“I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 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. And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure,” [1 John 2:26-3:3]
Christians are the chosen children of God. When we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were anointed by the Holy Spirit at our baptism (immersion). The word “anoint” comes from an ancient Hebrew word (mashach –from which we get the word Messiah) which means “to pour a liquid.” In the Old Testament, when the people of God wanted to dedicate something to the Lord, they would pour it out on the ground or on His altar to show that it was given over completely to Him. When people were dedicated to the Lord, they would be anointed with olive oil, a visible symbol of work of the Holy Spirit. Anointing, when accompanied by a supernatural sign (such as prophesying), authenticated God’s approval and acceptance of the dedication. The “anointed one” was the “chosen one.”
When we read that God has “anointed us,” “chosen us,” “sealed us” or “poured out His love into our hearts,” this is all to remind us that God has indeed chosen and accepted those who have dedicated themselves to Him through His Son, the One and Only Anointed One, Jesus Christ. By accepting Christ, we become part of Christ, and thus become acceptable through His death –by His Holy blood. By accepting the Messiah (Christ) we become messiahs as well (Christians), anointed by the Spirit of God.
This anointing remains in us as long as we remain in Christ. And our anointing, we are told, is all that we need to teach us! (1 John 2:27). It is the Spirit who continues to teach us by the Word of God. We are encouraged when we remember that the Spirit of God IS the Spirit of Jesus Christ –and the Word remains in us by our anointing. In other words, we have all that we need as Christians as long as we remain in Christ and never leave Him. But we cannot remain in Him and ignore habitual sins. If we remain in Him and look forward to His return, we are purified by His holiness; you cannot grow closer to God without desiring less sin in your life. The more we seek His presence and holiness, the closer we come to Him. As James said, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” And when Christ appears, all the struggles and impurities that still remain in us will be forever eliminated –because God has chosen us –and because we have chosen His Son.
Never give up. When you are tempted to leave Him, remember that He is Life and He is not ashamed to call us His children, even though He hasn’t yet completed the work that He has started in us. Therefore, never be ashamed of Him and remain in Him, the Anointed One who anointed you with His Spirit too.
On the Solid Rock we stand!
George
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