18.2 The Anointing Oil
© 2017 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually (Exodus 27:20). – But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:7). – Joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share (Ephesians 4:16).
The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps (Matthew 25:4). Jesus’ references to our being the light of the world and these wise taking oil with their lamps must have stood out to Matthew because he was the only one who remembered them.
Defining the Anointing. When we use the word “anointing,” we are speaking specifically of this olive oil called “the anointing oil” in Moses’ description of the Tabernacle. And we are speaking of that portion of our Covenant with God relating to the Holy Spirit within and upon us and flowing out from us.
The anointing is first that joy of the Holy Spirit, now one spirit with ours, by which we KNOW our full and precious union with the Lord Jesus Christ. And the anointing is second that same joy, proceeding from our hearts as faith working through love, that touch of our Father proceeding out from each of us to bless one another.
A Wrong Definition. I was taught once that the “anointing” is that unction of the Holy Spirit that lifts us up above our human weakness and enables us, then, to live and walk in the power of Christ. This “anointing,” then, was something possessed by those in the fellowship who were mightily anointed, and something to be achieved by those of us who were not so anointed. This achievement was to come by our devotion to God, our earnest seeking of Him, and especially our dying to our fleshy human nature.
In other words, we had to rid ourselves of our fleshy human weakness before the Holy Spirit would lift us up above it. Thus always there was a great gulf between us and any continual anointing.
Christ Through Weakness. In reality that “anointing” was based on the strength of person possessed by those who were ministry. Certainly, it was the Holy Spirit through them. What they failed to comprehend was that the anointing of the Spirit upon and through them had nothing to do with themselves, but only Christ. And Christ shows Himself THROUGH our human weakness. And thus their recipe for knowing that anointing was false.
The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5). We believe that God is telling us the truth regardless of what we feel or how we judge.
Day and Night. There is something in me that desires to present that which is true without reference to the negative, to the things of God as they have been misused in Christianity. And there is something in me that is constantly drawing in those negative definitions as a counterpoint to the wondrous meanings of God as He desires us to know now.
And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night (Genesis 1:4-5a). Cycling between light and dark, day and night, is in our genes, even in the Spirit of God inside of us. Sometimes, when I spell out the false, the true becomes clearer and more joyous than I have ever known.
One Spirit. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who energeoes all in all (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). It is our human nature that is filled with the Holy Spirit. He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him – flesh of His flesh, one flesh with Him.
Those who are strong in themselves, in their human abilities, those who are capable, those who are wise, will then call the Holy Spirit coming through their HUMAN traits, superior. God calls very few of these people into the church because they cannot understand that God reveals Himself through weakness.
Always Sending Forth. Because the anointing was presented as an achievement, something we are “in” sometimes and “out of” at other times, neither I nor the Holy Spirit felt safe at all.
Because I KNOW that all of my weakness is my Father revealing Himself through me now entirely as He wishes, I rest utterly in all that Christ is. And Father and I together are always sending forth Oour Holy Spirit to bless you and to arise in you in life and in joy.
I say this entirely by faith, without outward evidence and against all human judgment. Yet I say it in the full knowing of the joy of the Holy Ghost. We possess all anointing because we know God says we do.
The Circumcision of Christ. Being circumcised with the circumcision of Christ MEANS that I have no knowledge of any falling short of God or of “uncleanness” in anything in or of me. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil consciousness and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:22).
And thus, at no point does the thought that God and I might not be together sending forth Oour Holy Spirit to bless and to heal ever come near even the outer perimeters of my mind. Such a thought does not exist. Jesus IS my sin, and He knows no sin at all. Father and I are one.
Every Single Facet. It is inside this absolute certainty and confidence, then, that I relate with you by the Holy Spirit in all things. Just as God requires millions upon millions of humans through whom to show all the facets of His personality, so we also are mani-faceted in our own personalities and expressions.
I love doing so many different things; my interests are widespread. And the more real we become, the more we will discover joys of expression we never knew. Yet always we are unique and different from one another. Yet this anointing oil, our precious and shared Holy Spirit, flows through every single facet of our human person causing it to be one of multiplied billions of expressions of Christ.
Extending the Definition. Let me extend our definition of the anointing. The anointing is that quality of the Holy Spirit, our shared Holy Spirit, that, in flowing through our faith in all that is Christ, causes every facet of our humanity to be Christ towards one another and out towards all creation. The anointing is because we believe that it is because we know that God is telling us the truth. All my inabilities and difficulties, all my abilities and joys are becoming Christ towards you in every moment by the Holy Spirit who is continuously flowing out from me to you and from you to me, always flowing among us. And all that you are is becoming Christ to me by that same Holy Spirit.
A Shared Spirit. The Holy Spirit is entirely a shared Spirit, shared with Christ, with Father, and with one another. And have all been made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13b).
Yet we are NOT speaking of a collective, of a merging of boundaries, of a giant glob that erases the value of each individual person. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. – But now indeed there are many members, yet one body (verses 4 & 20).
The oil causes the lamp to “burn continually.” Our shared Holy Spirit causes every facet of our humanity, spirit, soul, and body, to be Christ towards one another in purity and in love.
Valuation. An essential quality of God by which He is designed and by which He, then, designed us, is valuation. Let me explain. One of the deepest roots of our souls is an in-built desire to be valued by others. This desire to be valued includes fully a desire to be valued for what we are AND a desire to be valued for what we give to others. Indeed, valuation is a central part of all human interaction, a topic way beyond the scope of this lesson.
And our desire to be valued is simply an exact image of God’s desire to be valued, valued for what He IS, His Person and Heart, AND for what He does.
A Love Beyond Knowing. I do not understand my wife. For 27 years she has lived with my excesses and my inabilities. And still, in the smile of delight upon her face towards me, I see continuously that she loves me. I doubt very much if you would ever have heard of Daniel Yordy if he were not loved by Maureen. Nor do I understand such love. You see, Asperger’s means that my ability to express the simple actions of love towards others is severely retarded.
Much more than that I CANNOT comprehend why my Father would give such a Word as this that I share to one such as I. I do not understand Father’s high valuation of me.
A Further Definition. That brings us to a third definition of the anointing, possibly, in some ways, the “real” definition. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God (Romans 15:7).
The anointing is that quality of the Holy Spirit that enables me to receive YOU, both who you are and all that you do and care about, that enables me to receive YOU as the very expression of my Father towards me. The anointing is that quality of the Holy Spirit upon me that causes me to value each one who belongs to Jesus with the highest regard and in the deepest respect.
The anointing is Love.
Drinking of Jesus. The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. – The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. – If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38).
There is one requirement for the anointing oil, one thing we must do in order to have our vessels filled with the Holy Spirit. We must drink of Jesus. If there is one thing I have done in all that I write, it is that I have taught you to drink of Jesus, to take Jesus into all that you are as all that you are in never-ending gulps of joy.
All That We Give. The anointing oil is that quality of the Holy Spirit that enables me to receive all of your expression as Christ towards me and that enables all of my expression to be Christ towards you.
Two more important points. First, there is no distinction in our minds or lives between the sacred and the secular, between our spirits and our bodies. We who live entirely inside the Jesus of Paul’s gospel, and He inside of us, do not know the realm of spirit at war with flesh presented by James. Yes, such a realm exists for some; we just don’t live anywhere near it. That means that all that we give, spirit, soul, and body, is inside the fulness of Christ from one to the other.
The Face of Jesus. And second, this anointing oil is a continuous “being built and knitted together by the supply of every member,” a continuous flowing from one member to another and to all. – These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth (Revelation 11:4). – Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. – The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it (Zechariah 4:6 & 9).
It is the fire of God, burning this oil, energeoing all in all, one Spirit flowing among us, Christ sharing Christ with Christ in all things, that causes the light upon our faces to be the very face of Jesus Christ to all creation.