Thoughts from 1John 2 - Part 7

  I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 1John 2:26-28

     Salvation is the receiving of the Holy Spirit. To think you receive him after salvation, as a separate blessing is a misunderstanding of what it means to be born again. John talked about it in his gospel, Chapter 3, where he describes two births - one our natural birth and one our spiritual birth. God told Adam and Eve, the day they ate from the tree they would die. They didn't experience physical death that day, but they became spiritually dead and salvation is in effect reviving that dead spirit with His Spirit. Salvation is this regeneration when we believe by faith. This is the anointing John is talking about. He also referred to Him as the Comforter in John 16 who would lead them into all truth.

      Once the Holy Spirit brings us to life we start becoming more like Jesus in our thoughts, actions, words etc, which we have discussed before, but here John talks about another effect of being born again. John says we can read scripture and understand it without a teacher, pastor, priest, commentary needed. When I sit here and journal or blog, I just pray, "God, I want to understand Your word. Let Your Spirit in me lead me into truth. Teach me what I need to learn. Amen." That's a prayer God loves to answer. That doesn't mean that I am going to understand every nuance. That doesn't mean that I won't occasionally read things into it that the Bible isn't saying. It just means that God is going to make His word come alive and speak to me and tell me what I need to hear.

        This doesn't mean that we don't need pastors, teachers, commentaries, books and the like to keep us on track and stimulate our mind but to rely solely on podcasts, teaching videos, sermons and commentaries to learn from is not what God intends. In fact, John is saying that if you don't learn for yourself but rely on others, you could be led astray by false teachers. John, not knowing how long he will be with them is warning them to not believe everything they hear, but trust the Holy Spirit to guide them into the truth in their time alone with God. How did that work before the printing press and the general availability of the scriptures, I have no idea, but I can certainly apply it today.

       A popular YouTube video claims that those who engage with the Bible 4x a week (and I can't vouch for the veracity but I can believe it) are 59% less likely to view porn, 30% less likely to experience loneliness, 50% less likely to experience anxiety, 57% less likely to abuse alcohol, 32% reduction in anger issues, 228% more likely to share their faith, and 407% more likely to memorize scripture. Reading 1-3 times a week had minimal effect. God wants to meet with you today. Take advantage of that amazing offer!