You do not need anyone to teach you

In today’s first reading (1 John 2:22-28), St. John seems to put all Christian teachers and preachers out of work.

As for you,
the anointing that you received from him
remains in you,
so that you do not need anyone to teach you.

The obvious question then is why would they even need St. John to write to them? This is his answer:

I write you these things
about those who would deceive you.

We have the gift of the Holy Spirit as Christ promised us (John 14:26) to teach us and remind us of everything, but we also have deceivers among us: false teachers in the world (and even within our Christian communities) and also things within ourselves that would lead us astray (temptation, rationalization, and self-centeredness).

We may know better, thanks to the gift of the Spirit, but we do not always follow what God has given us.

For this reason God has also given us teachers, preachers, inspired writers, pastors, apostles and others, so that we may all be instruments of the Holy Spirit in reminding each other of the Truth that comes from God and in helping each other further up the road of holiness that leads back to God.