1 John 2:20 – 23 “You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”
John is continuing to teach us how to know truth from falsehood. Many years ago, there was a television program called “To Tell the Truth.” Three contestants would appear before a panel of distinguished judges. A short autobiography of the real contestant would be read, after which, the judges would question each contestant. The idea was to discern which contestant was actually telling the truth and which were the two impostors. It was a fascinating program, especially since many times the impostors proved far more believable than the person actually being described in the biography.
One of the advantages Christians have is that we have “an anointing from the Holy One.” What does that phrase mean? When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord and Master of our lives, we turn our lives over to Him completely. At that point, the Holy Spirit, the Third Member of the Trinity, comes into our hearts and minds to help us as we grow as Christians. And it is the Holy Spirit who helps us discern true from false. Putting it in mechanical terms, if we let Him, the Holy Spirit is like a governor on a vehicle that will help keep the vehicle from over speeding. But just as a clever mechanic can override that governor, so we can also ignore the Holy Spirit when He prompts us. When the Holy Spirit prompts us, we can ignore His prompting, but we will do so at our cost.
“And all of you know the truth.” How can we know the truth about God? About the Holy Spirit? About Jesus? We must read the Bible and study the Bible and pray and ask God to help us. Remember that God promises us in James 1:5 – 8 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
In the old days in chemistry labs, litmus paper was used to tell whether a substance was an acid or a base. If a drop of a liquid was placed on the paper, it would turn a certain color, indicating whether the liquid was an acid or not. The term “litmus test” or “acid test” came to be used as a synonym for a test for truth. Here John is describing a spiritual litmust test: “Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”
Don’t settle for substitutes and don’t be deceived! Many of us deceive ourselves because we want to. When Jesus asks us to do something really difficult, we turn away, telling ourselves that we must not have heard God rightly, that surely God wouldn’t ask us to do THAT!
There is a wonderful story about a London parlor maid named Gladys Aylward. Gladys was a poorlly educated young lady who got saved and who felt that God wanted her to go to China as a missionary. Gladys spent several months in the China Inland Mission training center in London, where they finally told her that she could never be a missionary because the Chinese language was too difficult. But Gladys still felt strongly that God was calling her to China. One day, Gladys prayed a simple prayer, “Oh God, here’s my Bible. Here’s my money. (She had only a few small coins.) Here’s me. Use me, God.” Accepting the invitation from an elderly British lady missionary in China, Gladys boarded a train and took off across the European continent for China. It took months of struggle, but Gladys did become a missionary and she did learn to speak Chinese fluently. Eventually, Gladys was responsible for revivals in prisons and for saving innumerable Chinese orphans, all in the middle of political upheaval. What would have happened had Gladys not listened to the leading of the Holy Spirit?
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for your Holy Spirit! Thank you that you will give your anointing to anyone who asks as long as they have turned their lives over to you. Thank you that you will guide us into all truth and that you will lead us into incredible places of ministry if we will only follow you. Help us to always listen for your still small voice and to follow hard after you all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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