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Scripture Reading: Exo. 30:23-26, 29-30; 2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:20, 27
We have pointed out that the aspects of the Spirit mentioned in 2 Corinthians are different from those mentioned in 1 Corinthians. This means that there are different kinds of experiences of the same Spirit. In 1 Corinthians the Spirit is the revealing, gift-dispensing, and indwelling Spirit. But 2 Corinthians shows us some deeper experiences of the same Spirit. We have seen that in this second Epistle there are nine aspects of the substantial and subjective work of the Holy Spirit within us: the anointing, sealing, guaranteeing, writing, life-giving, ministering, liberating, transforming, and transmitting. Ultimately, the Spirit transmits all that Christ is with the fullness of the Godhead into us. These aspects are very deep, substantial, and subjective. In this chapter we would like to say more concerning the anointing aspect of the Spirit.
In the New Testament we are told that we have a wonderful thing called the anointing (1 John 2:20, 27). God has anointed us and has attached us unto the anointed One (2 Cor. 1:21). The anointed One is Christ, the Son of God, whom God has anointed above all His partners, His companions (Heb. 1:9). By being attached to Him, we all have been anointed. Now we share the anointing from the Holy One. This anointing abides in us and teaches us in everything. The anointing is the moving of the ointment, the moving of the Spirit within us.
We need to consider the difference between oil and ointment, because both of them typify the Spirit. Exodus 30 speaks of both olive oil and the compound ointment (vv. 24-25). The oil is composed of only one element, the element of the olive, but the ointment is composed of oil plus a number of elements. The compound ointment is composed of one basic element, olive oil, blended and compounded together with four kinds of spices. This compound ointment in Exodus 30 is a wonderful picture and type of the all-inclusive, compound Spirit in the New Testament (Phil. 1:19).
The Old Testament gives us the pictures, whereas the New Testament gives us the definition and description of these pictures. Let us consider the picture of the ingredients of the compound ointment in Exodus 30. The olive oil is the base, and it is mixed, blended, and compounded with four spices: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia.
Olive oil, according to typology, signifies the Spirit of God (Isa. 61:1; Heb. 1:9).
All good Bible students and teachers recognize that myrrh is a type of the death of Christ with all the sufferings which Christ passed through in His death. When Nicodemus helped to bury Jesus, he buried Him with myrrh and aloes (John 19:39).
Myrrh comes from an aromatic tree. This tree drops its juice either as the result of being cut or through some kind of natural opening or incision. It smells sweet but tastes bitter. Today we smell Christ’s death, but He tasted death. Christ tasted death for us and its taste was bitter, but to us His death smells sweet. Myrrh signifies the suffering death of Christ.
Fragrant cinnamon is extracted from the inner part of the bark of a certain tree. It not only has a distinctive flavor but also can be used to stimulate a weak heart. Cinnamon signifies the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ’s death, which is so effective in healing us.
The third spice is calamus. Calamus is a reed which grows and rises up out of a marsh or a muddy place. Even though it grows in a marsh, it is able to shoot up into the air. Calamus signifies the rising up, the resurrection, of Christ.
The fourth spice is cassia. Cinnamon is from the inner part of the bark, and cassia is from the outer part. It is also a sweet and fragrant spice. In ancient times cassia was used as a repellent to drive away insects and snakes. Thus, it signifies the power, the effectiveness, of Christ’s resurrection.
These four spices were added into the olive oil. Therefore, the death of Christ with its sweetness and effectiveness and the resurrection of Christ with its power were added to and compounded with the Spirit of God.
Now we need to consider the numbers related to the ingredients of the compound ointment. According to typology, all the numbers in the Bible are meaningful.
There are four spices, and the number four in the Bible is the number of the creatures. The book of Ezekiel speaks of the four living creatures (1:5). Thus, the number four signifies humanity in God’s creation. There were five hundred shekels of myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels of cinnamon, two hundred fifty shekels of calamus, and five hundred shekels of cassia in the compound ointment, giving a total of three units of five hundred shekels each. The number three signifies the Triune God. From these numbers we can see that both humanity and divinity are compounded in the Spirit of God, the heavenly olive oil.
Notice that the second unit of five hundred shekels is split in half into two units of two hundred fifty shekels each. This signifies that the second of the Divine Trinity was split through His death on the cross.
The two units of two hundred fifty shekels each are not complete. One signifies the sweetness and effectiveness of the Lord’s death; the other signifies the precious resurrection of Christ. This shows that the Lord’s death is incomplete. His resurrection must follow His death and be added to His death. These two things are not separate but are connected together.
All of these elements are put into one hin of olive oil. This entire hin of olive oil signifies the complete, perfect, eternal, divine Spirit. The Spirit of God is complete and eternally perfect in Himself, but He still needs more ingredients to be consummated as the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ.
With the compound ointment, there is also the number five. The four spices plus the one hin of olive oil are five ingredients. In the Bible the number five signifies responsibility and the ability for bearing responsibility. Five is composed of four plus one. We may use the human hand as an illustration. On our hand we have four fingers and a thumb. Because of this our hand can do many things and bear responsibility.
In the Bible there are clear illustrations of the fact that five is the number of responsibility. The Ten Commandments were written on two tablets, five on each tablet. These five commandments on each tablet signify responsibility. Also, there are the ten virgins in Matthew 25. They are divided into two groups: five wise ones and five foolish ones. This shows that all the believers bear the responsibility of being filled with the Spirit.
We creatures are signified by the number four, and God is signified by the number one. When God is added to us, we have the ability to bear responsibility. Once we were the number four, but we have had the unique God added to us. Now we are the number five. Being without God is like having four fingers without a thumb. Just as it is awkward not to have a thumb, it is more than awkward not to have God.
As we have seen, there are three units of five hundred shekels of the spices. Thus, there is three times five hundred, and five hundred is one hundred times five. This signifies that in this compound ointment there is the fullness of ability for bearing responsibility.
Five and three are the basic numbers in the compound ointment. As we have seen, three is the number of the Godhead, and there are three units of five hundred shekels in the ointment. The second unit of five hundred shekels is split in half, indicating that the second of the Divine Trinity was split on the cross. In the compound ointment there are four spices added to one hin of olive oil. Five is four plus one — the creature plus the Creator to be the ability to bear responsibility.
I would like us to read a few portions from the Bible to see more of the significance of the numbers five and three.
Let us first consider the dimensions of the ark, which Noah built, in Genesis 6. After God created everything, He intended to build up something. The first item of God’s building was the ark of Noah. The ark is the seed of God’s building, and the New Jerusalem is the harvest of God’s building. From this seed the New Jerusalem grows out and grows up.
The numbers three and five are prevalent in the dimensions of the ark, the first item of God’s building. Genesis 6:15 says, “This is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.” Verse 16 says that the ark was to be made with “lower, second, and third stories.” Here with the dimensions of the ark, we have multiples of the numbers three and five. Three, the number of the Triune God, and five, the number of responsibility, the number of God added to man, are the numbers of God’s building.
The dimensions of the tabernacle are also full of the numbers three and five. As an example of this, Exodus 27:1 speaks of the dimensions of its altar: “You shall make the altar of acacia wood, a length of five cubits and a width of five cubits; the altar shall be square; and three cubits, its height.” Again we see the numbers five and three because they are the numbers of God’s building.
Now let us read Exodus 25:10 concerning the dimensions of the ark in the Holy of Holies: “They shall make an ark of acacia wood: two and a half cubits shall be its length; and one and a half cubits, its width; and one and a half cubits, its height.” Two and a half is half of five, and one and a half is half of three. The altar is five by three, and the ark is two and a half by one and a half. The altar is a complete unit, but the ark is half the size of the altar. The ark typifies Christ, and Christ has been split. The “halved” Christ is the crucified Christ for God’s building. Again we see the basic numbers of five and three for God’s building.
The tabernacle was of three sections: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. According to Exodus 27:13, the width of the outer court on the east side was to be fifty cubits. Then verses 14 and 15 say that the hangings on either side of the gate were to be fifteen cubits with three pillars and three sockets. Furthermore, verse 18 says that the height of the linen curtains of the outer court was to be five cubits. Actually, each curtain of the enclosure in the outer court measured five cubits by five cubits.
The above illustrations should prove to us that the numbers three and five are the numbers for God’s building. This also shows us that the compound ointment is for God’s building. God charged Moses to anoint the tabernacle and all the utensils of the tabernacle with this ointment (30:26-29). Moses also was to anoint Aaron and his sons with the compound ointment (v. 30). This means that the all-inclusive Spirit is also for God’s priesthood. If the tabernacle with everything related to it had not been anointed with the ointment, it would have been a secular building, not a holy building, not God’s building. The tabernacle could never have been a divine building until every part of it was anointed with the holy compound ointment.
Do not think that I am burdened here to give a sermon on typology. My intention is to show us how we can have the church life. We can have the church life by being anointed with the compound Spirit. In 1 Corinthians there are the gifts, but 2 Corinthians speaks of the anointing. The building of God is established and built up by the anointing of the compound ointment, the compound Spirit.
Psalm 133 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment...” (vv. 1-2a, KJV). The ointment is the unity, the oneness. This is why Ephesians 4:3 speaks of the oneness of the Spirit. The Spirit as the compound ointment is not just the Spirit of God, possessing merely divinity; the Spirit as the ointment has been compounded with Christ’s divine and human natures, His death and its effectiveness, and His resurrection and its power.
Teachings and gifts alone cannot build up the church. The church, the Body of Christ, has been divided by teachings and gifts. Only the anointing of the Spirit of Jesus Christ as the compound ointment can build up the church. God is anointing us today with such an all-inclusive Spirit. In this ointment there is the effectiveness of Christ’s death to kill all the divisive germs and negative things within our being.
Now I would like to quote a portion of Andrew Murray’s masterpiece The Spirit of Christ. The following excerpts are taken from chapter 5, which is entitled, “The Spirit of the Glorified Jesus.”
We know how the Son, who had from eternity been with the Father, entered upon a new stage of existence when He became flesh. When He returned to Heaven, He was still the same only-begotten Son of God, and yet not altogether the same. For He was now also, as Son of Man, the first-begotten from the dead, clothed with that glorified humanity which He had perfected and sanctified for Himself. And just so the Spirit of God as poured out at Pentecost was indeed something new...When poured out at Pentecost, He came as the Spirit of the glorified Jesus, the Spirit of the Incarnate, crucified, and exalted Christ, the bearer and communicator to us, not of the life of God as such, but of that life as it had been interwoven into human nature in the person of Christ Jesus.
...From His nature, as it was glorified in the resurrection and ascension, His Spirit came forth as the Spirit of His human life, glorified into the union with the Divine, to make us partakers of all that He had personally wrought out and acquired, of Himself and His glorified life...And in virtue of His having perfected in Himself a new holy human nature on our behalf, He could now communicate what previously had no existence — a life at once human and Divine.
...And the Holy Spirit could come down as the Spirit of the God-man — most really the Spirit of God, and yet as truly the spirit of man.
Andrew Murray’s teaching shows that today the Spirit of God is the Spirit of the glorified Jesus. He is the Spirit not merely with divinity but the Spirit both of God and of man with a renewed, uplifted, developed, new holy human nature. We are under the anointing of such a wonderful Spirit for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
