Amplified Bible
1 John 2:20
20But you have an anointing from the Holy One [you have been set apart, specially gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit], and all of you know [the truth because He teaches us, illuminates our minds, and guards us from error].
1 John 2:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
- New International Version (NIV)But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
Context of 1 John 2:20
18Children, it is the last hour [the end of this age]; and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming [the one who will oppose Christ and attempt to replace Him], even now many antichrists (false teachers) have appeared, which confirms our belief that it is the last hour. 19They went out from us [seeming at first to be Christians], but they were not really of us [because they were not truly born again and spiritually transformed]; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out [teaching false doctrine], so that it would be clearly shown that none of them are of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One [you have been set apart, specially gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit], and all of you know [the truth because He teaches us, illuminates our minds, and guards us from error]. 21I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie [nothing false, no deception] is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)? This is the antichrist [the enemy and antagonist of Christ], the one who denies and consistently refuses to acknowledge the Father and the Son.
Read all of 1 John 21 John 2:20 word by word
καὶ ὑμεῖς χρῖσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ οἴδατε πάντες.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 John 2:20
- 1 John 2:27As for you, the anointing [the special gift, the preparation] which you received from Him remains [permanently] in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But just as His anointing teaches you [giving you insight through the presence of the Holy Spirit] about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as His anointing has taught you, you must remain in Him [being rooted in Him, knit to Him].
- 1 John 4:13By this we know [with confident assurance] that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given to us His [Holy] Spirit.
- Psalms 23:5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
- Psalms 45:7You have loved righteousness (virtue, morality, justice) and hated wickedness; Therefore God, your God, has anointed You Above Your companions with the oil of jubilation.
- Psalms 92:10But my horn [my emblem of strength and power] You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil [for Your service].
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me To bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives And freedom to prisoners,
- Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah), Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),
- Acts 10:38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with great power; and He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
- 2 Corinthians 1:21Now it is God who establishes and confirms us [in joint fellowship] with you in Christ, and who has anointed us [empowering us with the gifts of the Spirit];
- Hebrews 1:9You have loved righteousness [integrity, virtue, uprightness in purpose] and have hated lawlessness [injustice, sin]. Therefore God, Your God, Has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
- Psalms 16:10For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
- Psalms 71:22I will also praise You with the harp, Your truth and faithfulness, O my God; To You I will sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 43:3For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt [to the Babylonians] as your ransom, Cush (ancient Ethiopia) and Seba [its province] in exchange for you.
- Mark 1:24saying, “What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
- Luke 4:34“Let us alone! What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
- Acts 3:14But you disowned and denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you.
Commentaries on 1 John 2:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20But ye have an unction - The word signifies not an unction, but an ointment, the very thing itself by which anointing is effected; and so it was properly rendered in our former translations. Probably this is an allusion to the holy anointing oil of the law, and to Psalm 14:7; : God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness - he hath given thee the plenitude of the Spirit, which none of thy fellows - none of the prophets, ever received in such abundance…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20But ye have an unction from the Holy One - The apostle in this verse evidently intends to say that he had no apprehension in regard to those to whom he wrote that they would thus apostatize, and bring dishonor on their religion. They had been so anointed by the Holy Spirit that they understood the true nature of religion, and it might be confidently expected that they would persevere. The word “unction” or “anointing” ( ́ chrisma) means, properly…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 Every man is an antichrist, who denies the Person, or any of the offices of Christ; and in denying the Son, he denies the Father also, and has no part in his favour while he rejects his great salvation. Let this prophecy that seducers would rise in the Christian world, keep us from being seduced. The church knows not well who are its true members, and who are not, but thus true Christians were proved, and rendered more watchful and humble…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-23You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One: The Holy Spirit gives Christians the ability to recognize spiritual truth (see Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22). Those who have the Spirit know the truth about the Father and the Son. They can also identify teachings that do not match the apostles' teachings.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. But--Greek, "And." He here states the means which they as believers have wherewith to withstand. Antichrists (1Jo 2:18), namely, the chrism (so the Greek: a play upon similar sounds), or "anointing unguent," namely, the Holy Spirit (more plainly mentioned further on, as in John's style, 1Jo 3:24; 4:13; 5:6), which they ("ye" is emphatical in contrast to those apostates, 1Jo 2:19) have "from the Holy One, Christ" (Joh 1:33; 3:34; 15:26; 16:14): "the…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 2:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 John 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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