THE ANOINTING

Under the new covenant, it is the divine act performed by God alone. 

Every use of the word 'anoint' in the New Testament speaks to a supernatural gifting that is common to all believers, not a special dispensation given to just a few heroes of the faith. The truth is ... all Christians are anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve. 

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 1 John 2:20

The same Greek verb 'chrio', was also used to describe Jesus' ministry ... 

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 ... Luke 4:18

Every believer is anointed by God at the moment of his conversion. It is not a second 'baptism' as some teach, but a transcendent gift that empowers His children to know the truth, to be sanctified, and to serve Him unabated. 

But the anointing which you have received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. For as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is truth, and is no lie ... remain in Him. 1 John 2:27

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is accomplished through your life as you submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t give you a mailorder degree, nor does His knowledge come in a one-time, gift-wrapped box. He orchestrates an ever-present, never-ending teaching of divine truth. The Spirit opens the Word of God to your understanding as you have the capacity to receive it. 

Jesus said to His followers ... I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. John 16:12–13 

We are clay vessels into which the Lord's anointing is poured. Make sure that you are completely empty of 'self' so that the oil remains untainted.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

Assurance of our salvation and the blessed hope found in Christ ... they too, are precious virtues of that same 'anointing'. 

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.  2 Corinthians 1:20-22

Take time to pray about God's anointing upon your life. The subject has been misinterpreted, misrepresented, and sometimes abandoned altogether by today's church. 

The Holy Spirit desires to use you, pilgrim.