What is the anointing? what does the bible says about it and how one receive it?
The anointing is primarily the power of God working through every Christian through the Holy Spirit to accomplish His purposes and a particular divine mandate.
Anointing is a specific spiritual coating, an active principle of the Holy Spirit, and certain empowerment concerning a particular area for a precise mission. It can be for worship, evangelism, praise, preaching, deliverance, etc. In addition, it positions itself on people in Christ to minister.
How to receive the anointing
In the Old Testament, we anointed by pouring perfumed oil on a person’s head or on an object which we thus consecrated to God. With the oil, sacred objects were now dedicated to the Eternal’s service, or to a person empowered to carry out a specific mission under the divine mandate.
Under the old covenant, the anointing was used to consecrate three types of people in particular:
- prophets,
- priests (and Levites), and
- kings.
The oil poured on the head is the symbol of the holiness willed by God because nothing impure must be admitted into the presence of God. It thus prepared the anointed person to receive and manifest the power of God.
Moreover, it is a sacred act that should not be taken lightly. The oil used in the Old Testament was prepared based on a secret recipe from God given to Moses, and it consists of myrrh, cinnamon, aromatic reed, and other undisclosed ingredients.
It was forbidden at the time to reproduce it for personal use other than that of the sanctuary.
Exodus 30:25 (KJV) You shall make with this an oil for holy anointing, a composition of perfume according to the art of the perfumer; it will be the oil for the holy anointing.
But in the new covenant, we no longer mention the anointing transmitted by anointing oil but no longer by laying on of hands. The anointing oil has not disappeared. In the epistle of James, we find that it can be applied to anoint the sick (James 5:14).
Nevertheless, it should be revealed that this oil is not of the same composition as that once prepared by Moses.
There is no longer any question of an infusion of plants in oil which the ancients had the recipe for to cure various pathologies.
There is also a debate in church circles on how to anoint these days. Some believe that it is necessary to lay on hands and simply pray for a transfer to occur in accordance with the Spirit of the new covenant.
Others are more attached to the way of doing it in the Old Testament, within particular anointing oil. Neither is inherently bad, as long as we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit.
And God is sovereign. He can even anoint a person without the buts being imposed on them or the anointing oil being applied to them.
Nevertheless, remember that since our new birth, the power (anointing) of the Holy Spirit is in each of us, even if it is not active in the life of all.
Some just need to reactivate it, while others just need to grow in the exercise of the anointing.
What is the Anointing for?
The anointing serves primarily to transform any individual who has received it by endowing him with supernatural abilities.
It has the power to change any character, vision, and any perspective.
To compensate for the lack as well as to change the weakness so that we live up to what God expects of us. It puts a distinctive sign of no one apart, for spectacular results in the eyes of men.
The anointing is unique but multifaceted, depending on what specific God wants to accomplish through each person’s life.
It can be a strong power to heal the broken-hearted, sick, and afflicted to give hope to those who suffer.
It can manifest in someone else’s life by great wisdom or knowledge of the Word (example of the teachers of the Word), etc., according to the seven branches of the Spirit of which Isaiah 11:2 speaks to us.
Either way, the anointing breaks yokes and brings deliverance (Isaiah 10-27).
Moreover, it brings life where there was death and insufficiency. It transmits the image of Christ and His works in the world.
But the primary goal is to enable anyone to believe in God through evangelism, be saved, and live in His fear.
It is also given to combat the world of darkness and bring to manifestation the purposes of the Eternal.
The devil fiercely hates those who are anointed (Example of King David fought by the Philistines 1 Chronicles 14:8).
Many powerfully anointed messengers of God were persecuted, tortured, rejected, and put to death like Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Stephen, etc.
On the other hand, anointing brings protection; it is a spiritual immunity. God has strictly forbidden touching His anointed.
Psalms 105:15 (KJV) Touch not My anointed and do not harm My prophets.
For example, those who laughed at Elisha’s baldness paid with their lives.
The anointed of God is respected, and it is up to God alone to judge them or take them back if they make a mistake.
Nevertheless, the anointing involves its share of suffering, sacrifice, danger, and misunderstanding.
CHECKOUT:
- Why pray for our spiritual Leaders?
- 7 Secrets to Growing in the Anointing
- How to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit
How to keep the Anointing
Maintaining the anointing requires multiple efforts: one must have a hunger and a thirst for the Word, meditate on it constantly and love prayer. Along with constant prayer, it is imperative to have a schedule to stick to and a life of fasting and consecration.
The anointing is active and effective when one is constantly connected to the source of the anointing, i.e, God.
On the other hand, one must serve God in the mission because the anointing is given for a purpose, and not using it can gradually extinguish it in oneself.
Also, it is advisable to live in sanctification and humility and rub shoulders with anointed people.
Without this rigor, one can easily lose the anointing. What are the risks?
Without the Church’s anointing of the Holy Spirit, the individual ministry of the people is not effective; there will be no impact on the life of the Christian.
There are false anointings: signs, lying miracles by false servants of God to deceive believers with devilish powers. This is why we must be careful of the people who anoint us or who want to exercise the anointing on us. Some exercise the anointing of God without God.
They left God on the way to embrace new covenants. They give the impression of working for God, but God does not know them in reality. It takes discernment to recognize them.
Any sin that persists leads to death or destruction like Saul. Like Samson, he went beyond his calling by divulging the secret of his spiritual strength to Delilah.
You must therefore ensure that not loving the anointing more than God and the lack of respect for the principles of consecration diminishes it. There is nothing more important to God’s anointed than his relationship with the God who anointed him.
More than a simple fluid, energy, a force, or power, it remains all the same, a particularity of the Holy Spirit.
The anointing is the fruit of God’s grace in believers’ lives and His call in each of us. It can grow more or less depending on our sincerity and enthusiasm. Nevertheless, preserving it and making it grow involves enormous sacrifices and good discipline.
