Scripture Reading: Lev. 8:12, 30; Luke 4:18-19; Acts 10:38; 1 John 2:27; Psa. 133:1-3
Leviticus 8 speaks of Aaron being anointed and chapter nine refers to his offering of sacrifices. Before becoming king, David was also anointed by Samuel, and then he began to serve God according to the ministry which God had bestowed upon him (1 Sam. 16:12-13). This shows us very clearly that ministry follows anointing. A person who has a ministry before God must have first received an anointing before God. This is true even of the Lord Jesus. He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee" (Luke 4:18-19). We can see from the Word of God that a person who is useful in the hand of God must have first received the anointing before Him. One who has not received the anointing before God cannot serve or work for Him.
Having the anointing can very easily become an outward matter among the children of God. We are prone to link the anointing and power together. It is true that they are associated with each other because God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. The Holy Spirit and power do go together, and the Holy Spirit is the power of God, but the Holy Spirit becoming power upon man is just the result of the anointing; this is not God's primary purpose. It is not the thought which God has in mind at the time of anointing people. We should understand that the purpose of receiving the anointing is not to speak with tongues, to perform miracles, or to work wonders. The purpose of the anointing is to be separated and holy before God.
The anointing is referred to in many instances in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, however, the anointing is not linked together with power. The anointing had only one significance in the Old Testament: to indicate that the person belonged to God. When I say that this book belongs to me, I affix a seal upon it; when God says that a person belongs to Him, He anoints him. Ointment is for separation as well as sanctification. To anoint means to separate unto Jehovah or to belong to Jehovah for holiness.
This kind of absolute belonging to the Lord constitutes the primary requisite for the ministry. Anyone who has a ministry before God is separated unto Jehovah. Only those separated to Jehovah can have the ministry; only they can participate in the work. Whenever consecration ceases, the work will also cease; whenever there is a change in consecration, there will be a change in the ministry.
After the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus, God's acknowledgement, "This is My Son, the Beloved" (Matt. 3:17), came before the Lord began to work. This was God's speaking. Therefore, the anointing indicates God's ownership. Here is a person whom God can claim to be His own, and here is someone whom He can send or use. After the anointing we see power, spontaneous power. As a result the gospel was preached to the poor, sight was restored to the blind, those in bondage were delivered, and men heard of the year of jubilee, in which God accepts man.
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power before the Lord Jesus went about doing good and healing those who were oppressed by the devil. God anointed Him with ointment. What is this ointment? It is the Holy Spirit, and it is also power. It is very wonderful and precious that the Holy Spirit is ointment on us and power to others. To others the Holy Spirit is experienced as power, whereas on us, it is ointment. Whenever the ointment is on us, those who come in contact with us will touch power.
If we are separated before the Lord, spontaneously we will be power to others. Power is not first but second. If the problem of consecration before God is settled, spontaneously the question of power to others is settled. Whenever there is a problem with consecration (or, in other words, with separation), there is a problem with power, and there is a problem with the work. Anointing brings in spontaneous power. This is true with David as well as with Aaron.
In learning to serve God, we often come across a fact: when we are going to speak, if we are doing it for God, the anointing will be upon us. We will not need to speak strenuously or painstakingly, for we are conscious of the presence of the anointing upon us. Our words may be rather common and simple, yet we become stronger as we speak and feel the presence of the anointing. When we feel this, others will sense the presence of power. At other times we may also speak, but we feel like a deflated tire; we do not feel that there is any sense in our talking, and others do not sense the presence of power. Herein lies the difference: with the anointing there is power; without the anointing there is no power. The anointing is refreshing to us and power to others.
First John 2:27 says, "And as for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him." The scope of this verse is comprehensive because the anointing teaches us all things. The teaching of the anointing is entirely different from the teaching of men. Human teaching requires much reasoning and many words. As a result things become complicated. But the teaching of the anointing is different. The teaching of the anointing does not tell us many things or many words; it teaches us by means of His presence or absence in us. This is the characteristic of the anointing. If we do something that the Lord wants us to do, we will have the anointing once we move, and we will know that it is right. If it is something that we should not do, we will feel like a deflated tire once we do it, and we will know that we are not doing the right thing. The anointing does not instruct us by means of teaching or reasoning. If it did, our minds would have to be changed because the faculty of our mind falls far short of God's mind, and we are unable to comprehend His reasons.
Therefore, whether we are right or wrong is based on the presence or absence of the anointing; it is not based on the presence or absence of reason. All of God's children should learn one lesson, that in following God, we should not reason with Him; rather, we should see whether or not we have the refreshing of the Holy Spirit. Many times when we consider whether or not we should do something, we find good reasons for it; but when we are about to start, we feel that we are doing it alone, and the presence of the Lord is not with us. There is no anointing, and this indicates that we are wrong. For instance, if we are talking to someone and we do not have the anointing, the more we talk the more impotent and inwardly empty we will feel; we will feel dry and be like a deflated tire. However, if we have a heavy burden within, the more we speak, the more we will have an "amen" within and the more relaxed we will feel. We will know what God wants us to do. Therefore, no child of God should move if he does not feel the presence of the anointing. Once he moves, he will find that he is finished. When we are without the anointing, the more we act outwardly the colder we become inwardly, and others cannot touch anything in us either. When we feel the presence of the anointing, others feel power flowing from us. This anointing is both teaching and knowledge to us and power to others.
Many brothers seek power the same way that others seek life, but the Word of God tells us that death operates in us while life operates in others (2 Cor. 4:12). Those seeking life for themselves will not get it. When death operates in us, life operates in others. Similarly, we do not need to try to see whether or not we have power; we only need to ask whether or not we have the anointing. If the anointing is upon us, power will be in others. If we seek power in ourselves, I am afraid the power will not come; we may instead get something outward, which may be marvelous or somewhat sensational, but it is not the spiritual power spoken of in the Word of God. It is a pity that some of God's children seek for some kind of sensational power. They seek for power that they can sense and be sure of. They may think that if they have such power they will be able to help others, but this is entirely wrong. What we should pay attention to is not power but the anointing and whether we are abiding in the Lord according to its teaching. If we do not do as the anointing teaches, other people will not touch life. We may speak many words which people like to hear or consider meaningful, yet if there is no anointing, there is no spiritual reality and life. When we have the anointing before God, others will spontaneously receive help, touch life, and contact the Lord Himself.
There is another thing which we should take notice of, that the anointing is not for individuals but for the Body. It is not something that we experience as individuals. The precious ointment that was poured upon Aaron's head ran down upon the beard and went down to the skirts of his garments. In this condition one sees how good and how pleasant it is. Therefore, we should seek not only the teaching of the anointing within us but also for the teaching of the anointing in the Body of Christ. We should be guided not only by the anointing in us but the anointing in the Body of Christ. In many things the Lord is sovereignly ordering everything and leading us, and we should not act contrary to the anointing.
Let me give you an illustration. A certain brother, who was supposed to conduct a meeting, felt very empty inwardly and void of words. Therefore, he asked another brother to speak in his place. While going to the meeting, the latter felt that he should give a testimony when he spoke. He was not usually disposed to do this, but the anointing in him urged him to and so he presented his testimony. There were two people at the meeting who had been there several times to listen to the preaching. They had never understood very much, and they were not very interested in what was spoken in the meetings. In fact, they had not been to a meeting in a long time, but that night they were compelled by friends to attend. Other brothers were praying for them, asking God to give them the appropriate words. The testimony of the brother that evening turned out to be exactly what they needed. This is the guidance of the anointing within us, and this is the working of the anointing in a meeting. We should bear in mind that we can never serve God beyond the leading of the anointing within us. However much the anointing is in us, we should serve God to that limit. Going beyond our limit hinders others and damages them. Therefore, we should keep within the limits set by the Lord.
It is after we truly know the anointing that we begin to know what is meant by the ministry of the word or what serving by means of God's word is. When the anointing is upon us, we have the word. Therefore, it is through the anointing that we serve God. It is God who turns our attention to what He pays attention to, and it is God who furnishes us with the word by which we serve Him and minister to His children.
Lastly, we hope the brothers and sisters will sincerely consecrate themselves to God because all service is based on separation. The anointing which God has bestowed on us certifies that we are His. Once we have the anointing, we will sense that we belong to God and that we are the Lord's own! Once we have the anointing, we will be conscious of what the Lord wants us to do. When we act according to the teaching of the anointing, others will sense the power. This power is not the kind of power we imagine in our mind; it is not manifested in loud voices from the pulpit or in miracles and works of wonders; it lies in the fact that while we are serving, others touch life. This power is nothing other than the anointing. May God bless us so that we may truly abide in the Lord, according to the teaching of the anointing.
