1 John 2:26-29
 
1 John 2:26 (KJB)
These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
 
Seduce - Lead astray, mislead, or delude
 
Here John continues his warning to his readers. He has written these warnings to them concerning those heretics among them who would lead the true Christians astray. There were many false teachers in the early church and the church has been plagued with false teachers during its entire existence. In our day, we must be very discerning concerning the teachers we listen to. All one needs to do is turn on the TV and the false teachers dominate it. This is why we are to keep a good understanding of the Scriptures so when we are confronted with false teaching we will know instantly that they are false.
 
1 John 2:27 (KJB)
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 teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
 
Verse 27 begins in the same manner as verse 20. Now John is showing the believers the contrast between the anointing the believers received and the unbelieving seducers. Now the anointing (the indwelling of the Holy Spirit) which the believers receive allows them to discern the difference between the false teachings and the true teachings without the necessity of anyone teaching them those differences. Why? Because the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth as prophesied by the Lord back in John 16:13. The anointing that the believer receives is not a lie and it shall abide in the believer. This is comparing the truth of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to the lies which the spiritually dead produce.
 
Now with that under our belt, we now ask the question: Does this anointing dissolve the need for Bible teachers? The answer is absolutely not. When we were young Christians we had the Holy Spirit indwelling us from the moment of salvation. How did we begin to grow in the faith? It was through the teaching of the Word by a teacher that we began to learn the Scriptures and how to inculcate those teachings into our lives. Now the gift of teaching has never been abolished, it is alive today just as the gift of Pastor or Evangelist. Whenever we read a book, no matter what the subject, we are being taught by someone with more knowledge. I have over 1000 studies on my site and whenever someone reads one of my studies, they are pulling from 39 years of Bible study. So now, they take a study and give it to others, now someone may look at the study and add some more points to it. They then pass it on and more Christians become edified. It is a ripple effect and that is how the body of Christ matures. So 1 John 2:27 has a specific application concerning the true believer knowing the difference between false and true while the gift of teaching helps believers mature in the faith. Two different applications yet they are inextricably tied together.
 
(Eph 4:11-13 KJV) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; {12} For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: {13} Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
 
Ephesians 4:11-13 gives us the reason why God gave these office gifts which, of course, are spiritual gifts and not everyone is given the gift of teaching. As long as the body of Christ remains on the earth, God will continue to dole out the spiritual gifts for the purpose of edifying and maturing them, especially now as we face so many false gospels, there is a need for good teachers in the church. Those who are called and not those who call themselves, there lies the difference between the false and the true. The false teachers are the ones who call themselves and the true teachers are the ones whom God places the spiritual gift of teaching in.
 
1 John 2:28 (KJB)
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
 
Confidence - Boldness or assurance
Be ashamed - To feel shame or be put to shame
 
Here John is admonishing the Christians to continue in the truth which they have learned. There is going to come a day when the Lord returns and if we have a led a life which was not God glorifying or if it has no fruit, then we will be ashamed at His return when we see the other Saints who have borne fruit in the ministries the Lord entrusted to them. If we have lived a strong Christian life according to the Scriptures and have borne much fruit, then we shall be confident and have assurance at His return that we will not have fallen short of the ministry he gave us. This is why it is important that Christians get busy getting the Gospel out to the world, so when the Lord returns, there will be great rejoicing in the fact that people became saved or were matured in the faith through the ministry the Lord gave us. We are given spiritual gifts for the purpose of exercising them. A dormant spiritual gift is of no value. It is like money, it has no value unless it is spent. A true Christian who has done what they could in this world to forward the Gospel will have much assurance at the Lord’s return. Now let me say a word to those who are disabled or bed ridden. God knows what you can do and what you cannot. There is no such thing as a rewards system for being obedient. Probably some of the most strongest Christians will be those who have prayer ministries in nursing homes or on beds of pain. God will use us despite the infirmities in our earthly bodies. Even if our ministries seem small, we will still have great confidence when the Lord returns.
 
1 John 2:29 (KJB)
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
 
Ye know - Know fully or recognize
Doeth - Practice, perform, or act
 
Here is another indicator of knowing that a person has truly become born again. We fully understand that the Lord Jesus Christ is righteous because He is Holy deity and has never sinned. Therefore, those who are truly born again will be followers of the righteousness which is implanted in us through the Holy Spirit giving us a divine likeness to the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not to say that we have become sinless in our flesh because as Paul faced many fleshly struggles (Romans 7), we do too, but we are perfectly clean in our souls and it is from this that we perform our works of righteousness, thus lording it over the flesh into submission. This righteousness will not just be evident in our works but will be evident in all aspects of our life.

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