Mensa Otabil - The Spirit of God Has Anointed Us
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This week we’ve talked about the Spirit of God. We’ve talked about the Father; He made us and lives inside of us. He raises a standard against the enemy, and today we’re looking at the fact that the Spirit of God also anoints us. Isaiah chapter 61, verse 1: «The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.» The Holy Spirit inspired these words through the prophet Isaiah. At the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, He appropriated these words for Himself and declared them at the onset of His ministry.
Most of us have heard the word «anointing» or «anointed.» It is a term we usually apply to preachers or people called into full-time Christian ministry and Christian service. The word «anointing» or «anointed» simply means to smear with oil; it doesn’t have any mysterious interpretation and simply means to smear with oil—almost like the way you would apply oil to yourself. The reason it is a very special word is that under the Old Testament, there was a very special oil, and only a few people would be smeared with it. Those who were smeared with that oil were deemed to have been chosen by God to do something special for Him. Three categories of people qualified to be anointed with that oil: the first was the priest, so they could do their job in the temple; the second was when a new king was ordained; he was anointed to stand in his office as a king; and the third was that some prophets were anointed to operate as prophets.
The general public or populace was not anointed; only a few people were anointed. That changes in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the word of God falls upon all flesh, so the anointing in the Old Testament is very different from the anointing in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, they applied oil; in the New Testament, we don’t necessarily have to apply oil, but the Spirit of God comes to live in the life of every believer and empowers them to do the works of God. So whereas in the Old Testament only a few people were anointed, in the New Testament, every believer is anointed because the Holy Spirit lives in them and empowers them to do the work of God.
The oil is no longer physical; the oil is now spiritual. We may do a ceremony and apply physical oil, but the reality in the New Testament is the Holy Spirit and not just oil. The Holy Spirit has set about every believer, every child of God, to do the works of Christ. So if you are a believer and Christ lives inside of you, you are anointed by the Holy Spirit. You have the power; Jesus actually said you will walk upon serpents and scorpions. Jesus said you will lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Jesus said you will cast out devils, and that is not just for a special group of people; it is for every believer, because you are anointed of God.
So today, as you ponder the work of the Holy Spirit, remember He has anointed you to preach, He has anointed you to set captives free, and He has anointed you to do the works of God. You are awesomely equipped by God to do the works of God. Don’t belittle the grace of God that has been extended toward you; use that anointing. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.