“The Anointing: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”
Chapter One – The Anointing
by R.T. Kendall
One of the most frightening comments I have heard since I entered the ministry was uttered by an Episcopalian priest in America: “If the Holy Spirit were taken completely from the church, 90 percent of the work of the church would go right on as if nothing had happened!”
What a travesty of what the church was meant to be! And can it be true also of our personal lives – that many of us are churning out “Christian” activity that has no touch of God upon it?
There is only one antidote to such a situation. It is breathtaking in its possibility, it is awesome in its power, and it is liberating in its effect. It is quite simply – the anointing.
I will never forget an incident that occurred a few years ago. It was when I was with Jackie Pullinger. I had walked with her in the Walled City of Hong Kong and watched her minister to ex-drug addicts. I was scared at just being in that part of the city, but Jackie had now lived there more for twenty years. I was amazed at all God had achieved through this woman. Later on came an off-the-cuff comment: “R.T.,” she said, “to the spiritual person the supernatural seems natural.”
The anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the day there is no better definition. This book is about the power of the Holy Spirit. But there is a more refined definition that I would like to offer at this stage.
The Meaning of the Anointing
Several years ago someone came into my vestry and asked me, “What do you mean by the anointing?” I remember replying something like this: “It’s a gift that functions easily when it’s working.” I had never said it like that before, I must have thought it. The seed for this thought probably came from what Jackie Pullinger had said. The person who is filled with the Holy Spirit is able to do extraordinary things, but to him it seems quite natural. It is easy. That is, when it’s working.
It does not follow, of course, that all that functions easily is our anointing. Some things come easily that are not necessarily good – eating, talking too much or watching more television than is good for us. Temptation comes easily, and we may find it “natural” to do things that are not productive. The anointing, however, leads to what is good; it blesses and encourages others. And its function is carried out with ease and without strain or fatigue. It is also self-edifying.
I say again: When it is working, it functions easily. The late John Wimber kindly called on me in my vestry at Westminster Chapel several years ago. While we were talking I heard Bill Reynolds voice outside the door. Bill was our church secretary and one of our deacons. I thought he might like to meet John, so I went to get him. As soon as I introduced him, John began to prophesy to him: “You’re like Cornelius whose prayers have come up as a remembrance to God.” And then John prophesied about Bill’s two sons.
John had no way of knowing Bill had two sons, but what stunned Bill was that Paul Cain had said the same thing to him about those two sons three years before! I remarked, “Well, Bill, I bet you didn’t expect that when I called you in here!” Bill was staggered at this, whereupon John said in a matter-of-fact manner, “I can’t turn it on, and I can’t turn it off.”
When the anointing is working, it is as natural and easy for our gift to function as eating or talking with friends. The gift is always there but doesn’t always function easily. The anointing of that gift makes it function with ease. A further example of this was when I was doing the Bible reading at Spring Harvest in 1994. That year I preached at both Minehead and Skegness. When I preached through Isaiah 49 at Minehead, I felt unusual help – there was a definite anointing on my preaching (at least I felt it). I assumed that when I repeated the same sermon a week later at Skegness I would have the same experience. Wrong! I struggled, preached with nervousness and thought it would never end! I couldn’t believe the contrast between the two occasions although I had the same set of notes for each.
You can’t turn it on, and you can’t turn it off. That doesn’t mean we lose control when the anointing unexpectedly emerges. “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32). But Jesus said, “The wind blows wherever it pleases” (John 3:8). We are continually surprised over the unexpected moment when the Holy Spirit flows from within.
The problem is, life goes on, and we do our best with the gifts we have. You have to go to work whether you feel like it or not. I have to speak several times a week whether I feel like it or not. There are times when there is such an anointing on my preparation that I can hardly wait to preach. There are also times (most of the time, if I’m honest) when I work and work with no great feeling of inspiration. Once in a while my whole sermon preparation unfolds in seconds, and the preaching of it is as good (or better) than when the preparation took days.
This is true no matter what your calling is. A Spirit-filled nurse may be walking down a hospital corridor to give a patient an injection when she suddenly feels a sense of God’s presence. She continues with her work but does so with the knowledge that God is with her in a special way. There is no greater feeling. Whether you are a secretary, professional person, homemaker, truck driver, or minister, the possibility of the anointing is there all the time; you never know when God will manifest Himself in an unusual way. Therefore, in my own work - whether in public speaking or in the solitude of intense preparation – I never know when that sense of God will come on me.
Why? There are probably two explanations. First, it could be me- my mood, how much sleep I had, with whom I have just been talking, how clear my mind feels, whether I am rushed or having to meet a deadline. It could be largely physical or emotional. It has much to do with whether I am under pressure. Or even if I have something to look forward to, like spending time with a trusted friend. It may, therefore, have little to do with the Holy Spirit.
The second explanation is the sovereignty of the person of the Holy Spirit. The anointing is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is a person. God the Father is a person with a personality. God the Son – Jesus Christ – is a person with a personality. The Holy Spirit likewise has His own personality. He therefore moves in at will when we least expect it, and sometimes when we are least deserving of it. A lot of prayer no doubt has something to do with it, but there are times when the Spirit operates sovereignly when I haven’t prayed as much as I should. The anointing is unmerited favor – it is sheer grace.
Gift and anointing are words that can sometimes be used interchangeably, but the liveliness of the anointing determines whether that gift works at its best. We should pray for the anointing on our gift – or even pray for an anointing on our anointing! This is because of the various ways the Holy Spirit manifests Himself. Whereas He is on deposit in every Christian, as Paul wrote in Romans 8:9 and 1 Corinthians 12:11-13, He can be grieved or quenched (Eph. 4:30, 1 Thess. 5:19). In 1 Samuel 16:14, he is said to have “departed” from Saul, and yet the Spirit came upon him after that and Saul prophesied (1 Sam. 19:23)! Saul was rejected as king but was still referred to as anointed (1Sam. 16:1; 24:6). This is why gift and anointing can be used in much the same way, and yet the term anointing is used in more than one way.
The anointing functioning at its best is being at home with our gift. At ease. No pressure. Having nothing to prove. At home.
Next to the gift of salvation and the sure knowledge that we will go to heaven when we die, the anointing is our most precious possession.
The Anointing and the Holy Spirit
The anointing, then, is the Holy Spirit. It is really just another word for the Holy Spirit. It is one of John’s special words for the Spirit. “You have an anointing from the Holy One…The anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you” (John 2:20, 27). Because the Holy Spirit is our teacher, he “will teach you all things” and “will guide you into all truth” (John 14:26; 16:13).
I would rather have more of this than anything. I want more of the Holy Spirit than I want anything in the world. In Proverbs the anointing is called “wisdom” and “understanding.” “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding” (Prov. 4:7). James uses this word wisdom; “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).
In a former generation the word was sometimes unction, probably because the King James Version uses that word in 1 John 2:20. It was often referred to regarding preaching – whether a minister preached with “unction.” I have often said I wanted unction on my preaching and that I would push a peanut with my nose across London if that would bring it.
I said something like that one evening when I was being interviewed at Spring Harvest. About ten to fifteen minutes later, someone raised his hand and asked, “Whatever is unction?” My first reaction was surprise, or that the person might be putting me on. But I have come to see that some of us frequently have used terms that many people sincerely did not understand. I therefore want to take adequate time to explain the term unction in this chapter. Unction appears in the great hymn or psalm “The King of Love My Shepherd Is,” which was sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth:
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!¹
Jesus stood up to read in the synagogue. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, He found the place (Isa. 61:1-2) where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The word anointing, or unction, is translated from the Greek chrisma. I shall stick to the term anointing. The dictionary definition refers merely to the application of ointment or oil. The anointing oil, sometimes called Extreme Unction, is one of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, generally used when a person is dying.² It is based on James 5:14: “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.” But there is no indication this should be done only when someone is dying. While I was pastor at Westminster Chapel, we administered the anointing of oil and had a number of people testify to being healed.
The word anointing comes from the root chrio in the Greek and is the word that underlies “Christ,” which means “Messiah” or “the Anointed One.” The word chrisma is used in 1 John 2:20, 27, but it is not the same word as charisma (which usually refers to someone’s electrifying personality) or even charismata (which mainly refers to gifts of the Holy Spirit). And yet, as we shall see, the latter words, charisma and charismata, are nonetheless the result of the anointing.
The Anointing in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament the term anointing is used in at least five ways. First, it refers to oil – olive oil that was mixed with spices: myrrh, cinnamon, can and cassia.
Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. -Exodus 30:25
This oil was used to anoint the “Tent of Meeting, the ark of the testimony, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy” (Exod. 30:26-29). The anointing was said to be on holy things.
Second, the anointing refers to the consecration of priests. The same oil that anointed holy things was poured on Aaron’s head and on his sons (Lev. 8:10-13, 30). This was a very, very serious matter. Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you” (Lev. 10:7, cf. Lev. 21:10-12). The priests had charge of the anointing oil (Num. 4:16).
Third, the anointing oil refers to the consecration of kings. The first occasion for this was when Samuel anointed Saul. “Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying ‘Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance?’” (1 Sam. 10:1). For this reason Saul never ceased to be regarded as the Lord’s “anointed” (1 Sam. 24:6), even though God had rejected him from being king (1 Sam. 16:1).
Fourth, the anointing became closely connected to the Holy Spirit. Soon after Saul was anointed by Samuel, the Spirit of God came on him in power, God changed Saul’s heart, and he prophesied (1Sam. 10:6, 9-11). The Spirit of God came on David later when Samuel secretly anointed him king. Samuel anointed David, who had no crown. But the Holy Spirit came on him immediately.
“So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of His brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power” -1 Samuel 16:13
It could be said that Saul had the crown but lost the anointing. “Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him” (1 Sam. 16:14). But David had the anointing – that is, the Holy Spirit in power – without the crown.
In this fourth use, then, emerges what has been implicit all along: The oil was a symbol of God’s Holy Spirit. And yet the Holy Spirit Himself manifested His power where this oil had been poured so that the anointing oil was also more than a symbol. This became obvious when Jesus sent out the twelve disciples and gave them all authority over evil spirits. “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” (Mark 6:13). So the oil was more than a symbol; it seems to have been an instrument in some sense. This is something I do not claim to understand. Although the prayer offered in faith is what healed sick people, this was to be preceded by the anointing of oil (James 5:14-15).
The fifth use of the word did not seem to require any oil at all. Prophets were said to be anointed. “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm” (Ps. 105:15). Abraham is called a prophet, and Abimelech was warned not to harm him (Gen. 20:7). This means that Abraham was anointed, and yet there is no evidence that oil had been poured on him.³ The same seems to be true with the words of Isaiah: “the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord had anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” (Isa. 61:1). This pointed to the anointing of God’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet I know of no reference to oil being literally poured on Jesus.
The Eternal Anointing
It should not surprise us that people in the Old Testament had this anointing. Hebrews 9:14 says that the Holy Spirit is “eternal,” which means He is God – from everlasting to everlasting, having no beginning. The descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was not the beginning of the Holy Spirit any more than the birth of Jesus was the beginning of the Word, the Logos, the second person of the Trinity (John 1:1). What happened at Pentecost was the inauguration of the supreme manifestation of the Spirit now that Jesus had returned to the Father. But the Holy Spirit was present in the Old Testament from the beginning of creation (Gen. 1:2). As the Old Testament stalwarts did what they did by faith (Heb. 11:2), so likewise is the anointing on them – without the need of olive oil – the explanation of what they did.
The anointing is what enabled Elijah to challenge the prophets of Baal without fear on Mount Carmel: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Elijah was as much at ease in asking that question as he had been when he was led by the Spirit to challenge those false prophets in the first place. He was so much at home in this that he could openly ridicule them. They had shouted, “O Baal, answer us!” (v. 26). He taunted them. At last he said, “Come here to me,” and repaired the altar of the Lord (v. 30). He simply prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.” Then the fire fell. When the people saw this they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!” (1 Kings 18:36, 39).
The only explanation for Elijah’s success: his anointing.
The anointing is what lay behind Stephen’s face shining like “the face of an angel” and the reason the Jews could not “stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke” (Acts 6:15, 10). It is the reason Moses’ face was radiant (Exod. 34:30). It is why he could say to the people, “do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today,” after which the Israelites went through the Red Sea on dry ground (Exod. 14:13, 22). The anointing is what enabled Peter, who had denied Christ to a servant girl seven weeks before, to preach to thousands of Jews on the Day of Pentecost when three thousand were suddenly converted (Acts 2:14-41). It was also why he could say to a lame beggar, “Silver or gold have I do not have, but what I have I give you,” whereupon the man who had never walked was instantly healed (Acts 3:6-7).
In the fourth century an African by the name of Athanasius was in the minority when he held to the eternal deity of Jesus Christ. He stood alone, claiming that the Word that became flesh was coeternal, consubstantial and coexistent with the Father. “The world is against you,” his critics shouted at him. “If the world is against Athanasius, Athanasius is against the world,” he retorted.
The anointing is the reason Martin Luther could turn the world upside down in the sixteenth century. He stood alone in his claims that we are justified (declared righteous) before God by faith alone. The Western world was never to be the same again.
The anointing is the explanation for John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. Dedicated to the king of France and published all over Europe, these four books did more to refine the theology of Protestantism than any other publication. Said Henry Emerson Fosdick, to read the history of Western civilization apart from Calvin is to read it “with one eye shut.”
The anointing is what gave courage to the Marian martyrs. During the reign of Mary Tudor (“Bloody Mary,” she reigned 1553-1558), men gave their lives for their faith. As the flames came up over the bodies of Bishop Hugh Latimer and young Bishop Nicholas Ridley, Latimer shouted back to Ridley, “fear not, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle in England that I trust shall never be put out.” A year later the martyr John Bradford could say to his friend as the flames were about to encircle their bodies, “Be of good cheer, brother; we shall have a merrier supper with the Lord tonight.”
The anointing is what gave John Wesley and George Whitefield so many conversions when they preached in the fields. It is what fell on Jonathan Edwards’ hearers when he preached his sermon “Sinners in the Hand of and Angry God” and strongmen were seen holding on to tree trunks to keep form sliding into hell. It is what came on thousands one Sunday morning at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, in 1801 when an unknown lay preacher stood on a fallen tree, talking from his text from 2 Corinthians 5:10, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” and hundreds fell to the ground. It is sometimes called the Cane Ridge Revival – America’s Second Great Awakening.
The best way I have been able to describe the anointing, therefore, is that it is when our gift functions easily. It comes with ease. It seems natural. No “working it up” is needed. It is either there, or it isn’t. If we have to “work it up,” we have probably gone outside our anointing. If we go outside our anointing the result is often fatigue – weariness or spiritual lethargy that has been described as “dying inside.”
Notes
¹ “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” by Henry W. Baker. Public domain.
² Chrism oil is also used to anoint Roman Catholics at baptism, confirmation and ordination, as well as at many other church ceremonies.
³ However, there were times when a prophet too was directly anointed. The Lord told Elijah to anoint Jehu (1 Kings 19:16).
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 01:12PM 
Father, You Promised