1 John 2:20-23

²⁰ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.

²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

²² Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.

²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

anointing (v.20) — signifies that which is carried out by the act of anointing, and thus stands here for the effect of the act itself, the impartation of the Holy Spirit, who was symbolically set forth by the material oil with which the act was carried out in the former age in the nation of Israel in the case of kings, priests, and prophets. For the figurative use of the anointing see, e.g., Isaiah 61:1; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. While Christ Himself was anointed by the Holy Spirit in the day s of His flesh (Acts 10:38), here He, as the Holy One, is the Anointer. For the title “Holy One” see Psalm 16:10. — Vine, page 37.

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This anointing was an inner witness of the Holy Spirit bearing testimony that the kingdom saints were born of God. It also involved supernatural abilities and knowledge during the Acts era and will be manifested again in the future Tribulation, better equipping those kingdom saints for ministry and to endure persecution. It fulfilled Christ’s promise in John 16:13-14. With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), the anointing for Jewish believers happened at conversion. — Grace, page 2220.

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you know all things (v.20) — What the Apostle is pointing out is, that it is his readers, and not the false and antichristian teachers, who possess the true knowledge, and that it is possessed in virtue of the anointing, which the false teachers lack. — Vine, page 38.

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They knew all things in relation to Christ, their salvation, and their experience with the Holy Spirit who baptized them, regenerated them, and enlightened them. However, “all things” must be qualified by the context. They needed further instruction in other areas. Otherwise, this letter from John would have been unnecessary. — Grace, page 2220.

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The Apostle is not suggesting (v.21) that his readers are ignorant of the truth, but rather that, considering that they actually possess it, they are thereby enabled to distinguish between truth and error. The truth springs from God “who cannot lie” (Titus 1:2): lying springs from the Devil (John 8:44). There is no neutral ground between truth and error, just as, as the Apostle has pointed out, there is no neutral ground between the mere professor and the actual possessor. Truth is truth, and error is error. Their source and their practice are entirely removed one from the other. — Vine, page 38.

he who denies (v.22) — literally, “the one denying,” suggesting  habitual denial.

antichrist (v.22) — While the great future Antichrist is in view, he is not the single person particularized. Just as with “the liar,” in the earlier part of the verse, so any teacher who denies the Father and the Son is a representative of the sort of person that the Antichrist will be. — Vine, page 39.

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More is taught here (v.23) than the essential unity between the Father and the Son. It is true that to deny the One is to deny the Other, but, more than this, to deny the Son is to deprive oneself of relationship to, and communion with, the Father. …Not only does confession of the Son, that is, confession that Jesus is the Christ and all that is involved therein, carry with it the confession of the Father, it involves, too, Divine relationship and communion with the Father … Confession of Christ goes with possession of Christ, and those who receive Him become children of God (John 1:12). To acknowledge the Fatherhood of God and deny the Deity of Christ is utterly incompatible. — Vine, page 39.