[Acts 10:38] You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
The Greek word chrio means to smear, to rub in, or to saturate with a substance. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and clothed with power of which He spoke in Luke 24:49. Jesus was humble and gentle and sharing is the fruit thereof.
“Behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Just as He prayed that we might have His glory as He did; and be one with the Father as He was (John 17:22); the same went for the power from on high. He wanted us to be clothed with the same glorious garment as He was, and do even greater works than He did (John 14:12). This is an example of the ultimate self-nullification, no fleshly pride whatsoever. But did He mean it? – Jesus does not lie.
[Acts 1:7-8] It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
The source scripture for the anointing is found in Isaiah 61:1-3. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me because He has anointed me to...”—I am anointed to do something, to accomplish something, or my job is to proclaim, to lift oppression, to heal, etc. Therefore, I must have the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Anointing does not come and go, but the Spirit of the living God does. As far as the different dimensions of His presence are concerned we can experience more or less of Him. The Holy Spirit is compared to the River of Life as mentioned in Ezekiel 47, and by Jesus in John 7:38-39. Isaiah called it the river of peace (Isaiah 66:12). Although The Holy Spirit is always with us; He may be grieved while His manifestations are always different. Hence, we can have more or less of Him.
God’s anointing is not He, but IT; therefore IT does not teach, but HE the person does. The misunderstanding begins with the mistranslation of the 1 John 2:27. The original manuscript came to us quite damaged. The sense was lost, leaving the responsibility of correction to the compilers, and then later to the translators. But when we read it, while being anchored in Isaiah 61:1, we immediately see the problem.
[1 John 2:20] But you have an anointing (Greek, chrisma) from the Holy One, and you all know.
The discrepancy is found in the gap between Hebrew and Greek. Chrisma means an unguent, which is a balm like a soothing preparation spread on wounds, burns, rashes, abrasions or other topical injuries; hence something smeared. Special endowment or charisma was an additional idea attached to a healing balm. The Hebrew anointing was not necessarily used to heal, but rather to mark someone as a sign of an office one was installed into. Initially, Aaron the first priest was thus marked, then kings and prophets.
Now, being rooted in Isaiah 61 we read 1 John 2:27 this way:
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but [because of] His anointing [HE] teaches you about all things, and [He] is true and [does] not lie; and just as it [HE] has taught you, [you therefore] abide in HIM.
In the original Greek the last sentence actually reads: “as HE taught you, abide in HIM.” The word ‘abide’ is used in the beginning of this verse and also at the end. Everyone would agree that the anointing always abides in/on us, for the Bible says that the gifts and callings of God are IRREVOCABLE (Romans 11:29), or without repentance.
Between Holy Spirit the person, we have His anointing as something mysterious, yet it is not so. Anointing (Hebrew, shemen) means oil or fat. Christ means Messiah, the anointed one. Jesus was not only charismatic, but also, and above all, He was the Messiah—the anointed one to save; and precisely because He was thus anointed He received the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Oil was God’s marking for His choice or appointment. Whatever the office required the anointed one had to be in a position to fulfill the task. The demand was often too great. To rule God’s people with wisdom was not an easy task; therefore the power from on high was sent to enable the anointed.
Holy Spirit came immediately after the ceremony of the anointing, which was not always visible. Examples: Samson, Gideon, king Saul, king David, king Solomon the prophets, the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) and the five-fold ministries of the Prophet, Apostle, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher. And, because of this marking comes the Holy Person Holy Spirit. Although portrayed as a delicate humble dove, Holy Spirit is the Power of God by which all things in existence were created.
[1 Samuel 16:13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. (Thus David was clothed with the power from on high.)
When the physical anointing-with-oil was finished the Holy Spirit came upon David and remained on the king all of his life. This anointing does not come and go and cannot be washed off, ‘it stays on you even in the hot shower.’ But, the king was sensitive to the grieving of the Spirit—on David’s account—and of His coming and going; hence his words: “Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). Repentance was David’s key to God’s heart.
When Elijah transferred His authority to Elisha, oil was not used but mantle, which Elijah was wearing. Elijah was taken to heaven and Elisha continued God's work. Elisha died and we find no place mentioning another transfer of the anointing.
One must understand that in God’s eyes a person and his garments are viewed as one unit. Those that touched the garment of Jesus, or those of the apostles, were healed as if the person himself had touched them (See Ezekiel 44:19). Elijah was told to appoint another man as prophet in his stead. That means, that if you take off your garment (being anointed), and place it on someone else you lose your anointing for you have just passed it on to another. That’s what Elijah did. It is fine if that’s what you’ve been told to do, and you are about to leave this earth. But, if you plan to continue serving God in the capacity of your anointing then you’d better be careful. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).
God's Spirit was upon Elijah and later also on Elisha because of the anointing. This is the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:11). He is always active and it was the Holy Spirit that was hovering over Elisha’s bones although a corpse is deemed as being unclean. The power of life was there as if longing, or grieving over Elisha’s passing, because his mentor did not hit dust at all. The grace that was on Elijah was also on Elisha.
Elisha did not anoint someone else in his place as his master did. Elisha’s soul rested in peace in Sheol while his bones rested in the physical ditch. Into this ditch another corpse was accidentally thrown, and the deceased came to life (2 Kings 13:21). Here we have a very powerful example of the workings of God even beyond the grave. The IT did not raise the dead man, but it was HE the person.
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