Passage:
1 John 2:18 Dear children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we recognize that it is the last hour.19 They went out from us, but they were never of us; for if they had been of us, they would have abided with us; but they went out, in order that it might be clear that they all are not of us.20 Indeed you all have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all this.21 I have not written to you because you do not know the Truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the Truth.
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of John’s first general Epistle. Now remember, up to this point in the Epistle, John has turned to refute the teachings of the false teachers who are troubling his flock with both their doctrine and their living. However, beginning with verse 18, John turned to consider the false teachers themselves. That is, John turns to expose the spiritual heart and dark agenda that define/direct these men.
Notice then the story thus far: in verse 18 John identified the world’s false teachers with the Antichrist who is to come at the end of the age (he calls them by the same name- many antichrists). In other words, John alerts us that the same spiritual principles and the same dark agenda that define the Antichrist are behind these false teachers as well.
Next, in verse 19, John reminded his flock that that even though these false teachers once attended church, they never received the salvation and new life that Christ provides. As such, they are utterly unfit to speak of heavenly thing or to lead men to a God they have never met.In our text this morning John turns to remind his flock that God has made the falseness of all such false teachers clear/obvious. Listen.
Verse 20
Notice at once the contrast: immediately after pointing out that the false teachers went out from the Church because they were never of the Church (that is, they were never believers and were never a part of God’s Kingdom/people), John reminds his flock that as believers they are anointed. However, notice the extent of this anointing: John does not simply say that God has anointed the general/ collective ministry of His people; nor does he merely say that God has anointed the Apostles or a select few super spiritual believers. Instead, the plural pronoun (you all) is redundant. In other words, the notion of “you all” is already expressed by the plural form of the verb. The result is that the pronoun’s function in this portion of verse 20 is to provide emphasis. That is, John employs it to stress the fact that every single believer has this anointing FN#1.
Next, notice the nature of this anointing: notice who does the anointing: however, first notice who is not doing the anointing: the one who anoints us is not the Holy Spirit. Instead, throughout John’s writings “Holy One” always refers to Christ FN#2. Thus, Christ is the one who anoints His people while the Holy Spirit is the anointing that Christ provides. Think about it. This is exactly what the whole of Scripture teaches: Scripture promises that Christ will pour out the Holy Spirit whom His Father gives on His people (Jn 15:26-27) FN#3. Not only that, throughout Scripture, the Greek term that John uses here for anointing is directly associated with the person and work of the Holy Spirit FN#4. The result is that verse 20 tells us that Christ has anointed every believer (everyone who is His) with His Holy Spirit.
Importance: notice what Scripture tells us this anointing means (notice what Scripture says is true of every believer because of this anointing): first, Christ sends His Holy Spirit to seal believers, irrevocably marking them as God’s people. Second, Christ sends His Holy Spirit to fill believers, insuring God’s presence with them at all times. Third, Christ sends His Holy Spirit to guide believers, leading them into the truth of the Gospel. Finally, Christ sends His Holy Spirit to equip believers, empowering their witness/ministry FN#5. Importance: notice at once the contrast/point: the false teachers have rejected God and thus provide nothing but a spiritual guidance of utter blindness. However, John reminds His people that Christ, God’s very Son, has made God know and now God the Holy Spirit dwells in/with them. Therefore, the believer needs no supplement or additional assistance to find God. Instead, God Himself has made God known and God Himself is with them.
Next, notice the result of this anointing: John says that his flock knows all this. Knows all what? John is pointing back to verse 19 where three times he has just underscored the fact that the false teachers deserted God’s people and now openly oppose the Gospel because they were never of us. In other words, John says because his flock knows God and His Gospel; and because the Spirit leads them into that which is of God and away from all that is contrary to God; John’s flock already recognizes the falseness of the wayward teachers and their surrogate gospel.
Verse 21
Next, notice John says that he is not writing to the believers because they do not know the truth FN#6. In other words, unlike the claims of the false teachers, John is not writing because his flock requires a spiritual broker to proctor their relationship with God or to reveal the real spiritual truth about God. Instead, they know God directly, God dwells in each of them, and God has made Himself know in His Son and through His Word. In other words, John is not writing this epistle because his people require more information or a deeper level of spirituality. That is, John is not writing to counter the false teachers’ supplement with one of his own. Instead, God has given all that is needed/required for salvation and new life. Therefore, John is writing this entire epistle simply to point back to, explain, and reground his readers on what God has already provided in full.
Notice the result, John says that he is writing precisely because believers do know the truth. That is, they know the truth about who God is; they know the truth about the salvation that God has provided in His own Son; and they know the truth about man’s relationship with God. Importance: notice then John’s point: John is writing to assure his flock that their relationship with God has been established by God and therefore it does not require anything additional to what God has already provided/revealed. Simply put, John is writing so that what God has given His people will not be undermined/distorted by what the world or its false teachers are claiming to offer. FN#7
Finally, notice the second reason that John is writing: John says that he is writing not only because the believer knows the Truth but also because no lie is of/from the Truth. In other words, the contrast between the world’s false teachings and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is clear (even to the world). Therefore, the believer is to immediately recognize the source of any spirituality they encounter. Simply put, anything that denies, supplements, or replaces Christ is not from God nor will it ever lead to God. Therefore, it is to be rejected and refuted.
Bottom line: John reminds the believer that God has provided all that God requires in His Son Jesus Christ. As such, the believer stands in a real/actual relationship with God by God’s own doing. In turn, the Spirit that Christ sends never leads us away from Christ but always draws us closer to Christ/Word. As such, the believer is to distinguish between God’s Truth and the world’s lies.
Footnotes
1] This emphatic repetition of the subject in verse 20 mirrors and answers the emphatic repetition of the subject in verse 19
19 they all are not of us.
20 Indeed you all have
In verse 19 John stressed that every single one of the false teachers (without exception) is not a part of God’s people. By contrast, in verse 20, John turns to stress that every single believer (without exception) is anointed.
2] Note: throughout John’s writing the singular “the Holy One” refers to Christ (c.f. Jn 6:69; Rev 3:7). Whenever John uses ἅγιος (holy) to refer to the Holy Spirit it is always coupled with πνεῦμα (Spirit), thus πνεῦμα ἅγιον or τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον (The Holy Spirit- c.f. Jn 1:13; 20:22).
3] Remember, throughout the whole of this Epistle John is reminding his flock of the teachings that they know and have received from all the Apostles. Importance: verse 20-21 point back to the teaching that John’s flock has received from John in his Gospel. It is quite possible that John has John 15:26-27 specifically in mind. Regardless, John 15:26-27 provide the very dynamics and categories that John is now employing in this passage of his epistle. As such, as you read the passage from John’s Gospel, pay special attention to the notions of Holy Spirit, Truth, and witness because they are all central to verses 20-21.
John. 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me, 27 and you will bear witness also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
4] The Greek term John uses here for anointing (χρῖσμα) is used in both the Old and New Testaments as an indication of the Holy Spirit’s work
In the Old Testament LXX the word occurs some 7 times (6 time in Exodus). It refers to the anointing oil that enabled the priests to minister as priests to God. Thus, anointing carries with it the notion of a divine appointment/ assignment that has been set apart and empowered by God’s Spirit.
Exodus 40:15 and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, so that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing shall qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”
In the New Testament, the idea of anointing is carried forward and fulfilled by the work of the Holy Spirit, who seals, directs, and empowers God’s people
Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.
2 Corinthians 1:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
Bottom line: for John, Christ anoints and the Holy Spirit is the anointing He gives to all believers, thus sealing them as God’s people and equipping their walk and witness.
5] Notice the contrasts: first, Christ sends His Holy Spirit to seal believers, irrevocably marking them as God’s people. Thus while the false teachers were never of us, the believer is claimed by God and marked as His own possession.
Second, Christ sends His Holy Spirit to fill believers, insuring God’s presence with them at all times. The false teachers claim to be guides to God and yet God Himself dwells in and with us
Third, Christ sends His Holy Spirit to guide believers, leading them into the truth of the Gospel. Thus while the false teachers claim to be spiritual gurus, the Holy Spirit unfolds God’s Word to and in us
Finally, Christ sends His Holy Spirit to equip believers, empowering their witness/ministry. Thus while the false teachers claim to have the path to true spiritual enlightenment God has anointed, equipped, and commissioned His people to be His official heralds and witnesses to the world. We are the ones who are to lead others to God and to make Him known
6] The verb here “I have not written you” is an Epistolary Aorist. As such, it describes the current writing of the letter from the timeframe of the readers who will read it after it has been written. Thus, when John says, “I have not written you” he is referring to the current epistle (not some past writing). Notice then, the readers are currently reading what John has just written. In turn, John is writing what His readers will read soon afterward. The point is that in verse 21 John is referring to the current epistle. As such, the sense of verse 21 is, “I am not writing to you (and you are not now reading what I have just written) because you do not know the truth”
7] Notice the flow of the passage: it is because the believer knows the Truth about God that John was confident in verse 19 that they already recognized that the false teachers were not of God (you already knew all this). In other words, for John the Truth from God (God’s Word revealed and applied by God’s anointing/Spirit) is the source of the believer’s discernment. Simply put, because they know the truth therefore they can distinguish a lie.
Importance: please note, nowhere does John ever suggest that the believer is self-sufficient or that he does not require the help of other believers. Our anointing is personal but it is not private. Rather, it is one that we all have in common and for the common good. This point will be important when we come to 2:27. Instead, John says that God has provided all that is required by His people. Thus, the believer is able to distinguish God’s Truth from the world’s deception by growth, discipleship, and the Spirit’s guidance:
The result is: the fact that the believer knows God and God’s Truth serves as the very basis of His ability to distinguish this Truth from all that seeks to dilute, undermine, or replace it in the world about.