The Unction From the Holy One — Aaron Dunlop

The Church in an Anti-Christian World

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 Unction and Knowledge of the Holy One

But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye have not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?

He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whoso denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning.

If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you. And ye need not that any should teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Amen, we trust the Lord will bless the reading of his word to our hearts as we come to look at this portion of scripture tonight.

We've been looking in past weeks at this passage of scripture, these ten verses or so, 18 to 28. And we've been dealing with the overall subject of the church in an anti-Christian world. This is the world that we have been called to minister in.

This is the world that we have been called to live our lives in. The Lord did not suddenly, when he saved us, transport us out of the sin environment in which we lived into a perfect environment. He has called us and he has given us his word in order to live as Christians in that sinful environment.

And so we see here that not only has he dealt with it in chapter 1 and into the beginning of chapter 2, but he is dealing with it here overall. And he comes more acutely then in chapter 2 verse 18 to the sin that is in the church.

We looked at this this morning in our Sunday school class, the idea of the invisible church as opposed to the visible church. The visible church is that body across the world of professing believers, of professing Christians, made up of those across the world who profess Christianity.

And we saw that the visible church is a church that is alloyed. That is, it is mixed, as the Lord said, the tares with the wheat. Let both grow together. If we are in this world, there will be tares with the wheat.

And as we come into the church then, we see that the same is true. The same is true. In the church overall, the church universal, there is this alloy of both saint and sinner professing Christian. But when John speaks here in verse 18 and 19, he is not speaking simply of those in the church who are professing Christians.

He is speaking of those in the church who have come in with a purpose, with an agenda. Those in the church who have come in as antichrists, who have crept in unawares, and as Peter says, and as he says in the same chapter here in verse 26, they have come in to seduce.

These things have I written unto you concerning them which seduce you. And so we see that the church itself, sad to say, the church itself is in some respects a landmine. It is a dangerous place. It is an unfortunate thing to say.

As we speak of the church universal, the church visible, it is a dangerous place. And we need to be discerning. As to the spirit, as chapter 4 verse 1 says, we are to try the spirits to see if they are of God.

So we come to look at this entire subject of the church in an anti-Christian world. We saw last week, as we dealt with this subject and the characteristics of the last days, we saw the three things that the Lord has given the church.

The Spirit, Word, and Promise Given to the Church

Three things, three possessions, if you like, of the church that have been given by the Lord to enable us to overcome the antichrist. We are living in the last days. I believe we are living in the last of the last days.

A time of great seduction. A time when the church needs great discernment. And there are antichrists. And there is that in the church, that prevailing atmosphere of anti-Christian spirit. John says, this is the world, this is the church you are in.

Now, in the last days, that is a characteristic of those days, the spirit of antichrist. That is a characteristic of the days we are living in. But in stark contrast to that, John tells us here, that not only is there this characteristic of the spirit of antichrist, but another characteristic is the spirit of God, who will be outpoured upon the church.

This is at an age, the last days, that period of time between the first advent and the second advent of Christ, when the spirit is going to come in power. So as the antichrists arise, the spirit is given to intercept and to defend against the spirit of antichrist.

And so, while we saw the spirit of antichrist, we come now to see these three possessions that the Lord has given. Now, we began last week to look at two of these things. And we saw, out of order of course, as I explained last week, but we saw last week that the Lord has given us His objective word.

Verse 24, and we are going to see this a little later on. But verse 24 says, let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning. Here is what you have heard, here is what you need to hold on to, here is what you need to abide in, and here is what needs to abide in you, the objective word of God.

He has given it for a purpose. He has given it to us, to defend us against this antichrist, this antichristian spirit. But He has given us also something else. He has given us this eternal foundation of the church, which, as He says in verse 25, is the promise of eternal life.

Now, the promise of eternal life, as He speaks of it in verse 25, is not something that is in the future. It is not something that merely, that we are looking forward to. It is not the prize only that we are going to get.

That promise of eternal life is what we have. And it is that which we are to build on. Is this not what He says, over in chapter 5, I think verse 11? Yeah, and this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life.

And this life is in the Son. He has given us Christ. He has given us eternal life. Romans chapter 6 verse 11, we are to reckon ourselves therefore to be dead unto sin and alive unto God. It is already given.

So don't think, beloved, that this life that we have in Christianity, don't think for a moment that this life is something that we are going to get in the future. This life that we have in Christ is a present reality.

We have to live in the present reality. We have to live in the reality, then, of eternity. And I want you to think about that. We have to live, today, in the present, in the reality of eternity. That, my friend, will get your eyes off the present.

That will get your eyes off the materialism of this world, as we saw this morning. That will get your eyes off the trials of this world. That will get your eyes off all the struggles of this world. And you will be able to live above the things of the world.

If you are living in the light of eternity. That is what John is saying here. This is the promise that He has given to us. Even eternal life. That is the foundation that you build on. That is the foundation that you build on.

The Unction as the Spirit's Subjective Work

But we come tonight to look at the Spirit. The object of Spirit. Now, in verse 20, But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. And I pointed out last week, that while we were looking at these three possessions, I began last week to look at the latter two, because of time constraints.

And I wanted to leave more time for this object of Spirit. But in your notes you will find them in the proper order. Which is important. Because the order is important. Okay? We are going to see that in a moment.

But we come to look at this unction. This subjective work of God in the heart. But ye have an unction from the Holy One. The Holy One. This unction from the Holy One is the thematic phrase throughout this entire passage.

We mentioned the Word of God, of course, in verse 24. We mentioned the promise in verse 25. But thematically, the unction, the Spirit of God, is the key phrase of this passage. That is going to counteract, that is going to intercept the atmosphere and Spirit of ungodliness of the antichrists.

And so, he puts this first. He puts this first. Ye have an unction from the Holy One. Drawn here, over and above the objective Word of God. Because he is speaking to individuals. He is speaking to individuals in the church.

And remember continually what he says to the church. These things write I unto you. I have a purpose here, beloved, in writing to you. These things write I unto you that ye sin not. He says in chapter 2, verse 1.

These things write I unto you, he says in chapter 2 here, in our passage, verse 26. Concerning them that seduce you. And throughout the book, he is speaking to the believers here, to the individuals. I am writing to you, beloved, for a purpose.

I want you to be aware of this purpose. I want you to stand with me and to listen to me. And to understand why I am writing to you. This is not merely a general letter. This is a letter to you. This is a letter to you as an individual.

And so he speaks here of this subjective Spirit that is working in every individual. That is working in the individual. He is saying you as individuals in the church. I want you to hear me. You as individuals in the church have this unction.

You have this unction. The Spirit of God is dwelling in you. The Spirit of God is guiding you and working in you. The Spirit of God is leading you into all truth. Individually. He is saying this to each of you who are believers.

The Spirit of God is working in you. And guiding you into all truth. It is this subjective work. Now in order to balance the misunderstandings that are abroad in Christianity. Such as, for instance, the Quakers who believe that they have an inner light.

They believe that they don't need the Scriptures of truth. They have this inner light that enables them. They get behind a little circle and they start talking. And out of this inner light comes all of this knowledge that they have.

Aside from the Word of God. Charismatic movement. Is a movement which is top heavy on experience. A movement which emphasizes and has as the end of Christianity. The experience of the Spirit of God. John says, let me counter that.

I lift up to you the unction that you have. This indwelling of the Spirit that you have. While I exhort you to understand that you have this subjective work of God. Let me point out to you that there is also the objective Word of God.

There is also the objective Word of God. Let that therefore which you have heard remain in you. Which you have heard from the beginning. So it's not just the Spirit of God working in you. It's not this inner light.

This mysticism. There is a Word of God that counteracts that spirit. That subjective spirit. Counteract is not the right word because the Spirit of God is working with the Word of God. But it counteracts the human impurities and misunderstandings of the Spirit of God in the heart.

And that is why we need the Word of God in order to balance out this subjective work in the heart. Both go together. They cannot be separated. Both are necessary. Without the Spirit the Word is a dead letter.

Without the Spirit the Word is a dead letter. The natural man will see if it's not the things of the Spirit of God they are foolishness too. Without the Spirit the Word is a dead letter. But without the Word the Spirit tends to speculative fanaticism.

As we see in the charismatic movement and in Pentecostal circles. Fanaticism. This running after experience of God balances that. Brings it into check. And if they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no truth in them.

The prophet Isaiah said. So the Word of God is to balance that. Is to check it. Is a measure by which we measure the work of the Spirit in the heart. Our understanding of that. So these Spirit and Word coincide and complement and counter the anti-Christian spirit of the age.

The Meaning of the Anointing and Union With Christ

Now as we come to look at this entire subject of the unction. But ye have an unction from the Holy One. The Word is chrisma. Chrisma. Simply means anointing. This is translated later on down the chapter as anointing.

Ye have an anointing. And it emphasizes not the act of anointing. But it emphasizes that with which they have been anointed. I .e. the Spirit from the Holy One. There is the emphasis. He is not emphasizing the act of anointing.

He is emphasizing that with which they are anointed. It is the Spirit from the Holy One. It is the Spirit of Christ. It is the Spirit of Christ. The Word marks then this inseparable connection between Christ and His people.

Let me put it in the reverse. This idea marks that inseparable connection between the people of God and the Christ who saved them. There is an inseparable connection. To be in Christ then is to have the Spirit of Christ.

To be in Christ is to have the Spirit of Christ. You may hear in Charismatic and Pentecostal circles that you get the Spirit later on in some Benny Hinn conference. That is nonsense. If you have not got the Spirit of Christ then you have not got Christ.

They both go together. They both go together. It is inseparable. It is inseparable. John is saying here that every Christian is anointed and enabled for the task of being a Christian in the world. Every Christian is anointed and enabled by the Spirit of God for the task of being a Christian in this anti-Christian world.

Is this not the promise of the Old Testament? Joel 2 tells us that the Spirit of the Lord will be poured out on the day of Pentecost and your young men shall see visions and your young women shall dream dreams.

The idea there is that everybody, both male and female, both old and young, will have the Spirit of God. That is all Joel is saying. And this is what exactly happened on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit of God was given.

And the Spirit of God was given to the church as individuals. The God who indwells, of course, and I believe in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God indwelled the believers in the Old Testament as he does in the New.

As he did regenerate the saints in the Old Testament as he does in the New. The soul cannot be regenerated without the Spirit of God. So whether you are in the Old or New Testament, the same is true. But in the New Testament, in this last days, to use our phrase here, there is this outpouring of the Spirit of God, this work of the Spirit of God that propels the church forward, that enables the church to withstand in the evil day and prevail against the gates of hell.

That is what Joel is saying. Because what the church is battling here in Joel 2, verses 18 and 19, is the gates of hell. The Antichrists. The Antichrists. Joel is saying here that the anointing is an anointing of the Spirit of Christ.

The Spirit of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 12, verse 13, we read, For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentile, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink of one Spirit.

We are all baptized into one body. The baptism there is not speaking of water baptism. Not speaking of water baptism. The word baptism is used throughout the Scriptures. Not necessarily of water baptism, but that which initiates into.

That which brings us into something, or initiates. And here, in dealing with the initiation of the Spirit of God, we see that we are all baptized, we are all initiated into the body by the Spirit of God.

What body is he talking about? It's the body of Christ. We are all brought into the body of Christ by the Spirit of God, and we are made to drink into one Spirit. Now, I want us to see here that this union that we have with Christ, and He has with us, is indissoluble.

It is indissoluble. We have become one with Him. Not only in His righteousness. We share, we are given His righteousness, imputed to us, which is received by faith alone, and by which we stand before God, and will stand before God in the last day.

So we are one with Him in His righteousness, but we are one with Christ in a great many more ways. Which I think, as Christians, we misunderstand very often. As Christians, we do not fully understand how united we are to Christ.

We are to reckon ourselves to be dead to sin, Paul said in Romans 6, and alive unto God. Where is that death? It's in Christ. We died with Him. We are united to Him in His death. We are united to Him in His life.

Sharing Christ's Offices as Prophet, Priest, and King

But we are united to Christ in a great many more areas of the Christian life and experience. For instance, the Scriptures in the Old Testament and the New Testament speak of Christ fulfilling the offices of our prophet, priest, and king.

The three offices of Christ. Christ executes the office of a prophet by revealing to us by His Word and Spirit the will of God for our salvation according to the Catechism. The King of Christ executes for us and through us the work of the prophet.

He executes the office of a priest by offering of Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God. And He exercises for us the office of a king in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us, in restraining and defending all His and our enemies.

So there are three offices that the Lord Jesus Christ has that we are part of and that we share. Now, we read in 1 Peter 2, verse 9, concerning the Christians, Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.

You, Christian, are a royal priesthood. You are a priest unto God. In Revelation chapter 1, verse 6, we read that He has made us kings and priests unto God and the Father. We are priests. We offer up spiritual sacrifices in the coming to God through Christ, in the reading of Scripture, in the exercise of His service.

We offer up spiritual sacrifices. We are kings. Through Christ we are subduing our enemies. Through Christ we are enabled to subdue those temptations, to subdue those things which would make inroads into our spiritual life.

The Lord Jesus Christ, by faith in Him, has made us kings unto Himself. And we are enabled by His grace to overcome the world. Faith is a victory, John says later in his writings. Faith is a victory to overcome the world.

But here, in chapter 2, verse 20, He says that ye are also prophets. Prophets. Christ is our prophet because He reveals to us through His Word and Spirit the will of God for our salvation. We are prophets by being given His Spirit, this anointing, this anointing that He has given to us, which enables us, and here is the work of a prophet, which enables us to identify heretics.

4 verse 1. Try the spirits. It is the Spirit of God that enables us to do that. Chapter 2, verse 20. We have an anointing from the Holy One, and ye know all things. This is the anointing that He has given us.

This anointing for the office of a prophet. And we as prophets, then, are to teach others. What was Christ's office of a prophet? To reveal to us, by His Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

What is our work as a prophet? To reveal to others, by God's Word, the will of God for their salvation. This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, 20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech you by us.

We pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. We are ambassadors for Christ. And John says here in chapter 2, verse 20, we've been anointed for that office. We've been anointed to identify heretics.

Teach the truth. Teach the truth. You're anointed to do that, Christian. By the power of the Spirit of God. Not only is it the initiating of the Spirit, but it is the illumination of the Spirit. The illumination of the Spirit of God.

The Spirit's Illumination and the Authority of Scripture

26. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you. But as the same anointing teaches you all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.

Here is the illumination of the Spirit of God. Which he deals with further up the passage, when he says that ye know all things. The Spirit's anointing is not manifested, and this is something we need to keep in mind in the modern church.

The Spirit's anointing. So we hear so much about the anointing of the Spirit of God. Well I'm told in the Bible here, that the Spirit's anointing is not manifested by extraordinary experiences. The anointing of the Spirit is not manifested by sporadic excitement.

The Spirit of God and the anointing of the Spirit of God is not manifested by roaming like children on the floor and barking like dogs. That's not the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is manifested by the knowledge of the truth.

By the knowledge of the truth. Verse 21. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it. There is a manifestation of the work of the Spirit. And it ties in exactly as it would, because it's the same Spirit that has written the word.

It ties in exactly with John chapter 16 verse 13. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, the same Spirit is spoken of, when he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth. He shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he shall show you things to come.

Contrary to popular opinion, I don't want to get off on a rabbit trail here, but contrary to popular opinion, the Spirit of God and the work of the Spirit of God and the experience of the Spirit of God is not the end of all worship.

It's not the end of all worship. And we are invited to experience the Spirit in these meetings of Charismatics and Pentecostals. We're invited to experience the Spirit, to experience all that's happening, to experience excitement.

That's not the end of worship. And those who speak in such a manner, and those who preach such a gospel, have missed the focus of the gospel itself. Because the focus of the gospel is not the Spirit. It's not the Spirit.

The focus of the gospel is Christ. And it is the Spirit that testifies of Christ. The Bible says that the Spirit will not speak of himself. The Spirit will not speak of himself. But whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will guide into all truth.

This first manifestation of the Spirit of God and the anointing of the Spirit of God is a knowledge of the truth. It's a knowledge of the truth. It's intellectual. It is not a mere emotional excitement.

It is not a mere physical, sporadic excitement. It is intellectual. And then, of course, heart. But he says in verse 21 that ye know all things. Ye know all things. Now what does he mean by this? The word all, padta, could be taken, could be translated in two ways, this phrase.

It could be translated, you all know. It's a literal, it's a legitimate translation, you all know. In other words, we read the verse then, but ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye all know. Or this translation is also a legitimate translation.

It's only three words in the Greek. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. Which is true. Well, I'm going to take the authorized version's translation here, although the other is quite legitimate.

If we take the authorized version's translation, we need to be careful that we do not misinterpret it. And this is not an all-inclusive statement. It is not an exhaustive statement concerning knowledge.

This does not mean, this does not mean that every Christian knows everything there is to know about secular knowledge. Nor this does not mean that every Christian knows all there is to know about spiritual knowledge.

If that were so, then John would not need to write his epistle. If that were so, we would not need the Spirit of God to guide us into all truth. If that were so, I would not be here tonight teaching. And so it is not saying that we know all there is to know.

John is saying here that they know all about the subject that he is speaking about. I think it was Calvin, I have it in your notes there, who said that this knowledge is confined to the subject treated here.

If I was to put this in vernacular, we could say, without trivializing the text. If I was to put this in the vernacular, we could say, but you have an unction from the Holy One and you know all about it, in the context of the subject that he is speaking about.

You know all about it. ...to the subject that he is dealing with. We have another problem when we get to verse 27, this knowledge that we have. He has given us this knowledge that is developing, that is spirit informed, and that is word informed.

But he says in verse 27, But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, as ye need not that any man teach you. This is also a difficult passage. What does it mean? It does not mean, as the Quakers believe, that we do not need descriptors to guide us into truth.

That we have this inner light. Modern mystics, we hear a lot of talk today in mysticism about the Lord spoke to me, told me this or told me that. I am very dubious of the Lord speaking concerning the mundane and trivial things that people say the Lord spoke to them about.

I think when somebody says that to me, about something common and mundane, to me and I think all they are talking about is that the common sense told them. The Lord has given us common sense to use. He has given us a common sense to put into practice.

And the Spirit of God does not need to direct illumination outside of the Word of God. The Lord can bring to bear the Word of God and can guide, I am not denying that. But this mentality that is in modern Christianity, that the Spirit is speaking directly and they are guided directly by the Spirit of God in mysticism.

We need to be careful. We need to be careful. John Thay invites closely to the necessity of what they had heard from the beginning. What they had heard from the beginning in the previous verses. That which they had heard from the beginning.

This does not mean neither that they have no need of pastors or teachers. It does not mean that they have no need for pastors or teachers. Instead, the fact that John is writing to them indicates that they do need pastors and teachers.

What is it that John is saying then? I think the answer is to be found in the contrast that we have noted in verse 20. Where John is contrasting between the Antichrists that have gone out from them and those who have stayed in the church.

And he says in verse 20,. But ye have an unction from the Holy One. Where is the difference? What is the difference between you who have stayed in the church with the unction from the Holy One and those who have gone out?

The difference is they have not got that unction. They have not got that anointing. They have not got that understanding. They need to be taught that. But John is saying concerning you. You do not need to be taught that.

You have that unction. You have that anointing. And so he is contrasting here between those who have no spiritual understanding and those who have. Those who have stayed in the church because they have that anointing and those who have gone out because they have not had.

This is the same contrast as Paul had in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 12 -14. We read there, Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Verse 13, Which things also we speak not in the words of man's wisdom that man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man those who went out from us because they were not of us the natural man those who have not the anointing those who have not the unction the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.

In other words they are understood by the Spirit of God. Carry that into chapter 2, verse 27 of 1 John. You need not that any man teach you because those things are understood by the Spirit of God. That's what John is saying here.

And so we are not we are not pulling ourselves away from the church we are not isolating ourselves from the teaching ministry of the church we are not isolating ourselves from the teaching ministry of the Word of God the objective truth of Scripture we are seeing and saying that they complement one another we are informed by Scripture and the Spirit of God illumines the Scripture enlightening our mind teaching us from the Scripture.

Why? Because as John chapter 16, verse 13 says He shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will guide him to all truth. Where is all truth contained? In the Scriptures of truth.

The Word of God. John says here this subject of work of the Spirit of God that you have received which has to bring me back into the context here of the passage it is that work that has kept you in the church it is that work that has kept you and preserved you the preservation and the perseverance of the saints.

He has kept you. There are others who have gone out there are others who have left us. Why? Because they were antichrists they had not got the Spirit of God they had not got the ocean but you, he says have the anointing of God.

You have the truth as it is received in the Word of God and you have the promise of eternal life. My friend, this is the triumph of the faith. This is the triumph of the truth in our hearts. This is the only triumph of the church in the last days that we keep in focus the work of the Spirit of God in His place without diminishing His work but without maximizing the work of the Spirit to the diminishing of the work of Christ.

We need to keep in focus. We cannot, as we have said in previous weeks we cannot caricature the Gospel. We cannot caricature the Scriptures of truth. If we do that, we lose proportion and we run into false doctrine.

This is where the charismatic movement is. They have magnified the work of the Spirit that the Gospel has all been taken out of proportion. And men and women are running after subjective experience without the object of truth of Scripture.

And I have spoken to people and I have heard them say to me and I have said to a lady in particular if I show you from the Scriptures if I could sit down with you and show you from the Word of God how that this and that is wrong.