Churchwork
06-08-2006, 07:00 AM
The Oil Represents the Holy Spirit
The Bible shows us that God’s anointing oil is for the one who fully satisfies His heart, even His Son Christ Jesus. Why, then, is the body of Christ, the Church, also anointed? Psalm 133 tells us that the precious oil which was poured upon Aaron’s head ran down his beard and came down upon the skirt of his garments. When a person is anointed, the oil is poured upon the head, not upon the body of the anointed. But after the oil is poured upon his head, it flows down till it covers the entire body. This is a picture of Christ and the Church. The head is Christ, and the body is the Christ. Christ is the Anointed of God, and the Church is His body. So that when Christ is anointed, His entire body is also anointed. Christ is the great Anointed One, we the members are little anointed ones. Yet we are not anointed individually, but are anointed together in Christ at His anointing. We can never be anointed in ourselves. For the Scripture says, “Upon the flesh of man shall it [the holy anointing oil] not be poured” (Ex. 30.32a). We are therefore anointed in Christ.
Condition for Anointing Is the Natural Being Buried
Luke 3.22 speaks of what happened to the Lord after He was baptized in the river Jordan: “the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Again, in Luke 4.18, we read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. . .” Hence after His baptism in the river Jordan, the Lord received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Genesis 8 narrates how after the flood Noah opened the window of the ark and sent forth a dove. Inasmuch as the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, she returned to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the earth. (Noah’s ark passing through the flood is a type of baptism.) At Christ’s baptism, the Spirit of God descended upon Him as a dove. This indicates that He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit at the time of baptism. We too receive the anointing of the Spirit at our baptism.
The Bible shows us that God’s anointing oil is for the one who fully satisfies His heart, even His Son Christ Jesus. Why, then, is the body of Christ, the Church, also anointed? Psalm 133 tells us that the precious oil which was poured upon Aaron’s head ran down his beard and came down upon the skirt of his garments. When a person is anointed, the oil is poured upon the head, not upon the body of the anointed. But after the oil is poured upon his head, it flows down till it covers the entire body. This is a picture of Christ and the Church. The head is Christ, and the body is the Christ. Christ is the Anointed of God, and the Church is His body. So that when Christ is anointed, His entire body is also anointed. Christ is the great Anointed One, we the members are little anointed ones. Yet we are not anointed individually, but are anointed together in Christ at His anointing. We can never be anointed in ourselves. For the Scripture says, “Upon the flesh of man shall it [the holy anointing oil] not be poured” (Ex. 30.32a). We are therefore anointed in Christ.
Condition for Anointing Is the Natural Being Buried
Luke 3.22 speaks of what happened to the Lord after He was baptized in the river Jordan: “the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Again, in Luke 4.18, we read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. . .” Hence after His baptism in the river Jordan, the Lord received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Genesis 8 narrates how after the flood Noah opened the window of the ark and sent forth a dove. Inasmuch as the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, she returned to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the earth. (Noah’s ark passing through the flood is a type of baptism.) At Christ’s baptism, the Spirit of God descended upon Him as a dove. This indicates that He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit at the time of baptism. We too receive the anointing of the Spirit at our baptism.