Exploring 1 John: Anointing, Identifying the Spirit of the Antichrist
1 John 2:20-23 - We can know the truth through the Holy Spirit and by being aware of the false teachings.
”But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 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. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.“
1 John 2:20-23 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/1jn.2.20-23.NASB1995
John reminds his flock that they have been “anointed” by the Holy One. Because of this anointing, they know and they know the truth; they know that liars deny that Jesus is the Christ, making them antichrists. Denying the Son means that you do not have the Father, but confessing the Son gives us the Father, too.
Let’s do some word studies! First, let’s analyze “anointing”. This word comes from the Greek word χρῖσμα or chrîsma; Strong’s G5545 is only used three times in the New Testament, all of those usages being in 1 John 2. According to the Strong’s definition in the Blue Letter Bible lexicon, chrisma means the special endowment of the Holy Spirit. Ok, on to the next word: Know. “Know” comes from the Greek word εἴδω or eídō and has the following Biblical usages; Strong’s G1492 is used 316 times in the New Testament:
to see
to perceive with the eyes
to perceive by any of the senses
to perceive, notice, discern, discover
to see
i.e. to turn the eyes, the mind, the attention to anything
to pay attention, observe
to see about something
i.e. to ascertain what must be done about it
to inspect, examine
to look at, behold
to experience any state or condition
to see i.e. have an interview with, to visit
to know
to know of anything
to know, i.e. get knowledge of, understand, perceive
of any fact
the force and meaning of something which has definite meaning
to know how, to be skilled in
to have regard for one, cherish, pay attention to (1Th. 5:12)
By the anointing of the Holy Spirit, believers are given the ability to perceive or understand the force and meaning of the truth: The true nature of Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.
I like what Enduring Word says about this anointing and knowing the truth:
You have an anointing: Here John referred to a common anointing, belonging to all believers. This is an anointing that makes discernment possible for those who seek it in the Lord (and you know all things).
When the New Testament speaks of anointing, it speaks of it as the common property of all believers. This is true even though all believers may not be walking in the anointing God has given them. The New Testament does not speak of a “special” anointing given to particular individuals.
Among some Christians today, there is a rather magical or superstitious approach to this idea of anointing. In their mind, the anointing is like a virus or a germ that can be spread by casual contact or infect a whole group. Usually these folks think that when one “catches” the anointing, you can tell because they begin acting strangely. This isn’t the Bible’s idea of anointing.
Anointing has the idea of being filled with and blessed by the Holy Spirit. This is something that is the common property of all Christians, but something we can and should become more submitted and responsive to. “As oil was used among the Asiatics for the inauguration of persons in important offices, and this oil was acknowledged to be an emblem of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, without which the duties of those offices could not be discharged; so it is put here for the Spirit himself, who presided in the Church, and from which all gifts and graces flowed.” (Adam Clarke)
This idea of anointing – literally, to be blessed with oil – was said to be the reason behind one of the punishments given to John in persecution. The Roman emperor Domitian cast John in a boiling vat of oil, as if to say, “Here is a real anointing.” John emerged from the vat of boiling oil unharmed, because he was anointed indeed.
And you know all things: Because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit given to all believers, they possess the resources for knowing the truth. This isn’t to say that teachers are unnecessary, because one of the resources for knowing the truth is the reminding given by teachers like John.
In verse 20, John used a different word for know than he mostly used before. Previously John used the word meaning knowledge by experience; here he used the word meaning knowledge by intuition. We know some things intuitively by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
So much to ponder in this commentary! I have heard anointing referred to in almost a magical or mystical way by some believers, which is not Biblical. This anointing by the Holy Spirit is common to every believer. We must also still rely on long-standing purveyors of the truth, like John and Paul, to remind us of this truth. As I saw in commentary in Precept Austin, the greatest Christian defense is to remember what we already know. We do not need any “new” truths. Precept Austin also quotes from the book “Why One Way” by John MacArthur that hammers this home:
As Christians we must understand that whatever opposes God’s Word or departs from it in any way is a danger to the very cause of truth. Passivity toward known error is not an option for the Christian. Staunch intolerance of error is built into the very fabric of Scripture. And tolerance of known error is anything but a virtue. Truth and error cannot be combined to yield something beneficial. They are as incompatible as light and darkness. "What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”
Those who deny the truth (the Incarnation) will not have fellowship with the Father. To end this, I found another real gem on Precept Austin on how to be discerning about false teachers, antichrists and creeping Gnosticism, from Marvin Williams at Our Daily Bread Ministries:
BEWARE! - When Secret Service agents train bank tellers to identify counterfeit bills, they show them both fake money and real money, and they study both. To detect a counterfeit problem, they must look for the differences in the genuine bill compared to the counterfeit—and not the similarities.
In 1 John 2, the apostle John helps to protect believers from heresy by showing them examples of counterfeit Christians and teachers. One of the signs of the last days is the coming of antichrists (1 John 2:18). Antichrists are those who claim to have His power and authority but don’t, or those who reject and oppose Him and His teachings.
John gave three marks of false teachers who are controlled by the spirit of the antichrists: They depart from the fellowship (v.19), they deny Jesus as the Messiah (v.22), and they draw the faithful away from Jesus (v.26). He encouraged believers to protect themselves against the spirit of the antichrists by depending on the indwelling presence of the Spirit, knowing the truth, and remaining in fellowship with Jesus.
We can protect ourselves from error and deception by knowing the false but relying on the Truth—Jesus Christ. - Marvin Williams
Beware:
The devil may add
a few grains of truth
to what is false.
The enemy knows scripture better than most believers! He can sprinkle in some truths into heresies and misleading teachings, fooling even whole denominations like the ELCA.
My next devotional examines 1 John 2:24 - Abiding in what was known in the beginning.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Thank you so much for the lessons that John expounds in this first letter. We can know the truth because we are anointed by the Holy Spirit. We can confess the incarnate Son and have fellowship with the Father. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 4/22/2024 to review the lexicon for anointing and knowing.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Precept Austin was accessed on 4/22/2024 to review commentary for 1 John 2:20-23.