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The Bible shows us that God's anointing is only for the One who has totally satisfied God's heart — His Son, Christ. If this is so, why does the Body receive the anointing? Psalm 133 shows us that the fine oil was poured on Aaron's head and ran down upon his beard to the hem of his garments. When a man is anointed, the oil is poured on the head of the anointed, not on the whole body. Yet after the oil is poured, it runs downward and eventually flows to the whole body. Because the Head is Christ, the Anointed One, the Body is also Christ. Christ is God's Anointed. The church is His Body. When Christ was anointed, the whole Body was anointed with Him. Christ is the great Anointed One, while the members are the little anointed ones. Yet we are not anointed separately; we were anointed in His Body, that is, in Christ, when He was anointed. It is impossible for us to be anointed in ourselves, because the Bible says, "Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured" (Exo. 30:32). We are anointed in Christ.
Luke 3:22 tells us what happened after the Lord was baptized in the river Jordan. "The Holy Spirit descended in bodily form as a dove upon Him. And a voice came out of heaven: You are My Son, the Beloved; in You I have found My delight." Luke 4:18 says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor." From these verses we see that the Lord was anointed with the Holy Spirit when He came out of the water of baptism at the Jordan River. Genesis 8 records that after the flood, Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a dove. However, the dove could not find any place to rest because the whole earth was filled with water, and it returned back to the ark. (The passage of Noah's ark through the deluge is a type of baptism.) At the time of Christ's baptism, the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove. This signifies that at the time of Christ's baptism, He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, when we were baptized, we also received the anointing of the Spirit.
Baptism signifies that everything of the old, natural man is buried. For the anointing to come after baptism means that in order for us to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit, our flesh must first be buried. Only that which is of the Lord can rise up after baptism because anything that belongs to the believers themselves is only qualified for burial. Anything that can rise up after burial has to be something in resurrection. It can rise up because Christ is in it. When we are baptized in Christ, we pass through death, burial, and resurrection with Him. Hence, when He was anointed, we were anointed also. We are crucified, buried, resurrected, and anointed together with Him.
The anointing is so precious because grace flows from the Head to the Body by means of the anointing. The function of the anointing is to maintain the link between the Head and the Body, as well as the link between all the members. The anointing is the operation of the Holy Spirit within man. The relationship between the Holy Spirit, Christ, and the church can be compared to the nerves in the human body. The nerves direct and coordinate all the members of the body. The head communicates and directs all the members through the nerves, and through the nerves all the members are related one to another as well. All the members in the body move according to the direction of the nerves. Submitting to the nerves is submitting to the head. Likewise, in the spiritual Body the Holy Spirit carries the thoughts of the Head to all the members. As members of the Body of Christ, we have to yield to the authority of the Holy Spirit. When we yield to the authority of the Holy Spirit, we are yielding to the Head. When we grieve the Spirit, we frustrate our relationship with the Head. We hold the Head by simply yielding to the Spirit.
In the Bible the Holy Spirit is symbolized by many things, such as the wind, the living water, and the fire. At the same time, the Holy Spirit is also life, power, etc. However, 1 John 2:27 is particularly sweet in its description of the Holy Spirit as the anointing. This is the teaching of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches by the anointing. We do not know the will of God by studying and weighing the pros and cons of a particular matter. We know the will of God by the teaching of the anointing. The Holy Spirit communicates the mind of Christ to us. It is not necessary to continually ask, "Is this the will of God?" "We have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16). When the Head wishes a member of the Body to move, He intimates it through the anointing, and as we yield to the anointing, life flows freely from the Head. If we resist the anointing, the relationship with the Head is interfered with and the flow of life stops. Many believers miss the leading of the Lord because they are not under the Head. The anointing does not come directly upon the Body but upon the Head. Believers can receive the anointing which flows from the Head to the Body only when they are directly under the Head.
The anointing is something very fine and soothing. The teaching of the Holy Spirit is not something rough or wild. It does not blow on us like the wind or burn us like fire. Rather, it anoints us like oil. This is how the Holy Spirit teaches us. Wherever there is the oil, there is the work of God. His work does not depend on words, biblical interpretations, reasons, judgments concerning right and wrong, etc. God's work and leading within us come by way of a kind of inner sense of life. This sense of life is the anointing of the Spirit. The Head does not use external means to control the Body. "The life was the light of men" (John 1:4). In seeking to know the will of God, we cannot arrive at it by asking, "Is this right or wrong?" Rather, we should ask, "Do I have life regarding this?" If we feel dead inside, then there is no anointing, and if we act without the anointing, we are acting without the authority of the Head. For example, sometimes we may want to visit someone, but we feel cold and indifferent within. As far as doctrines, human affections, or biblical principles are concerned, we should visit him. But the more we resolve to go, the colder we become. This means that the Spirit is telling us not to go. At another time, we may visit someone and feel as if we are under some kind of sweet anointing; everything is soothing and comfortable. This is the teaching that comes from the Spirit's anointing. The more we go along with this anointing, the stronger we will be, and the more there will be an "amen" within.
The teaching of the anointing of the Spirit has nothing to do with right or wrong, what should or should not be done, or what is true or false. It is an inner feeling of life. Many people still work according to the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree from which Adam ate. This is to walk according to the principle of right and wrong; however, God's work in Christ is a matter of life. It is a matter of the anointing of the Spirit. Where the anointing is, there is life. As long as one has the anointing and the life, everything is right and according to God's desire. Those who are clever and acquainted with Bible doctrines are not necessarily more familiar with God's work. Sometimes a brother or sister from the rural countryside may know more about God's work. They do not have knowledge, but they have life. If this were not God's way, He would be very unfair. Illiterate country folk would be doomed because they would not have the mental knowledge and would be unable to know God's will. But our God is not a respecter of persons. Whether or not we have the mental knowledge and whether we are clever or slow, the teaching of the anointing still abides in us. As long as we walk according to the inner anointing of the Spirit, we will know God's will and be acquainted with God's work.
In the Old Testament men had God's word — the law. In the New Testament, men also have God's word. But if this word does not have the Spirit's anointing behind it, it is also a law. The Lord Jesus presented God's word, but that word was spirit and life. The apostles also presented God's word, and that word was also spirit and life. But when the Pharisees presented God's word, there was no anointing of the Spirit, and that word became dead laws. Many people practice baptism, the laying on of hands, and head covering merely according to the instructions of the Bible. These things are the law to them. If a man acts merely according to the letter of the Bible, he is a disciple of Moses and not a Christian. A Christian has the Lord's anointing on him. In the Body of Christ, there is no law; there is only the Lord's anointing. Hence, in order for us to live in the Body of Christ, we have to walk according to the Spirit's anointing, not according to the letter of the law. We must do everything according to the anointing of the Spirit. This is walking according to the teaching of the Spirit.
How do we receive the anointing? Psalm 133 is the key passage in the Old Testament concerning the anointing. We should realize that Psalms 120 through 134 are songs of ascent. These are the songs the Israelites sang three times a year when they ascended from different places to meet the Lord in Zion in Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God. Although all the songs are different, they have one thing in common — they are all ascending songs. The people did not talk about economics, education, warfare, or politics. Their hearts were toward Zion, toward God, and they were going upward. Psalm 133:1 says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is/For brothers to dwell in unity!" This dwelling in unity is corporate; there is no barrier or separation. They have cast aside their disunity, jealousy, and hatred. This is like the fine oil that was poured on Aaron's head that ran down upon the beard to the hem of his garments. In this condition, they receive God's anointing. When the oil flows down, those who are under the head will spontaneously receive the oil. Psalm 133 is equivalent to Ephesians 4. When we are in the Body and are diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit, we have the anointing of the Spirit. We have to come under the Head, and we have to live in the Body before we can receive the anointing. Many people do not receive any leading because they are not standing in the right place. They are not under the Head and have not submitted themselves to the authority of the Head. Neither are they in the Body. In order for us to receive the anointing, we must submit to the Head and live in the Body.
The believers' fellowship is based on Christ. We can fellowship with one another because Christ is the life of the Body and the Head of the Body. At the same time, the enjoyment of this fellowship is the Holy Spirit. The more we live in the fellowship of the Body, the more we enjoy the anointing of the Spirit. But there is a condition to this: We have to allow the cross to deal with our flesh and our natural life in a thorough way. Whether or not a believer can enjoy this fellowship depends on whether he has dealt with his natural life. Our natural flesh only deserves to die; it only deserves to be in ashes, to be on the cross. We cannot think by ourselves; we are not qualified to propose anything by ourselves. We must allow Christ to have the absolute sovereignty over everything. We must allow Him to be the Lord in an absolute way. If our natural life is dealt with by the cross and if we submit to the headship of Christ and live the Body life, we will have the Spirit's anointing and enjoy the fellowship of the Body.
