The Purpose of the Anointing

1 Jn 2:27 "But the anointing which you have received from Him abides 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[a] abide in Him."

Acts 10:38  "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."

Acts 1:8  "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Many believers confuse the anointing that works through us with the anointing that works in us.  The first one enables us to function in our calling, to minister God's word and be used to touch people's lives via the Gifts of the Spirit.  The latter one is the anointing that abides in us and corrects, refreshes, heals, comforts us, and guides us into all truth.   

Jesus was anointed by God and went about performing miracles.  When He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness not to minister but to fast and pray, the bible says he was "full of and controlled by the Spirit" Luke 4:1-2   

Being full of the Holy Spirit, the anointing, the devil had a most frustrating time, as he tried several times to tempt Jesus and failed miserably.  Verse 13 says "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."   It was the anointing in Jesus that prevented the devil from tempting Him, and as Isa. 10:27 (Amp) says, "The yoke shall be destroyed because of fatness [which prevents it from going around your neck]"  Fatness or oil as some translations read, is symbolic of the anointing.  The anointing in Jesus prevented the yoke of bondage from coming on Him.  

Our ministries are very important and much needed by the body of Christ.   But there would be no point if God anointed us greatly and used us mightily in touching the lives of others, but we were failures physically, morally and spiritually. God gave us the anointing, according to 1 John 2:27 to help us and teach us how to abide in Jesus.   

Anyone can preach and with the right training can be quite eloquent and articulate, but if it is devoid of the Power of God, then it is just more of man's wisdom and lacks the touch of God in the lives of the hearers that will bring them healing, love, joy, peace, and victory over sin, oppression, depression and the myriad human ailments that rule the lives of people everywhere.  

The Apostle Paul addressed this in 1 Cor 2  Vs. 4 "And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [[d]a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them],  
Vs. 5 So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.

The demonstration of the Spirit and power,  is the anointing on Paul for ministry and it worked while he was preaching "stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them". 

Preach the Word of God by the anointing then allow the Holy Spirit to make that word real to the hearts of the hearers and let Him confirm His word with signs following.  The description "the most holy emotions" indicates that this was not on an intellectual level, but was emotional, working in the psychological part of our being.   

There are a lot of Christians with a lot of word in them but they are dead spiritually.  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 2 Cor. 3:6.  Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives, the ministry will depend on our ability, strength and personality. 

Without the anointing at work in me, changing me, correcting me, and bringing me into a deeper walk with God, I am going to eventually fail morally, physically or spiritually or all of the above.  If the word was the only thing we needed then it would not have been necessary for Jesus to  " pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; and be our teacher, comforter and guide. "  John 14:16   

If you diminish the role of the anointing of the Holy Spirit in your life, you negate the purpose of the Cross.  If Jesus did not pay the price for our sin, the veil of separation between us and God would still exist.   But His sacrifice opened the way for us to receive the indwelling of the presence and power of God, His anointing.   

Jesus final words to the disciples prior to ascending into heaven was Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you"   The word power literally means, God's ability, efficiency and might.   The anointing that we receive from God gives us access to God's ability, efficiency and might in everything we do.  So when we have an ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit, He will teach us all things that are necessary to fulfill the will and purpose of God for our lives.   "and ye shall be witnesses unto me"  speaks of God's anointing for ministry wherever and however He directs us.   

Paul prayed daily for the Church, in Eph 3  Vs. 16 "that He would grant you according to the riches of His Glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, ... "  The amplified bible explains it better.  "May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]."    

Paul speaks about the inner man or the spirit of man, being strengthened and reinforced.   We need that strengthening and reinforcing in us if we are to succeed in the ministry that God by His Spirit wants to work through us.  

"The Holy Spirit, Himself, indwelling in our innermost being and personality". This speaks of an intimacy that is life changing, affecting spirit and our personalities.  It speaks of a change of heart and desires.  

Vs. 19  speaks about being "filled with all the fullness of God. "  All of this prayer that Paul prayed daily for the Church, concerns us as individuals and has nothing to do with ministry.   God is vitally interested in making sure we are conforming to His will and purpose for our lives.

Vs. 20 concludes ... "Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—

Paul is describing the incredible role the anointing, the power of God, has within us and what it can do for us.  Every believer desperately needs to experience and be filled with the anointing. There are incredible things God wants to do in us and through us.  It is His anointing within us that will accomplish this purpose.

There is so much more that God has for us personally and through us for ministry. 

1 Cor. 2 vs 9  "But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].

Vs. 10  Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny].

Who hold Him in affectionate reverence ... speaks of a deep relationship of worship and reverence.    " Promptly obeying and gratefully recognizing" ... speaks of an attitude that we develop over time as we yield to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to perfect and change us.  Spend time with Him.  Worship Him and reverence His presence in your life.  Allow the anointing to quicken (make alive) you, and to refresh, correct and direct you.   Gal. 5:16 "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."   The word "lust" literally means, a strong desire of any kind, whether good or bad.  We can have a good idea, but it may not be a God idea.  We are to be led by the Spirit in all we do.  It is a learned behavior, and over time, we get better at hearing the Holy Spirit speaking to us from within. 

Summing up. 

The anointing that abides in us is to help us in our personal lives, to overcome the works of the flesh and to develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.    

The anointing upon us is to help us to function in the ministry God has ordained for our lives. That anointing will enable the gifts of the Spirit to function so that we are not appealing to the intellect of the hearer but we become the vessel through which God works to touch the hungry, hurting and lost human race and reveal the very nature of God through us to the world. 

Gil Howard-Browne

Revivaltimes.com

Walking in the Spirit.

Recently there has been debate on facebook regarding the dangers of the "Hypergrace" teaching that is prevalent in the Body of Christ today.   It was sparked by an article by Dr. Michael Brown, in which he rightfully stated that this can lead to a large falling away of believers from God.  In the article he spoke of how the pendulum has swung from the old legalism, to grace, to hypergrace. 

Hypergrace is indeed a serious problem in the Church today. But people fell away from God under the old "legalism" teaching, as well as under the "grace" teaching, and now are still falling away from God under the "hypergrace" teaching.  This was the same for the "dicipleship movement" and a dozen other now forgotten movements.

In my 45 years of ministry, I have seen this happening in every decade in denominations across the board.   Doctrines come and go and what was a fad 20 years ago, is now a distant memory.    The reason is simple,  God is not and idea or a doctrine and serving Him is not achieved by following a list of do's and dont's.   

So what is the answer.  

I believe, that if Christians don't have a life changing relationship with the Holy Spirit and learn to walk in the Spirit, they will get caught up in all these excesses. Our preaching should not be with man's wisdom, as the Apostle Paul puts it in 1 Cor. 2, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and Power. The amplified version says it well. "but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [[a]a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them],"

Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh"   Galatians 5:16-26    The word lust is literally a strong desire of any kind whether good or bad.    When we live by the dictates of the flesh, we are carnal.  Carnal preachers will produce carnal Christians. We need men of God who are sold out to God, who love the presence of God and will teach the people God sends them. how to walk in the Spirit like they do.

The fact that we can invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in us is a direct result of what Jesus did on the cross. He tore down the veil of separation between God and man and made it possible for us to receive the free gift of eternal life, but also the Holy Spirit whom Jesus said would be our comforter, teacher and guide. 

One of the last things Jesus said to His disciples before He ascended into heaven was the we would receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon us. The word power, from dunamis, literally means, God's ability, efficiency and might. 

Jesus last instructions to His people was to be filled with the dunamis, God's ability, efficiency and might. 1 Jn. 2:27 says, "the anointing (dunamis) which you have received of Him abides in you and will teach you all things even how to abide in Christ.

The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death. That's what Grace did for us. Grace made all of the above possible, so that we can live by the inward law's that God writes on the tables of our heart. 

It's not man's wisdom or man's ideas and doctrines, but God's life giving word made real to us by the power of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us.