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Does the Church need a "Message"?: Difference between revisions
→What the Bible says about this question
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:''But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and '''you have no need that anyone should teach you'''. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. <ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Jn 2:27.</ref> | :''But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and '''you have no need that anyone should teach you'''. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. <ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Jn 2:27.</ref> | ||
So instead of studying William Branham's word and exalting his message over the Bible, his followers should simply read the Bible, pray and find a good church (there are a few still around). | What John is saying is that Christians have received the anointing given by Jesus, and it is still at work in their hearts. The Word of God has been conveyed to their hearts by the Spirit, and this is the ultimate safeguard against falling away into heresy. The thought is the same as in verse 24, but whereas in that verse the readers were told to ensure that their initial teaching remained in them, here they are told that it does remain in them. The promise of divine grace does not exclude the need for human response and effort. Those who have such inward instruction do not need anybody to teach them. Manifestly they do not need to listen to false teachers, inside or outside the church. John appears to be saying rather that they do not need instruction from teachers such as himself—and yet this is precisely what he gives them! This is an interesting paradox, which may shed some light on the fact that John also tells his readers that those born of God cannot sin and at the same time exhorts them not to sin. In the present case, two points may clarify what he means. On the one hand, the instruction given by church teachers must be accompanied by inner teaching by the Spirit which enables the hearers to sift out and accept what is true. On the other hand, the Spirit’s instruction comes through teachers who themselves possess the anointing; Christians possessed by the Spirit give one another mutual instruction, without which no single individual can appreciate the whole of God’s truth (Eph. 3:18). | ||
The last part of the verse is an exhortation to hold fast to the teaching given by the Spirit rather than to be tempted by the false teachers. Three reasons are given for doing so: | |||
#the anointing which the readers have received is a sufficient source of knowledge; it gives instruction about all things. We may legitimately take “all things” to mean “all that you need to know”: there is no suggestion of omniscience here! | |||
#John emphasizes that the teaching so given is reliable, and is not a lie. | |||
#John reminds his readers that they were instructed to abide in Christ. So, finally, he urges them to remain in Christ, which means that they will remain in the true teaching. | |||
So again the antidote to falling into false ideas of the Christian faith is to be found in holding fast to the initial statement of Christian truth given in the apostolic witness, as this is confirmed in our hearts by the anointing given by the Spirit. It cannot be otherwise with a religion based on a historical, once-for-all revelation. Granted that the Lord has yet more light to break forth from his Word, it is nevertheless from the Word that new understanding issues, and any new doctrine which is not in harmony with the Word is self-condemned.<ref>I. Howard Marshall, The Epistles of John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978), 162–164.</ref> | |||
So instead of studying William Branham's word and exalting his message over the Bible, his followers should simply read the Bible, pray and find a good (non-message) church to become a part of (there are a few still around). | |||
=What is really going on behind the question= | =What is really going on behind the question= | ||