Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:18-23
In 2:13 the apostle John writes a very simple word to the young children, those believers who are very young in the divine life: “I write to you, young children, because you have known the Father.” In verses 1 John 2:18-27 John writes a much longer word to the young children in order to confirm what he has already written to them. On the positive side, this further word is concerned with the anointing; on the negative side, it is concerned with the antichrists. In verse 18 John says, “Young children, it is the last hour, and even as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come; whereby we know that it is the last hour.” The words “young children” here refer to the young children in verse 13 as the third class of the recipients of this Epistle. Verses 18 through 27 emphasize the knowledge in life (vv. 20-21) and strengthen the word, “because you have known the Father,” spoken to the young children in verse 13.
In verse 20 John speaks to the young children concerning the anointing: “And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.” The anointing is the moving and working of the indwelling compound Spirit, which is fully typified by the anointing oil, the compound ointment, in Exo. 30:23-25 (see Life-study of Exodus, Messages 157-163). This all-inclusive life-giving Spirit from the Holy One entered into us at the time of our regeneration and abides in us forever (v. 27). It is by this Spirit that the young children have known the Father (v. 13) and know the truth (v. 21).
John’s word to the young children concerning the anointing has much to do with their growth in life. John’s word here also indicates that all the saints in the church life need to receive the teaching of the anointing.
If you read verses 18 through 27 carefully, you will see that the teaching of the anointing is mainly a matter of teaching us the mystery of the Trinity. For years, I have been giving messages on the teaching of the anointing. In those messages I emphasized the fact that the anointing teaches us concerning all things, that is, concerning everything in our daily Christian life. In this message I would like to consider the teaching of the anointing in the more restricted sense of the anointing teaching us all things concerning the Trinity. In other words, in this message I am concerned not with the broader application of the principle, but with the proper interpretation of the teaching of the anointing according to the context of these verses. The more I consider these verses in context, the more assurance I have that it is absolutely accurate to say that the teaching of the anointing concerns the things of the Trinity.
We have seen that the anointing is the moving of the all-inclusive, compound, life-giving Spirit, who is the processed Triune God. This Spirit is the fulfillment of the type of the compound ointment revealed in Exodus 30. In this compound ointment there are a number of different elements which are the ingredients of the ointment. Just as paint may have a number of different elements, so the anointing Spirit also has different elements. These elements include the processed Triune God and His activities. The Triune God has passed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. These are the steps in His activity. All these steps have become elements of the compound, life-giving Spirit. Therefore, the anointing Spirit is actually a compound of the Triune God and His activities. The anointing Spirit includes divinity and humanity, the divine nature and the human nature. Such a compound Spirit includes incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. All these are elements of the compound Spirit typified by the compound ointment in Exodus 30.
The anointing is actually the moving of the ointment, and the ointment is a compound. Oil, however, is not a compound, for it contains a single element. The compound ointment, on the contrary, contains a number of different elements. In the compound Spirit we have the Father, the Son, the Spirit, divinity, humanity, incarnation, human living, the effectiveness of Christ’s death, the power of His resurrection, and His ascension. The anointing is the moving of this compound Spirit with all His elements. Only this anointing, only the moving of this compound Spirit, can teach us the Triune God.
Paint is the best illustration of the compound ointment. What is the best way to know the elements of a particular paint? The best way is to buy a can of that paint and apply some paint to a piece of furniture. By applying the paint, you will be taught concerning the elements of the paint. This means that only the paint itself can teach you what the paint is. Apart from the paint there is no way for you to learn about the elements of the paint. In a similar way, it is by applying Himself to us as the “paint” that the compound Spirit teaches us concerning the Triune God and His activities. We also may say that the elements of the compound Spirit teach us the various matters concerning the Triune God and His activities. The anointing Spirit is the composition of the Triune God with all His activities, and now this compound Spirit teaches us concerning the things of the Trinity.
Only through the Triune God becoming the anointing Spirit can we be taught concerning the Triune God and His activities. This kind of teaching is not objective; rather, it is very subjective. The Triune God has become the anointing Spirit and His anointing is now within us. This subjective anointing, the moving of the composition of the Triune God with all His activities, can now teach us the things concerning the Triune God and His activities. Therefore, it is such an anointing that teaches us the things concerning the Triune God.
The Triune God has been compounded not only with the elements of His Person — divinity, the Father, the Son, and Spirit — but also with the elements of His activities — incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. All these elements have been compounded to become the compound Spirit whose anointing teaches us concerning the things of the Trinity.
The revelation in the Bible concerning the Triune God is very experiential. For instance, in Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In his Word Studies in the New Testament M. R. Vincent says that the name in Matthew 28:19 is equivalent to the Person. Hence, to baptize people into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit means to baptize them into the Person of the Triune God. Just as a human name denotes a human person, the divine name denotes the divine Person. To baptize people into the name of the Triune God is to put them into the Person of the Triune God.
Vincent says also, “Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with Him.” The preposition “into” implies an organic union between us and the Triune God. To be baptized into the Person of the Triune God means to be placed into an organic union with Him. As those who have been baptized into the Person of the Triune God, we are now organically one with the Triune God, and He is organically one with us.
The Triune God, who is now organically one with us, is teaching us concerning Himself. This teaching is subjective and experiential. Day by day, as we are in the organic union with the Triune God, we enjoy Him, we experience Him, and we live in Him, with Him, and by Him. This living is a constant teaching of the things concerning the Triune God. We can testify that we certainly enjoy the Triune God in our daily life.
We may use eating food as an illustration of learning the things of the Triune God in the way of enjoying and experiencing Him. The best way to know a certain kind of food is to eat that food. If you eat the food, you will be taught concerning the food by the very food you eat. This is not merely an objective lesson concerning food; it is a subjective knowing of the food through experience. The more you eat a particular food, the more you will come to know it. This knowledge is not doctrinal; it is experiential. In a similar way, we come to know the Triune God by enjoying and experiencing Him. It is impossible for us to know the Triune God merely by doctrine. But we can know Him by enjoying and experiencing Him.
When the Triune God becomes our enjoyment and experience, His moving is the anointing within us. This understanding enables us to give a proper definition of the anointing: the anointing is the moving of the Triune God becoming our inward enjoyment and experience.
According to the Bible, we teach that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. Isaiah 9:6 says that a Son has been given to us, yet His name is called the everlasting Father, or the eternal Father, or Father of eternity. This matches the Lord’s word concerning Himself and the Father recorded in the Gospel of John. The Lord Jesus said that He, the Son, came in the name of the Father (John 5:43). The Lord never said of Himself that He was the Son and the Father. But He did say that He was the Son coming in the Father’s name. In chapter fourteen of the Gospel of John the Lord also says that if we see Him, we see the Father (v. 9). Furthermore, in this chapter the Lord says that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (vv. 10-11). So He says in John 10:30 the Father and the Son are one. When we confess Him, we also have the Father (1 John 2:23). Furthermore, He is also the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). When we have Him dwelling in us, we also have both the Father and the Spirit. Do you not have the Lord Jesus in you? Surely you do. Do you not also have the Father and the Spirit in you? You certainly have also both the Father and the Spirit in you. This means that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all in you. How many, then, do we have within us? From experience we know that we have only One within us. This One who dwells in us is the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
We need to be impressed with the fact that the anointing is the moving of the Triune God enjoyed and experienced by us. The moving of the Triune God within us who becomes our enjoyment and experience is the anointing. The anointing here in chapter two of 1 John refers to our experience of the Triune God. It is this experience that teaches us the things concerning the Trinity.
John’s word concerning the anointing here was written to the young children, to those who are the youngest in the divine life. Even the youngest believers have experienced the Lord within them. They can testify from their experience that the One who lives in them is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
We need the proper experience of the Triune God. From the “taste” in our experience we know the things concerning the Trinity. For example, how do you know whether sugar tastes sweet or bitter? The way to know is to taste a little of it. The taste will teach you whether it is bitter or sweet. In a similar way, our experience, our taste, of the Triune God will teach us concerning Him.
John’s intention in 2:18-27 is to warn the young children about the antichrists and their heretical teachings. In these verses John seems to be saying, “Do not listen to all these false teachings about the Person of Christ. You have a Teacher within you, and this Teacher is the anointing. Do not give heed to what the antichrists say, but listen to your experience of the Triune God’s moving as the anointing within you.” Praise the Lord for the experience of the teaching of the anointing concerning the Triune God!
