The Anointing

[ybrown]

I hate to bring this up and “go there”, but what about those little pieces of "anointed" cloths (which my grandmother used to pin to her bra from Rev. Ike) and vials of oil some of us have bought? Do you think the anointing can be imparted to things?

Since the Holy Spirit and His anointing are inseparable, can we safely say that He can’t be imparted to inanimate objects? I know we like to say things like ‘ooh, that song was anointed’ but is it really the song, or the singer (or sermon vs. preacher) that’s really anointed? Can music, a song, a sermon or other things be anointed?

One thing I do know is that we don’t command or direct the Holy Spirit and I haven’t seen scriptural support that He can flow out of me and into little bags of corn meal, cloths, thread, plastic coins, or vials of oil. Neither He nor His divine power are commodities to be given away or bought for a one-time love offering of $19.99.

Are there instances in the bible of things being anointed? If so, then that would mean the Holy Spirit and the anointing CAN be separate. If there aren’t scriptures supporting that, then we can safely conclude that the anointing and the Holy Spirit CANNOT be separate and could in fact be one in the same.

[keita]

Jasmine said:

I Samuel 16:14

But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

Did SAUL lose his anointing?

keita said:

See now, I think answering that question has everything to do with our understanding of what the "anointing" was/is in the context of Saul's life...

Jasmine said:

It is my thought that being anointed goes much further than just being anointed to perform a task. I believe that saul destiny was fulfilled and was performed because he was anointed for that/those particular reason' (s).

I'm inclined to agree with your "thought that being anointed goes much further than just being anointed to perform a task." MUCH further.

With regard to Saul, I think his being "anointed" was still of the "mashach" type. In other words it was simply the case of having the oil literally and physically poured over his head. I don't think Saul became king because of this "anointing" but rather, "the anointing" was the traditional sign by the prophet to the people of Saul's having been chosen by God. In this case and for that time, I see "the anointing" as an outward and largely ceremonial thing, and not a spiritual reason/cause for anything Saul did or failed to do. I think that's also true for much of the Old Testament "anointing" though I believe that changes with Jesus and the New Testament.

However, If we lose the favour of God, have we also lost his anointing?

Another great question. Actually, there are at least 2 or 3 in there!

I got my pen and pad to learn something new!

Oh me too, sis, me too! Lawd, I wish my printer was working.

[keita]

ybrown said:

I hate to bring this up and “go there”, but what about those little pieces of "anointed" cloths (which my grandmother used to pin to her bra from Rev. Ike) and vials of oil some of us have bought?

Oh please go on and go there, sis, 'cause this is more of the very "stuff" that bugged me into studying this subject. I've certainly had a few of those cloths myself.

Do you think the anointing can be imparted to things?

I asked a similar question upthread:

Can something other than people ( ie, a post) be "anointed"? What would make it so?

Since the Holy Spirit and His anointing are inseparable, can we safely say that He can’t be imparted to inanimate objects? I know we like to say things like ‘ooh, that song was anointed’ but is it really the song, or the singer (or sermon vs. preacher) that’s really anointed? Can music, a song, a sermon or other things be anointed?

I agree with you about an intimate relationship between the Holy Spirit and "the anointing" but I haven't yet concluded that they are inseparable. I also don't yet know if we "can we safely say that He (Holy Spirit and or "the anointing") can’t be imparted to inanimate objects". But with regard to the anointing, I sure do think we really need to find out 'cause I know some churches and believer's homes where EVERYTHING is greasy. And, you're right, we apply that description (and rather subjectively, I might add) to a whole lot of things.

One thing I do know is that we don’t command or direct the Holy Spirit and I haven’t seen scriptural support that He can flow out of me and into little bags of corn meal, cloths, thread, plastic coins, or vials of oil. Neither He nor His divine power are commodities to be given away or bought for a one-time love offering of $19.99.

I haven't seen it either, sis, nor any evidence in my life. But I will confess that I have over the years nonetheless been the recipient of a lot of those things you listed. Is there perhaps such a thing as "superstitious Christians" and these are our "Christian lucky charms"?

Are there instances in the bible of things being anointed?
If so, then that would mean the Holy Spirit and the anointing CAN be separate. If there aren’t scriptures supporting that, then we can safely conclude that the anointing and the Holy Spirit CANNOT be separate and could in fact be one in the same.

There are scriptures which speak of anointing things. However, I'm not at all sure that we do it for the same reasons or according to the same criteria. Frankly, given the "type and shadow" nature of a lot of biblical "anointing", I'm not even sure whether or not we should actually be doing it at all.

I'm still considering what nature of relationship exists between the Holy Spirit and "the anointing" because I definitely believe that one does. I like the way you think, but I'm not ready to draw the same conclusion, at least not yet.

[krazeeboi]

electladynb said:

Does one have to be willing and/or crucify their flesh in order to be anointed by God?

No.

But to develop character and integrity? Yep.

[krazeeboi]

Allow me to throw in this "monkey wrench" if it has not already been done.

"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." (1 John 2:27)

Here the anointing is said to have the ability to teach; it abides within us, and "is truth."

Compare that with

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:13)

And it is the same author in both instances (the apostle John). I can imagine that he had his earlier words in his gospel in mind when he penned 1 John 2:27.

I'll let y'all connect the dots on that one...

[keita]

And some very excellent "dots" they are!

[ybrown]

Jasmine said:

I Samuel 16:14

But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

Did SAUL lose his anointing?

Lets look at the Word and see. We can look at three key Scriptures to answer that.

In 1 Samuel 10:1, Saul is anointed: Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?"

Okay, so now Saul is God’s anointed.

Now we can move on to 1 Samuel 10:6 where we see that God pours out his spirit to Saul: "Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man."

So on top of the anointing, Saul now has the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord came down on Saul the same way he came down in Numbers 11:25,29 and Judges 14:6.

Then we can look at what happened to Saul after he became disobedient to God. I Samuel 16:14 says: But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

So we can see it was the Spirit of the Lord that departed from Saul, not the anointing. Saul was still the Lord's anointed, even after he had been rejected as king of Israel.

So once anointed always anointed? Scripturally, there's nothing to say to this isn't true.

This should encourage a lot of people. The devil is a liar. Losing the anointing is a lie from the enemy to keep us from continuing doing the Lord's work, even after WE think we've lost it.

[keita]

And again I say, TEACH!!

Losing the anointing is a lie from the enemy to keep us from continuing doing the Lord's work, even after WE think we've lost it.

Amen! And I think that Truth applies whether we're talking about the physical and literal "type and shadow" of "the anointing" (as I believe Saul's was), or its spirtual fulfillment which is found in Christ, "The Anointed One".

[this2shallpass]

1 Samuel 10:1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance?

1 Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.

1 Samuel 24:5-6 Now it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Sauls robe. (6) And he said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is t he anointed of the Lord.

Spirit Led Study Bible: The Lord's anointed does not imply that Saul still enjoyed the Lord's anointing. Rather, it shows that David had an unfailing reverence for the anointed (king) of the Lord.

[keita]

Krazeeboi:

For me, the scriptures you shared are very significant in addressing both the question, What is "the anointing"?, as well as better understanding the Truth and nature of the relationship which (I now even moreso believe) exists between the Holy Spirit and "the anointing". I was especially struck by something I found in reading and studying 1 John 2:27:

"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."

I certainly agree with you that this verse, especially when coupled with John 16:13, clearly, and at the very least, relates "the anointing" to a function of the Holy Spirit.

More importantly, (to me at least), while the word "anointing" appears at least 30 times in scripture, 1 John 2:27 contains 2 of the only 3 (or 4, depending on the translation) where "anointing" is ever used as a noun, as in "the anointing". And even 1 of the remaining instances (1 John 2:20) is directly connected to 1 John 2:27.

I think that speaks volumes, given the wildly wide variety of ways in which we use, understand and teach the meaning of the term "the anointing".

[this2shallpass]

****************
On the evening of one of our Women's Fellowship Meetings, I noticed my name was on the program to lead prayer. I had never lead prayer in a public meeting. it seemed that all the women had come that Friday night, even from other churches!

Preparing the program was not my duty in preparation for the meeting, and I was not aware that I was listed 3rd on the program to lead prayer

When I took the mic and began to pray - loud, strong words of prayer came from my mouth as I had never prayed before. There were women standing, praying, crying.

When the Lord finished using me, I was weak, weeping.

I knew the words of prayer that came from my mouth were not of myself. Not even my own voice. I did not recognize that voice of prayer. The Spirit of the Lord anointed my voice for that prayer service. I can't even say He anointed me. Is that strange?

The anointing of the Lord.

[keita]

T2SP:

That's one powerful testimony and I have no doubt that God used you mightily. I would add that there was a time when I would have also described your experience as "the anointing of the Lord."

But as I've just said, there seems to be very little, if any scriptural foundation for either of us doing so.

I hope that does not personally offend you in any way because that is certainly not my intention. I think many of us are honestly admitting and finding or will find that our understanding and use of the term "the anointing" needs some scriptural examination, correction and/or clarification. My being among them is just one of the reasons I'm so appreciating the depth and flow of this thread.

[krazeeboi]

this2shallpass said:

Lucifer Ezekiel 28:14-19
14. You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

15. You were perfect in your ways from the day you wre created, Till iniquity was found in you.

16. By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroy you, O covering cherob, From the midst of the stones.

17. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; your corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you.

18. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you, And I turned you to ashs upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you.

19. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horrow. And shall be no more
forever

Wow. I'm SO glad this passage was posted, because I certainly do not think it is referring to the devil; I've kissed that interpretation good-bye. Just as in the case of Saul, an earthly king is in view.

[keita]

Brother KB and T2SP,

I feel a "rightly dividing" coming on with that scripture...

So I just want to suggest that (for any aspect of it apart from "the anointing"), the "Scripture Question" forum would be a great place to do that.

[krazeeboi]

I'm on it.