The Anointing of the Holy Spirit

 

In this study we look at what it means to be anointed by the Holy Spirit, and how it's different from being filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

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Scripture

• Leviticus 8:10-12
• I Samuel 16:13
• I Kings 19:16
• Judges 3:7-11
• Isaiah 61:1-3
• Luke 4:16-26
• Acts 10:34-38
• Acts 8:14-17

Series

• Sharpening the Sword
• The Holy Spirit

Review of “Does Everyone Have Spiritual Gifts”

• Two of the major reasons that gifts are given are to edify the church and to praise God
• The measure of how well you’re using your gift should be by how well they serve these purposes not by how miraculous they are
• Gifts are given to us to help us aid God in accomplishing His plan

• Gifts are not given to benefit the gifted person or for them to use it to amaze or impress others
• We shouldn’t assume that giftings are a sign that the person is spiritually mature or close to God

• God can grant anyone spiritual giftings for the moment He chooses to accomplish his purpose
• If you have had a gift since birth your giftings will get stronger as you are walking in God’s will for your life
• We need to make sure we don’t value the gift more than the giver of the gifts

3 levels of teaching on Spirituality

1. theoretical - describes God, the Holy Ghost, Satan, the spirits, and/or the spiritual realm
2. meditative - instructing on how to get into the presence of God or the spiritual realm
3. practical - how to perform supernatural or miraculous feats through a connection with the Holy Spirit

This lesson will be at the theoretical level (level 1).  Next week we’ll touch lightly on the meditative level (level 2), and we’ll probably never talk about the practical level (level 3) except in the context of healing in "the name of Jesus".

The Anointing of the Holy Spirit

Two weeks ago we looked at what the Spiritual Gifts are, last week we looked at who gets spiritual gifts and why, and this week we discuss how to get Holy Spirit within you.

Anointing of the Holy Spirit vs Being Filled By the Holy Spirit

What is anointing of the Holy Spirit?

Is that the same as being filled by the Holy Spirit?

Anointing is done when you get a new role, assignment or duty.  It is a one time event.   In the Old Testament, priests, kings, judges and prophets were anointed prior to taking office.

Being filled by the Holy Spirit can happen whenever God wants or needs it to happen or it can be ushered in by us.  In the bible things that happened when people were filled with the Holy Spirit include: speaking in tongues, having boldness in evangelism, prophesying, or being filled with joy, thankfulness or submission, or giving musical praise.  This can happen many times within a Christian’s life.

Priest

Leviticus 8:10-12

10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them. 12 He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.

• How many times was Aaron anointed?
• How long did it last?

Kings
1 Samuel 10:1-10

10 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?^{[a] 2} When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?”’

³ “Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.

⁵ “After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. ⁷ Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

⁸ “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”

⁹ As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. ¹⁰ When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. 

• What does the verse "Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you." mean?
• That whatever you need to do God has already prepared you for it.

 

I Samuel 16:13

13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.

• What is the Spirit of the LORD?
• The Holy Spirit
• How long did the Holy Ghost stay on David after he was anointed?
• forever

Notice that even though David and Saul had the same anointing their outcomes were vastly different.  Even though you are anointed your character and will can still determine how well you act in your anointing. 

Prophet

I Kings 19:16

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.

Judge

Judges 3:7-11

7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim,[a] to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge[b] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

• What happened when Othniel became Israel’s first judge?
• The Holy Spirit came upon him

Therefore, the anointing of the Holy Spirit was and is like the anointing of a king or a priest or a prophet. When one was chosen to be a priest, king or prophet, he was anointed with oil, symbolic of the Holy Spirit coming upon him and giving him power, wisdom, and ability for the task set before him.  The anointing was done upon the accepting of a new responsibility. When a Christian accepts a new responsibility, he should be anointed by the Holy Spirit for that task. When a pastor is called to a new church or when a Christian is chosen to be a Sunday school teacher, a choir member, a choir director, a departmental superintendent or an usher, he should be anointed by the Holy Spirit. Any new task to which a child of God is chosen and any new responsibility that God has given to him is so important that the Holy Spirit should anoint him upon the assumption of his new responsibility. Likewise, as the Christian ministers and continues to fulfill the work to which God has called him, he should constantly be being filled with the Spirit. However, the doctrine of being filled should not be mistaken for the doctrine of the anointing.

Have you recently been chosen for a new responsibility? Begin this responsibility by finding a quiet place and having a little private ordination service between you and God. Ask God to lay His hands upon you and to anoint you for the task ahead. This anointing can include or oil, but it’s not a necessity.  Then day by day, beg for His power, plead for His fulness and walk in the Spirit.

Jesus’ Anointing

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

   because the Lord has anointed me

   to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

   to proclaim freedom for the captives

   and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

   and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

   instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

   instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

   instead of a spirit of despair.

• What responsibilities does David say he was anointed to do?
• proclaim good news to the poor, freedom to the captives, ...
• Did David do these things?
• no
• Why is David saying this then?
• it’s a prophecy of the coming Messiah
• all of the Jews who studied the bible would have known this was the prophecy of the Messiah

What does the word “Christ” mean?

Christ means the anointed one

Luke 4:16-22

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

   because he has anointed me

   to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

   and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f]

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

• What scripture did Jesus read?
• Isaiah 61:1-3 (above)
• What responsibility did Jesus add David’s list?
• giving sight to the blind

Acts 10:34-38

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

• What does Peter say happens when you’re anointed by the Holy Spirit
• God is with you

One of the new responsibilities that we need to be equipped for today is the decision to become a Christian.  Upon becoming a Christian you become anointed or indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  Once filled with the Holy Spirit, we receive a different level of conviction for our sins, a more direct means to access God, and some receive Spiritual Gifts.   

• Can anyone speak to any other things that happen when we’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit?

2 Tim 1
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

• What do we get from being anointed by the Holy Spirit?

The anointing of the Holy Spirit gives us power, it gives us the ability to have unconditional love, and it gives us the self-discipline to overcome sin.

We saw in Acts it talks about how some Christians received the Holy Spirit at baptism and some didn’t.  For the ones who didn’t, the apostles went to pray for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and they became filled.  If you are a Christian who isn’t filled with the Holy Spirit or are not sure if you’re filled with the Holy Spirit you can pray to God to have the Holy Spirit enter your life.

"The anointing on your life is what positions you to be victorious in character."
 -- Bill Johnson

Acts 8:14-17

Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
 

Additional Verses

 The Disciples Get Anointed by the Holy Spirit
John 20
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

(c) 2015 Unchained Disciples

 Correction:
A correction to the definition of the term "In the Name of Jesus" can be found here:
In The Name of Jesus

References

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Books,%20Tracts%20&%20Preaching/Printed%20Books/Dr%20Jack%20Hyles/Meet%20The%20Holy%20Spirit/anointing_of_the_holyspirit.htm