What Does This Verse Mean That Was In the Book of I John?

[Still_Small_Voice]

I John 2:20:  "But ye have an unction [anointing] from the Holy One, and ye know all things."

I have been pondering this scripture but do not know what it means.  Any insight into what this verse means in the epistle of I John.

 

[zil2]

Link to the chapter, for context.  Bible Dictionary entry for "John, Epistles of".  A bit of quick googling suggests this letter wasn't written to anyone specific, but to the churches (perhaps in a specific region).  What I read makes me think of it like an article in the Liahona.

Verse 27 builds on the same theme. That said, all I can figure is that the "anointing" suggests he's addressing those who hold the priesthood, and perhaps those who have received whatever early temple ordinances they had.  And I think "know all things" means simply that they know the truth of the gospel as preached by the Lord and the apostles - sort of like saying "you know all this".  Contrasting with those who are being deceived by people teaching false doctrines. (see verse 21+, which describes what John's trying to counter)

Some other translations change "and ye know all things" to "and all of you know the truth" (for example).

Check out this entry in the Scripture Citation Index (look for the orange-highlighted reference).  Brigham Young seems to be suggesting what I said - that this is a way of referring to members of the Church.  You can keep scrolling through and see how other prophets and apostles have used this scripture in their talks.

Here's the NT Institute manual chapter on 1-3 John (scroll and you'll find a section specifically about this verse).

HTH.

[Still_Small_Voice]

Thanks for the reference Zil.  I found the below information.

Bruce McConkie wrote on this:  "figuratively, it is an anointing from on high, meaning that those so endowed receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Thus John said of the saints, ‘Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things’ (1 John 2:20), that is, they had received the Holy Ghost so that the spirit of revelation and knowledge rested with them.”

[laronius]

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power...

Similar usage here though not how we generally use the word anointed today. My guess is that it is being used in the same way that Christ and Messiah both mean anointed.

[JohnsonJones]

 

My thoughts...

As has been said, that they had been given knowledge through the Holy Ghost and through it they knew the truth that Jesus was the Christ, that he was the Savior and atoned for them. 

He is speaking of Anti Christs and how they have not continued or been with the Children of the Lord, but showed their true colors that they were against the teachings of the Lord. 

He goes on after that to say that they know the truth, and that lies are not the truth.  He then takes it full circle pointing out that the Anti Christs are denying that Jesus is the Christ (and also the implication that they know he is, and thus are lying on purpose.  It could be anyone though, even those who were never part of the members or claimed it.  That anyone who is fighting against the gospel of the Lord and his atonement and making claims counter to the fact that the Lord is our Savior and Redeemer is Anti Christ. 

That with the annointing (which I feel is the Holy Spirit telling us the truth) his followers know the truth and can thus not be seduced by their enemies away from the Gospel and Salvation. 

[Traveler]

A little comment.  I personally have difficulty with the concept of knowledge.  So many things I thought I knew have turned out to be not as well defined as I initially thought.  Not that they have turned out of necessity to be wrong – just that I have not understood sufficiently.   I worry that when we are convinced we know something, that we are no longer able to consider learning more.   I will give an example.  Sometimes when I encounter someone that says they know Christ and have a personal relationship with him – it seems that they have completed what they want to know of Christ and are not interested in discovering anything more.

The more I learn the more I am not content with what I know (of any subject – especially science and religion).  This is one of my primary expressions in my personal prayers.  Sometimes I feel guilty for not being content with the understandings I have been given.  Mostly, I do not understand why anyone would think they know so much that learning something new would be a threat to their paradigm of understanding.   The one exception is something that I have carefully considered and studied and found to be false or of diminished value.

 

The Traveler

[askandanswer]

On 10/17/2024 at 12:26 AM, Traveler said:

A little comment.  I personally have difficulty with the concept of knowledge.  So many things I thought I knew have turned out to be not as well defined as I initially thought.  Not that they have turned out of necessity to be wrong – just that I have not understood sufficiently.   I worry that when we are convinced we know something, that we are no longer able to consider learning more.   I will give an example.  Sometimes when I encounter someone that says they know Christ and have a personal relationship with him – it seems that they have completed what they want to know of Christ and are not interested in discovering anything more.

The more I learn the more I am not content with what I know (of any subject – especially science and religion).  This is one of my primary expressions in my personal prayers.  Sometimes I feel guilty for not being content with the understandings I have been given.  Mostly, I do not understand why anyone would think they know so much that learning something new would be a threat to their paradigm of understanding.   The one exception is something that I have carefully considered and studied and found to be false or of diminished value.

 

The Traveler

I agree with this sentiment. The only thing that you or I or anyone else really knows is that which has been confirmed by the Spirit. Everything else is just theory and speculation, based on the balance of probabilities, and subject to change. And I think all of us will be better off if we place a higher value on, and spend more time pursuing, that knowledge which will be true forever rather than theories which will always fade away over time, only to be replaced by new, transient, ideas.  

[Traveler]

On 10/19/2024 at 1:06 PM, askandanswer said:

I agree with this sentiment. The only thing that you or I or anyone else really knows is that which has been confirmed by the Spirit. Everything else is just theory and speculation, based on the balance of probabilities, and subject to change. And I think all of us will be better off if we place a higher value on, and spend more time pursuing, that knowledge which will be true forever rather than theories which will always fade away over time, only to be replaced by new, transient, ideas.  

The spirit teaches line upon line upon line and precept upon precept upon precept.  It has been my general experience that those that seek scientific understanding do much better with this concept than those of religious nature.  Religious types tend to canonize revelation and think there is nothing new for them to learn.  In addition – religious theories seem to be more harmful to humanity throughout history than the theories beholden by science.

A physics professor I had at BYU – that I have kept in touch with (until his passing this last August) over the years was very mush of the opinion that those in the field of science with the Gift of the Holy Ghost – have an advantage in pursuing the truth of both science and religion.  Joseph Smith said that truth includes the understanding of how things were, how they are and what they will become. 

I also believe that in this life that the spirit of Christ is given sufficiently to all mankind so that we can decipher between good and evil.

 

The Traveler

[askandanswer]

9 hours ago, Traveler said:

The spirit teaches line upon line upon line and precept upon precept upon precept.

If we continue to act as if this teaching was true it has the potential to slow the rate of our spiritual learning and progression. The verse of scripture in which this phrase is found suggests that this method of teaching is reserved only for a certain type of people and a certain type of purpose- and not a particularly righteous kind of people or helpful kind of purpose.

13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

A more relevant and recent teaching is 

Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!”

[laronius]

36 minutes ago, askandanswer said:

If we continue to act as if this teaching was true it has the potential to slow the rate of our spiritual learning and progression. The verse of scripture in which this phrase is found suggests that this method of teaching is reserved only for a certain type of people and a certain type of purpose- and not a particularly righteous kind of people or helpful kind of purpose.

13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

A more relevant and recent teaching is 

Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!”

I don't think a certain limit on speed was ever intended concerning the principle of line upon line but rather it simply points out the order in which God helps us progress. We are saved as fast as we are able to receive these truths but it is still line upon line, precept upon precept.

Joseph Smith described it this way in TotPJS: “When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation.”

And it wasn't reserved just for those who are struggling in the gospel:

D&C 98:12 For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith.

[laronius]

On 10/19/2024 at 12:06 PM, askandanswer said:

I agree with this sentiment. The only thing that you or I or anyone else really knows is that which has been confirmed by the Spirit. Everything else is just theory and speculation, based on the balance of probabilities, and subject to change. And I think all of us will be better off if we place a higher value on, and spend more time pursuing, that knowledge which will be true forever rather than theories which will always fade away over time, only to be replaced by new, transient, ideas.  

Yes. I am always struck by the idea that all scientific fact is only true in relationship with the known universe at any given point in time. That doesn't mean it's not true everywhere, just that there is no way for us to know for sure. The very existence of God implies exceptions to much of science. But thankfully scientific fact is true and consistent enough for us to utilize it in real life. It's kind of like everything we see and hear is technically in the past but because of the speed of light and sound we are usually capable of reacting sufficiently in real time.

[Carborendum]

On 10/12/2024 at 1:16 PM, Still_Small_Voice said:

I John 2:20:  "But ye have an unction [anointing] from the Holy One, and ye know all things."

"Ye know all things" is a correct translation.  But as in many cases, something is lost in translation.  Not so directly, it means "you have all you need to know to figure things out for yourself."  They have access to correct doctrine and to the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  They know truth when they hear it because they have already shown that by accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to begin with.

So, John goes on to explain that they just need to go back to the basics and pray to know the truth.  And the Spirit will make it known to them.  They can figure it out.

[Traveler]

4 hours ago, laronius said:

I don't think a certain limit on speed was ever intended concerning the principle of line upon line but rather it simply points out the order in which God helps us progress. We are saved as fast as we are able to receive these truths but it is still line upon line, precept upon precept.

Joseph Smith described it this way in TotPJS: “When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation.”

And it wasn't reserved just for those who are struggling in the gospel:

D&C 98:12 For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith.

I was instructed by an angel at a young and tender age that the Book of Mormon was divinely given to mankind – but I did not understand the truths that were restored in the detail of the pages.  Even now in my declining years – I discover many things that I did not previously understand in the Book of Mormon.  Likewise, I was with one of my grandchildren shopping for a toy for their birthday.  We came across an unusual toy and the spirit spoke to me in thought of things in quantum physics concerning atomic forces and the structure of matter.

I have recorded these things and others in my journals.  I am of the opinion that some of these things I have come to “know” of – will not generally be “known” because I am not in a place whereby to make such things known.  I speculate that there is much understanding of things both physical and spiritual that are made known to a few that have sought for better understanding that are not generally known.  I have conversed with a number of prominent Latter-day Saints (some not general authorities) that I believe know of things that they are unable to relate to the general public.

 

The Traveler

[laronius]

6 hours ago, Traveler said:

I was instructed by an angel at a young and tender age that the Book of Mormon was divinely given to mankind – but I did not understand the truths that were restored in the detail of the pages.  Even now in my declining years – I discover many things that I did not previously understand in the Book of Mormon.  Likewise, I was with one of my grandchildren shopping for a toy for their birthday.  We came across an unusual toy and the spirit spoke to me in thought of things in quantum physics concerning atomic forces and the structure of matter.

I have recorded these things and others in my journals.  I am of the opinion that some of these things I have come to “know” of – will not generally be “known” because I am not in a place whereby to make such things known.  I speculate that there is much understanding of things both physical and spiritual that are made known to a few that have sought for better understanding that are not generally known.  I have conversed with a number of prominent Latter-day Saints (some not general authorities) that I believe know of things that they are unable to relate to the general public.

 

The Traveler

Your comment reminded me of something that stuck out to me in the recent Book of Mormon reading schedule.

3 Nephi 26:9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them. 10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.

This promise of greater things is made in multiple places in the scriptures. Orson Pratt believed that many of the revelations found in the D&C are part of these greater things. But I think this promise is made to individuals as well as to the Church at large. If a person takes seriously the truths God has revealed, spiritually and temporally, I see no reason why He would not continue to reveal increasingly deeper truths to us. Most people just aren't willing to pay the price though and are content with what has already been revealed.