1 John 2:20

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, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us. Nevertheless you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21I have not written to you that you do not know the truth, but that you do know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 2:20 word by word

καὶ ὑμεῖς χρῖσμα ἔχετε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ οἴδατε πάντες.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butκαίkai · andG2532
• yeσύsu · youG4771
• haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• an unctionχρῖσμαchrisma · anointingG5545
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the Holy Oneἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
• ye knowεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
• all thingsπᾶςpas · allG3956
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588

Cross-references for 1 John 2:20

• 1 John 2:27Now as for you, the anointing that you received from him resides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as it has taught you, you reside in him.
• 1 John 4:13By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit.
• Psalms 23:5You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full.
• Psalms 45:7You love justice and hate evil. For this reason God, your God has anointed you with the oil of joy, elevating you above your companions.
• Psalms 92:10You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. I am covered with fresh oil.
• Isaiah 61:1The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners,
• Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,
• Acts 10:38with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.
• 2 Corinthians 1:21But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us,
• Hebrews 1:9You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. So God, your God, has anointed you over your companions with the oil of rejoicing.”
• Psalms 16:10You will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful follower to see the Pit.
• Psalms 71:22I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument, praising your faithfulness, O my God! I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp, O Holy One of Israel!
• Isaiah 43:3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your deliverer. I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price, Ethiopia and Seba in place of you.
• Mark 1:24“Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”
• Luke 4:34“Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God.”
• Acts 3:14But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released 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

• Anointing
• God Continued...
• Holy Spirit
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Unction
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Holy One
• Acknowledge
• Advocate
• Lie
• Stumble
• Unction
• Baptism of the Holy Spirit
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of
• anoint, anointed, anointing

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