Taught by God: Revisited
Submitted by theshovel
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PDF versionDo we need to balance 1 John 2:27?
Regarding my last Spoonful, Taught By God, I received an excellent response suggesting that 1 John 2:27 needs to be balanced because of conflicts between what some claim to have received from God and what the Bible actually teaches. Years ago, I would have said the very same thing. I suspect that somewhere along the way most of you have also wondered where to draw the line. I mean, what do you do when someone tells you that God gave them “a word”, especially a word regarding some specific in your life? Do you simply accept it as God’s command for you or do you first verify it by the written word? Are we doubters to question what comes to us in such a direct fashion or are we gullible fools to accept without first testing? After all, we could find Bible verses to support either accusation, couldn’t we? But what if we are overlooking the obvious? I suggest that our attempts to balance pull us away from simplicity and into confusion.
I know, I have often suggested an overlooking of the obvious, and I’ve had some tell me that it’s not very obvious to them. So, I’ll explain what I mean by obvious after another look at the verse in question:
And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. 1 John 2:27
John wrote these things because some had been promoting themselves as mediators between God and the people. However, Christ had done away with any need for a go-between — which is the system of Law with its hierarchy of prophets and teachers designed as the direct link to God. If you wanted to know what God wanted you to do, you had to access the authoritative system, which in turn would inquire of God on your behalf. That system has been done away in Christ.
So when people use this verse to establish themselves as authoritative links between God and you, they have promoted themselves just like the deceivers John warned against with the very words they now quote. Why should we even concern ourselves with whether or not the words of a mediator-wannabe line up with Scripture? The attempt to validate such claims by comparing them with what the Bible says only pulls us into the trap of legalism. After all, those who wrote the words we use to test such claims would tell us not to not go down that road.
If you’d like to read the original correspondence from which this was condensed, I posted and sent it out as a Shoveletter
Comments
Re: Taught by God: Revisited
Re: Legalism
Thanks for commenting! :) Yes, legalism flourishes in contemporary Christianity. I may not throw the word "legalism" around very often, but I can tell you that I describe the symptom many times using different words or phrases. Living according to the Law, living in bondage, living according to rules, principles or laws, etc. It's all the same. We did not learn Christ in this way, for he has made us new creations in him, raised from the dead, freed from the law of sin and death! :)
Jim
Re: Taught by God: Revisited
Re: Taught by God: Revisited
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