But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
Believers have an anointing from the Holy One by which they know the truth and that no lie belongs to the truth. This anointing is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them as His temple to enlighten, renew and sanctify the soul. It abides in them and teaches them all things so they can distinguish sacred truth from error and stand apart from the liar who denies the Father and the Son. Ministers and teachers especially need this unction sought by faith, prayer and Bible study, for without it work is mechanical and powerless while with it souls are awakened and drawn to Christ. It is received by all who humbly seek God in secret and united prayer, feed on His Word, and remain in Christ by putting away sin and doing His will with confidence toward His coming.
Words and Immediate Context
Believers have an anointing or unction from the Holy One, and they know all things, which means they know the truth. This anointing abides in them and teaches them in all things, and it is true and no lie, so they need not be taught by seducers but are to let what they heard from the beginning abide in them and to continue in the Son and in the Father, with the promise of eternal life. In the face of antichrists and error they are to remain in Christ, be careful to put away their sins, and not lead themselves or others into darkness. Those who abide in Him will have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, and everyone who does righteousness is born of Him who is righteous.
To know all things is to know the truth and to know that no lie is of the truth and no lie comes from it. This knowledge enables believers to recognize that no lie belongs to the truth, even amid warnings about antichrists and those who left the church. Young believers share this same anointing and knowledge, and it equips them to serve and to stand for God. Truly sanctified souls in every family that lives God's Word are educated and taught by God Himself rather than by unsanctified human teachers who refuse obedience to all God's commandments, learning from God's law spoken in grandeur from Mount Sinai as the highest education fitting souls for the heavenly school.
The setting is the last time, which is known by the presence of many antichrists who went out from the believers to make manifest that they were not truly of them. By contrast with the liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ and denies the Father and the Son, those who remain are anointed by the Holy One and therefore know all things, know the truth, and stand where no lie belongs to the truth. Those who went out were once with believers in the faith, but they became offended at something said or done, withdrew, and went over to the ranks of the enemy to war against the truth they had once built up. Their going out manifests that they were never truly part of the church, and their working does the work of Satan and is evidence of his sharp practice.
The passage uses figures of a kind people can comprehend, easily comprehended and yet of the highest order, plain enough for a little child in years and the unlearned to understand. It gives practical instruction that God's people are to rely on God and the light of His Word and not be led away from steadfast faith by human judgment or supposed wisdom.
Holy Spirit Who Anoints
The unction from the Holy One is the Holy Spirit Himself, God's agent and representative, who is the Spirit of Christ dwelling in believers as His temple. He is the divine Teacher given to humanity now that the face-to-face instruction from the Maker enjoyed in holiness and innocence at the beginning is lost. By Him believers are taught and guided in the truth, which distinguishes them from those who deny the truth and go out from the fellowship of believers. He is earnestly to be desired and sought in prayer with undivided affection for Christ, for without Him no effectual work for God can be done, and His presence belongs with a living faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
The anointing is His influence and indwelling, the life of Christ in the soul, working in and through everyone who receives Christ, just as near in one place as in another though Christ is not seen and spoken to. It is the baptism of the Holy Spirit from God and the touch from on high, the only effective agent for proclaiming sacred truth. Received in secret prayer and when Christians meet in small companies to unite earnest petitions, where Jesus is present and love for souls is deepened and mighty energies are put forth to train agents to save the lost, it enlightens, renews and sanctifies the soul, which is worth more than formal ceremonies. It must pervade the whole being so the believer bears the impress of Christ upon the life.
That indwelling brings divine illumination as the privilege of those enlightened and made partakers of the Holy Ghost. True faith and repose and rest in God are always accompanied by this illumination carrying conviction to hearts. When His power is revealed through servants of God, divinity flashes through humanity, so that truth as it is in Jesus is presented as of more value than all worldly honor and glory.
The anointing received of Him abides in believers and teaches them in all things, and is truth and no lie. Therefore they need not be taught by seducers, but hold and let abide in them what they heard from the beginning, and continue in the Son and in the Father, with the promise of eternal life. Those who so abide and put away sin rather than leading themselves or others into darkness will have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, and everyone that does righteousness is born of Him who is righteous.
Truth Against Antichrist Error
The anointed are set apart from the liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ and denies the Father and the Son, and to know all things is to know the truth and to recognize that no lie is of the truth and no lie comes from it. The unction is the anointing received from Him that abides in believers and teaches them of all things, and is truth and is no lie, so they need not be taught by seducers but abide in what they heard from the beginning and continue in the Son and in the Father, with the promise of eternal life. This stands in the last time, when many antichrists went out from the church to manifest that they were not of it, while those who abide in Him will have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, and everyone that does righteousness is born of Him who is righteous. This knowledge also makes young workers strong because God's word lives in them and they have overcome the wicked one, equipping them to stand against deception and serve in the conflict against evil.
The heavenly anointing enables believers to distinguish truth from error and sin from righteousness. It gives spiritual discernment to distinguish sacred truth from common things and sound doctrine from human inventions, so believers can guard faith and judgment against confusion and recognize the testing truth for their time. When believers are confused and in mist and fog, the anointing gives clear sight, thoroughly renews the mind, and restores perception of truth and righteousness weakened by seductive sentiments that tear down the foundations of faith. It sets faith on a high, holy, substantial foundation, turning those who receive it away from scientific theories, which are chaff to the wheat of truth, and fitting them to sound the last message of warning to the world.
Those who do not have this spiritual anointing will be deceived, and will show by words and actions that they are not joined or yoked with Christ but with satanic agencies. They become betrayers of sacred trusts, working with the great traitor, sowing dissension, misrepresentation, and falsehood instead of advancing the work of God. Therefore the meaning of antichrist must be clearly seen from the Word, because the enemy's last great conflict will be the last determined battle between the powers of darkness and the powers of light. Every true child of God will fight bravely on the side of Christ, but those who become confused in understanding and fail to see what antichrist is will surely place themselves on the side of antichrist, and those who in this crisis allow themselves to be more on the side of the world than of God will eventually place themselves wholly on the side of the world, so there is no time to become like the world or assimilate with it, but to become more and more distinct from it. The meaning is made plain because the prophecies of Daniel and John are to be understood together, they interpret each other, they give truths everyone should understand, and by their fulfillment in these last days as witnesses in the world they explain themselves.
Those taught of God by feeding on His Word understand their position in this world's history and prove it by practice on the Lord's side, seeking to reform the world by precept and example. With ears open and hearts softened and subdued they press together in unity, one with Jesus Christ. Those who refuse to be taught of God hold the traditions of men and keep themselves in hand to mold themselves instead of practicing the lessons of Christ; they at last pass over to the side of the enemy against God and are written Antichrist, finding in Antichrist the center of their union. The two parties stand in collision until the Lord will appear and shine before His ancients gloriously and set up a kingdom that shall stand forever.
Power for Gospel Ministry
Ministers and teachers need the unction from on high for the great work to be done, which is impossible in human strength, and it must be earnestly sought from God in faith and prayer with Bible study, by humbly believing and receiving His promises and crying to Him with fullness of heart and tears. Receiving it brings blessing and strength, satisfies hunger and thirst for salvation with deep knowledge of God's will, enables going rightly through this world by faith and whole trust in God, and fits believers for the solemn work of the solemn time in which they live so they can labor in cheerfulness with a full sense of its solemnity. It gives divine wisdom, knowledge, power and strength for effective soul-saving work, a burden for souls and a sense of responsibility for them, with words supplied at the right time to present Jesus as the sinner's only refuge and to exalt the Saviour and His love, helping bring revival. Without it nothing can be done and no effectual work for God can be done, for it belongs with serving Christ with undivided affection and living faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
Without the unction spiritual perception is dull rather than acute and quick to discern the Spirit's working, leaving commonness, earthliness and carnality, making believers bodies of darkness rather than of light, with very limited usefulness, jealousies, envyings, divisions and no perceptible zeal for Christ. Clear arguments alone cannot reach the hearts of hearers, for preaching requires a living connection with God and the Spirit abiding in the minister's heart to give it spiritual power. Preaching without it becomes mechanical or merely copied from others' methods, and direct earnest appeals to those deciding whether to serve God may not be made, so convictions do not deepen and the wavering turn away from accepting Christ. With the unction the Spirit, as the only effective agent for proclaiming sacred truth, awakens the soul's lifeless faculties to understand heavenly things and draws its affections toward God and the truth. Earnest, Spirit-filled action enables direct appeals that lead an undecided soul to choose Christ, and makes teachers skillful in giving the right kind of instruction, giving every soul its portion of meat in due season, the bread of life for which the people are starving. A minister who sought God about his responsibility to souls returned with this unction, felt the weight of his work, and exalted the Saviour and His love so that his preaching helped bring revival.
God can raise up people whose chief qualification is this spiritual teaching rather than outward training from scientific institutions, and though such institutions may give useful exterior qualifications and are not to be despised, God is not dependent on learned or self-important people. Those who have the unction from on high encourage order, discipline and union of action in all their efforts, closely imitating the perfect harmony and thorough organization of the angelic host who move in perfect harmony. By working in harmony with heaven's order they make heavenly help successful because God's angels can then cooperate with them and make the work successful. Disorderly, undisciplined and disorganized action keeps angels from working successfully for them, for heavenly messengers do not endorse disorder or disorganization.
Young men are strong because God's Word abides in them and they have overcome the wicked one, having an anointing from the Holy One and knowing the truth, which means recognizing that no lie comes from it, and this equips young workers to stand against deception in the conflict against evil. The anointing does not set them apart from need, for they are to study diligently, carry every burden their health and youth allow, be faithfully taught and counselled by older laborers, receive wisdom from Him who is author and finisher of faith, and unite harmoniously with older workers in brotherly love, pity, courtesy, mutual counsel, prayer and respect, after the pattern of Elijah training youth in the schools of the prophets. Editors of the church's papers likewise need this touch of the Holy Spirit. Financial burdens and lack of time for communion with God leave ministers and teachers without this needed spiritual power, which must be sought from the Lord in faith. Fitness by holy unction to instruct others includes knowing God and that one is walking with Him, understanding the mystery of godliness, having God's grace in the heart, and living according to His will and following Christ's footsteps and example, so that words will be true and actions right.
Receiving and Living Anointing
The anointing is received through humble seeking, in secret prayer and in small companies where believers unite their earnest petitions, with Bible study and believing reception of God's promises. It is to be cried for with fullness of heart and many tears, for without it nothing effectual can be done, and its reception brings blessing and fitness for the great and solemn work of this solemn time, to be carried on in cheerfulness with a full sense of its solemnity. In such small gatherings Jesus is present in the midst, love for souls is deepened, and the Spirit puts forth mighty energies to train human agents to save the lost, being worth more than formal ceremonies as He enlightens, renews, and sanctifies the soul. Those who are anointed are educated and taught by God Himself rather than by unsanctified human teachers who refuse obedience to all His commandments. The highest education, fitting souls to be transferred to the highest heavenly school, is God's law spoken in grandeur from Mount Sinai, learned by truly sanctified souls in every family that lives His Word.
The unction gives blessing and strength because a great work must be done that is impossible in human strength. It satisfies hunger and thirst for salvation with deep knowledge of God's will, enables going rightly through this world by faith and whole trust in God for His help, and leads to a blessed reward and precious rest in a better world. It is the privilege of all to receive this heavenly anointing, to see the attraction of heavenly things above earthly things and to behold the Lamb of God who takes away sin. By vital touch with God each one may know duty and truth for himself rather than turning to another soul to see spiritually for him, gaining experimental knowledge that makes him a lightbearer witnessing to the light amid darkness. Those who have it hold what they heard from the beginning, continue in the Son and in the Father, and reveal the indwelling by love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith.
When the unction pervades the whole being it bears the impress of Christ upon the life and is armor proof against all the arrows of Satan. Then the presentation of truth as it is in Jesus becomes of more value than all worldly honor and glory, with divinity flashing through humanity in conviction to hearts. Safety is found in possessing the meekness and lowliness of Christ, looking unto Jesus until self sinks into insignificance, keeping the prize of the high calling continually before them, and rejoicing not that spirits are subject but that names are written in heaven. The verse calls all to let that truth abide in them and remain in Christ, to put away sins and not lead themselves or others into darkness in the face of antichrists and error. It calls every soul not to exalt self and disparage others but to criticize self, set the heart in order, confess and forsake sin, cast out love of the world and do God's will, making diligent work of repentance now.
This work must be done now because believers live in the great day of atonement, working time is short and souls are in peril with not a moment to lose, yet by confession and repentance they can be cleansed and made ready. The knowledge of the truth and partaking of the divine nature keeps singleness of purpose, keeps the true understanding of Christ's teachings without crowding the mind with a variety of things, and constantly improves the mind in comprehending the requirements of the plain Thus saith the Lord. It belongs to genuine experience now, to walking humbly with God and relying on Him and the light of His Word rather than being led away by human judgment or supposed wisdom, each one individually accountable with the wisdom that comes from Christ who is sanctification and righteousness. Those who abide in what they heard from the beginning continue in the Son and in the Father with the promise of eternal life, and abiding in Him they will have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, winning eternal life worth lifelong persevering effort.
Believers have an anointing from the Holy One by which they know the truth and that no lie belongs to the truth. This anointing is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them as His temple to enlighten, renew and sanctify the soul. It abides in them and teaches them all things so they can distinguish sacred truth from error and stand apart from the liar who denies the Father and the Son. Ministers and teachers especially need this unction sought by faith, prayer and Bible study, for without it work is mechanical and powerless while with it souls are awakened and drawn to Christ. It is received by all who humbly seek God in secret and united prayer, feed on His Word, and remain in Christ by putting away sin and doing His will with confidence toward His coming.
Words and Immediate Context
Believers have an anointing or unction from the Holy One, and they know all things, which means they know the truth. This anointing abides in them and teaches them in all things, and it is true and no lie, so they need not be taught by seducers but are to let what they heard from the beginning abide in them and to continue in the Son and in the Father, with the promise of eternal life. In the face of antichrists and error they are to remain in Christ, be careful to put away their sins, and not lead themselves or others into darkness. Those who abide in Him will have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, and everyone who does righteousness is born of Him who is righteous.
To know all things is to know the truth and to know that no lie is of the truth and no lie comes from it. This knowledge enables believers to recognize that no lie belongs to the truth, even amid warnings about antichrists and those who left the church. Young believers share this same anointing and knowledge, and it equips them to serve and to stand for God. Truly sanctified souls in every family that lives God's Word are educated and taught by God Himself rather than by unsanctified human teachers who refuse obedience to all God's commandments, learning from God's law spoken in grandeur from Mount Sinai as the highest education fitting souls for the heavenly school.
The setting is the last time, which is known by the presence of many antichrists who went out from the believers to make manifest that they were not truly of them. By contrast with the liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ and denies the Father and the Son, those who remain are anointed by the Holy One and therefore know all things, know the truth, and stand where no lie belongs to the truth. Those who went out were once with believers in the faith, but they became offended at something said or done, withdrew, and went over to the ranks of the enemy to war against the truth they had once built up. Their going out manifests that they were never truly part of the church, and their working does the work of Satan and is evidence of his sharp practice.
The passage uses figures of a kind people can comprehend, easily comprehended and yet of the highest order, plain enough for a little child in years and the unlearned to understand. It gives practical instruction that God's people are to rely on God and the light of His Word and not be led away from steadfast faith by human judgment or supposed wisdom.
Holy Spirit Who Anoints
The unction from the Holy One is the Holy Spirit Himself, God's agent and representative, who is the Spirit of Christ dwelling in believers as His temple. He is the divine Teacher given to humanity now that the face-to-face instruction from the Maker enjoyed in holiness and innocence at the beginning is lost. By Him believers are taught and guided in the truth, which distinguishes them from those who deny the truth and go out from the fellowship of believers. He is earnestly to be desired and sought in prayer with undivided affection for Christ, for without Him no effectual work for God can be done, and His presence belongs with a living faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
The anointing is His influence and indwelling, the life of Christ in the soul, working in and through everyone who receives Christ, just as near in one place as in another though Christ is not seen and spoken to. It is the baptism of the Holy Spirit from God and the touch from on high, the only effective agent for proclaiming sacred truth. Received in secret prayer and when Christians meet in small companies to unite earnest petitions, where Jesus is present and love for souls is deepened and mighty energies are put forth to train agents to save the lost, it enlightens, renews and sanctifies the soul, which is worth more than formal ceremonies. It must pervade the whole being so the believer bears the impress of Christ upon the life.
That indwelling brings divine illumination as the privilege of those enlightened and made partakers of the Holy Ghost. True faith and repose and rest in God are always accompanied by this illumination carrying conviction to hearts. When His power is revealed through servants of God, divinity flashes through humanity, so that truth as it is in Jesus is presented as of more value than all worldly honor and glory.
The anointing received of Him abides in believers and teaches them in all things, and is truth and no lie. Therefore they need not be taught by seducers, but hold and let abide in them what they heard from the beginning, and continue in the Son and in the Father, with the promise of eternal life. Those who so abide and put away sin rather than leading themselves or others into darkness will have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, and everyone that does righteousness is born of Him who is righteous.
Truth Against Antichrist Error
The anointed are set apart from the liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ and denies the Father and the Son, and to know all things is to know the truth and to recognize that no lie is of the truth and no lie comes from it. The unction is the anointing received from Him that abides in believers and teaches them of all things, and is truth and is no lie, so they need not be taught by seducers but abide in what they heard from the beginning and continue in the Son and in the Father, with the promise of eternal life. This stands in the last time, when many antichrists went out from the church to manifest that they were not of it, while those who abide in Him will have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, and everyone that does righteousness is born of Him who is righteous. This knowledge also makes young workers strong because God's word lives in them and they have overcome the wicked one, equipping them to stand against deception and serve in the conflict against evil.
The heavenly anointing enables believers to distinguish truth from error and sin from righteousness. It gives spiritual discernment to distinguish sacred truth from common things and sound doctrine from human inventions, so believers can guard faith and judgment against confusion and recognize the testing truth for their time. When believers are confused and in mist and fog, the anointing gives clear sight, thoroughly renews the mind, and restores perception of truth and righteousness weakened by seductive sentiments that tear down the foundations of faith. It sets faith on a high, holy, substantial foundation, turning those who receive it away from scientific theories, which are chaff to the wheat of truth, and fitting them to sound the last message of warning to the world.
Those who do not have this spiritual anointing will be deceived, and will show by words and actions that they are not joined or yoked with Christ but with satanic agencies. They become betrayers of sacred trusts, working with the great traitor, sowing dissension, misrepresentation, and falsehood instead of advancing the work of God. Therefore the meaning of antichrist must be clearly seen from the Word, because the enemy's last great conflict will be the last determined battle between the powers of darkness and the powers of light. Every true child of God will fight bravely on the side of Christ, but those who become confused in understanding and fail to see what antichrist is will surely place themselves on the side of antichrist, and those who in this crisis allow themselves to be more on the side of the world than of God will eventually place themselves wholly on the side of the world, so there is no time to become like the world or assimilate with it, but to become more and more distinct from it. The meaning is made plain because the prophecies of Daniel and John are to be understood together, they interpret each other, they give truths everyone should understand, and by their fulfillment in these last days as witnesses in the world they explain themselves.
Those taught of God by feeding on His Word understand their position in this world's history and prove it by practice on the Lord's side, seeking to reform the world by precept and example. With ears open and hearts softened and subdued they press together in unity, one with Jesus Christ. Those who refuse to be taught of God hold the traditions of men and keep themselves in hand to mold themselves instead of practicing the lessons of Christ; they at last pass over to the side of the enemy against God and are written Antichrist, finding in Antichrist the center of their union. The two parties stand in collision until the Lord will appear and shine before His ancients gloriously and set up a kingdom that shall stand forever.
Power for Gospel Ministry
Ministers and teachers need the unction from on high for the great work to be done, which is impossible in human strength, and it must be earnestly sought from God in faith and prayer with Bible study, by humbly believing and receiving His promises and crying to Him with fullness of heart and tears. Receiving it brings blessing and strength, satisfies hunger and thirst for salvation with deep knowledge of God's will, enables going rightly through this world by faith and whole trust in God, and fits believers for the solemn work of the solemn time in which they live so they can labor in cheerfulness with a full sense of its solemnity. It gives divine wisdom, knowledge, power and strength for effective soul-saving work, a burden for souls and a sense of responsibility for them, with words supplied at the right time to present Jesus as the sinner's only refuge and to exalt the Saviour and His love, helping bring revival. Without it nothing can be done and no effectual work for God can be done, for it belongs with serving Christ with undivided affection and living faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
Without the unction spiritual perception is dull rather than acute and quick to discern the Spirit's working, leaving commonness, earthliness and carnality, making believers bodies of darkness rather than of light, with very limited usefulness, jealousies, envyings, divisions and no perceptible zeal for Christ. Clear arguments alone cannot reach the hearts of hearers, for preaching requires a living connection with God and the Spirit abiding in the minister's heart to give it spiritual power. Preaching without it becomes mechanical or merely copied from others' methods, and direct earnest appeals to those deciding whether to serve God may not be made, so convictions do not deepen and the wavering turn away from accepting Christ. With the unction the Spirit, as the only effective agent for proclaiming sacred truth, awakens the soul's lifeless faculties to understand heavenly things and draws its affections toward God and the truth. Earnest, Spirit-filled action enables direct appeals that lead an undecided soul to choose Christ, and makes teachers skillful in giving the right kind of instruction, giving every soul its portion of meat in due season, the bread of life for which the people are starving. A minister who sought God about his responsibility to souls returned with this unction, felt the weight of his work, and exalted the Saviour and His love so that his preaching helped bring revival.
God can raise up people whose chief qualification is this spiritual teaching rather than outward training from scientific institutions, and though such institutions may give useful exterior qualifications and are not to be despised, God is not dependent on learned or self-important people. Those who have the unction from on high encourage order, discipline and union of action in all their efforts, closely imitating the perfect harmony and thorough organization of the angelic host who move in perfect harmony. By working in harmony with heaven's order they make heavenly help successful because God's angels can then cooperate with them and make the work successful. Disorderly, undisciplined and disorganized action keeps angels from working successfully for them, for heavenly messengers do not endorse disorder or disorganization.
Young men are strong because God's Word abides in them and they have overcome the wicked one, having an anointing from the Holy One and knowing the truth, which means recognizing that no lie comes from it, and this equips young workers to stand against deception in the conflict against evil. The anointing does not set them apart from need, for they are to study diligently, carry every burden their health and youth allow, be faithfully taught and counselled by older laborers, receive wisdom from Him who is author and finisher of faith, and unite harmoniously with older workers in brotherly love, pity, courtesy, mutual counsel, prayer and respect, after the pattern of Elijah training youth in the schools of the prophets. Editors of the church's papers likewise need this touch of the Holy Spirit. Financial burdens and lack of time for communion with God leave ministers and teachers without this needed spiritual power, which must be sought from the Lord in faith. Fitness by holy unction to instruct others includes knowing God and that one is walking with Him, understanding the mystery of godliness, having God's grace in the heart, and living according to His will and following Christ's footsteps and example, so that words will be true and actions right.
Receiving and Living Anointing
The anointing is received through humble seeking, in secret prayer and in small companies where believers unite their earnest petitions, with Bible study and believing reception of God's promises. It is to be cried for with fullness of heart and many tears, for without it nothing effectual can be done, and its reception brings blessing and fitness for the great and solemn work of this solemn time, to be carried on in cheerfulness with a full sense of its solemnity. In such small gatherings Jesus is present in the midst, love for souls is deepened, and the Spirit puts forth mighty energies to train human agents to save the lost, being worth more than formal ceremonies as He enlightens, renews, and sanctifies the soul. Those who are anointed are educated and taught by God Himself rather than by unsanctified human teachers who refuse obedience to all His commandments. The highest education, fitting souls to be transferred to the highest heavenly school, is God's law spoken in grandeur from Mount Sinai, learned by truly sanctified souls in every family that lives His Word.
The unction gives blessing and strength because a great work must be done that is impossible in human strength. It satisfies hunger and thirst for salvation with deep knowledge of God's will, enables going rightly through this world by faith and whole trust in God for His help, and leads to a blessed reward and precious rest in a better world. It is the privilege of all to receive this heavenly anointing, to see the attraction of heavenly things above earthly things and to behold the Lamb of God who takes away sin. By vital touch with God each one may know duty and truth for himself rather than turning to another soul to see spiritually for him, gaining experimental knowledge that makes him a lightbearer witnessing to the light amid darkness. Those who have it hold what they heard from the beginning, continue in the Son and in the Father, and reveal the indwelling by love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith.
When the unction pervades the whole being it bears the impress of Christ upon the life and is armor proof against all the arrows of Satan. Then the presentation of truth as it is in Jesus becomes of more value than all worldly honor and glory, with divinity flashing through humanity in conviction to hearts. Safety is found in possessing the meekness and lowliness of Christ, looking unto Jesus until self sinks into insignificance, keeping the prize of the high calling continually before them, and rejoicing not that spirits are subject but that names are written in heaven. The verse calls all to let that truth abide in them and remain in Christ, to put away sins and not lead themselves or others into darkness in the face of antichrists and error. It calls every soul not to exalt self and disparage others but to criticize self, set the heart in order, confess and forsake sin, cast out love of the world and do God's will, making diligent work of repentance now.
This work must be done now because believers live in the great day of atonement, working time is short and souls are in peril with not a moment to lose, yet by confession and repentance they can be cleansed and made ready. The knowledge of the truth and partaking of the divine nature keeps singleness of purpose, keeps the true understanding of Christ's teachings without crowding the mind with a variety of things, and constantly improves the mind in comprehending the requirements of the plain Thus saith the Lord. It belongs to genuine experience now, to walking humbly with God and relying on Him and the light of His Word rather than being led away by human judgment or supposed wisdom, each one individually accountable with the wisdom that comes from Christ who is sanctification and righteousness. Those who abide in what they heard from the beginning continue in the Son and in the Father with the promise of eternal life, and abiding in Him they will have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, winning eternal life worth lifelong persevering effort.