Daily Friendship with God #16 Anointing
2 Corinthians 1:21 - Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God,
In the New Testament (Matthew to Revelation) the word anointed means : to anoint enduing (provide with a quality or ability) Christians with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the old testament (Genesis to Malachi) it means to consecrate (to dedicate to divine purpose) as noted in Exodus.
“For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty. So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may (serve)/minister to Me as priests. (Exodus 28:40-41)
It is only when the gifts of the Holy Spirit are at work with in a person that an individual has the ability to serve God with the power to accomplish His purpose of the manifestation of His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.( Zechariah 4:6)
The good thing about that is according to the scriptures God has anointed all those that have a relationship with Jesus as their personal Lord, God, savior and best friend. Another thing to understand is that the word Christ was (and is) not Jesus last name. Christ was and is His title, which means Messiah. Messiah means the promised deliverer of the Jewish people. The Jewish people believed that the Messiah would deliver them from the governmental, racial and economic oppression of the kingdom that had overtaken the Jewish people. They wanted the Messiah to deliver them from their physical enemies. Jesus came as the Christ (anointed Messiah) to deliver them, as well as all humanity, from something that was and is far more oppressive than the kingdom that ruled over the Jewish people. This is why He said:
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36)
Jesus came and accomplished a far greater and lasting result then to overcome the earthly physical enemies that were oppressing the Jewish nation. Jesus came to defeat the greatest enemy of humanity. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:26)
But (God) has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10)
To understand anointing you must first understand Jesus is the Christ who through the Gospel (His death for our sins, burial and resurrection) has set all those that call Him Lord free from the greatest enemy Death. Jesus said
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. (John 11:25-26)
To come into a fundamental understanding of anointing an individual must enter into a personal relationship with the anointed one, Jesus who is the Christ (anointed deliver). Christ is the anointed deliver Who alone is the only one who can deliver a person from the effects of sin and death through the Gospel. At the point that a person believes in the gospel of salvation the have the Holy Spirit place in them “beyond doubt”, for that is the meaning of the word sealed in the passage below. (also see Romans 5:5,8:9,11, James 4:5)
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13) For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father. (Romans 8:15) Jesus came to lead us to the Father (John 14:6) and when we receive Jesus salvation the Holy Spirit, the one who anointed Jesus comes to live inside us. Then the Holy Spirit desires to come upon all believers in order to empower the followers of Jesus manifest (display) His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD (Luke 4:18)
In Luke we understand that the anointing that Jesus had was first to preach the Gospel to the poor. When Jesus said the poor He was not speaking only of a person’s economic status. A person can be rich in the things of this world and be spiritually bankrupt. Jesus said the following
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?(Matthew 16:26)
And in the book of Proverbs we read:
There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. (Proverbs 13:7)
This means that the anointing to preach the Gospel is for and to the poor soul that does not know the riches of Christ’s deliverance from the effects of sin and death. I say the effects of sin because before sin entered the world there was no sickness or death. Once Satan’s kingdom of sin entered the world (Genesis 3-4, Matthew 4:5-6) then sickness and death followed. Jesus as the King of kings came to display the power of the Christ (anointed deliver) by healing people from all manner of sickness, both physically as well as spiritually….heal the broken hearted … recovery of sight to the blind.
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38)
In the book of Matthew John wanted to know if Jesus was the Christ (The Anointed Deliver)?
And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them(Matthew 11:2-5)
Jesus response to John was, look at the miraculous powerful healings that I am preforming, that is what proves that I am the Christ (anointed one). It is the same in the life of those that believe and follow the Christ (anointed one). Jesus said to His followers:
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)
Remember that Christ means anointed deliver and those that Believe in Jesus are called Christians. The term Christian does not only mean that a person believes in Jesus as Lord. It also means that they are actively in relationship with the Holy Spirit in order to be continuously overflowing with His power, just as Jesus was in this world...as He (Jesus the anointed deliver) is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17)
The whole world is eagerly waiting for every follower of Jesus to walk in the power and love that overflows in and through the anointing they have received….For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.(Romans 8:19)
God has anointed each follower of Jesus to lead those that do not know Jesus into a personal relationship with Him by the preaching of the Gospel of salvation….But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you…(1 John 2:27)
To validate the Gospel of Jesus as Lord and savior, God anoints His followers with signs and wonders as noted in the life of Jesus and His followers as found in the bible. The anointing (empowering) of the Holy Spirit comes upon a person as the results of God’s Fathering heart Who willingly anoints with His power those who ask Him...how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:13)
God also lets His followers know in order to be anointed to the point of overflowing we are not to be filled with the intoxicants of this world but rather be continuously in relationship with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:22)
As anointed followers we are to follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit (anointing 1 Corinthians 14:1) in order to bring glory and honor to the anointed King Jesus who is eternally blessed God. (Romans 9:5)
Take some time alone with God and talk to Him about the following passage.
But the anointing which you have received from Him continually remains present in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will continually remain present in Him. (1 John 2:27)