In verse 24 John says, “That which you heard from the beginning, let it abide in you. If that which you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will abide both in the Son and in the Father.” What was it that the believers heard from the beginning? From the beginning they heard the apostles preaching concerning the Trinity. Therefore, in this verse John is telling the believers to allow the truth of the proper Trinity to abide in them. If they allow this truth to abide in them, they will abide in the Son and in the Father. Actually, what they heard through the apostles’ preaching was the Father and the Son, not merely a doctrine. They heard the reality of the Father and the Son.
Here John seems to be saying, “We spoke to you the reality of the Father and the Son. We taught this to you, and you heard it and received it. You did not receive merely a doctrine. Rather, you received the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.” But where is the Spirit here? The Spirit is the anointing spoken of in verses 20 and 27.
Verse 25 says, “And this is the promise which He promised us, the eternal life.” For many years I was unable to understand this verse. With my logical mind I asked, “What is this verse saying? First, John talks about Jesus Christ, then the Son and the Father. Now he brings up the matter of eternal life. What is John talking about? Is the subject of his writing here Jesus Christ, the Father and the Son, or eternal life? It seems to me that John actually has three subjects.” Viewing this portion in this way, I could not understand it or reconcile the various subjects in it. Recently I have come to understand that here we have a compound, a mingling or blending, of Jesus Christ, the Father, the Son, and eternal life. Theologians may be bothered by this understanding of these verses. But I believe that if we receive light from the Lord, we shall see that this interpretation is correct. Here we have the compounding, the mingling, of Jesus Christ, the Father and the Son, and eternal life.
In verse 26 John continues, “These things I have written to you concerning those who are leading you astray.” Actually, the word “things” is not found in this verse, as indicated by the fact that some versions print it in italics. Hence, John is saying that “these” he wrote to the saints concerning them that would seduce them. To what does “these” refer? It must refer to Jesus Christ, the Father and the Son, and eternal life. Furthermore, “I have written” actually means “I am writing.” Therefore, John could say, “I am writing to you concerning those who seduce you.” Antichrist and the false prophets teach that Christ is separatefrom Jesus and that the Son is separate from the Father. This kind of heretical teaching is seductive and misleading.
After telling the believers that he has written to them concerning those who seduce them, John goes on to say in verse 27, “The anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.” To be sure, this anointing that abides in us is the moving of a Person. The anointing that abides in us is a Person moving, acting, within us. This anointing Person is the anointing. Who is this anointing Person? To answer this question we need to go to Exodus 30.
In chapter thirty of Exodus we see that the anointing of the tabernacle and the priesthood was the function of the compounded ointment. Whenever a priest was anointed with this compounded ointment, the olive oil, the myrrh, the cinnamon, the calamus, and the cassia were all applied to him. As we pointed out in the previous messages, the compound Spirit typified by the compounded ointment includes the effectiveness of Christ’s death, the power of His resurrection, the mingling of divinity with humanity, the power for bearing responsibility, and the building element. Such a compound anointing abides in us.
Verse 27 indicates that because we have the anointing abiding in us, we do not need any man to teach us. We do not need anyone to tell us that the Father is separate from the Son, or that the Father is one with the Son. If we consider the context, we shall see that the word “teach” is related to Jesus Christ and to the Father and the Son.