I want to trace back briefly into history of the practise of anointing and then come to its relevance for us today.
The origin of ‘anointing’ was from a practice of shepherds. Lice and other insects would often get into the wool of sheep, and when they got near the sheep's head, they could burrow into the sheep's ears and kill the sheep. So, ancient shepherds poured oil on the sheep's head. This made the wool slippery, making it impossible for insects to get near the sheep's ears because the insects would slide off. From this, anointing became symbolic of protection, blessing and empowerment.
So, anointing was a practise common in the Eastern countries. And if you study the Bible you will find that particularly there were three kinds of anointing:
i. Ordinary anointing: which was after bathing, as a mark of respect (Lk 7:46), for burial (Mark 14:8; 16:1), and for shields used in warfare.
ii. Sacred anointing: for both things and people, such as prophets (1Kings. 19:16), priests (Exodus 28:4) and kings (ISam. 9:16).
iii. Medical anointing: for the sick (Mk 6:13) and the wounded (Isa. 1:6; Lk. 10:34). A cleansed leper was anointed with oil (Lev. 15:17-18).
Irrespective of what the case may be concerning ‘Anointing’ in the Bible, invariably characterizes the sanctification and the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Set apart for a specific task that’s anointing). Another meaning for the word anointed is "chosen one." Anointing has nothing to do with the body shaking and acting crazy. Anointing is a sacred moment and a sanctified phase in one’s life!
In the New Testament there two Greek words for “anoint” one is chrio (verb), which means “to rub with oil” and, by implication, “to consecrate for office or religious
service”; and the other is aleipho, which means “to anoint” of any kind.
In Biblical times, people were anointed with oil (an oil which comprised of Olive, myrrh and other expensive spices) to signify God’s blessing or call on that person’s life (Exodus 29:7; Exodus 40:9; 2 Kings 9:6; Ecclesiastes 9:8; James 5:14).
There is nothing wrong with anointing a person with oil today. We just have to make sure that the purpose of anointing is in agreement with Scripture.
Anointing should not be viewed as a "magic potion." The oil which was used as a symbol for anointing, by itself does not have any power. It is only God who can anoint a person for a specific purpose. Oil is only a symbol of what God is doing. And symbols communicate a meaningful language in the Biblical culture.
The Bible reminds us that today we are anointed with the Holy Spirit and we are also priests to God. A person in the Bible times was anointed for a special purpose—to be a king, to be a prophet, to be a builder, & so on. (so likewise Anointing for the Christian today in the post-modern context means that he/she is set apart and sanctified for a specific task, for a specific call, for a specific service).
And what that specific task/call is going to be in your life and in my life is something that the Holy Spirit will reveal in His time and at different stages of our lives.
I Samuel 10:1 captures it beautifully on the significance of the specifics of being anointed by God. Lets Read…
You see when an Israelite King took office he was not only crowned, he was also anointed.
The coronation of the king was the political act of establishing his as the ruler.
But the anointing was the religious act of making the king as God’s representative to the nation.
And the intension of the anointing ceremony was to remind the king of his responsibility to lead his people by God’s wisdom and not his own!
Today the word ‘anointing' has been infused with new and inferior meanings. Anointing was used to refer to the power of God at work to change lives.
In the Bible we read about vessels that were anointed. But the vessel was never really that important because God used even sticks (Moses’ rod), animals (Prophet Balaam’s donkey), as well as people. And in Isaiah 45: 1-8 we read that a Gentile ruler named Cyrus was anointed to allow the city of Jerusalem to be rebuilt, and later set the exiles free in BC 538. God anoints whom he chooses for his special tasks.
It is his power that is important, not the vessel or the stick or the person.
However, in this modern era of Christianity, the anointed individual has gained more prominence than the anointing of God; and they have begun to manipulate the people of God.
The word anointing for some people stands for the ability to make money, and entertain, or even intimidate their church members to submit to their so-called ‘anointed-leadership’.
Please remember anointing in a believer’s life is inclusive of God’s empowerment to accomplish God’s work in God’s way in God’s time.
The Bible says that Jesus Christ was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit (that means he was empowered) to spread the Good News and free those who have been held captive by sin (Luke 4:18-19. After Christ left the earth, He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16).
Is anointing another phase of a Christian believer’s life? Does anointing take place with much fasting and prayer as some propose?
Listen to this… I Jn 2:20 says, “But you have anointing from the Holy One,…” All saved Christians are anointed, chosen for a specific purpose in furthering God's
Kingdom (1 John 2:20). And our individual anointing is inclusive of empowerment.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 ="Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."
You are anointed at the time of your salvation. But we must grow in our anointing; I mean we must continue to set ourselves apart every day from the worldliness to be empowered every day through prayer, through meditation (just like Jesus did) and be available for God’s work.
The danger is we may be anointed but we may lose the power of our anointing if we are having a spiritually-carefree lifestyle. And the best example is King Saul; because of his continuous disobedience and lack of repentance and carefree spiritual living, he became insane. He remained the King of Israel until his death, but he had lost the power of his one acclaimed anointing.
You have the anointing of God flowing through you when God’s heart touches another person’s heart through you. The anointing of God is the Holy Spirit. He flows as a river of love, from the throne of grace, through the hearts of believers, bringing life to all that receive His touch.
Whom does God anoint?
i. God anoints people that love Him more than they love their own lives, and those that love others as themselves. As we open our hearts to love others God’s anointing flows through us. When we close our hearts to others and grieve the Holy Spirit the flow of anointing stops.
(1 John 3:17 NKJV) But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
ii. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is given through people to demonstrate God’s love and power. Jesus Christ the perfect manifestation in history of the complete work of the Holy Spirit in man.
And because Christ is in us the same anointing that He had on earth we also have. But we must live like Christ and come under his leadership to experience that anointing!
But why is the anointing necessary?
1. The anointing is given to preach the Gospel to the poor (‘poor’ not in economic
terms but in spiritual terms. Those who are spiritually humble to learn more of God.)
2. The anointing is given to heal and restore people (spiritual, physical, emotional, psychological, economical).
3. The anointing is given to proclaim freedom to the captives (captives to sin, sensuality, captives of addiction, of quarrels, gossips, worry)
4. The anointing is given to open blind eyes (people with self-indulgent lifestyles, they see nothing beyond their self-interests.)
5. The anointing is given to set people free (free from the power of sin, power Satan, power of death)
6. Our ministry and life will be a refreshing blessing to everyone.
But first we have to identify our anointing! So that we can be useful to God in our place of work
What is the result of God’s anointing in our lives?
It is written about Jesus in Acts 10:38 that "God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power". And what was the result of this anointing?
"He went about DOING GOOD and HEALING (DELIVERING) ALL WHO WERE OPPRESSED BY THE DEVIL, for God was with Him."
The world around us is full of people who are suffering in different capacities of hunger, forced labour, Terrorism, forced prostitution, injustice, atrocities… and this is because Satan has oppressed, harassed and bound them in some way or the other.
When God is with us, we will do what Jesus did - go around doing good to them and delivering them from Satan's bondage, but following our individual anointing. None of us can do everything.
But please remember that it is impossible to do anything for eternal and lasting value without being anointed with the Holy Spirit.
But anointing will not simplify things in life. The anointing on Jesus took him to the cross to die for us. Though anointing in our lives may not always simplify our work, yet it will accomplish works of eternal value for which reward is
sure!
Have you been anointed by the Holy Spirit ? have you been set apart by the Holy Spirit?
If in any case you feel that you don’t experience that anointing, then I encourage you:
- to seek for the anointing
- to value the anointing
- to repent of our self-sufficiency
- to allow God to circumcise the delicate issues of our private life and of all self-confidence.
The Holy Spirit was Christ’s inseparable companion: “From womb, to tomb, to throne.” Jesus is the model of the Spirit-controlled life. He’s the model of the Spirit-filled life. He’s the model of the Spirit-empowered life. And history has seen the difference he has made on the lives of millions of people through his life and death.
When Jesus went to the cross, it was the Holy Spirit who gave Him power over the pain, power over the suffering, to endure the cross. And He is the same Spirit who gives us power in our suffering for the sake of the cross. We bear Christ’s anointing, and we take up His responsibility in the world today to preach, to battle against social evils.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833), a Member of Parliament, sensed a call on his life that would keep him in politics. He was anointed for two great objects:
i. the abolition of the slave trade,
ii. the reformation of manners (morals).”
This battle consumed forty-six years of his life (1787-1833). But he was successful.
Amy Carmichael was anointed to rescue girls and young women from customs that amounted to forced prostitution that we once called Devadasi system. These young girls were dedicated to the Hindu gods in the temples then forced into prostitution to earn money for the priests. And Amy Carmichael would dress in Indian clothes, dye her skin with dark coffee, and travel long distances
in India's hot, dusty roads to save just one child from suffering.
Anointing will set us apart to accomplish God’s work for God’s glory, beyond earning our livelihood! Jesus said in Jn 17: 4 “I have brought you glory (oh God) on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” And that was possible because Jesus was anointed.
