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1 John 2:20, 27; John 1:1, 14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Exo. 30:23-25; Rom. 8:2, 4, 6, 13
I. The meaning of the anointing
А. The Holy Spirit
B. The Old Testament type
C. The moving of the Holy Spirit to sanctify us
II. The anointing and the purpose of salvation
III. The anointing and the fellowship of life
IV. The anointing and the applying of the blood
V. Knowing the teaching of the anointing
А. The anointing
B. The understanding of the mind
C. The feeling of the conscience
VI. Obedience to the teaching of the anointing
А. Walking according to the Spirit
B. Living in fellowship
C. Living in the presence of God
D. The result
Obeying the teaching of the anointing is the crucial and central experience of our spiritual life. This lesson is related to all the dealings we experience on the negative side and the building up on the positive side. [Therefore, our obedience to the anointing is the secret of our growth in life. If we desire to follow the Lord in the way of life, we should have a thorough knowledge and experience of this lesson.]
[What is the meaning of the anointing? We can understand this by the term itself and by its origin in the Bible. Firstly, let us look at the meaning of the term itself. The anointing of 1 John 2:27 in the original Greek is not a noun, but a verb pertaining to a certain kind of motion. It is not an ointment in a quiescent state, inactive and motionless, but it is an ointment in a state of motion and activity, involving the movement of anointing. Then what does the anointing refer to?] All Bible students agree that the anointing refers to the moving of the Holy Spirit, and that the ointment in the Old Testament is a type of the Holy Spirit.
Who is the Holy Spirit? Many people misunderstand the Holy Spirit as a power or a thing given by God to do supernatural or sometimes spooky things. No. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God. The eternal God is embodied in the eternal Word (John 1:1). This eternal Word is God who became flesh and was called Christ Jesus (John 1:14). This complete God as a genuine man lived a perfect human life (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). He went to the cross to remove all the negative things in the universe (Heb. 2:14) and to release His life to all His chosen and redeemed people (John 12:24). In resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), that is, the Holy Spirit. Therefore when we talk about the Holy Spirit, we are talking about the Triune God — Father, Son and Spirit — who went through a process to consummate in the Spirit.
This Holy Spirit is typified by the compound ointment in the Old Testament. Exodus 30:23-25 describes how the compound ointment is made. This ointment is made of four spices — myrrh, cinnamon, calamus and cassia — added to a hin of olive oil. Myrrh is a sweet spice used for burials, so it typifies the Lord’s sweet death. Cinnamon has certain healing properties, thus it typifies the effectiveness of His death. Calamus is a reed which grows out of muddy places high into the air, therefore, it must signify the Lord’s resurrection. Cassia, the last spice, repels insects and especially snakes. It reminds us of the power of His resurrection.
Since the compound ointment in the Old Testament typifies the Holy Spirit, we may call the Spirit, the compound Spirit. With this compound Spirit, we have the Lord’s sweet death for us. The effectiveness of His death always kills all the negative elements inside our being (Rom. 8:13). This Spirit also brings to us His resurrection with the life and its power. By this resurrection power we may overcome all our enemies, especially Satan, the snake. Hallelujah! Not only that, the Spirit also brings into us all that God is — love, light, holiness, righteousness, etc. — and all that God has, obtained and attained. What a wonderful Spirit is dwelling in us.
Since the Spirit is a living person, He is always moving. This is why in 1 John chapter two, He is not merely called the ointment, but the anointing. We are unholy naturally. He is Holy. He always moves within us to sanctify us, that is, to separate us from the common worldly things, so that we may be filled with the holy nature of God. He kills everything in us that is not of God and for God. Then He adds to us all that God is. Therefore, to follow the teaching of the anointing is crucial to our experience and growth of life.
The central purpose of God’s salvation is to work Himself into human beings and be mingled with them as one. Likewise, the function of the anointing is to anoint God into us, so that we may be mingled with God as one. Therefore, practically speaking, the purpose of God’s salvation is achieved through the anointing. If there is no anointing, the purpose of God’s salvation can never be fulfilled. The anointing is thus a significant factor in the entire salvation of God.
When the Triune God came into us as the Holy Spirit, He became mingled with us. Thus, the purpose of His salvation — the mingling of God and man — is accomplished in us in a practical way.
However, the work of God to mingle Himself with man is not an instantaneous process. Since we were regenerated and the Holy Spirit entered into us, this mingling has been going on continuously. Throughout the entire lifetime of a Christian, all the work of the Holy Spirit upon him is to fulfill the work of mingling God with man.
How does the Holy Spirit work this mingling into us? He does it by anointing us as the ointment. We have said that the moving of the Holy Spirit means the anointing. He is not motionless within us, but is ever-moving and ever-active. This movement and action is a kind of anointing, which anoints more and more of God into us. Hence, the more the Holy Spirit anoints us, the more God can mingle with us.
[There is a very close relationship between the anointing and the fellowship of life. The fellowship of life is the flowing of life, the flowing together of God and all those possessing His life. The anointing is the mingling of God with all those belonging to Him. The purpose of the flowing of life is to flow God into us, while the purpose of the anointing is to anoint God into us. These two are two aspects of one thing; they are very closely related and difficult to separate.
Let us now see why the anointing and the fellowship of life are two aspects of the same thing. We know that God is life, and God is the Spirit. Concerning God as life, He flows in us unceasingly — this is the fellowship of life. Concerning God as the Spirit, He moves in us continually — this is the anointing. However, life and the Spirit are inseparable, for the Spirit includes life, and life is in the Spirit. Life is the content of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the reality of life. These two are the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), which is two-in-one and indivisible. Therefore, the fellowship of life and the anointing are also inseparable, being two aspects of one thing.]
[A very close relationship also exists between the anointing and applying the blood. The purpose of the anointing is to anoint God into us, that we may have fellowship with God and be mingled and united with God.] When speaking of maintaining the fellowship, the New Testament brings up the matters of sprinkling the blood and applying the ointment. The sprinkling of the blood is to cleanse away all that should not be there. The anointing of the ointment is to anoint us with the elements of God, even with God Himself. It is just like someone painting furniture. As a result of the painting action, the paint is applied to the furniture. The Spirit coming to man is God coming to man. And by the Spirit moving and anointing in man, God is wrought into man.
Therefore, on the negative side, the blood cleanses away all the things that we should not have. On the positive side, the ointment anoints us with what we should have. What we should not have are the sins, and what we should have is God Himself. By the continual cleansing and anointing of the blood and the ointment, we maintain our union with the Lord always.
[The more we apply the blood and allow it to wash us continually, the more we will experience the anointing and feel the living presence and moving of God; thus, we will have fellowship with God. Therefore, the anointing and the applying of the blood are also inseparable.]
[The teaching of the anointing comes from the anointing and is the natural result of our being anointed. When the anointing is moving within us, on the one hand, it anoints God into us, and on the other hand, it reveals God’s mind to us. Therefore, the teaching of the anointing has two aspects: first, through the anointing we gain more of God Himself, more of God’s components; second, through the teaching we know His mind and live in Him.
Of these two aspects, to have God Himself is primary, and to know God’s mind is secondary. Furthermore, to have God Himself always comes first, and then to know His mind. Each time we experience the anointing within us, we gain firstly more of God Himself, more of God’s components; this, then, produces a result — it causes us to know what God wants us to do. It is impossible to know His will without having Himself. Therefore, the teaching of the anointing is a subordinate function of the anointing.]
[Although the teaching of the anointing comes from the anointing these two occupy different parts in our being. The anointing is in our spirit, whereas the teaching of the anointing is in our mind. Why is the anointing in our spirit? Because the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit; therefore, the anointing which emanates from the moving of the Holy Spirit is definitely in our spirit. When our spirit is motivated by the Holy Spirit, we become conscious of it. Such a consciousness is the feeling of the anointing. At this time, provided that our mind has been taught, we are able to interpret this feeling from our spirit. We can understand its meaning and thus obtain the teaching which emanates from the anointing. Therefore, the teaching of the anointing is in our mind and is entirely a matter of the comprehension of our mind. Therefore, if we desire to follow the teaching of the anointing, we should have not only a keen feeling in our spirit, but also an experienced and spiritual mind. Such a mind includes the renewing of the mind, the exercising of our comprehension in spiritual matters, and the collecting of spiritual knowledge. These require that we love the Lord more, seek spiritual experiences, live in fellowship, study the Bible, read spiritual books and listen to messages. Through these, our mind will receive spiritual unveiling and become enriched in knowledge; thus, it will be able to comprehend the meaning of the anointing in our spirit. Consequently, we will realize the teaching of the anointing.]
Without a thorough knowledge of the Word, you will be unable to understand much of what the anointing teaches. In the Lord’s recovery, every saint must be built up with the full knowledge of the Bible. Gradually your ability to understand and interpret spiritual things will develop. This will give the anointing the means to speak to you.
[We have said that the normal feeling of the conscience is derived from the Holy Spirit, who is in our spirit, and passes through our mind to enlighten us. This enlightenment is also a kind of anointing of the Holy Spirit as the ointment. Therefore, the feeling of the conscience and the teaching of the anointing are both derived from the feeling of the anointing. The anointing, after having passed through the intuition of the spirit and having been understood by the mind, becomes the teaching of the anointing. However, the anointing, having passed through the conscience and being understood by the mind, becomes the feeling of the conscience; this, then, is their relatedness.
There are, however, differences between the teaching of the anointing and the feeling of the conscience. First, the conscience is an organ to differentiate right from wrong. The feeling of the conscience which is derived from the anointing is also limited to right and wrong, good and evil. But the teaching of the anointing, which comes by way of the anointing and is sensed directly in our spirit, is related in scope to God Himself. It surpasses right and wrong and touches directly the will of God Himself. If we only care for the feeling of the conscience, we can only be a faultless Christian. We must go beyond this to live in the teaching of the anointing; then we can touch the mind of God and live in God.]
[Concerning the teaching of the anointing, the Holy Spirit attends to the anointing, and we take care of the obedience. If there is no obedience, it is difficult to have the experience of this lesson.]
[If we desire to have the experience of walking according to the spirit, we need to know what is the teaching of the anointing and what is the feeling derived from the inward moving of the Holy Spirit. We need to know and live in the apprehension of this feeling. It is only in this feeling that we are able to walk according to the spirit. To follow the Lord means to follow the Spirit, which, specifically speaking, means to obey the teaching of the anointing. We are not following an objective, external Lord, but One who is subjective and lives in us. The shining of His face and the manifestation of Himself is the anointing; whereas the will He reveals in the light of His face is the teaching of the anointing. If we obey this teaching, we are obeying the Lord. If we follow this teaching, we are following the Lord.]
[As life is in the Holy Spirit, so the fellowship of life is through the moving or anointing of the Holy Spirit. Each anointing of the ointment anoints the Lord into us and also anoints us into the Lord; thus, it creates a flow of life between the Lord and us. Therefore, when we experience the anointing, there also is the fellowship of life.
If our fellowship with the Lord is limited only to our time of private prayer or morning watch, it is still very shallow. We need to live in fellowship every moment and be in close contact with the Lord, even while we are the busiest; then our fellowship will be deep. In order to live in fellowship, we must live in the anointing and always sense the anointing. This living in the anointing is obeying the teaching of the anointing. If we obey the teaching of the anointing constantly, we can constantly experience the anointing and live in fellowship. Otherwise, we cannot experience the anointing and abide in fellowship.]
[According to the truth, God has ever been with us since the day we were saved. His presence has never departed from us, and we can never lose it. This presence is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit within us is God’s presence. Therefore, this presence is not a condition or a matter, but a Person. This Person is the Holy Spirit, whose being in us is the presence of God. From the day we are saved, this presence is never lost.
However, according to our experience, we are not always conscious of His presence. Sometimes, it seems that His presence has disappeared and we have lost the light of His face. It all depends upon the anointing. Without the anointing, the presence of God cannot be made real within us, and we cannot feel the light from His face. With the anointing, the reality of His presence and sense of the light from His face follow. Therefore, by the anointing we can experience the presence of God in a practical way.]
[Since the anointing is vital to God’s presence, we need to obey the teaching so we can experience more of the anointing. Then we can live at all times and in all places in the presence of God, living in the light of His face and touching His presence moment by moment. At this time we can enter into the reality of the hymn which says:
We have passed the riven veil, Here the glories never fail; We are living in the presence of the King!
When man passes through the veil of the flesh and lives in the presence of God, he enters into the Holy of Holies and lives in the spirit, having fellowship face to face with God. It is at this time that our spiritual experience reaches its peak.
In conclusion, the key to all our spiritual life is the anointing. We should continually touch the anointing and obey its teaching. When we live in the teaching of the anointing, we are walking according to the spirit, living in the fellowship of the Lord and in God’s presence. If once we lose the teaching of the anointing, the leading of the Holy Spirit is absent, our fellowship with the Lord ceases, and the light in God’s face is lost; consequently, we have no way to live in His presence. Therefore, the teaching of the anointing is truly the center of all spiritual experience and is also a very wonderful part of God’s salvation. May we pay more attention to it and experience it more!]
