In the Biblical community this is a very controversial subject, but one that I find myself as a follower of Jesus Christ truly embracing and this is why.
Anointing, as described in the Bible, can be defined as "God on flesh doing those things that the flesh cannot do." It is God doing only those things that the Holy Spirit things that only He can do, and doing them through a flesh-and-blood, earthly vessel ~ me and you. (See, 2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”).
The basic meaning of the Biblical word "anoint" is "to pour on, smear all over or rub into." In the Old Testament, someone who was anointed by God for special service to God had to have oil poured or smeared over and on him. For instance, Saul, and later David, was anointed with oil by the prophet Samuel when God revealed He had chosen him to be king of Israel. When King Saul rebelled against God and tried to kill David, David refused to harm him because Saul was "the Lord's anointed" (See “He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”)
To be anointed by God is not only to be hand-picked, but also to be empowered by Him for the task or position to which He has called you. The Hebrew word "Messiah" and the Greek word "Christ" both mean "the Anointed One."
Anointing was a sign of Israel's coming Redeemer. The prophet Isaiah, looking forward in time by the Spirit of God, saw One through Whom "the yoke [of Satan's oppression] shall be destroyed because of the anointing" (Isaiah 10:27). The word destroyed means ‘absolutely corrupted beyond use, destroyed, no good for (the devil's) use’.
Jesus, reading from another Messianic prophecy in Isaiah, said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me...." What had the Spirit anointed Him to do? "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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 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. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. (Isaiah 61:1-3) Jesus chose to have the burden of removing, yoke-destroying power of Almighty God all over Him.
News of the Anointed and His Anointing was the "good news" or "gospel" the early Church ministered. When Peter was asked to preach the simple gospel message to the gentles for the very first time, the first thing that he did was he told him was “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him" (see Acts 10:38-39). Next, when Philip preached Christ (the Anointed One and His Anointing) in Samaria, "the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed" (see Acts 8:6-8). They received and heard the good news that the Anointed One and His Anointing had come to destroy the chains that had bound them so tightly to the evil one. From the moment they received the anointing, God confirmed it, just as He did in Jesus' ministry.
Anointing is God's presence by the Holy Spirit. The anointing on Jesus was by the Holy Spirit (see Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38). The anointing that we have received from Jesus is by the Holy Spirit. (I John 2:20, 26-27; John 14:26) The anointing is definitely God's Spirit and power for service in this earth. Jesus has provided the same presence of the Holy Spirit for us in our earthly ministries that He had in His earthly ministry!
The word "Christ" is not just another name for Jesus, but a reference to the Anointed and the Anointing that was on Him and in Him. In the same way, the word "Christians" means more than just followers of Jesus. It means "the anointeds." The same chain-destroying Anointing that was on Jesus is available to you.
Look again at I John 2: "the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him" (verse 27). Those last two words could also be translated "in it." In other words, the phrase could either be exhorting believers to abide in the Anointed One, Jesus, or to abide in the anointing itself. Both interpretations are correct because you cannot separate the Anointed and the anointing. If you are in the Anointed One, then you are in the anointing.
I encourage you, find every reference that you can that uses the word Christ in the New Testament and every time Christ is used, translate it into "the Anointed and His Anointing." Then meditate on the new revelation of this meaning in each scripture. Start with the verses that say "in Christ" or "through Christ" and translate them "in (through) the Anointed and (through) His Anointing." It will change your life.
If you're "in Christ," there's an anointing upon you for everything you are called to do, no matter how small or how great the task. That is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, "I can do all things through Christ (the Anointed and His Anointing) which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13). Notice that he did not say "who strengtheneth me" but "which strengtheneth me." He was talking about the anointing. The same anointing that enabled you to be born again will heal your body, help you succeed in business, and empower you to prosper spirit, soul, body, emotions and basically every aspect of your life. (See Luke 5:20-24)
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