Welcome to the Hope Bible School verse-by-verse Bible study of 1 John. This is Jeff M Newman. Get a new lesson every other week on Mondays at 12:00 PM Pacific.
In Lesson 54, we are going to study the last part of 1 John 2:20.
Let’s read this part of the verse.
1 John 2:20...and all of you know the truth.
Now, let’s go over the definitions of the words.
And (2532. kai) means even, also, or namely.
All of you know the truth (1492. eidó) (3956. pas) refers to a Spirit-revealed understanding of the truth, granted to every believer through their anointing by the Holy Spirit. This is a shared revelation given to the church by the Spirit and serves to guard believers against deception.
In Lesson 53 we learned about the anointing that you received when you believed in Jesus. When you were anointed, the Holy Spirit came to dwell within you.
The Holy Spirit has equipped you with knowledge through divine revelation. This knowledge enables you to discern truth from falsehood and to recognize and avoid the false teachings of the antichrists in the world.
This discernment is not attained through human effort, external sources, or worldly reasoning. It is a divinely implanted gift, granted through the anointing of the Holy One. This knowledge flows from the Spirit’s work within believers—rooted in God’s truth, not human wisdom.
Let’s explore some Bible verses that will help you understand the knowledge gained through being anointed by the Holy One and having the Holy Spirit dwell within you.
In Jeremiah 31:33-34, the Lord promises Israel a new covenant, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He declares, “I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” This is a transformative work where God’s truth becomes internalized through relationship, not mere external adherence.
This prophecy foreshadows the Holy Spirit’s role under the new covenant. As 1 John 2:20, explains, believers receive an anointing from the Holy One, granting them Spirit-implanted understanding of God’s truth. The indwelling Spirit fulfills Jeremiah’s promise, enabling believers to know God intimately and obey Him from the heart.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
In John 14:26, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit—the Advocate—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you. In 1 John 2:20, we learn this same Spirit grants believers an anointing, imparting divine discernment to recognize God’s truth and reject falsehood.
You can be confident that the Holy Spirit, who lives in every believer, actively protects and guides you, helping you discern and resist deception as you stay connected to Christ.
John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
In John 16:13-14, Jesus promises that the Spirit of truth will guide believers into all truth, focusing on Christ’s glory and God’s plan of redemption. This divine guidance ensures believers understand and live out Scripture. In 1 John 2:20, this “anointing” grants believers Spirit-implanted discernment to distinguish truth from error, guarding them against deception as they abide in Christ.
John 16:13-14 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.
In 1 Corinthians 2:9-12, the Holy Spirit reveals God’s hidden wisdom—truths “prepared for those who love Him.” The Spirit alone searches God’s depths and imparts His thoughts, granting believers understanding that transcends human wisdom. This aligns with 1 John 2:20, where the “anointing” (the Holy Spirit) grants Spirit-implanted discernment to know and live in God’s truth, guarding against deception.
1 Corinthians 2:9-12 Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
In 1 John 2:26-27, John cautions believers about deceptive false teachers and reminds them of their "anointing from the Holy One," referring to the Holy Spirit who lives within them. This anointing equips believers to discern truth, making them not dependent on human speculation or Gnostic-style “secret knowledge.”
Gnostics claimed salvation through secret knowledge and denied Christ’s full humanity, teaching that the material world was evil. John refutes this, affirming that all believers—not just an elite few—possess the Spirit’s anointing to know Christ as fully God and fully human.
When John says, “you do not need anyone to teach you,” he rejects false teachings that contradict apostolic truth, not godly instruction. The Spirit illuminates Scripture, guarding believers as they abide in Christ.
1 John 2:26-27 I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
In conclusion, when you believed in Jesus, you were anointed by the Holy Spirit. This anointing grants you God-given discernment to recognize truth and is rooted in the Spirit’s work in your life.
The Holy Spirit fulfills God’s New Covenant promise: “I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” He teaches you all things, brings Christ’s words to remembrance, guides you into all truth, and reveals God’s will. To walk in this truth, remain in Him, surrender daily to the Spirit, and let His Word shape your life.
Let’s read the part of the verse we are studying one more time.
1 John 2:20...and all of you know the truth.
If you’ve been blessed by Hope Bible School, please share it with others.
If you have any prayer requests, please share them in the comments.
Thank you and God bless you.
Jeff M Newman
(Photo by mana5280 on Unsplash. Berean Standard Bible.)
Share this post