Anointed

We tend to only look at ourselves through the lens of our abilities and limitations but we would realise how much more is available to us if we would look through the work of the Cross.

Ephesians 5:29-30
For no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the Church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

So there it is - we all know in our heads that we are His children but did you realise that God, when He created in us new spirits in the image of His Son (2 Cor 5:17; Rom 8:29) made us part of Himself? We are "of His body, of His flesh and of His bones" which is a very Jewish way of saying "you are part of me. I am yours, and you are mine". 

When we became part of the family through Jesus' redemptive work on the Cross, we were not just adopted: God took the old you, put it out of the way and created in you a new spirit, a brand new creation (2 Cor 5:17) filled with His Spiritual DNA. This expression first came about when Adam realised that Eve was made from his rib and pronounced, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."(Gen 2:23). The saying 'of His flesh and of His bones' in Ephesians has the same intimate meaning.

Here's something else: if you have the Spirit of God residing within you (1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16), if you have opened the door of your heart to Jesus the Christ (Rev 3:20), then the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and did all those mighty miracles in Old and New Testament is available to you. Why? "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal 3:6) and 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever' (Heb 13:8).

Luke 4:18-21 tells us that when Jesus first began His ministry in Galilee, He visited His home town's synagogue and read Isaiah 61:1-2a, saying:

the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor, He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord... Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Jesus was proclaiming Himself to be Saviour, Healer, Deliverer. If you have Jesus as YOUR Lord and Saviour, He is still fulfilling that same mission statement through the members of His body. He is still healing, saving and delivering, but are you working with Him, or shying away?

The word 'anoint' in Hebrew means to smear, anoint or spread a liquid but in the Old Testament, when someone was anointed to become a priest, or king, being anointed did not mean a ceremonial dab - it meant a drenching.

The first time the same Hebrew word for 'anointed' was used in the Old Testament was in Genesis 31:3 where God reveals Himself to Jacob and said:

I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me.

If we go to Genesis 28:18, this is how Jacob anointed the pillar:

Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.

When Elisha instructed one of his pupils in how to anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be King, he was told to take a flask of oil and pour it on his head (2 Ki 9:1-3).

This anointing was symbolic of their consecration for service, and the power they were endowed with to fulfill their calling. This means that when Jesus declared Himself to be the Anointed One of Isaiah 61, He was also saying, "the Spirit of God has poured out on me the power to do these things."

Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church (among other things) was:

...that you may know...what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Eph 1:15-23)

John 3:34 tells us that God does not give His spirit by measure, or with a limit. ALL His Spirit and power has been given to us without limit, without holding back. He is able to do mighty things today just as He did for Israel in the days of Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel and for the believers in the Early Church. The only thing stopping Him, as it was in Jesus' day (Mark 6:5-6), is us.

Can you see yourself drenched with the same anointing that He has as you spend time with the One who loved you so much He died in your place on the Cross, then rose again to give you the power to overcome every difficulty set before you? What holds you back now if God tells you to go pray for that friend who's not feeling well? To send that message of encouragement to someone you haven't seen for so long? To start that organisation you've been dreaming of but don't know how to? Nothing is impossible to him who believes.

All of heaven and God's power is ready and able to work on our behalf when we know how to walk with God, hear from Him and step out in obedience. However, while we all have the same level of power available to us as part of our Sonship and God's spiritual DNA in us, we are not all called with the same giftings. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Teachers or Evangelists? The answer is no, and therefore we also cannot compare our abilities to another's.

Be faithful with the giftings and opportunities YOU have been given by being:
1) available
2) willing
3) obedient to God's promptings

Step out in obedience and let God do the work - after all, it is Christ the Anointed One in you who lives and does the work. It's not up to what you can do - it's up to the power of Christ in you, and He can do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think. Let the adventures begin!