Unction

The umbrella collects the figurative use of "unction" — the older English term for what UPDV consistently calls the anointing received from the Holy One. The two anchor verses fall in 1 John 2 and address the believing community as a whole. See also Anointing for the broader topic.

The Anointing from the Holy One

The first notice introduces the term. "And you⁺ have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you⁺ know" (1 John 2:20). The plural "you" addresses the community; the anointing comes from the Holy One; and its effect is knowledge — the readers as a body know.

The Anointing That Stays and Teaches

The second notice expands the figure. "And as for you⁺, the anointing which you⁺ received of him stays in you⁺, and you⁺ don't need that anyone teach you⁺; but as his anointing teaches you⁺ concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you⁺, you⁺ stay in him" (1 John 2:27). Three properties belong to the anointing here: it is received (a past gift), it stays (an abiding presence), and it teaches (an instructional function). The teaching is comprehensive ("concerning all things"), reliable ("is true, and is no lie"), and continuous with what was first imparted. Because the anointing itself does the teaching, the readers do not need any further teacher to come in over the top of it. Its abiding presence and the readers' staying in him are paired: the anointing remains in them, and they remain in him.