Exploring 1 John: Protection Against Deception
1 John 2:26-27 - Anointing and abiding!
”These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.“
1 John 2:26-27 NASB1995
John emphasizes again that he is concerned about those who are trying to deceive the church. He reassures the believers that they received anointing from the Holy Spirit and He abides in them, so they really have no need for anyone to teach them. The caution from John is still quite strong, because the spirit is willing but the flesh is so weak!
Let’s do a word study! The word deceive comes from the Greek word πλανάω or planáō, with the following Biblical usages; Strong’s G4105 is used 39 times in the New Testament:
to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way
to go astray, wander, roam about
metaph.
to lead away from the truth, to lead into error, to deceive
to be led into error
to be led aside from the path of virtue, to go astray, sin
to sever or fall away from the truth
of heretics
to be led away into error and sin
This word planao is the origin of the word for planets. Ancient astronomers noted night sky objects that appeared to wander, unlike the stars in the background, although we know today that everything moves relative to other bodies in our Universe. John is saying that the deceivers will lead the believers away from the truth and into error. I like what Precept Austin (Bruce Hurt) says about this deception; links go to Biblia, but the verse would have to be typed in again to find it:
Those who are trying to deceive - They are trying without [being] successful, but they continue mounting deceptive attacks on the minds of the believers. Beginning in the first century, the enemy began sowing seeds of lies and confusion about the truth of the Gospel. And we in the modern church must remain vigilant, because times have not changed! The NT is replete with warnings against deceivers - Read Acts 20:29,30, 2Cor 11:13, Col 2:8,18; 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 3:13; 2Pe 2:1-3; 2Jn 1:7.
Beloved, these men do not come into our midst in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork! There are subtly serpentine slithering in with half-truths calculated to appeal to your flesh and get you off course (the highway of holiness), seducing you from the correct path (the way of righteousness), causing you to wander into error! There is an interesting wordplay in the Greek verb for deceive, as planao is the root of our English word "planet" (a "wandering body"). To the Greeks the planets ‘wandered’, while the stars remained fixed. This picture recalls to mind Daniel's words "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."
These men are good at what they do, continually trying to draw their subjects out of bounds, so to speak. In his last letter Paul warned Timothy (and us) that "evil men and impostors will proceed [from bad] to worse, deceiving (planao) and being deceived (planao) (Note that even the deceivers do not escape self-deception!)." (2Ti 3:13-note) Paul then goes on to command (present imperative) Timothy to "continue (meno = abide, remain) in the things you have learned and become convinced of (ultimately this is the Word, the Gospel), knowing from whom you have learned them." (2Ti 3:14-note) In other words, Paul was telling Timothy that the best defense against the deceivers is to dwell in the truth of the Gospel. John (in verse 1Jn 2:27) commands his readers to abide (meno = continue) in the anointing, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit. In light of the truth that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17), we can see that abiding in both (the Word and the Spirit) is necessary to wage war against deceivers! The best way to spot deception is by knowing the truth taught by the Spirit.
It is crucial to abide in Him and His Word AND be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the best defensive armor that we can put on to know when we are being deceived. Teachers are needed because John himself is teaching the early church about these precepts.
When I started writing these devotionals, I found out that my best approach to learning and discerning was to call upon a large population of conservative Biblical scholars that have preceded me to help me understand. I’m not particularly concerned about their denominational backgrounds and I have used research from scholars from the modern-day Reformed side as well as from evangelical, Anglican, Lutheran, Baptist and other conservative Protestant denominations. I have found some favorites and have learned a lot from the greats like Charles Spurgeon, David Guzik, Martin Luther, John Piper, John MacArthur, Billy Graham (to name a few) and even from C.S. Lewis, who achieved his scholarship by learning and writing about his faith (just like I am).
But the best test of these things is to pray about His Word and ask for His wisdom, every single day! Anointing and abiding guides us into Truth. Learning and praying lead Steve and I to reject the deceivers in the ELCA.
My next devotional examines 1 John 2:28-29, What it means to live in Jesus. These are the last two verses in 1 John 2, then I will continue into 1 John 3.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I ask for You anointing and that I abide in You so that I can discern the Truth and be shielded from deception. 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 4/28/2024 to review the lexicon for deceive/deceived.
Precept Austin was accessed on 4/28/2024 to review the commentary for 1 John 2:27-28.