Unity of Christ's Church

~ WHAT TRUE UNITY IS...WHEN IT COMES TO DOCTRINE:

"But I urge you and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony, and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you; but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments. For it has been made clear to me, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household that there are contentions and wrangling and factions among you. What I mean is this, that each one of you [either] says, I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos, or I belong to Cephas (Peter), or I belong to Christ. Is Christ, the Messiah, divided into parts? Was Paul crucified on behalf of you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?" (I Corinthians 1:10-13). Why do we have factions or denominations among us? Do we want to be like the church of the Corinthians? I think we all would like to have God's plan of being united. These divisions are mainly because of the different doctrines people uphold. Now, it is important to point out that Christian groups are to be separate from groups who claim to be followers of Christ, but really are not. Also, we are to unify under scriptural doctrine. So, we Christians need to work out our differences and agree on what scripture says so we can be in unity.

"Greet one another with a holy (consecrated) kiss. All the churches of Christ, the Messiah, wish to be remembered to you. I appeal to you, brethren, to be on your guard concerning those who create dissensions and difficulties and cause divisions, in opposition to the doctrine-the teaching-which you have been taught. [I warn you to turn aside from them, to] avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites and base desires, and by ingratiating and flattering speech they beguile the hearts of the unsuspecting and simpleminded [people]. For while your loyalty and obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I would have you well-versed and wise as to what is good, and innocent and guileless as to what is evil" (Romans 16:16-19). We should watch for those who create divisions, contrary to biblical doctrine. Many, I believe, interpret this to mean that we are to divide from every group that slightly dissagrees with us. This is not the correct interpretation of the verses above. Rather, we are to work out our differences with Christian groups that slightly disagree. The only groups we are to break away from are those that contradict "sound" Bible teaching. Obviously, those that are not "sound" in biblical teaching usually are not Christian anyways, so you will be doing yourself a service by dividing from them. Honestly, though, many divisions in the church are wrong, and need to be corrected.

-The passages in this document are directed towards whoever they are meant for, this one is included ....."HOWEVER BRETHREN, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual (men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates), as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ- unable to talk yet! I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough [to be ready for it]; but even yet you are not strong enough [to be ready for it], For you are still (unspiritual, having the nature) of the flesh-under the control of ordinary impulses. For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men? For when one says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos, are you not [proving yourselves] ordinary (unchanged) men? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Ministering servants [not heads of parties], through whom you believed, even as the Lord appointed to each his task: I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow, and [He] gave the increase. So neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but [only] God Who makes it grow and become greater. He who plants and he who waters are equal-one in aim, of the same importance and esteem-yet each shall receive his own reward (wages), according to his own labor. For we are fellow workmen-joint promoters, laborers together-with and for God; you are God's garden and vineyard and field under cultivation; [you are] God's building. [Isa.61:3] According to the grace-the special endowment for my task-of God bestowed on me, like a skillful architect and master builder I laid [the] foundation, and now another [man] is building upon it. But let each [man] be careful how he builds upon it, For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One" (I Corinthians 3:1-11). In this passage we see more of the division that is taking place in the Corinthian Church. This division is mainly because they are unlearned people and babes in Christ. Paul makes it self-explanatory that all who are doing Christ's work are working together. Who is the one you are following? Are you following Christ and Luther? Or are you following Christ and Wesley? Mary? Joseph Smith? Maybe Smith Wigglesworth? Kenneth Copeland? Or maybe it is just an idealized doctrine that seems right, but doesn't have all the Bible's backing? I once was a Methodist, then I went to a Baptist Church, now I follow Christ totally(pure 100% Scripture and the Holy Ghost). Some verses say to follow Paul as he follows Christ though. I believe this is because his doctrine was perfectly derived from Christ, otherwise they wouldn't have included him in the Bible. Well, this leaves the question, why does he tell them not to say I follow Paul in this verse? Well, because the attitude of the Corinthians leads to division and they are saying it in a contentious(riotous-like routing for a baseball team) way.

"[That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the full and accurate knowledge of the Son of God; that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood-the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection-the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ, and the completeness found in Him. So then, we may no longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching, and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, (gamblers engaged) in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead. Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth in all things-speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him, Who is the Head, [even] Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts closely} joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly (in all its functions), grows to full maturity, building itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:13-16). False doctrines prevail in our world today. Some are easier to detect than others. The question is, do many of us have incorrect doctrine? I believe we all have a little bit of incorrect doctrine, but some of us have more than others. None of us are perfect yet, but we should strive to be a living example of truth. To know what Truth is, we can look at Jesus praying for future believers in John chapter 17(mainly verses 12-17), John 14:6, and other verses. I will write these a little later in this document(the Background). This will make clear what the truth is through God's Holy Scripture.

Looking at Exodus chapter 20-23 we can see that the Israelites of the Old Testament also had to work together for things to operate smoothly. They had laws and commandments from God, which Moses wrote in these scriptures. Notice the structure with which God gave them to operate.. From this we should see the need to return to the complete structure of the New Testament, and not choose what we like, or interpret scripture so it fits our thoughts, desires, etc.

~ NEED TO CHANGE OUR DOCTRINAL NAMES AND FOLLOW THE ONE WE LOVED FIRST(GOD):

"But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony, and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you; but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments" (I Corinthians 1:10). We should be in perfect harmony and perfectly united in our opinions. I don't believe that the names that we have given our separate groups are always bad, but they do symbolize the divisions we see today. We must do away with anything that makes the Body of Christ divided(ideas, philosophies, tradition, and sometimes even names), so that we can be perfect in harmony. I do agree, though, that it takes time and effort to obtain results. So, we have to be patient on people and pray that unity will come.

"For by (means of the personal agency of) one (Holy) Spirit we were all, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, baptized [and by baptism united together] into one body, and all made to drink of one (Holy) Spirit" (I Corinthians 12:13). As we can see here God does not see us with our various denominational names, so why do we? Agreed, we are to be separate from groups that do not have sound doctrine, but that does not give us a license to promote Christ under our own denominational banner. We should promote Christ as He is, without denominational influences. References: Rev. 1:11,2:1; Acts 8:1; Rom. 16:1; etc.

"as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, That He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things-that she might be holy and faultless" (Ephesians 5:25-27). To be presented without spot or wrinkle is to be perfect in every way, which comes from being washed in the Word. If we as a bride have divisions, we are not perfect(but wrinkled), for we do not even work together. Of course, implicitly, these verses relate to our divisions and factions, not explicitly or it would have been clearly stated that the wrinkles were partially from our differences.

"And knowing their thoughts, He said to them, Any kingdom that is divided against itself is being brought to desolation and laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will last or continue to stand"(Matthew 12:25). The different factions and divisions of the Church obviously are not totally against each other, but they do disagree. These disagreements have led to division. Now, we have many partial houses. We need to be one strong house founded upon the rock(Matthew 7:24-25). The devil has not prevailed against the Church, but he has succeeded in putting us in confusion to keep us from being prosperous.

"Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention" (Philippians 2:2). To have the same mind means to think the same, and to be in full accord means to be in complete accord. We need to work in harmony. So lets come humbly before God, seek His face, seek His Word, seek His Will, and put away our divided loyalties.

~ EVERYONE NEEDS TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS CHANGE:

"I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies-presenting all your members and faculties-as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world-this age, fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs. But be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind-by its new ideals and its new attitude-so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]" (Romans 12:1-2). We as individuals and Christian groups need to give our whole life to God and be renewed in our mind to His ways, not to the ways of this world. We know that so far the scriptures have shown that we are to be in unity. This takes work and long- suffering, but it is an obtainable goal, or God would not have commanded us to do so.

"Living as becomes you-with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another. Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of [produced by] the Spirit in the binding power of peace" (Ephesians 4:2-3). We are to be patient, gentle, and not harsh with one another. If we are not this way we will be pushy, spiteful, and untamed(not gentle-men/woman). We, as individuals, should guard the harmony we have and continually add more.

"MY SON, if you have become security for your neighbor, if you have given your pledge for a stranger or another, You are snared with the words of your lips, you are caught in the speech of your mouth. Do this now [at once and earnestly], my son, and deliver yourself, when you have put yourself into the power of your neighbor; go, bestir and humble yourself, and beg your neighbor [to pay his debt and release you]. Give not [unnecessary] sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to our eyelids; Deliver yourself as a roe or gazelle would from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler" (Proverbs 6:1-5). Some of us have done this, we have to tell other people sorry for the actions we have taken against them. Have you been in a discussion with a person from another denomination or belief in Christian circles and become a little harsh(or more) with them? I have. We need to repent from these actions and tell them we are sorry, we are to sleep little before we do this. We should realize that we have an imperfect flesh so expect some accidental flaws in this process(Romans 7). Remember, that we still can do all things through Christ which strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

"The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; he who guards his way preserves his life. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the meek and poor, than to divide the spoil with the proud" (Proverbs 16:17-19). Are we to be proud and high-minded and stay separate? Or should we as individuals be the meek and lowly that is willing to humble ourselves and become one in Christ? Sometimes people(me before) take a side in an issue and will not bend, because they are right. Are you right? Do you have the Bible completely backing you up? Maybe you have some verses, but do you have all the verses on the issue working toward the belief you hold? Some say men should be the only ones able to teach in the Church? What if someone showed you a verse that you might have missed or misread(It's happened to me, I couldn't believe it. I could swear I was the one right)? Are you willing to be humble and listen to someone else's argument to test to see if it is from God?

"And He called a little child to Him and put him in the midst of them, And said, Truly, I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] you can never enter the kingdom of heaven at all. Whoever will humble himself therefore, and becomes [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] as this little child, is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:2-4). A child is humble. We should be humble too. Do young kids like to be loving, and forgiving? Yes. Let's, as individuals, be like they are, let's be like-minded.

"Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low); and whoever humbles himself-who has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly-shall be raised to honor. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders-hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces; for you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are about to go in to do so. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders-hypocrites! for you swallow up widows' houses, and for a pretense to cover it up make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation and the heavier sentence. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, pretenders-hypocrites! for you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes [a proselyte], you make him doubly as much a child of hell (Gehenna) as you are. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, If any one swears by the sanctuary of the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the sanctuary, he is a debtor-bound by his oath. You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary of the temple that has made the gold sacred? [Exodus 30:29]" (Matthew 23:12-17). We see here Christ exposing the wickedness of the scribes and Pharisees. We have scribes and Pharisees today too, usually they are easy to expose if you know the scriptures. They teach the doctrine of men, not of God. Notice that the first verse is about humbleness and pride. Here we see that the humble people are the ones exalted. Let's humble ourselves and give up false doctrine.

"But He gives us more and more grace [power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully]. That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly-those who are humble-minded [enough to receive it]. [Prov. 3:34.] So be subject to God.-Stand firm against the devil; resist him and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery]. [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. Humble yourselves-feeling very insignificant-in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.-He will lift you up and make your lives significant. [My] brethren, do not speak evil about or accuse one another. He that maligns a brother or judges his brother is maligning and criticizing the Law and judging the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are not a practicer of the Law but a censor and judge [of it]." (James 4:6-11). This passage says the same thing as the last passage, except for a few things are different. We should not speak evil of one another. This is a step backwards. Also, we need to resist the traps and snares of the devil. He will try to keep the Church from becoming one.

"Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:18). We know what this means.

~ NEED TO WAIT PATIENTLY FOR PEOPLE TO CHANGE(SOMETIMES WE RESIST GOD):

"But the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit, [the work which His presence within accomplishes]-is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness; (Meekness, humility) gentleness, self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]" (Galatians 5:22-23). Patience, self-control, and gentleness are fruits of the Spirit. We need to wait for people to change and be nice in the process(it is hard to do, but with God all things are possible!).

"Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy; is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited-arrogant and inflated with pride; it is not rude (unmannerly), and does not act unbecomingly. Love [God's love in us] does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it-pays no attention to a suffered wrong. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail" (I Corinthians 13:4-6). This is how we all should act.. We should wait patiently.

"Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first class) soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him. And if any one enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully-fairly, according to the rules laid down" (II Timothy 2:3-5). We sometimes need to suffer hardships. The hardship of waiting for change can be one of the greatest. We also need to keep away from the entanglement of life, which we all have been in.

"Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins-forgives and disregards the offenses of others [Prob. 10:12]" (I Peter 4:8). We need to have an unfailing love toward one another. We need to forgive each other and disregard the offense(s) done to us. You forgive me for my offenses, while I forgive you for yours.

"But refuse-shut your mind against, have nothing to do with-trifling(ill-informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels. And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome-fighting and contending. Instead he must be kindly to every one and mild-tempered-preserving the bond of peace; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong. He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth-that is, that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it" (II Timothy 2:23-25). We must avoid foolish questions when moving toward unity. Instead ask relevant questions in a pleasant way. We must correct nicely.

"But those who wait for the Lord-who expect, look for and hope in Him-shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint or become tired. [Heb. 12:1-3]" (Isaiah 40:31). If we will wait upon the Lord, He will make us soar as an eagle. So if we do the things laid out for us in the Word and wait for His timing He will bring us together.

"But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God. [Gen. 18:14; Job 42:2]" (Matthew 19:26). All things are possible, so let's do it!

"I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me-I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me, [that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]" (Philippians 4:13). We can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. We just have to be patient with one another.

"And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be-are possible-to him who believes!" (Mark 9:23). This is a good passage, faith is the key.

"And they gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, (Enough of you!) You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you lift yourselves up above the assembly of the Lord? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face; And he said to Korah and all his company, In the morning the Lord will show who are His, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him; him whom He has chosen will He cause to come near to Him. [II Tim. 2:19]" (Numbers 16:3-5). Moses had to deal with mislead people a lot. The reason that I included this passage is because Moses is an experienced role model for all of us to follow. He knew how to keep the unity among the Israelites. We should look at his intentions, methodology and patience. The new testament says we do not live by the rules and regulations of the Old Testament, we live by the Holy Spirit's direction now. That is why we don't follow all the rules and regulations of the Old Testament.

~ MAKE SURE WE RELATE WITH OUR COMMONALITIES:

"Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, That together you may (unanimously) with united hearts and one voice, praise and glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah" (Romans 15:5-6). What we have in common is what makes us united. Being united under scriptural teaching is the Bible's standard. If we are an encouragement, sympathetic, and in harmony one toward another we will become unified. This is something God can bring about through our cooperation as we lift it up in our prayers.

"SO BY whatever [appeal to you there is in our mutual dwelling in Christ, by whatever] strengthening and consoling and encouraging [our relationship] in Him [affords], by whatever persuasive incentive there is in love, by whatever participation in the (Holy) Spirit [we share] and by whatever depth of affection and compassionate sympathy, Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention. Do nothing from factional motives-through contentiousness, strife, selfishness or for unworthy ends-or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself-thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves" (Philippians 2:1-3). We must do everything through oneness according to this verse, we are instructed not to do anything through factional motives. We are to admit that we must join in mind and thought so that we will be obeying scriptures and that we can reap benefits. I have been in groups that were factionally divided away from other groups because of strife, vainglory, and other reasons. This, I just learned, is wrong and includes most Christian groups formed today in this World. So let's cooperate and focus on our commonalities, so that we may reap the benefits.

"And all who believed-that is, who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ-were united, and together they had everything in common; And they sold their possessions [both their landed property and their movable goods] and distributed the price among all, according as any had need" (Acts 2:44-45). All I have to say is this is the Beginning of the Church. I was wondering..Do you give to your neighbor(Luke 6:38)? Do esteem your brother higher than yourself(1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, Philippians 2:3)? This is what I see in these verses. You also can see in these verses that these people had everything in common. That is why we should stress our biblical commonalities. Just Imagine if we were around when this was written. We would be in quite a different atmosphere.

"Beloved, my whole concern was to write to you in regard to our common salvation. [But] I found it necessary and was impelled to write you and urgently appeal to and exhort [you] to contend for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints-the faith [which is that sum of Christian belief] which was delivered verbally to the holy people of God" (Jude 3). A long time ago we had complete unity among Christians. We must contend for this once owned unity, which was lost through the ages. They had the same problems we did back then. We can do it. So let's start with our commonalities.

~ BACKGROUND INFO:

"Every Scripture is God-breathed-given by His inspiration-and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness [that is, in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose and action]" (II Timothy 3:16). All scripture can be used for reproof, conviction, instruction, correction, training, and discipline. This is why I used scripture in this document. It is one of the best ways to get an idea across, and be right(when handling the scriptures correctly).

"Sanctify them-purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy-by the Truth. Your Word is Truth." (John 17:17). This verse is in an instance when Christ is praying for future believers. We see from this passage that God's Word is the Truth. According to II Timothy 3:16, " Every scripture is God-breathed-given by His inspiration", this means every scripture is from God and is Truth. In other words the Bible is Truth. Use it.

"Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me" (John 14:6). Jesus is the Truth, so what he says is the Truth.

"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalms 19:7). Here we see again the Law(Bible) is perfect(Truth). So if we use the Law correctly, we have no problems. Well, you might be asking how do we know when someone is using the Bible correctly? Well, we have verses on that too!

"But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall-will remind you of, bring to your remembrance-everything I have told you" (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit is the one who will teach you all things. Ask him, he will teach you. Remember that it says above that he will bring into remembrance whatsoever He has said unto you. Also, the Bible is the Truth, so most likely He will use Biblical ideas.

"But as for you, (the sacred appointment, the unction) the anointing which you received from Him, abides (permanently) in you; [so] then you have no need that any one should instruct you. But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything, and is true, and is no falsehood, so you must abide-live, never to depart [rooted in Him, knit to Him] just as [His anointing] has taught you [to do]" (I John 2:27). The anointing is what the Holy Spirit uses to teach us. The reason why this is true is because this verse and the verse above state that the anointing teaches concerning everything and the Holy Spirit teaches all things. How can this be unless the Holy Spirit is the anointing or the Holy Spirit uses the anointing to teach(as a tool). Well, if you look at the Greek word for anointing you will find that "anointing" means anointing of God, not the anointing is God.