Well, let us turn to God's Word
in this chapter that we've read. The first epistle, General of
John, chapter 2. And I want to direct you this
evening to the words that we have here in verse 20. 1 John 2, 20. But ye have an unction
from the Holy One, and ye know all things. but ye have an unction from the
Holy One, and ye know all things. We're to speak then on this holy
unction, or this holy anointing, in the sense we have the verse
repeated somewhat later at verse 27 where we read of the anointing
which ye have received of him, John says, It 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. The anointing, the same word
as I say that's translated in those slightly different ways,
It's the word from which the name Christ is derived, the word
Chrisma, and literally as reference to the anointing with oil. And as we come to look at these
words, particularly in verse 20 tonight, I'll divide what
I say into two parts. First of all, in seeking to establish
what is being referred to here as an unction from the Holy One
to see that the references to the Holy Ghost, and in the second
place, to say something of that ministry of the Holy Ghost, that
you have an unction from the Holy One and ye know all things. First of all then, what we have
here is really a figure that is referring us to the Holy Ghost. This is the anointing. And this is that anointing, of
course, that was given to the Lord Jesus. Hence, He is that
One who is the Christ of God. In Acts 10, 38, We have the words of Peter there
at the house of Cornelius, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power and he went about doing
good. Jesus of Nazareth is therefore
by Peter clearly marked out as that one that was promised in
the Old Testament that the Jews referred to as the Messiah, the
Christ. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power and he went about doing
good. And what is testified by Peter
the same is also spoken of by The Apostle Paul there in Hebrews
chapter 1, God, even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil
of gladness above thy fellows. Those words from the Old Testament
are taken up and applied to the Lord Jesus. He is that one anointed
with the oil of gladness, the anointed of God. And now, All
of this, of course, is so clearly spoken of in the Old Testament.
There is the promise that runs through that God will, in the
appointed season, send forth Him who is referred to as the
Messiah. We have the prophecy of Isaiah
chapter 61, and then we see how those very words are referred
to by Luke in his gospel in Luke chapter 4 and there at verse
16 following as the Lord Jesus begins his ministry at Nazareth after his baptizing after the
40 days in the wilderness tempted by the Holy Ghost he returns
now in the power of the Spirit into Galilee And verse 16 of
Luke 4, 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, or Isaiah. And when He had opened
the book, He found the place where it was written, in chapter
61, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath 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 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." He is
a fulfillment. The fulfillment then of that
promise of the coming of the Messiah. And so, what does John
tell us there in the end of the third chapter of his Gospel?
How God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. There was an immeasurable outpouring
of the Spirit of God upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is,
and I think I've said this on a previous occasion, it is a
very profitable exercise to read through the Gospels and to observe
that ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Lord Jesus.
We have it, of course, that He's baptizing. As He comes up out
of the water, the heavens open, the Spirit descends upon Him
in the form of a dove. And then the Father speaks from
heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And
then we're told, we've already referred to that in Luke's account,
how he is led of the Spirit. The Spirit comes upon him and
he is led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
of the devil. And after 40 days and 40 nights,
remember the words that we just referred to again there in Luke's
account, he returns from the wilderness in the fullness of
the Spirit, and goes into the synagogue there in Nazareth and
reads that passage. And so throughout his earthly
ministry, how does he perform his miracles? Well, the Spirit
is there. As he says to the Jews, if I
cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God
is come among you. The Lord Jesus is that one then
who has received the Spirit of God. He has that unction from
the Holy One. And when we come to pray, we
are to look to Him as that one who is the Messiah, that one
who is the only mediator between God and men. We have the example
of the Psalmist there in Psalm 84, Behold O God our shield,
look upon the face of thine anointed. Or when we pray we ask God to
look upon the Lord Jesus Christ and to behold us in Christ and
to hear us for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here then
we have this figure of the Holy Ghost, the unction from the Holy
One, the anointing. And it is that that was given
to Jesus of Nazareth. He is the Christ. Now, as it
was given to the Lord Jesus, so there is a sense in which
we have to recognize that it is also given by the Lord Jesus. He is the one who gives his people
that anointing. John is here writing in his general
epistle, he's writing not to a particular church, he's writing
to Christian believers in general. It's part of the Word of God,
it's that message that God has given to his church. And what
does John say here in our text addressing believers? He says,
but ye have an unction from the Holy One. and ye know all things."
And in this, there's a sense in which we are reminded of the
deity of the Lord Jesus. 2 Corinthians 1.21, Now he which
hath anointed us is God. It is God who anoints. And as
the Lord Jesus gives the Spirit, so we see that the Lord Jesus
Christ is in fact God. Or He who is the Messiah. is also the Son of God. Isn't
that Peter's great confession at Caesarea Philippi? As his eyes are opened by God
the Father, flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, Peter
says the Lord, but my Father which is in heaven. And what
is the confession? Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. He who is the Christ is also
the eternal Son of God. And as the Son of God, of course,
He is divine. And remember how He speaks much
of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in those familiar chapters in
John, John 14, 15, 16, those discourses, where He speaks
of the ministry of the Comforter. And what does he say, John 15,
26, when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from
the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from
the Father. That is a remarkable text of
Scripture, because there in John 15, 26, we have a Trinitarian
statement. We see each of the three persons
of the Godhead. We have the Comforter as that
One who is being promised. It is the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the second person in the Godhead incarnate who is speaking
the words and He speaks about the Holy Ghost proceedeth from
the Father when the Comforter is come. whom I will send unto
you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth
from the Father." He proceeds from the Father, but he also
proceeds, or he's breathed out by the Son. Because later, John
20, 22, after the Lord's great sin-atoning sacrifice, after
His vindication, He's rising again from the dead, He appears
to His disciples, and what does He say to them? John 20, 22,
"...He breathed on them, and saith, Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
Or the Spirit, He proceeds, He is breathed forth from the Father,
but He is also the One who is breathed forth and proceeds from
the Son. And this is important. because
when we think of the names of the three divine persons Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost. Now, what are those names? Well,
the title Spirit expresses not his essence as he is God, but
that word really relates to his relationship with the other two
divine persons. The Spirit is that one who proceeds
from. He proceeds from or he is breathed
out from both the Father and the Son. And the theologians,
therefore, speak of the Spirit's eternal spiration. That's His
relationship. He is breathed forth, He proceedeth. He's a person, but that's the
relationship that He has with the Father and the Son. And the
Son, of course, has a relationship also with the Father in that
He is that One who is the only begotten. We beheld his glory,
says John, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. He is eternally begotten. He is eternally generated, the
eternal generation of the Son. And of course, John speaks of
these things here, as he speaks of Antichrist. verse 22, "...who
is a liar, but he that denieth Jesus is the Christ, he is antichrist,
that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son,
the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeeth the
Son hath the Father also." If there is no eternal Son, if there
is no such truth as eternal generation, there can be no eternal Father. Again, in the second epistle,
in verse 9, "...whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ, hath not God, either abideth in the doctrine of Christ,
he hath both the Father and the Son." The Christ is that One
who is the Son of God, as Peter himself confesses, as we've said
already. There is this relationship then
between the three persons In the great mystery of the Trinity,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Son is that One who is eternally
begotten. The Holy Ghost is that One who
is eternally proceeding, or breathed out by the Father and the Son. And we have to remember that.
There is a relationship between the persons in the Godhead. They are all eternal, they are
co-equal. There's no superiority, no inferiority
in the Godhead. They are co-eternal as they are
co-equal. But then, When God reveals himself,
when God reveals himself in terms of the great covenant of grace,
the new covenant, in that we see that the son becomes the
servant of the father. Behold my servant whom I uphold,
says the father, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. The son comes not to do his own
will, but the will of him who has sent him. In the outworking
of the covenant then, the Father is the one who sends the Son.
And again in that covenant we see how the Son is the one who
bestows the Holy Ghost. He comes as the Spirit of the
Lord Jesus Christ. On the day of Pentecost, where
we have that glorious coming of the Spirit, Remember the sermon
of Peter and what Peter proclaims concerning what is happening.
He explains to those who are there, the Jews and the Jewish
proselytes, a great concourse of people present on the day
of Pentecost. Therefore, he says, concerning
Christ being by the right hand of God exalted. having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost. He hath shed
forth this which ye now see and hear." Oh, he comes in especially
from the Lord Jesus Christ. He is given to Christ as the
Messiah and Christ then is the one who bestows him upon his
disciples, bestows him upon the Church. And what does he come
to do? He comes to testify of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Isn't that what John says in
the course of those discourses that we've already referred to? John 15 26 when the comforter
is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the
Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify
of me." Oh, that is the peculiar ministry of the Spirit in terms
of the covenant. He's equal to the Father, He's
equal to the Son. But what of His ministry? Again,
in John 16, at verse 13, "'Obey 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 all things that the father hath are mine therefore said
I that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you Well, He doesn't come to speak
of Himself, He comes to speak of the things that concern the
Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of sinners. And how vital
is that ministry? Christ Himself received an abundance
of the Spirit. The Father giveth not the Spirit
by measure to Him. And as He was given to Christ,
so Christ gives the Spirit to all those who come to saving
faith. If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, says Paul, he is none of his. And we need that gracious
ministry then of the Spirit to show to us, to reveal to us the
things of Christ, the things of salvation. No man can say
that Jesus Christ is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. All the words
can be said so easily, words come so freely, but ought to
know the reality of that confession, to say that Jesus Christ is Lord,
and to do such by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and this
is what we have here in the text, but Now look at the conjunction here,
and the significance of that little word. Is he not making
a contrast? Previously, he speaks of Antichrist. Verse 18, little children, he's
the last time. And as you have heard that Antichrist
shall come, The last couple of weeks we were looking at Antichrist,
the man of sin, the son of perdition, the wicked one, spoken of prophetically
in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. And as I said, John also speaks
of that same character. And we identified, together with
the Reformers and the Puritans, as the great mystery of iniquity,
which is that that professes to be Christian, but he's not
Christian, the Roman Church, the great deceit of Satan, little
children it is the last time and as you have heard that antichrist
shall come even now are there many antichrists whereby we know
that it is the last time it is the last days, the gospel day
and then he says they went out from us but they were not of
us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued
with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that
they were not all of us, the great apostasy But, he says,
he's always addressing believers, but ye have an unction from the
Holy One and ye know all things. Those apostates, the Antichrist,
knows nothing of that ministry that comes by the Holy Ghost. And how vital the Holy Ghost
is because the religion of Jesus Christ is that that is to be
revealed to men. Or when He pleases God to reveal
His Son in any sinner's heart, it is the Holy Ghost. It's His
prerogative to do that. So secondly, I want to say something
with regards to His ministry. The ministry or the teaching
of the Holy Ghost and we have it here in the text in the word know what is this
knowledge of all things but ye have an unction from the Holy
One and ye know all things it's the Spirit's teaching and I say again it is so vital
so vital the language of Paul in 1 Corinthians 2.11 What man
knoweth the things of man, save the Spirit of man which is in
him. Even so the things of God knoweth
no man but 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 the things which are freely given to us of God. and he goes on, the natural man
receives not the things of the Spirit of God, they are foolishness
to him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually
discerned. It's not a question of man's
rationality, it's a question of God's revelation. The natural
man will not receive these things of the Spirit of God. And so
what does the Apostle say later in that what we might say is a twin verse,
verse 27. 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 he hath taught you. The promise, you see, that God
has given in the covenant is that they are to be all taught
of God. And the prophets speak of that
covenant of grace, that new covenant. The language that we find, for
example, in Jeremiah 31 verse 34, And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord, for they shall all know me. from the least of them
unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Isn't that
the great promise of the Gospel? The forgiveness of sins. All
without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins.
But Christ has come, and that blood, that precious blood has
been shed, he has poured out his soul unto death, he has died,
the just for the unjust. And this is that, you see, that
the sinner has to learn from God. It's not taught of man. It is that special, that peculiar
work of the Spirit. And think of the ministry of
the Lord Jesus and what He Himself says. He refers to the words
of Isaiah 54 13 and they shall be all taught of God. There's
a promise in Isaiah as we have it also in Jeremiah and the Lord
says they shall be all taught of God every man therefore that
has heard and have learned of the Father cometh unto me. All with regards to this truth
of salvation Now we have to recognize we can only know as much as we
are taught by the Holy Ghost. We have to recognize our complete
and utter dependence upon God, the Holy Ghost, the Ancients.
And what does he teach? He teaches a threefold knowledge.
He is the one who teaches the knowledge of God. He teaches
the knowledge of self. He teaches the knowledge of Christ
the Savior. He sometimes referred to how
years back one instructed the inquirer after salvation how
he should pray. And two petitions are usually
mentioned, to come and to pray to God, show me myself. And then the second petition,
Petition Show Me Thyself. But really, first of all, there
has to be that revelation of God before we can know anything
of ourselves. This is where the Spirit begins.
Surely, He reveals unto us God, something of the character of
God, the holiness of God. and it's an experimental knowledge. Certainly in this epistle John
is speaking of more than just an intellectual knowledge of
these things. Remember how John opens his first
epistle, that which was from the beginning, which we have
heard, he says, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life.
It's not just a matter of the mind, it's something that he
has heard, something he's seen, something he's handled. It's
something very real. Of course, he is the beloved
disciple who was leaning upon the Lord's bosom at the institution
of the Holy Supper. John is speaking then quite clearly
here of a knowledge that is more than mere assent with the mind,
not just intellectualism, but experimental knowledge. Where
does it begin? Well, we begin with the knowledge
of God. And God is that one who is holy. And it is a terrifying thing
when the sinner is confronted by the fact that God is holy,
thrice holy. Holy Father, Holy Son, and Holy
Spirit. Remember the experience of Isaiah
there in the sixth chapter of his prophecy. Woe is me, for
I am undone, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
For we saw the throne of God, the angels about the throne,
and they're sung holy, holy, holy. And he feels himself utterly
undone, a man of unclean lips, he says, dwelling in the midst
of a people of unclean lips. How God reveals to us himself
his holiness in his law, all that law of God. We know that
what things of the law saith it saith to them who are under
the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world
become guilty. before God, therefore by the
deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight by
the law, is the knowledge of sin." When we see the holiness
of God, He's not my word like as a fire, He says, and like
a hammer that breaketh the rocks in pieces, our hearts, adamant
heart, and God must come and God must break that proud sinner's
heart. And it is the Spirit, as part
of the Spirit's work, when He shall come He reproves the world
of sin, of righteousness, of judgment we read there in John
16 and verse 8 following. It is in many ways an unpleasant experience Job cries out and says, God maketh
my heart soft, and the Almighty terrifieth me. When we see how
holy God is and how sinful we are, how dreadful. Who teacheth like Him, says Elihu. But then we know that it's not
enough to know I'm a sinner. Law and terrors do but harden
all the while they work alone. but a sense of blood-boiled pardon
soon dissolves the heart of stone." Oh, it's that revelation, you
see. God shows us Himself. We see ourselves in the light
of the mirror of His Word. We see ourselves as sinners before
His holy law. But then there's that revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's a remarkable statement
that we find at the end of verse 27 in Isaiah chapter 10. It says the yoke shall be destroyed
because of the anointing. The anointing, the anction, destroys
the yoke, that is the terrible yoke of that Lord of God. Well, what does oil do? And remember,
This reference to the unction, it has to do with anointing oil.
What does the oil do? It penetrates. And it softens. Think of the little couplet,
In God's peace let the unction of redemption supple every conscience
well. Well, we need that blessed unction
of redemption, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit
coming as the Spirit of Christ, making known the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ and that great work of redemption when he suffered
as a substitute. when he took to himself all the
sin of his people and bore that penalty that was there just dessert. Does it not supple the conscience?
Does it make us to see sin as it really is? It should do that.
It should do that. Again, look at the language of
the prophet, this time in the book of Ezekiel and there in
the 16th chapter. Verse 62, God says, 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.
What is it for God to be pacified? It's propitiation. It's peace
with God through the Lord Jesus Christ and the shedding of his
precious blood. It's Christ bearing that terrible
penalty, suffering the just wrath of God. That's the covenant that
he's speaking of, that thou mayest remember and be confounded and
never open thy mouth anymore. Lord, this is that blessed teaching
of the Spirit. Remember the words we've referred
to them already John 16 14 he shall glorify Moses Christ concerning
the spirit he shall glorify me he shall take of mine and shall
show it unto you it's life eternal to know thee the only true God
and Jesus Christ That's life eternal, to know
the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. And how is it expressed here,
when we are favored to have this threefold knowledge, the knowledge
of God, the knowledge of self, the knowledge of Christ? You
have an unction from the Holy One and ye know all things. But we don't know all things.
As I've said, we only know as much of the truth of salvation
as we're taught by the Holy Ghost. And we're not taught everything
all at once. Why, if that was the case, what
was the point of John writing this epistle? What does he say? He's writing
for the purpose. He says in chapter 1 at verse
4, These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. He has something to teach them,
to instruct them. Again in chapter 2, my little
children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not,
and if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins,
and not for us only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Speaking of course principally
to those who were Jewish believers, and he reminds them that there
is a provision also for the whole world for Gentile sinners as
well as Jewish sinners but how this teaching is little by little
line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept precept
upon precept here a little and there a little and does he not
address people who we might say are at different stages in their
spiritual development. In verses 12 to 14 he speaks of little children
and young men and fathers. We don't learn everything at
once. Peter says growing grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ." But it is only the Spirit Himself
who can teach all those things concerning salvation. And what
does the Spirit do? He abides. Oh, He abides. That's what we're told there
in verse 27, "...the anointing which you have received of Him
abideth in you." And then the end of the verse, Even as he
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him as he teaches, so the
Spirit abides in the believer. And this is the cause why the
believer is abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the abiding
Spirit, the believer is increasingly feeling his need of the Lord
Jesus Christ. All the more we know of Christ,
the more we need to know of Him. That's the remarkable thing.
The more we discover of all that fullness, the more we see that
there is a limitless fullness in Him. There's more and more
yet to know. And that's the wonder of salvation,
is it not? When we have this blessed unction. Oh, then we're made to feel what
sinners we are. and how great is that salvation those words at the end of the
opening chapter 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 and his word
is not in us or when the spirit teaches us when he brings the
word and applies the word then we feel the truth of it, and
we know what we are. But we also know that there is
all that great fullness of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is life eternal, to
know this Christ, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father, and
it is the Spirit who proceedeth, who is breed forth from the Father
and the Son, who makes all this wondrous salvation known to sinners. Ye have an unction from the Holy
One, and ye know all things." Oh, might the Lord then be pleased
to bless these words to us tonight.