1 John 2:27 (KJV) - "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."
The issue seems to be: Was this statement about a spiritual anointing, which makes unnecessary the function of learning from external teachers, intended to be taken in an absolute sense? Is there anything in the context which would limit its application? Any church which has an internal teaching ministry would certainly want to limit the application, and if the WTS and some commentaries agree on this point (which has not been demonstrated) it would not be surprising. But to say that it refers to false teachers is quite ambiguous. Certainly, the false teachers are not the spirit-anointed ones being addressed. The writer is not saying sarcastically, "Anything you folks say is right - you're anointed and you don't have to listed to me!" No, the writer considered the readers to be his Christian brothers and sisters. Rather, the false teachers would be the ones he considered to be "antichrists." The anointing was a protection against these antichrists.
"Little children," he writes, "it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." (1 John 2:18) "But" - in contrast to these - "ye have an unction [anointing] from the Holy One, and ye know all things." (verse 20) "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." (verse 22) "These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you . . ." (verses 26-27) The anointing stands over against the false teaching.
The author has in mind, not just anyone who denies Jesus, but rather those who deny him in a certain way and teach others so. He has in mind a heresy known as docetism - from the Greek word dokein which means "to seem" and refers to the idea that Jesus only seemed to be a man. Thus, the author later states: "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:2-3) In the second letter of John we also read: "For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." (verse 7) These teachers, who visited congregations and spoke under inspiration - under the control of a spirit - were teaching that Jesus Christ had not come in the flesh inasmuch as he was not really a fleshly human creature during his earthly life, but merely appeared to be. Now we can better understand the introduction to First John about viewing and handling the "Word of life" (1 John 1:1-4) - the Word actually having become flesh as in the Gospel of John (1:14).
So the question remains, Does the statement at 1 John 2:27 about the spiritual anointing have a limited application rather than an absolute one? Does it mean that, because the readers are anointed, they don't have to be taught by the docetists? Or does it mean they don't have to be taught by anyone?
Those who believe that the entire Bible must be taken into consideration on any given subject will certainly compare First John with other passages which indicate that a teaching ministry (within the congregation) is necessary. But even if we do not take this approach, it is not necessary to go far a field to see that the immediate context indicates that the author believed in external teaching. As all three letters of John reflect the same style, and therefore indicate the hand of the same author - or at least the same school or community - they may be considered immediate to this context. Whether the author was actually the aged apostle John or not, he indicates in the third letter that he was sending visiting teachers to the congregations in his area. These teachers would have been the counterparts to the docetists. A certain leader name Diotrophes did not like to have the visiting teachers, and "John" rebukes him: "I write unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbade them that would, and casteth them out of the church." (3 John 9-10) Diotrophes was not simply casting out visitors from another congregation - he was ejecting traveling teachers whose teachings he himself did not appreciate. But the fact that John sent the teachers indicates that he did not expect Christians to solely rely upon their own anointing for inward enlightenment.
Yet, John did say: 'You have an anointing which teaches you all things.' It may not be a statement to be taken in an absolute sense, it may be limited in its application. But there must be a sphere in which this anointing can operate, and the Society has eliminated that sphere of operation by demanding that its adherents follow the party line in all matters rather than being allowed to hold their own opinions and have thier own thoughts in many areas which could be considered nonessentials. There is no hierarchy of "truths," with only the most fundamental and basic ones being considered nonnegotiable. Everything is under the watchful eye of Big Brother. The anointing from the Holy One will persist in spite of this.
