“But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you.” 1 John 2:27
Dear Ones:
Most people, in particular believers, have a shallow knowledge of God simply because they do not believe Him according to His word. Instead of living in the realm of spiritual reality, they choose to live “as mere men,” with the tendency to trust in the things, ways, and means of the world, hoping to know God. The problem with that is that God will not be known except by His way, in His time, for His purposes. So, why is the issue of “the anointing” so very important? First and foremost it is because the anointing by the Spirit of God, is HIS way by which the believer can know God. What does this “anointing” mean? If we look at Psalm 133:2, we find a physical picture of a spiritual reality. David writes: “It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garment.” In speaking of this ointment, by which one is anointed, he describes it as “precious.” It possesses the worth of a treasure, and the power of creation. He then speaks of where the anointing begins…”upon the head.” It is at the crown of man’s existence, that the anointing begins to have its blessed effect. In the spiritual sense, the blessed oil of the anointing is the Spirit of God. That work of the anointing begins in the mind and heart of man, bathing him in its blessed heavenly effect. The anointing does not stop with the head, though it begins there. It flows down “upon the beard,” and upon the garments. Why this picture? Because the anointing does not effect just one part of that which is anointed, but the whole. When John the Apostle wrote his letter entitled, 1 John, he made a declaration of FACT, as it pertains to the believer in Christ: “But you have an unction (or anointing) from the Holy One, and you know all things.” (2:20) He continues, and expands upon this thought and truth, by declaring: “But the anointing which you HAVE RECEIVED of Him ABIDES in you, and you need not that any man teach you.” (v.27) This is the beginning point of our understanding of the anointing of God upon and in the believer. So, what does it mean, and how is one to live in light of its reality?
We have seen that the essence of the anointing is God, by His Spirit. It is that “promise of the Father,” that blessed Spirit by which one is born again, enters the kingdom of God, and is made a child of God. But, the anointing does not stop there. It is the very life of Christ, by the Spirit, which has come to reside FOREVER in the soul and spirit of the believer. As the hymn-writer so clearly put it: “One with the Christ, I cannot die.” The ministry and effect of this anointing, this coming of the Spirit, is that we might actually KNOW “all things.” He is that “Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ.” (Eph. 1:17) He is also that One received, the Spirit which is of God, that we might KNOW the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1 Cor. 2:12) Jesus, before His crucifixion, had told his disciples concerning the Spirit, the Comforter, “….He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you.” (Jn. 14:26) So, what is the very tangible and effective ministry of the Spirit, given to EVERY believer? It is to reveal the things of Christ to us, to teach us all things. (1 Jn. 2:27) God waits to teach the one who truly seeks the Lord Jesus, who is relying wholly upon the Spirit, according to the truth. In essence, the anointing is given to make Jesus Christ a reality to us, and through us to the world.
Dear Father, Give us grace to make the Spirit of God our teacher. Reveal Christ in and through us, for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad