Let us turn to God's Word here
in the first epistle, General of John, and drawing your attention
for a little while before we come again to prayer, drawing
your attention to the words that we just read here in chapter
2 and verse 27. 1 John 2 27 But the anointing
which you 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 to take up then this verse
and the theme of the anointing that teacheth all things the
anointing that teacheth all things the same anointing he says teacheth
you all things. And I simply want us to consider
two aspects of the verse, first of all to say something with
regards to the anointing, and then secondly to say something
with regards to the teaching. Firstly, the anointing. What is it that is being spoken
of here, how there is an emphasis upon
this word anointing it occurs of course twice in the verse
the anointing which I have received of him and then the same anointing
which teacheth you all things and surely what we have here
is a figure of the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost We have the
same word again in verse 20, but here in our authorized version
it's rendered differently instead of anointing. We have that synonym
unction, but you have an unction or an anointing from the Holy
One and ye know all things. As I said it is a figure really,
it's a reference to God the Holy Spirit in chapter 5. We read of the
Trinity there in verse 7 and again in verse 8. There are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. And there are three that bear
witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood,
and these three agree in one. So we have the doctrine of the
Trinity, Father, Son, or the Word, the Word of God, who became
incarnate, and the Holy Ghost. And of course the Word that we
have in Versailles where we read of the Spirit, it is really the
same Word that's rendered Ghost in the previous Word. You're
probably aware that Spirit of course is from a Latin root,
And ghost is a word that's really Anglo-Saxon in its origin, but
it's one and the same thing that is being spoken of. And so in
scripture sometimes we have Holy Spirit, sometimes we have Holy
Ghost. and we're taught aren't we the
great truth concerning the doctrine of God when we make that public
profession of faith we are to be baptized in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost and then when
we come to the end of our service we usually use that apostolic
benediction that is pronounced at the end of 2nd Corinthians
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God that is the
Father and the communion or the fellowship of the Holy Ghost
be with you all. And here then when we read of
the anointing we are to understand that the reference is in particular
to God the Holy Spirit. He is that one that teacheth
you of all things and is truth and is no lie. the anointing
there. And what do we see in scripture
concerning the ministry of the Holy Spirit? Well, when we come
to the New Testament we see that He is that One who is very much
given to the Lord Christ. He is that One who is given to
the Son of God as He becomes the son of man, a real man, and
begins to execute that great work of redemption. The word that we have here literally
refers, of course, to anointing with oil. There were those in
the Old Testament who were anointed for their work. The priests were
anointed, and the kings were anointed. And doesn't Elijah
also anoint Elisha to follow him in the prophetic office?
That threefold office in the priest, the king, the prophet. And when we come to the New Testament,
all is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. He is that one who is
anointed. As we read there in Acts 10,
the words of Peter in the house of Cornelius, how God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. And how he went about doing good,
healing all that were oppressed of the devil because God was
with him. He was the anointed one. And
again in the opening chapter of Hebrews we read of him God,
even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above
thy fellows. All of this is prophesied for
us in the Old Testament Scriptures. Scripture all bears testimony
to him that was to come. Time and again the Messiah is
spoken of, that's the great promise. that the spiritual Israelites
were looking for, the appearing of the Christ of God. And we
have that tremendous prophecy in the opening verses of Isaiah
61, and we see all of that passage so wonderfully fulfilled in the
Lord Jesus as He begins His public ministry after His baptizing,
after the temptations in the wilderness, we see him there
in Luke chapter 4 in the synagogue verse 16 he came to Nazareth
where he had been brought up and as his custom was he went
into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read
and there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias
and when he had opened the book he found the place where it was
written Isaiah 61 the spirit of the Lord is upon me because
he had anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He had
sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And we are told, he closed the book and gave it again to the
minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that
were in the synagogue were fastened on him, And he began to say unto
them this day, Is this scripture fulfilled in your ears? For the Lord Jesus, then, is
that One who is truly the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living
God. And are we not told at the end
of John 3, O God, give us not the Spirit by measure unto Him,
Oh, it was not a measured outpouring of the Spirit. The Spirit descended upon him,
of course, at his baptizing, as he comes up out of the waters.
The Spirit descends in the form of a dove and the Father speaks
from heaven, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. He's anointed of the Spirit.
and then subsequent to that fall of the Spirit he is led by him
into the wilderness he's under the ministry of the Spirit and
then after the temptations he returns in the power of the Spirit
into Galilee as we read there in that fourth chapter of Luke
that we were just reading from oh he is anointed by the Spirit
he's anointed for all that work What does he say to the Pharisees
when they accuse him of being the instrument of Beelzebub,
casting out demons by the devil himself? No, he says, if I cast
out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come
unto you. There is that remarkable evidence
throughout the Gospels In all that the Lord Jesus is doing
there is that wonderful dependence upon the Spirit. That's a remarkable
thing. Of course, in his conception
he is conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
And as in his birth, so in his death, it's through the Eternal
Spirit that he offers himself in sacrifice to God. Oh, the Lord Jesus, then, above
all others, is the One who is the Anointed, anointed by the
Spirit of God. And when we come before God in
our prayers, how we have to cry to Him that He would look upon
the face of the Lord Jesus. In the words of Psalm 84, 9,
Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of Thine Anointed. The anointing Christ is the anointed
one. But the Holy Spirit is that one
who is also given by Christ to his mystical body, to the church.
He is anointed as the head of that body. But, how that oil
runs down his beard, as it were. Even down to the hem of his garments,
as we see it in the Psalms. The Holy Spirit is not only that
one who has come and anointed Christ, but also the church. And so here, of course, the Apostle John is addressing
the church. It's a general epistle. It's
not addressed to any particular church. It's addressed to the
people of God in general. The anointing, which you have
received of him abideth in you, and you 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." What a statement it is then that
we have in this verse concerning the people of God. They are those
who have that blessed anointing, the unction from the Holy One,
as we read back in verse 20 and remember it was very much the
Lord Jesus who did anoint his disciples after he had completed
his work by his obedience his obedience to death even the death
of the cross when he is risen again from the dead there in
John chapter 20 we're told he chose himself to the disciples
They are to be witnesses of the reality of His physical resurrection. And we read there in John 20,
22, He breathed on them. He breathed on them and said,
Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Oh, it is the Spirit, of course,
who proceedeth from the Father and from the Son. And He breathes
on them as He pronounces that they will in due time receive
that blessed gift of the Spirit. And so it was when the day of
Pentecost was fully come. And we have the record there
of Peter's great preaching on that day, the sermon that he
preached. And what does he declare concerning Jesus of Nazareth?
Being by the right hand of God exalted, he says, Here I shed
forth this which ye now see and hear. Who is the one who was
bestowed upon those disciples the Holy Ghost? It's the Lord
Jesus Christ. And you know how in those familiar
chapters in John from chapter 14 through to 16 he speaks much
of the ministry of the Holy Ghost, speaks of him as that one who
will be a comforter, a paraclete, the one who will come alongside
and come as it were in his place. What does he say? When the Comforter
is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father. Oh, he proceeds
from the Father, as he proceeds from the Son. This is the doctrine
of the Godhead. The Father begetting, the Son
begotten, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and
from the Son. He is the Spirit of truth and
so the Lord speaks of Him. And here in verse 27 we read
of the anointing is truth and is no lie. Oh, He comes to speak
truth, He comes to reveal the truth concerning God, and the
truth concerning man who was made in the image and created
after the likeness of God, where we'll come to his teaching presently. But here we see in verse 20 how
the Apostle speaks of him as from the Holy One. Ye have an
unction, he says, from the Holy One. And Paul says something
very similar in 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 21. Now he which
hath anointed us is God. Thinking about it's not only
Christ who is the anointed but his body, that mystical body,
the church is also anointed. He which hath anointed us is
God. And do we not clearly see then
that Christ is the one who was shed abroad the Holy Ghost? Evidently,
He is God. As God, He gives the Holy Spirit. And as the Holy Spirit has come
from the Lord Jesus Christ, so the Holy Spirit directs us to
the Lord Jesus. That's a remarkable aspect, really,
of His ministry. As we see it there in John 16
and verse 13, And be it when He, the Spirit of truth, is come,
He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself,
but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak. and He will
show you things to come, He shall glorify me, for He shall receive
of mine, and shall show it unto you." He guides you to all truth,
He guides to Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He glorifies
Christ. He bears testimony to the Lord
Jesus Christ. And our Christ makes it quite
clear that in His expedience that he go away, because if he
goeth not away, the Comforter will not come. But if I depart,
he says, I will send him unto you. Oh, he comes very much as
the Spirit of Christ. And he comes, of course, to do
a great work, a remarkable work, in teaching those who are the
election of Christ. The day in which we're living
is very much the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. What a favoured
people we are that we should live in these last days. When the Spirit of Truth is come
and though we need Him, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
He is none of His. We can only know the Lord Jesus
by and through that gracious ministry of the Holy Ghost. No man can say that Jesus Christ
is Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Or we may utter the words verbally. Can we really say that sincerely? Can we say that in a true sense,
a spiritual sense? We cannot do that except we know
that gracious ministry of the Spirit. No man can say that Jesus
Christ is Lord. No man can confess Him as Lord
and Saviour as Christ the Son of the Living God. No man can
do that but by the Holy Ghost. So let us turn in the second
place to the teaching. Ye need not let 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." There's again an emphasis here upon this
aspect of the ministry of the Holy Ghost. He is that teacher.
Now what is the teaching of all things? What is the teaching
of all things? Well it is not anything to do
with natural learning. doesn't mean that we're going
to be experts, if we're the people of God, we're going to be experts
in in every branch of knowledge that is known on the face of
the earth of course it's not that, it's spiritual teaching
that is being spoken of and doesn't Paul speak of that? when he writes there in the second
chapter of first Corinthians what man, he says knows the things
of man say the spirit of man which is in him even so the things
of God knoweth no man but by the spirit of God now we have
received not the spirit of the world but the spirit which is
of God that we might know those things that are freely given
to us of God and then he goes on but the natural man receiveth
not the things of the spirit of God because they are foolishness
to him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually
discerned. Those remarkable words that we
have in that second chapter of 1 Corinthians concerning the
ministry of the Spirit, nothing natural, it is spiritual ministry
that's being spoken of. And it is only the Spirit who
can ever teach real Christianity. Observe what is being said here
in the center of the text. Ye need not that any man teach
you, but the same anointing teacheth you of all things. This is that gracious ministry
then of the Spirit. And again it's there in the Old
Testament in the way of promise, as we read much of the promised
one, the Messiah, the anointed of God that was to come so also
we read of that blessed ministry of the spirits they shall teach
no more any man his neighbor or his brother but they shall
all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them
for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins
no more, he says or when the Spirit comes. It is written in
the prophets says Christ that they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and have learned of the Father cometh unto Mary. That is the ministry that is
promised. O that the Spirit has come proceeding from the Father,
proceeding from the Son. And this, as I said, is the day
of the Spirit, the dispensation of the Holy Ghost. And what is
the knowledge? In a sense, there's a threefold
knowledge. There's a threefold knowledge. There's the knowledge
of God, that we must be taught that God is holy, and that God
is just, and that God can by no means clear the guilty, and then there's the knowledge
of self, that we are those who are sinners, alienated, separated
by wicked works, in need of one to reconcile us to God, and then
there is thirdly that knowledge of Him who has come as the Christ,
as the saviour of sinners and it's all an experimental knowledge
it's not just ascending to these doctrines understanding them
in an intellectual sense it's spiritual, it's experimental
what is that ministry that the Lord speaks of there in that
16th chapter of John when he has come, the spirit has come,
he will reprove the world or convince the world of sin of
righteousness and of judgment of sin because they believe not
on me, of righteousness because I go to my father and you see
me no more, of judgment because the prince of this world is judged. And there's a threefold ministry
there, surely. He comes to convince of sin.
And what is the sin that he convinces of? The sin of unbelief. Of sin
because they believe not on me. Though, when the Spirit comes
to teach us, that's what we learn, the impossibility of faith. Or
the impossibility of us producing that faith that is saving faith.
Because that faith is the gift of God, that faith comes only
by the operation of God, saving faith. And when the Spirit comes, He
makes us feel what we are, we're unbelievers, we're the children
of Adam and Eve. And what was their sin, it was
unbelief. and it's our sin, we're born dead in trespasses and sins
we aren't believers by birth but the Spirit comes to convince
us of that awful sin, that root of all our sins but then also
He convinces of righteousness says Christ because I go to the
Father and you see me no more or what of indication of the
Lord Jesus is that of his resurrection from the dead and his ascension
on high. Where is our righteousness? Our
righteousness is in heaven. Our righteousness is in heaven.
I love that passage in Bunyan's Grace Abounding when he's so
tempted by Satan, beset by so many doubts and fears and he
goes out into the field and looks into the heavens and he comes
to him so Sweetly, so reassuringly, that's where His righteousness
is. His righteousness is there in heaven, before the very throne
of God, because His righteousness is the Lord Jesus. The very righteousness,
of course, that Paul speaks so much of. Christ, the end of the
law for righteousness, to everyone that believes. And how the Spirit
convinces of that, of righteousness, because I go to the Father. and
he see me no more or to be found in him not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law but that which is with the faith of Christ
that righteousness which is the gift of God that justifying righteousness
and then also the spirit convinces of judgment the prince of this
world is judged That's the gospel. Satan vanquished. O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God who giveth us the victory. Through our Lord
Jesus he has vanquished sin, he has vanquished Satan, and
death, and the grave, all of these things. O there is an this
teaching that comes by the Spirit and comes into the experience
of all those who are brought into that relationship with God
by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. How the Lord convinces His people.
Jeremiah says, As the mouthpiece of God is not my word like as
a fire and like a hammer that breaketh the rocks in pieces. There the law is that of course that brings such
a knowledge of sin. Whatsoever things the law saith,
it saith to them that are under the law, that every mouth may
be stopped, that all the world become guilty before God. Therefore,
Paul says, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified
in his sight. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. And the sinner's mouth is stopped.
He can do nothing but plead what he is. He's guilty. He's guilty
before God. He's a transgressor of the law.
But law and terrors do but harden when they work alone. Oh, we
need something more. I like again that statement that
we have back in Isaiah 10.27. We read how the yoke shall be
destroyed because of the anointing. The yoke, the yoke of the law
destroyed because of the anointing, the unction. It's anointing law, what does
it all do? It penetrates, it softens, it softens. Or let the unction of redemption
supple every conscience well says dear William Gadsby in his
hymn the unction of redemption how it supples our consciences
how it brings a true repentance of sins when the spirit shows
us Christ and something of the sufferings of Christ think of
that great 16th chapter in the book of the prophet Ezekiel that
long chapter and when we come to the end of that chapter and
we read of the covenant God says nevertheless I will
remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth and
I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant then thou
shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed when thou shalt receive
thy sister, thine elder sister, and thy younger, and I will give
them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant, and
I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt know
that I am the Lord, that thou mayest remember, and be confounded
And never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when
I am pacified toward thee. For all that thou hast done,
saith the Lord God. And that last verse. Oh, it's
when the Spirit causes us to see what sin is in the light
of the sufferings of Christ. Confound it, never open thy mouth
any more because of shame, when I am pacified. If peace through
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when the Spirit applies that,
oh, what does Job say? God maketh my heart soft. Who teaches like him? When God,
He doesn't just break hard hearts by His holy law. How He comes
and He softens hard hearts. When there is that blessed anointing,
that gracious unction of the Spirit, it softens a hard heart
or how the spirit then is the one who comes and he teaches
us all things we're dependent upon that gracious
ministry time upon time and we know in many ways it is a it's
a gradual ministry The teaching is by degrees, little by little,
here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon
precept. That's how he teaches. And doesn't
John remind us of that? Earlier in the chapter, we didn't
read those verses, but verses 12, 13 and 14 he speaks of believers
in different stages of spiritual development. Some are little
children, some are young men, some are fathers we know elsewhere
there are those who are mothers in Israel but there are others
who are babes babes in grace we have to grow we have to grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ and how is it that we grow as we're taught by the Spirit
and how are we taught by the Spirit as He abides in us the
anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you in the
opening words of the text and then again at the end of the
text even as it hath taught you ye shall abide in him or in it
as the margin says as he teaches so the spirit abides with us
and in us and he causes the believer to be one who is abiding in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And it's by that abiding of the
Spirit that the believer increasingly is feeling his need of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's growing in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, ever learning
more and more our great need of Him. We can go back to those
words at the end of chapter 1 if we say that we have no sin. He's
speaking here, isn't he, in the present tense. If we say that
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make Him a liar. His word is not in us. Well,
we have to continually learn the truth concerning ourselves
and the truth also concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. How do
we learn these things? It's by that gracious ministry
of the Spirit. He shall testify of me, says
Christ. He doesn't speak of himself. He is God.
He is God the Holy Ghost. And yet his ministry is so self-effacing. In this day of graciousness,
this dispensation of the Spirit, what it is ministry is to reveal
the Saviour to the sinner and to teach the Saviour more and
more of those glories that belong to the Lord Christ. The anointing
which have received of Him abideth in you and you 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. O God grant then that
we might know that abiding of the Spirit of God and not be
those who are grieving the Spirit of God but to know him more and
more as that one who is the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of grace
and of supplications as we come to seek the face of our God through
Him who is the only Mediator, even the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Father Lord, bless to us His
Word. We're going to sing our second hymn, number 26. The
tune is Saxby 409. Eternal Spirit, we confess and
sing the wonders of Thy grace. Thy power conveys our blessings
down from God the Father and the Son. Enlightened by Thy heavenly
ray, our shades and darkness turn to day. Thy inward teachings
make us know our danger and our refuge too. Number 26, June 409.