:7). Now He turns their thought to the future coming of ‘Him’. He is to be manifested, revealed in His fullness, at His coming. But the very wording also connects it with what has gone before. It is very much a transitional statement.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Jn 2:27. But the anointing, &c. See on 1Jn 2:20. The Spirit of God is compared to an anointing, because of his precious and cheeringgifts, which rendered Christians more fit to encounter spiritual enemies; as wrestlers were anointed with oil, to make them fitter for their various exercises, and to prevent the advantages which might otherwise be taken of them. This has been produced to shew, that the office of a stated ministry in the church was unnecessary; “because (say the advocates for this opinion,) this anointing could not be any special, peculiar, or extraordinary privilege, but that which is common to all saints, this being a general epistle, directed to every one of them of that age; and he that hath an anointing abiding in him, which teacheth him all things, so that he needs no man to teach him, hath an inward and immediate teacher, and is taught inwardly and immediately.” But those who argue after this manner, would do well to consider, that the Christian minister was in the higher repute in the church, even when the gifts of the Holy Spirit were poured down upon them in the greatest abundance; and moreover, that this epistle was written to Christians in general, which it would not have been, were not the admonitions that it contains necessary. And if they were necessary in those early ages, when so many Christians were endued with the miraculousgifts of the Spirit, and there was, in some sense, a necessity that they should be thus extraordinarily invested with powers from on high, and the admonitions for exhortations in this epistle are similar to the exhortations of a stated ministry, the expediency of a stated ministry, instead of being superseded, seems to be confirmed by this very passage.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
27 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.
Ver. 27. But the anointing ] See1Jn 2:201Jn 2:20 . It was an aggravation of the fall of Saul,2Sa 1:212Sa 1:21 , as “though he had not been anointed;” so for the saints to fall from their own stedfastness.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Jn 2:27 . The ground of the Apostle’s confidence in his readers. They need not be taught but only reminded. , . . ., a single sentence with one apodosis. Vulg. makes it a double sentence with two apodoses: “as His chrism is teaching you regarding all things, it is indeed true and is not a lie; and even as it taught you, abide in Him”. Reading , translate: “ye have no need that any one should teach you, but His chrism is teaching you a lie; and even as, etc.” , of the continued teaching by the grace of the Spirit; , of the illumination at the hour of conversion. , plainly imperat. in next ver., can hardly be indicat. here (“ye are abiding”). The reading (“ye shall abide”) would express the Apostle’s confidence in the steadfastness of his readers, like “England expects every man to do his duty”. Cf. Mat 5:48 : . , in eo (Vulg), “in Him,” i.e. , in Christ and therefore in God ( cf. 1Jn 2:24 ). According to Aug., “in it,” i.e. , the chrism, unctio ( permanete in ipsa ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
anointing. Same as “unction”, 1Jn 2:20.
of = concerning.
truth = true. App-175.
no lie = not (App-105) a lie.
ye shall. Omit.
Him. Greek. it.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1Jn 2:27. , and ye) On this depends ye have no need; a befitting transposition.[5]- , ye have received from Him) Joh 1:16.- , abides in you) This indicative implies a very subtle exhortation (to be compared with 2Ti 3:14), by which he makes the faithful, when harassed by deceivers, thus to answer them: The anointing abideth in us: we do not need a teacher: it teaches us the truth: in that doctrine we will continue. See how pleasant the transition is from this introduction of the language of another speaker[6] to the direct address, in the following verse. Abides in you, ye shall abide in Him, are correlative expressions.-) and therefore.- , ye have no need) A phrase indicative of character (or of courtesy), expressing the repulse of the faithful directed against deceivers. They who are taught of God have a sufficiency in themselves. God is sufficient for those who are taught by Him.-) any one, whoever he may be. By rejecting the whole class of seducers, individuals are the more easily ordered to begone, although they wish to appear more excellent than others.-, teach) Heb 8:11, note.-, you) You are , little children, but not however ignorant.- , but [it is] as) The verb substantive is to be understood between the two particles, as between but as, and as, not as, in 1Jn 2:19; 1Jn 2:18, and ch. 1Jn 3:12; 2Co 3:13. Nor are we to think that as in this passage has not its Apodosis until the is, or, ye shall abide.- , the same) at all times; not one thing at one time, and another at another, but consistent with itself, and the same in the case of all who are holy.- , teaches you) The mutual communication is not set aside, but is approved of, in the case of those who are made partakers of the anointing in one body. Teaches, the present tense: from which arises the past, hath taught, with an eye to the future, ye shall abide.- , concerning all things) which you ought to know and to be taught. An antithesis to one and the same.- , and is no lie) like that, which they boast of.-, hath taught you) the anointing.-, ye shall abide) The faithful are ordered to say, As the anointing hath taught us, abiding in that doctrine, we shall abide in the Son, and therefore in the Father also: 1Jn 2:24. This Future has the force of consolation and exhortation. The whole discourse brought down from 1Jn 2:18 to this verse, is most pleasantly adapted to young children, and in particular the mention of teaching and anointing.
[5] See Append. on HYPERBATON.-E.
[6] See Append. on SERMOCINATIO.-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the anointing: 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 3:24, Joh 4:14, 1Pe 1:23, 2Jo 1:2
and ye: 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:21, Jer 31:33, Jer 31:34, Joh 14:26, Joh 16:13, Heb 8:10, Heb 8:11
but: 1Co 2:13, Eph 4:21, 1Th 2:13, 1Ti 2:7, 2Pe 1:16, 2Pe 1:17
ye shall: 1Jo 2:28, Joh 8:31, Joh 8:32, Joh 15:4-7, Col 2:6
him: or, it
Reciprocal: Exo 28:41 – anoint them Exo 29:7 – General Exo 30:26 – General Exo 37:29 – he made Exo 40:13 – anoint him Lev 1:15 – wring off his head Lev 2:1 – pour oil Lev 7:35 – portion Lev 8:30 – the anointing Num 7:43 – mingled with oil Num 18:8 – by reason Deu 13:6 – entice Jos 2:19 – whosoever 2Sa 7:3 – for the 1Ch 16:22 – Touch Psa 23:5 – thou anointest Psa 25:5 – Lead Psa 25:12 – him Psa 105:15 – mine Psa 119:12 – teach Psa 119:33 – I shall keep Psa 119:102 – for thou Psa 143:10 – Teach Pro 3:21 – let Pro 11:9 – through Pro 28:5 – General Isa 10:27 – because Isa 30:21 – thine ears Isa 35:8 – the wayfaring Isa 54:13 – all Eze 16:9 – anointed Mat 13:11 – Because Mat 25:4 – oil Joh 3:21 – that his Joh 14:17 – the Spirit Joh 15:7 – my Act 11:26 – were 1Co 2:10 – by 1Co 2:12 – that 1Co 2:14 – neither 2Co 1:21 – anointed 2Co 9:1 – it is Eph 4:20 – General Col 1:23 – ye continue Col 3:16 – dwell Tit 2:12 – Teaching 1Jo 2:5 – hereby
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE ANOINTING
Ye have an unction from the Holy One. 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.
1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27
The anointing is a sacred symbol. It speaks at once to us of a Divine operation. We know from other parts of Scripture that the unction from the Holy One is an appointed emblem of the Holy Spirit and His work.
I. The anointing is necessary:
(a) To enlighten us. This oil gives light. What wondrous light it gave to St. Peter on the day of Pentecost.
(b) To emancipate us. Men want not only to know what to do, they want power to do it. They want not only a teacher, but a liberator.
(c) To establish us. It is, in fact, specially in this connection that the Apostle refers to it. False teachers and false doctrines had crept into the Church in his day, even as they have in our own, with the result that the most earnest Christians were most in danger of being led astray by them. But the Apostle had an unfailing resource. He appeals at once to the anointing as enough to safeguard his converts.
(d) To endear Christians to each other. It used to be said in the early days, See how these Christians love one another. I fear it can hardly be said now. Alas, for our unhappy divisions.
(e) To encourage us. How much encouragement we want in this world of sadness and gloom, when sorrow and care seem ready to overwhelm us; when we are in heaviness through manifold temptations;
When gathering clouds around we view,
And days are dark and friends are few;
when we say, with Jacob, All these things are against me. At such times let us remember that comfort is provided for us. The sweet name of the Holy Ghost is Comforter.
II. Upon what conditions will the anointing be ours?
(a) We must be united to the Anointed One. It is from the head of our great High Priest that the holy oil flows down, even to the very skirts of His garments. It is only through union with Christ that we can receive the unction which descends from Christ. If we have not experienced uniting grace, it is in vain that we look for anointing grace. We must be alive before we can be strong. The first and indispensable condition, before we are baptized of the Spirit, is that we be begotten of the Spirit unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1Pe 1:3).
(b) We must be surrendered and cleansed. Selfishness, slothfulness, waywardness, unbeliefthese are the hindrances which clog the channel between our souls and Christ. Are you sincerely willing that Christ should banish them? When you are really willing, He can burn up these thorns and briers in one day (Isa 10:17).
Rev. E. W. Moore.
Illustration
Men do not readily acknowledge that all sinning is slavery. The subtler forms of evil so disguise themselves that men shut their eyes and refuse to acknowledge that they are chains at all. What shall we say of the bondage of heart sin; of the yoke of pride, hard, unbending, galling; of the yoke of ill-temper, which turns a happy home into a prison-house; of the yoke of some secret, besetting sin, eating like a canker into the soul? The trouble is, a Christian man once said to a friend who was speaking to him of these things, I love some sins. Ah, yes, that is the trouble. Nor can it ever be overcome until at length we learn that Christ can save us from the love as well as from the practice of the sins we deplore.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
1Jn 2:27. Anointing is from the same word as “unction” in verse 20. Need not that any man should teach you. This means that no uninspired man should be depended upon for teaching on the great story of Christ. They had the enlightening that had come to them from Christ through the inspired teachers. With such divine guidance they were able to abide in him who is Christ.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Abiding In Christ
The word of God is the word of the Holy Spirit who was to guide the apostles into all truth ( Eph 6:17 ; Joh 14:16 ; Joh 16:13 ). If one possesses the word of the Spirit, he possesses the truth. The ones to whom John wrote had received the gospel and did not need some man to teach them where they were in error ( 1Co 2:11-16 ). Jesus had come in the flesh, as John taught (1:1-3), and they had no need of other teaching in that regard. All the things the false teachers presented had already been answered by the things John’s readers had received. The gospel is true, not a lie, and should remain in us so we can remain in Christ ( 1Jn 2:27 ).
So, John pleaded with his children in the faith to remain in Christ and His fellowship so their sins could continue to be removed and they would be prepared for His coming (1:7). If Christ should appear in the season spoken of in verse 18, they could be bold because the Savior’s blood was on their side ( 1Jn 2:28 ; Heb 10:19 ).
When John wrote, “If you know that He is righteous,” Woods says the Greek word translated “know” ( eidate ) comes from a root word suggesting theoretical knowledge. In contrast, when John says, “you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of him,” the word is ginoskete, which comes from a root suggesting practical knowledge. If one recognized theoretically that God is righteous, his practical knowledge would tell him all who practice right living in accord with God’s will are born of God (compare Joh 3:5 ; Tit 3:5 ). In other words, those who partake of God’s nature are obviously his children ( 1Jn 2:29 ).
1Jn 3:1-3
God’s Love Is Out of This World!
Even though the world does not recognize it, Christians are children of God while on this earth, as God Himself will attest. While still living in the flesh, they do not know what they will look like during eternity ( 2 Corinthians 15:35-50 ). However, they can be assured when Jesus returns to this earth, they will be like Him ( 1Jn 3:2 ; Php 3:20-21 ). The Christians’ hope is of being like Christ when He appears and John assures all such will be like him. Because of this hope, Christians keep on purifying themselves to be as much like Him as they can be when He comes. This sounds very much like the parable of the ten virgins in Mat 25:1-13 . Adequate preparations must be made to be in a constant state of readiness when the Lord comes ( 1Jn 3:2-3 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Verse 27
The anointing; the unction referred to in 1 John 2:20.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2:27 But the {t} anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye {u} need not that any man teach you: but as the same {x} 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.
(t) The Spirit who you have received from Christ, and who has led you into all truth.
(u) You are not ignorant of those things, and therefore I teach them not as things that were never heard of, but call them to your mind as things which you do know.
(x) He commends both the doctrine which they had embraced, and also highly praises their faith, and the diligence of those who taught them, yet so, that he takes nothing from the honour due to the Holy Spirit.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The "anointing" is the Holy Spirit (cf. 1Jn 2:20). The readers had the Holy Spirit within them whose ministry it is to guide believers into all the truth and to teach us what God has revealed (Joh 14:26; Joh 16:13). Consequently they were not dependent on other human teachers, especially the false teachers.
From this verse some Christians have concluded that we should not listen to any human teacher. That is not what John said. He wanted his readers to remember that the Holy Spirit was the teacher, the ultimate source of illumination. He did not rule out secondary teachers through whom the Holy Spirit works in teaching. If that had been his view he would not have written this epistle in which he taught his readers. His point was that we should not look to other human beings as the ultimate source of our learning, an attitude the false teachers were encouraging. Of course the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to teach us (Joh 16:14-15). John was not saying we can discard our Bibles. Since immature believers need human teachers (Heb 5:12), though they are not completely dependent on them, John’s readers appear to have been mature in the faith. God has given human teachers as a gift to His church (Eph 4:11; 1Co 12:28; cf. Rom 12:7).
"John obviously uses slight irony here. . . . John means that what he is urging on them is fairly self-evident . . ." [Note: Yarbrough, pp. 166-67.]
The readers’ anointing was real. The false teachers appear to have claimed that God had inspired them, but He had not. John was warning his readers about false teachers who claimed revelation beyond what Jesus Christ and the apostles had taught. We need simply to abide in God and to respond positively to the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us (cf. Joh 15:4-7).
John’s original readers were doing well in their walk with God. John began this section of his epistle (1Jn 2:12-27) by affirming their healthful spiritual condition (1Jn 2:12-14). He then warned them of their spiritual adversaries (1Jn 2:15-27): the allurements of the world (1Jn 2:15-17) and the enticements of false teachers (1Jn 2:18-27).
There is a parallel between what John urged his readers to do in this section of his epistle and what Moses commanded the Israelites to do. In both cases the holiness of God demanded that those who came into the closest and most intimate contact with God, in the Tabernacle and in the church, be holy. Moses advocated renouncing sin, obeying God, rejecting worldliness, and keeping the faith in the "Covenant Code" (Exodus 20-23; Exodus 25-31), the "Priestly Code" (Exodus 35 -Leviticus 16), and the "Holiness Code" (Lev 17:10 to Lev 25:55). John similarly urged his readers to renounce sin (1Jn 1:8 to 1Jn 2:2), to obey God (1Jn 2:3-11), to reject worldliness (1Jn 2:12-17), and to keep the faith (1Jn 2:18-27). In both cases the prophet’s concern was that those believers under their care would be holy as God is holy (Lev 11:44-45; Lev 19:2; Lev 20:7; 1Pe 1:15-16). Holiness is imperative for God’s people to "know," "see," and "have fellowship with" a holy God (cf. Heb 12:10-14).