1 John 2:27 - Safety in numbers

Scripture:

1 John 2:27
27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
NASU


Thoughts:

John repeats a comforting truth of the Holy Spirit's role in the life of believers.  The Spirit leads us into right doctrine, not falsehood.

Some would use this verse to suggest that a Christian doesn't need to be involved in a body of believers, that on their own a Christian can walk with the Lord as well as with others.  But this misses the context of this verse and the rest of the New Testament.  This statement was written to a group of believers, not to an individual. 

As people with different gifts of the Spirit come together within a body, each doing what they have been given to do by God, we are able to continue on in the faith that was once for all given to the saints, encouraging, helping, and even correcting one another.  No church is perfect, but together we can reflect God's glory, and stay closer to His heart, better than we can alone.


Prayer:

Lord, thank You for giving us the church.  In it we see reflections closer to You than anywhere else, as the people who have been saved by Your sacrificial blood and filled with Your Spirit, seek to love and serve each other in that same Spirit.

Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.