Anointed by God
Introduction
Do you realise that right now you are ‘anointed’ by God? ‘Anointing’ is not just for special Christian leaders or speakers. It is for all of us. Do you know that this anointing gives you power over sin, temptation and evil? Do you know that this anointing gives you access to God in prayer and worship? Do you know that this anointing enables you to proclaim God’s message to other people?
All of this is possible because God has given you the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit not only guarantees your future; he is the down payment in advance. ‘He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come’ (2 Corinthians 1:21–22).
When you exchange contracts on a house it is usually accompanied by a deposit, which not only guarantees what is to come but is also a part payment in advance. God ‘by his Spirit has stamped us with an eternal pledge – a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete’ (v.21, MSG). By giving you the Holy Spirit, God has already given you this deposit in advance of what one day you will receive in full. What does this anointing of the Holy Spirit mean in practice?
Psalm 103:13-22
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed…
17 ...from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children —
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
22 Praise the Lord, my soul.
Commentary
Experience now God’s parental love for you
The moment our children were born, Pippa and I felt an overwhelming love for them – which continues to this day. This is the natural instinct of every parent. We feel a deep-seated love for our children, which is not based on performance or achievement, but simply on who they are.
This is how God loves you – only even more so. ‘As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him’ (v.13, MSG).
Have you ever felt God’s love for you? Do you know deep down that God loves you more than any parent loves their child? Have you experienced this love being poured into your heart by the Holy Spirit? God wants you to experience this parental love right now and to know that it will continue for ever.
David seems to get a glimpse of the fact that it is not just for this life: ‘But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts’ (vv.17–18).
Prayer
‘Praise the Lord, O my soul’ (v.22). Praise you, Lord, for your amazing love and compassion for me, even greater than any parent’s compassion for their child. Thank you that you have anointed me and put your Spirit in my heart so that I can experience that love right now.
2 Corinthians 1:20-22
20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Commentary
Experience now the promises of God
Do you realise that all the promises of God are for you? ‘Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus’ (v.20, MSG).
By the Holy Spirit, God has put ‘his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge – a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete’ (vv.21–22, MSG).
As has been said, ‘God makes a promise; faith believes it, hope anticipates it, patience waits for it.’
It is as though God’s promises in the Old Testament have been underlined and re-affirmed in Jesus. As St Paul explains it, ‘For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ’ (v.20). We see the ultimate expression of God’s love at the cross, and know the ultimate experience of God’s love through the Holy Spirit.
What is concealed in the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament. In Christ you will enjoy God’s everlasting love for ever. As St Paul puts it, ‘Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come’ (vv.21–22). It is the same God who anointed both Paul and the Corinthians.
It is not that only certain special Christians are anointed. We know that ‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power’ (Acts 10:38). What is so amazing is that the same Spirit who anointed Jesus, has anointed you. You are ‘anointed’ by the Holy Spirit and so am I. God’s Spirit who lives in you as the ‘deposit’ is also the one who gives you his ‘anointing’. In order to understand how rich and beautiful this promise is we need to understand the background – some of which we see in our Old Testament passage today.
Prayer
Lord, thank you so much that all the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Thank you that you have anointed me with your ‘seal of ownership’ (v.22) and put your Spirit in my heart ‘as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come’ (v.22).
2 Chronicles 29:1-21, 30:18-20
29 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.
3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 5 and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.
11 … the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him...
20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the Lord.
30
18 Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, ‘May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone 19 who sets their heart on seeking God – the Lord, the God of their ancestors – even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.’ 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
Commentary
Experience now God’s anointing on your life
In the Old Testament, three groups of people were anointed: kings, priests and prophets. Through the work of the Holy Spirit in us, we are all now anointed with a kingly anointing, a priestly anointing and a prophetic anointing. What does this mean in practice?
Kingly anointing
You have a kingly anointing for the battle against temptation, sin and evil.
Hezekiah was the anointed king. The king was to lead the people in all their struggles and battles. Hezekiah ‘was a good king’ (29:2, MSG). He ‘went to work. He got all the leaders of the city together’ (v.20, MSG). They restored the temple and celebrated the Passover and got rid of all the false idols (31:1).
Hezekiah invited them, ‘Don’t repeat the sins of your ancestors who turned their backs on God… Clasp God’s outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship… Your God is gracious and kind and won’t snub you – come back and he’ll welcome you with open arms’ (30:7–10, MSG).
Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa writes that kingly anointing means that the Holy Spirit ‘urges Jesus and the Church on in \[its\] struggle against Satan’. All of us have this kingly anointing. The Holy Spirit urges each of us on in our battle against temptation, sin and evil. You can call upon the Holy Spirit to help you when you are tempted, knowing that he will come alongside you and give you strength to overcome.
Priestly anointing
You have a priestly anointing to pray and worship.
The priests in the Old Testament, and in this passage in particular, were anointed to be the mediators between God and human beings. We see here that they made sacrifices of bulls, lambs, goats, and so on (29:20 onwards). They sprinkled the blood of the bulls and lambs on the altar. They laid their hands on the goats and sacrificed them. These were offerings to atone for sin.
‘The Levites and priests praised God day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and brass. Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of God’ (30:22, MSG).
Jesus fulfilled this priestly anointing by dying as the lamb of God whose blood was shed to take away our sins. This was a unique and final sacrifice for sin.
There is another sense in which the priestly anointing comes on us, the church. We share in Jesus’ priestly anointing: ‘You are a… royal priesthood’ (1 Peter 2:9). The Spirit urges Jesus and the church to pray. In your prayers, you have a priestly ministry as an intercessor for the people before God (see 2 Chronicles 30:18–20).
Prophetic anointing
You have a prophetic anointing to speak the good news about Jesus.
The chronicler refers to ‘Nathan the prophet’ (2 Chronicles 29:25) and says, ‘This was God’s command conveyed by his prophets’ (v.26, MSG). The prophets in the Old Testament were anointed to speak the word of the Lord. The Spirit anointed Jesus at his baptism to preach good news to the poor. This same Holy Spirit anoints you to speak his words today. You have this prophetic anointing.
The church is God’s agent to bring the good news of Jesus to the world. Each time you tell a friend about Jesus, invite them on Alpha, for example, or speak into their lives in some way, you are acting out this calling.
Prayer
Lord, help me fulfil the kingly anointing in the battle against sin. Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil.
Help me also in my priestly anointing to be more faithful in praying for others.
Help me in my prophetic anointing to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and, to those in mourning and despair, bring the oil of gladness that comes from the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 61:1–3; Luke 4:18–19).
Pippa adds
Psalm 103:16 says,
‘… the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.’
Life is going far too quickly and so is our holiday. It will soon be remembered no more. But, thankfully, God is everlasting (v.17).
Thought for the Day
God makes a promise;
faith believes it,
hope anticipates it,
patience waits for it.
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References
Raniero Cantalamessa, The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus (Liturgical Press, 1994).
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.