约壹二20　你们有从那圣者来的膏油涂抹，并且你们众人都知道。

　　　　　27　你们从祂所领受的膏油涂抹，住在你们里面，并不需要人教导你们，乃有祂的膏油涂抹，在凡事上教导你们；这膏油涂抹是真实的，不是虚谎的，你们要按这膏油涂抹所教导你们的，住在祂里面。

　　旧约所有的申言者，都预表新约圣灵这涂抹的膏油；到了新约，申言者所代表的圣灵—膏油，直接、亲身地进到我们里面，作了我们的申言者。旧约的律法，代表神生命的性情；神生命的性情，就是爱、光明、圣别和公义。旧约的律法在外面，表明神生命的性情；今天神生命的性情，已直接进到我们里面，就不再需要什么外面的律法来表明。旧约时代，一切都是影儿，都是预表，都是代表；到新约时代，实体来了。……旧约里，圣灵借以向人启示的代表乃是申言者，今天申言者所预表之启示的灵是在我们里面，直接地来启示我们（再论生命的认识，二一三页）。

　　1 John 2:20 And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know.

　　27 And as for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.

　　All the prophets in the Old Testament typify the Holy Spirit as the anointing ointment in the New Testament. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit, the anointing ointment, has entered into us personally and directly to be our Prophet. The law in the Old Testament represents and declares the nature of God's life, which is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. Today the nature of God's life has entered into us directly, so there is no longer any need for an outward law to declare it to us. In the Old Testament everything was a shadow, a type, a representation, but in the New Testament the reality has come…. In the Old Testament the representatives through whom the Holy Spirit gave revelations were the prophets. Today the Spirit of revelation, typified by the prophets, is in us, and the Spirit gives us revelations directly. (CWWL, 1955, vol. 4,”Further Talks on the Knowledge of Life,” pp. 303-304)

　　今天在我们里面，生命的律顶替了旧约的律法；圣灵膏油的涂抹，顶替了旧约的申言者。我们虽然仍守律法，但不是守外面的律法，乃是守里面的律法，这个律法就是神的生命。圣灵在我们里面，作膏油涂抹，就是我们的申言者。

　　我们能不能是别人的申言者呢？譬如，有位圣徒想去一个地方，他就来与我们交通：“可以不可以请你替我寻求神，我该不该去那个地方？”……他问我们当然不对，我们不该作他的申言者，但是他问自己也不对，因为他不能作自己的申言者。那么他该问谁呢？他应该问他里头的膏油涂抹，他里头的膏油涂抹就是他的申言者。召会的负责弟兄不是我们的申言者，同工也不是我们的申言者；我们更不是别人的申言者。

　　那个感动人作申言者的灵，就是膏油涂抹到人身上作申言者的。那个膏油已经涂抹到我们里面，所以我们再也不需要什么代表人物，来作我们的申言者。……在旧约时代，是神的灵临到一些人，只感动他们在那里作人的申言者。……旧约感动人作申言者的那灵，今天已经作为膏油涂抹进到我们里面，亲自、直接作了我们的申言者（再论生命的认识，二一二至二一三页）。

　　新约里的圣灵顶替了旧约申言者的这项工作。今天在召会中有申言者，有人能说预言，有人能劝勉安慰，但没有个人的申言者，来对你说你该如何如何。……每个人都能够直接认识神，直接接受神的引导，知道神的旨意。你们有申言者么？我感觉羞愧，许多人以我为申言者，就是那种个人的申言者。工人的危险就是作太多申言者的工作。个人的申言者这样多，就破坏了新约申言者正当的地位。新约的召会不必用什么极属灵的人，来作为个人的申言者，引导人该如何作；那是圣灵的工作，不是申言者的工作。新约申言者主要的工作，乃是建造、勉励和安慰。这也是今天神的工人所要作的工作（倪柝声文集第二辑第二十二册，一八至一九页）。

　　参读：再论生命的认识，第十七篇；倪柝声文集第二辑第二十二册，第三十二篇；灵的操练与神的建造，第三篇；神话语的职事，第三至四章。

　　Today the law of life within us has replaced the law of the Old Testament, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit has replaced the prophets of the Old Testament. Although we still keep the law, we are keeping an inward law, not an outward law. God's life is the law in us, and the Holy Spirit, as the anointing ointment, is the Prophet in us.

　　Can we be a prophet to others? For example, if a saint wants to go to a certain place, he may come to us for fellowship, asking,”Should I go to a certain place? Would you seek an answer from God for me?”…It is not right for him to ask us, because we are not his prophet, but it is also not right for him to only ask himself, because he is not a prophet only in himself. Instead, he should seek the leading of the Spirit as the anointing ointment within him; the Spirit anointing within him is the Prophet. The responsible brothers in the church are not our prophets, the coworkers are also not our prophets, and we, needless to say, are not others' prophets.

　　The Spirit who inspired people to be prophets in the Old Testament is now the Spirit as the anointing ointment within all of us. Since the Spirit is anointing us from within, we no longer need an outward representative to be our prophet…. In the Old Testament the Spirit of God came upon certain people and moved only them. But now the Spirit has entered into all of us to be our Prophet. The Spirit who inspired people to be prophets has entered into us today as the anointing to be our Prophet personally and directly. (CWWL, 1955, vol. 4,”Further Talks on the Knowledge of Life,” p. 303)

　　In the New Testament the Holy Spirit has replaced the work of the Old Testament prophets. Today we have prophets in the church. Some can prophesy, while others can exhort and comfort. But we do not have personal prophets to come and tell us what we should do…. Everyone can know God directly and be led of God and know God's will directly. Do you have a prophet? I am ashamed that many people have considered me a prophet, that is, the kind of personal prophet mentioned above. The danger of a worker is to burden himself with the work of a prophet. When there are too many personal prophets, the proper place of the New Testament prophet is annulled. The New Testament church does not need any spiritual giants to act as personal prophets to teach others what they should do. That is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the work of the prophets. The main work of the New Testament prophets is for building up, encouraging, and consoling men. This is the work that God's workers should do today. (CWWN, vol. 42, pp. 242-243)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1955, vol. 4,”Further Talks on the Knowledge of Life,” ch. 17; CWWN, vol. 42, ch. 32; CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 3,”The Exercise of the Spirit and the Building of God,” ch. 3; CWWN, vol. 53,”The Ministry of God's Word,” chs. 3-4