There are a lot of doctrines about the anointing. Many of these doctrines are false doctrines that led many Christians astray and away from the truth. But what is the truth about the anointing? What does the anointing mean in the Bible? How do you know if you are anointed? Can you feel the anointing? How can you recognize the anointing? What does the Bible say about the anointing?
The first time the anointing is mentioned in the Bible
The first mention of the anointing in the Bible is in Genesis 31:13. God reminded Jacob about the anointed pillar in Bethel, where Jacob made a vow to God. Bethel was the place, where God had revealed Himself in a dream to Jacob and made a promise to him and his seed. Jacob considered that place holy, because the Lord was in that place. Therefore Jacob called that place the house of God and the gate of heaven. Jacob took the stone, that he used for his pillows and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. Jacob changed the name of the place from Luz into Bethel, which means house of God, and made a vow to God. He said, that if God would protect and keep him, and supply his needs, so that he would safely arrive at his father’s house in peace, that the Lord would be his God, and that the stone, which he had set for a pillar, would be God’s house: and of all that the Lord would give him, he would give the tenth to God (Genesis 28:10-22). The anointing of the pillar with oil refers to the consecration to God.
The priest’s office and the anointing
When the Levitical priesthood was set in place by God, through Moses, we read about the anointing. God had chosen Aaron and his sons to minister unto God in the priest’s office. They were anointed; set apart from the people and were consecrated and sanctified to God. The tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, and the associated materials and objects were also anointed, sanctified, and consecrated to God (Exodus 30:26-29, Exodus 40:9-11).
And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest’s office (Exodus 28:41)
And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest’s office (Exodus 30:30)
And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto Me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. (Exodus 40:12-15)
God had already chosen and appointed Aaron, his sons, and their offspring as priests of His house before it became visible by the anointing with oil. They were not anointed with oil and put into position in the natural realm first and then in the spiritual realm, but they were first chosen and appointed by God in the spiritual realm (Exodus 28:1).
God’s choice became visible for the old man (whose spirit was dead) in the natural realm, by the visibly anointing with sacred oil. When they were being anointed with oil, we don’t read anything about special powers or supernatural manifestations. The anointing referred to the sanctification and consecration to God, so that they could minister to God in the priest’s office. The anointing refers to the fact, that they were chosen by God, set apart from the people, and appointed as priests over His house, to serve Him and dedicate their lives to Him.
The king’s office and the anointing
When the people of God wanted to have a king, just like the other nations, God gave them what they had asked for. When the people were consecrated to the king’s office, they were also anointed with oil. This happened in the same manner as the priests; God chose someone among His people in the spiritual realm and His choice became visible in the natural realm through the anointing with oil.
Saul anointed as king
The first king, who was chosen and appointed by God as king of Israel was Saul. God had chosen Saul as king of Israel, as His anointed. God made His choice known to Samuel, and Samuel went to Saul and made God’s choice visible to Saul, by anointing him with oil as king of Israel (1 Samuel 9:16-17)
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? (1 Samuel 10:1)
When God had chosen Saul as king and Samuel had anointed him with oil, or in other words, when Samuel had consecrated Saul as king, God gave Saul a new heart (1 Samuel 10:9). Then we read, that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him (1 Samuel 10:6, 1 Samuel 10-11, 1 Samuel 11:6).
While Saul was being anointed as king, he wasn’t slain in the Spirit, neither did he experience supernatural powers nor were there any supernatural manifestations. The anointing with oil was only a visible confirmation of the fact, that God had chosen and appointed Saul as king.
Saul was chosen and appointed as king of Israel; He was God’s anointed one.
God was with him until Saul went his own way and became disobedient to the Lord, by disobeying God’s words (1 Sam 10:11). Saul had rejected God’s Word, and therefore God rejected Saul and the Spirit of the Lord left him (1 Samuel 15:23, 26, 16:14). Although the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, he was still anointed as king. Because Saul remained king until the day that he died.
David anointed as king
The next person, whom God had chosen to reign as king of Israel was David. God had chosen David and commanded Samuel to fill his horn with oil and to anoint the son of Jesse as king. From the day, that David was anointed with oil, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David (1 Samuel 16).
God had chosen David, in the spiritual realm, to reign as king, then He revealed His choice to Samuel, who made God’s choice visible in the natural realm, by anointing David as king with oil, and from that day the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, so that David was able to fulfill the king’s office. Although David was appointed by God as king over Israel, David didn’t become king right away.
After David, his son Salomon was anointed as king. When Solomon was anointed by the prophet Nathan and priest Zadok, Solomon didn’t receive any special powers and there were no visible manifestations taking place. Solomon was just put into the position as king because God had chosen Solomon to rule as king (1 Kings 1:32-40).
The anointing with oil
As you can see, the people, who were anointed in the (high)priest’s office or king’s office didn’t feel any special powers and there is nothing written about supernatural manifestations. The anointing with oil was just a visible proof of what had taken place in the spiritual realm. Because without visible proof it was difficult for the old carnal man, whose spirit was dead, to believe the spiritual.
The anointing with oil was a visible proof that God had set them apart from others, and sanctified and consecrated them unto Him, and put them into the position as His priest or king to represent Him and His will and lead His people.
After they were anointed; put into position, the Holy Spirit came upon them, so that they were able to fulfill their task. They were anointed by God to represent God’s will (the law). The Holy Spirit gave them wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, and power, and especially a fear of the Lord, which means awe and respect for God.
The anointing of the prophet Elisha
Now let’s have a look at the anointing of the prophet Elisha. God spoke to Elijah and revealed to him that He had chosen Elisha as a prophet and commanded him to anoint Elisha as a prophet in his place. However, we don’t read anything about Elijah anointing Elisha with oil.
While Elisha was plowing with twelve yokes of oxen before him, Elijah passed him by and cast his mantle upon him. Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah and asked him to allow him to say goodbye to his parent and after that, he would follow him. After they ate, Elisha arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him.
The casting of the mantle by Elijah was a sign that God had chosen Elisha as a prophet. Or in other words, that God had anointed Elisha as a prophet. When Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind into heaven, Elisha took the mantle of Elijah, which fell from Elijah. Elisha became a prophet in Elijah’s place, just as God had spoken (2 Kings 2:11-14 ).
Jesus the Messiah; the Anointed One
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins (Isaiah 11:1-5)
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us (Psalms 2:2-3)
In the Old Testament, we read about the promise of the Messiah; the Anointed One Jesus Christ.
God had chosen and appointed Jesus in the Messianic office to restore, what the devil had destroyed.
God had made Jesus, Who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that we, who are born again in Him, might be made the righteousness of God in Christ.
Jesus restored the relationship between God and man and gave the dominion, which God had originally given to man, back to man (the new man).
Jesus was the Anointed One of God; Jesus was appointed by God, to make His will known to God’s people and to represent, preach and establish His Kingdom on earth.
God had appointed Jesus, set Him apart from the people, and gave Jesus all power and authority to fulfill His task and accomplish His work on earth (Acts 10:37-38). Jesus lived in obedience to God and preached the Kingdom of God with authority and called the people to repentance and brought the Kingdom of God to man, while signs and wonders followed Jesus.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because the Lord has anointed Me
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:1-3)
When Jesus was in Nazareth, He went to the synagogue on the sabbath day and stood up and read from the Book of Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19)
Jesus was anointed by God; He was set apart and put into His position as the Messiah and as a sign that Jesus was anointed by God Jesus received the Holy Spirit, to accomplish His work. The anointing refers to the fact that Jesus was chosen and put into position by God, and not to the Holy Spirit.
During His ministry on earth, Jesus was anointed with oil several times. But these anointings had nothing to do with a spiritual office or consecration to God, but were done according to Jewish customs (read also: How many anointings are there?).
What does the Bible say about the anointing in Jesus Christ?
Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, whereby the Levitical priesthood has been replaced by a new priesthood, whereby Jesus is the High Priest and those, who are born again in Him, are appointed as priests (Hebrew 8, 10, Revelation 1:6). Therefore, you don’t need any special anointings anymore.
When you are born again, you become a new creation and are put into the position as a son of God. You are seated in Him and reign together with Jesus Christ as king and live as a priest. Unfortunately, the latter is often forgotten. But developing a Godly character, and living a holy, sanctified, and consecrated life to God is essential in the life of every believer. Because being anointed means, that you are chosen by God, separated from the world, sanctified, consecrated to God, and empowered to do the work of God.
Through regeneration in Jesus Christ; the Anointed One, you are anointed in Him, which means that you have been set apart from the world.
You are no longer the old creation and therefore you don’t belong to the old generation of man, who belongs to the world anymore.
But you have been clothed with Christ and have been put into the position as a son of God and belong to the new generation of man, who belongs to God.
The anointing has nothing to do with feelings, power, or supernatural manifestations.
But through the anointing, you are appointed and set into position as a son of God and have been declared holy and righteous. Because you are anointed, you have received the anointing; the Holy Spirit. You have not received the Holy Spirit in portions but in fullness, The Holy Spirit doesn’t come and go, like in the Old Covenant, but the Holy Spirit lives and abides in you.
The Word and the Holy Spirit will lead and guide you into all truth. You have received the authority in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit from God to fulfill your task as a son of God on this earth. Therefore, you don’t need any more anointings, because through regeneration you have received the highest anointing and therefore the highest position in the heavens and on earth.
God the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 4:4). This means, that you have been given all authority and power as a son of God in Christ, so that you are able to fulfill His commission and walk as a son of God in obedience to Him on this earth.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
