Anointing;
1 John 2:20-22
1
John 2:20 NASB “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you
all know.” “But” here is a coordinating conjunction, not a contrasting
conjunction. Although kai can have
a contrastive sense it is not its; usual meaning. It should be translated “And
you have,” he is adding something to his previous statement. He is talking
about these children: “And you have an anointing from the Holy One.” The word
“one” is not in the original; all we have is the genitive of hagios, “from the holy.” It is normally
taken to refer to the Holy Spirit but the term “holy” is not accompanied by
“spirit,” and it probably refers to God the Father. This is not a reference to
the Holy Spirit but a reference to God the Father and what we receive at the
instant of salvation; “and you know all things,” literally, is a reference to
potential knowledge and something that is related to this concept of anointing.
The doctrine of anointing
1.
There are two types of anointing in the Old Testament, the
common anointing and the ceremonial or ritual anointing. There is the everyday
anointing, for example, when soldiers would anoint their shields with oil, on
the leather to keep it from drying out and cracking, 2 Samuel 1:21. Ceremonial
or ritual anointing is that which has to do with the observance of a ritual
under the Mosaic Law.
2.
Common anointing included the use of olive oil for medicinal,
preservative and cosmetic reasons. It was used to protect skin, applied after a
bath, Luke 3:3; Ezekiel 16:9. It was used for balm to put on wounds, according
to Isaiah 1:6. Corpses were also anointed with oil, Luke 23:56. A guest in a
home would anoint his head with perfumed oil as a sign of respect, Luke 7:46.
3.
The ceremonial anointing occurred in the Old Testament at
the initiation of a person’s ministry or office. It occurred one time only. As
such it symbolised being set apart for the service of God. It is a picture here
of positional sanctification. Not only persons but objects were anointed,
Exodus 30:22-33; 40:10, 11. Priests were also anointed but only when they were
initially installed in office, Exodus 28:40-42; 29:1-46. Prophets were anointed,
cf. 1 Chronicles 19:16; Isaiah 61:1. Kings were also anointed, 1 Samuel 10:1;
16:13.
4.
The significance of anointed is connected to being set apart
to the service of God at the beginning of ministry. As such that is analogous
to our positional sanctification. E.g. Exodus 29:21 NASB “Then you
shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing
oil, and sprinkle {it} on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on his
sons’ garments with him; so he and his garments shall be consecrated, as well
as his sons and his sons’ garments with him.” The word there for “consecrated”
is the Hebrew qal perfect of qodesh, the word for holiness, and holiness is comparable to hagios in Greek, and it has to do with
sanctification, holiness, being set apart unto God. It is at this point that
Aaron and his sons are being ordained or initiated into the priesthood. Other
passages that use the same terminology include Exodus 40:9ff. So what we see
here is that anointing occurred one time and is not repeated. It doesn’t
indicate at any time some kind of infusion of power.
5.
Kings were also anointed. It occurred once and was never
repeated, and it signified their appointment to kingship. David is anointed
twice. He is initiated initially by Samuel in 1 Samuel 16 and then the tribes,
when they actually make him king, they anointed him again. But both times it
indicates his appointment and the beginning point of his ministry. Saul was
anointed, 1 Samuel 9:16; 10:1. Another example is in 1 Kings 1:34 where Zadok
the priest and Nathan the prophet is anointing Solomon as king over Israel. In
1 Kings 19:16 we have the only clear mention on the anointing of a prophet.
Also the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were mentioned as anointed ones if
we compare Psalm 105:15 with Genesis 20:7. Those who had specific tasks in
relationship to the spiritual life of Israel and in relationship to the
leadership were anointed. That was the divine appointment and it symbolised the
fact that they were set apart to the service of God at the inception of their
ministry, and it only occurred one time.
6.
What exactly was anointing? It was the physical act of
pouring oil on the object or head of the person. It was a ritual act that was
designed to portray a spiritual reality. So what we have in the New Testament
is the spiritual reality that it portrays.
7.
As such ceremonial anointing symbolised being set apart for
divine service and the appointment to a specific role. When we come to apply
that to a believer this takes us away from post-salvation filling ministry of
the Holy Spirit or teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit to what would happen
one time, a non-repeated action, which occurred at the beginning of the
spiritual life that occurred at the instant of salvation.
8.
Again for emphasis, anointing occurs once at the beginning
of a ministry. So at the point of salvation every believer enters into
full-time Christian ministry. It may not be professional service but every
believer is in full-time Christian ministry from the point of salvation.
Scripture says that God has given each of us spiritual gifts that are designed
to be used for Him; we are to be set apart by our sanctification to serve in
some kind of ministry related to that spiritual gift.
9.
The idea of initiation, that which occurs at the beginning
of salvation, reminds us of Paul’s doctrine of baptism by means of the Holy
Spirit. That is our initiation into the body of Christ as well as the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. These two facets of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to
the church age believer also relates to our positional sanctification. The case
we are building is that anointing relates to positional truth, to what happens
at the inception of our Christian life at salvation.
10.
In the New Testament the term “charisma” is only used in 1st
John, and so we have to gain its meaning from Old Testament background. In 1st
John it seems to have the idea of not simply our positional relationship only
but it is tied to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. That tells us that
because of our position in Christ we are given the potential to understand the
Scripture. It doesn’t mean that we automatically understand it.
11.
This term primarily relates to the ministry of Jesus Christ
during the incarnation. Outside of this passage in 1 John it relates to Jesus
Christ in terms of His messianic ministry. Luke 4:18, where Jesus quotes from
Isaiah 61:1 NASB
“THE
SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO
THE POOR…” Anointing and being sent are comparable
concepts here; they have to do with the designation of His mission as Messiah.
Acts 4:27 NASB “For truly in this city there were gathered together
against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius
Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel.” Acts 10:38 NASB
“{You know of} Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and
with power, and {how} He went about doing good and healing all who were
oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” That was at the inception of His
ministry.
12.
As such, anointing for John represents God’s gift of the
Holy Spirit at salvation. The baptism of the Holy Spirit which identifies the
believer positionally in Christ and brings with it everything the believer
needs in the spiritual life. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with its
potential for filling through teaching. It occurs only once and is the same for
every believer and it relates to our understanding of Scripture. Because of our
position and what we get at salvation we have the potential to understand all
the Scriptures. John 14:26 NASB “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring
to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
1
John 2:21 NASB “I have not written to you because you do not know
the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.”
They had been taught the truth by John when he was present as their pastor, and
they had learned the truth through the operation of the teaching ministry of
God the Holy Spirit. The “no lie” that he is referring to is that of the false
teachers: that Jesus Christ had not come in the flesh. [22] Who is the liar but
the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one
who denies the Father and the Son.” That is the foundational message, that
Jesus is the Messiah. Cf. 1 John 5:1 NASB “Whoever believes that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God…” John 20:30, 31 NASB “Therefore
many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which
are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may
have life in His name.” So in verse 22 John is saying that the liar is the one
who denies that Jesus is the Messiah, i.e. that He has come in the flesh, the
incarnate Son of God. This is the antichrist, the one who denies Son, the one
who denies the Trinity and who denies that Jesus is the eternal second person
of the Trinity. [23] “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one
who confesses the Son has the Father also.”