Fall 1992

The Purpose of the Anointing
Wade E Taylor

"Who hath ears to hear, let him hear" Matt 13:9.

Jesus is not referring to our natural hearing ability, but rather to our "inner spiritual ear" whereby we receive into our being the "anointed" Word of God.

"But God hath revealed unto us by His Spirit: for
the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God ... now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given
to us of God ... for who hath known the mind of the
Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind
of Christ" I Cor 2:10,12,16.

The word "Christ" means "The Anointed One," or "The Anointing." This "anointing" is the element that enables us to partake of the realm of the Spiritual (Holy Spirit). When we are anointed, or in the atmosphere of the anointing, we hear with understanding (the mind of Christ), the deeper meaning of the Word of God, and receive an impartation of Spirit and Life.

If I could move my spiritual being one step to the side of my physical being; each, standing side by side, would be similar in many ways. In the natural realm, I would have a fairly well developed set of physical senses. In my spiritual being, I also would have a comparable set of spiritual senses with which I relate to the spiritual realm.

There would be this difference. Through regeneration, I am born into the spiritual realm as a spiritual baby. To the measure that I invest in the development of my spiritual life, these spiritual senses develop.

In the natural realm, I have come to a certain age and level of development. The quality of my physical life is directly related to the care and food that it has received. So also, that which I am in my spiritual being must be nourished and built up.

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word,
that ye may grow thereby" I Peter 2:2.

If I receive the Word of God only intellectually (my natural ear), then my natural being is edified, but my spiritual being has not been fed. For my spiritual being to be nourished and built up, there must be a means of receiving the Word of God on the level of Spirit (my spiritual ear).

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit" John 3:6.

For the ministry of the Word to become spiritual food, it must be anointed. Itmust come from the presence of the Lord through an anointed ministry in an atmosphere of the anointing. There must be an openness of heart and receptivity of spirit, in order to receive.

"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good
of the land" Isaiah 1:19.

During a Sunday morning Church service in 1950, I was pondering the reality ofGod. Later, I wandered into a Full Gospel Church and met the eternal "I AM" and my life was transformed. That Sunday evening, a 6'2" adult became a spiritual baby.

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;
and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of
the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect (mature) man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ" Eph 4:11-13.

From that time, I have grown towards the stature of the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a fully matured adult. I am somewhere between being a spiritual baby and a fully grown spiritual adult.

"Though he were a Son, yet learned He obedience by
the things which He suffered; And being made perfect,
(growing into maturity through life experience) He
became the author of eternal salvation unto all them
that obey Him" Heb 5:8-9.

The burden and intention of the Lord is to bring us into spiritual maturity.

"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for
the manifestation of the sons of God" Rom 8:19.

This speaks of mature sons, not little children. The Lord patiently waits for His Body to grow. The food that enables us to grow is the anointed Word of God. If we eat "good food" we will grow faster.

It is very important that we sit under the ministry of the anointed Word. As this anointed word is quickened within us and we receive from it an impartation of "spirit and life," we are growing into "The fullness of His stature." If we stay in a Church where there is no anointed ministry because "our friends or family are there," we will not receive spiritual food and will remain a spiritual baby. (We may be there by Divine appointment to give, rather than receive).

We received our spiritual faculties at the time of our salvation. It is our responsibility to develop these by spending quality time with the Lord, and by cultivating their use.

"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have
no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall
faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they
shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and
not faint" Isa 40:29-31.

To "Wait upon the Lord" means that we are actively "waiting" in His presence, until all earthly activity ceases, and we are lifted up into the activity of the spiritual realm, where our spiritual being is edified and developed.

"Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it
upon his head, and anoint him" Exodus 29:7.

The oil is poured upon the head and flows down over the body. Jesus Christ, the anointed one, is the head of a many-membered body. When we are "set"(Divine Placement - I Cor 12:18) within that body, the oil (anointing) from the head will flow down, and we will receive of the anointing. The oil is always poured on the head and always flows down.

If in any way, I am disjointed, or dislocated from any other member, then I have moved out from the flow of the anointing. The oil (anointing) will flow past me, and I will have missed my spiritual portion.

"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into
Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
for it is under his direction that the whole body
is perfectly adjusted and united by every joint
that furnishes it supplies. And by the proper
functioning of each particular part, there is
brought about the growing of the body for its
building up in love." Williams Translation.

"By the proper functioning of each particular part" means that each one of us has a very important part in the release of the anointing. This "building up" comes as a result of the anointing. Words, when anointed, become spiritual. There is a "translation" from one realm into another. The very word that is earthly becomes spiritual. Jesus said,

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are
spirit, and they are life" John 6:63.

Words convey an image. If I say the word "camera," immediately we have an image. If I say "horse," the image changes. Jesus said the words that He speaks are "spirit and life." There is no image for these words. The value received is the impartation of spiritual life into our spiritual being.

The vehicle to accomplish this translation from one realm to the higher is the anointing.