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Dear Catholic Exchange:
1 John 2:27 is often cited by my Protestant friends who want to argue about Scripture interpretation. How do I respond? What is this passage speaking about?
Thanks,
Tish
Dear Tish,
Greetings in Christ. Let’s consider 1 John 2:27, especially with the verse immediately preceding it:
(26) I write this to you about those who would deceive you; (27) but the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him (1 Jn. 2:26-27).
Your Protestant friends seem to be citing this passage as a Scriptural argument to support the notion that Christians do not need to be taught regarding the interpretation of Scripture in particular and about living the Christian life in general, since Christians are taught everything they need to know through their anointing by the Holy Spirit. Such Christians would further argue they do not, thus, need to submit to any authority, including the Catholic Church.
1 John 2:27, however, should be read in context. First, John is concerned about those who seek to deceive the faithful, from whom the faithful have no need to be taught and from whom the faithful should accept no teaching. In addition, while the Holy Spirit is sufficient, one should not presume that the Holy Spirit teaches each Christian on an individual basis to the exclusion of working through Christian teachers. Rather, Jesus told the leaders among His disciples, “He who hears you hears me” (Luke 10:16). We do not and should not, thus, rely only on inner promptings of the Holy Spirit, since we can make mistakes when disconnected with the Spirit-guided Church.
In this light, the Church is not the “any one” John has in mind in 1 John 2:27. Indeed, if one argues that John is saying that a Christian need not be taught about the Christian faith by anyone, then he will also have to acknowledge that John has violated his own absolute edict by presuming to teach about Jesus in particular and Christianity in general, not only through his three epistles but through his gospel as well. If your friends contend that John, like other Scriptural writers, is an “exception,” remind them that “any one,” as they’ve interpreted Scripture, allows for no exceptions. But, if they insist on exceptions, then they will have to admit that there may be other exceptions as well.
Scripture acknowledges these other “exceptions,” noting there are other Spirit-guided teachers that God has provided for His people. Consider Ephesians 4:11, which speaks of various Church ministries, including teachers—who by definition teach—and also evangelists, pastors, apostles, whose duties also including teaching. But there is a more fundamental statement that Jesus Himself made, one which is called the “Great Commission,” in which Jesus told His eleven apostles to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20, emphasis added).
Either John—writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 John 2:27—is contradicting Jesus’ Great Commission that the Holy Spirit will use God-ordained, human authorities to teach His people, or John’s words need to be understood in a more nuanced way, as noted above. Note well that Jesus doesn’t tell His apostles to simply baptize everyone and then let the Holy Spirit guide them afterward through an all-sufficient anointing. Instead, while the Holy Spirit certainly aids every believer individually, He does so corporately through the teaching authority of Christ’s Church. (Even from a Protestant perspective, if one needs only the Holy Spirit without other teaching assistance, one might ask why there are Protestant pastors, sermons, Bible studies, Bible ministries, etc.)
Further, regarding the interpretation of Scripture itself, Peter notes that Scripture can be difficult to interpret and that some interpret these and other passages to their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16). In addition, Peter adds elsewhere that no prophecy in Scripture is a matter for one’s own private interpretation (2 Pet. 1:20).
In summary, all of these passages illustrate the importance of a Spirit-guided teaching Church that can definitively distinguish between truth and error when competing interpretations about Scripture and Tradition arise. After all, who will adjudicate doctrinal disputes when two Christians—both convinced they are guided by the Holy Spirit—disagree on crucial Church teachings, e.g., regarding salvation? The absence of a definitive Magisterium (teaching authority) is a fundamental reason why there are about 25,000 different Protestant denominations today. If the Holy Spirit intended to teach people on an individual basis alone, there wouldn’t be the disagreements and disunity that we see among Protestants.
I hope this answers your question. If you have further questions on this topic or would like more information about Catholics United for the Faith, please contact us at 1-800-MY-FAITH (693-2484). Please keep us in your prayers as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”
United in the Faith,
Thomas J. Nash
Senior Information Specialist
Catholics United for the Faith
827 North Fourth Street
Steubenville, OH 43952
800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)
