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Church’s Share In Pentecostal Blessing
"Ye have an unction from the Holy Spirit, and ye all know it."—1Jo
2:20.
The Lord’s anointed people have much
advantage every way. But their anointing does not permit them to know all
things at the present time, as the Common Version translation declares; for the
Apostle Paul himself tells us, "Now I know in part; but then shall I know even
as also I am known." (1Co 13:12.) What St.
John wished to impress upon his hearers is that whoever has received the
anointing of the Holy Spirit has received a blessing of which he has evidence
and assurance. He is not left to mere imaginings respecting his anointing by
the Lord. The word unction, used in our text, is not common today. Therefore
the Greek original is better rendered anointing, as in the Revised Version. The
thought is the same, however—that of softening, smoothing, oiling—that which
characterizes true Christians.
In the Scriptures various expressions are used to represent the blessings of
the Lord conferred upon His consecrated people at Pentecost and throughout this
Gospel Age. Sometimes these expressions refer to the different phases of the
operation of the Lord through His Holy Spirit upon His people. Consequently
these different expressions represent different viewpoints merely.
For instance, we read that the early Church was baptized with the Holy Spirit;
that is, they were immersed in the Holy Spirit—for the entire room in which
they were sitting was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, from which a share of
blessing, an unction or anointing, was imparted to them. Again, that influence
referred to in the Scriptures as a begetting of the Holy Spirit pictures to our
minds this same influence or unction or anointing from on High as the beginning
of a new life, a new nature.
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This same unction or influence is also referred to as our quickening—another
representation of the development of the new life in us as New Creatures. But
the clearest and most beautiful illustration of the Holy Spirit’s influence
upon the people of God during this Gospel Age is that of our text—the
anointing. This is the figure or symbol by which the Lord foreshadowed this
blessing in the types of the past. The Church which He is calling out from the
world to be heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord, if so be
they suffer with Him, is promised a share of their Lord’s glory as kings and
priests unto God during the Millennium.
They are promised that the work of the Lord begun in them at the time of their
anointing of the Spirit, their begetting of the Spirit, will be finished or
completed in the First Resurrection. The message is, "Blessed and holy are
they that have part in the First Resurrection; on such the Second Death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him
a thousand years."—Re 20:6.
THE TYPICAL ANOINTING
Looking back into the Mosaic Law, which St. Paul assures us was "a shadow
of good things to come" (Heb 10:1), we find that the high priest of Israel
was anointed with an especially prepared anointing oil, and that this anointing
constituted the Divine evidence of his call to the priestly office. The oil was
of peculiar composition, olive oil being the basis, with perfumes, etc., added;
and the Israelites were not permitted to compound a similar oil, to the intent
that it might be shown typically that the Holy Spirit thus represented is
different from everything else in the world, and that its anointing or
authorization is superior to any other.—Ex 30:23-33.
When the high priest was consecrated to his office, the anointing oil was
poured upon his head. (Le 8:12.) In the antitype the Lord Jesus, the Head of
the Anointed
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Body, received the anointing of the Holy Spirit at His baptism—at the very time
of His consecration to sacrifice, at the age of 30 years. The anointing oil
poured upon Aaron’s head is described by the Psalmist prophetically as running
down from his head even to the skirts of his garments. (Ps. 133:2.) Thus is
pictured the complete Christ, Head and Body; and thus we are shown that the
same anointing which came to the Head at His baptism must ultimately extend to
the very last members of the Body of Christ, down at the close of the Gospel
Age. The fact that the Body receives of the anointing of the Head is also
illustrated in the type; for the under priests, sons of Aaron, did not receive
the anointing directly, being reckoned as members of Aaron’s body.
So with the Church of Christ, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which came to
our Lord at His consecration at Jordan, continued with Him during His ministry,
and was perfected in Him at His resurrection. Not until He had ascended on High
and had appeared in the presence of God for the Church did He receive
permission, authority, of the Father to communicate the Holy Spirit to all who
had consecrated themselves as His disciples, His members. (Ac 2:33.) The same
Holy Spirit which He had Himself received of the Father at His consecration He
now communicated to His followers. It was represented in the anointing oil
poured upon Aaron’s head and flowing down to his shoulders and over his body.
This same anointing of the Holy Spirit has continued throughout this Gospel
Age—not that there is a new Pentecost for each individual member of the Body of
Christ, but that whoever through faith and consecration becomes a member of the
Anointed Body comes under this unction, this anointing, which has continued to
be upon the Church throughout this Age, and will continue until the last member
of the Body has made his calling and election sure to membership in The Christ.
As Aaron’s call to the office of priesthood was signified
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by the anointing oil, so with our Lord at His anointing at Jordan, and so with
all the members of His Body as they come into fellowship with Him. Their
receipt of the Holy Anointing is their call to the Lord’s service here and
hereafter—a service of suffering, self-denial, etc., in the present time, but a
service of glory and honor hereafter. St. Paul declares, "No man taketh
this honor unto himself, but he that was called of God, as Aaron was."
(Heb 5:4.) As our Lord Jesus could not, and did not, anoint Himself, and
constitute and authorize Himself to be a priest, so likewise not one of His
followers could make himself a priest unto God. No one can have a right to
serve in the capacity of a priest unless he be anointed of the Holy Spirit; and
as our text declares, all who have been thus anointed know it.
ISRAEL’S KINGS TYPICALLY ANOINTED
Because our Lord and His Church are to be God’s representatives, not only in
the priestly office, but also in the kingly office during the Millennium,
therefore this was also typed. The kings of Israel typified the King of Glory;
and of David and Solomon it is written that they "sat upon the throne of
the Kingdom of the Lord"—typically. In due time, antitypically, The
Christ, the greater David, the greater than Solomon, shall sit upon the Throne
of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all nations, whom He shall
separate—the sheep from the goats—during the Millennial Age. This great King of
the incoming Age was typified by Melchizedek, who had centered in him both the
kingly and the priestly office; for it is recorded that he was a priest upon
his throne (Ge 14:18; Heb 7:1-3.) Similarly The Christ of glory, Jesus the Head
and the Church the Body, will be the enthroned Priest; or, as expressed under
another figure, "we shall be kings and priests unto God, and shall reign
on the earth."—Re 5:10.
To show that the Anointed Company would exercise
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the ruling authority as well as the priestly functions, the Lord so arranged
the type of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that every one who served as king
of Israel should be anointed with the holy anointing oil—typical of the Holy
Spirit—the same oil that was used in the anointing of the high priests. This
type is made still more luminous when we remember that David was anointed to be
king over Israel when he was but a lad—many years before the death of Saul. No
priest, however, could be anointed until the time of the beginning of his
priesthood.
The antitypical teaching of this fact is that Christ and His followers are to
begin their work as priests immediately after they receive their anointing.
From that moment their sacrificing should commence and should continue until
the consummation—even unto death. But the same anointing which they have
received as respects the kingly office has a future fulfilment.
Our Lord was anointed to be a King, but He did not at once assume kingly
functions. Likewise we, as members of His Body, the Church, have in our
anointing of the Holy Spirit a recognition of our coming kingship and
joint-heirship with Him, if we remain faithful. But we do not as yet enter upon
any ruling mission. That kingly and authoritative work is reserved until we
shall have been changed to His image and likeness at the First Resurrection.
Then, raised in glory, raised in power, raised spirit beings and thus made like
Him, we shall be sharers of His glory as the Priest upon the Throne—the
antitypical Melchizedek.
WHY THIS SUBJECT IS LITTLE UNDERSTOOD
However it may have been in the days of the Apostles under their direct and
correct instruction, we may be sure that there is a great deal of uncertainty
upon this subject today, on the part of very many Christian people respecting
their having been begotten of the Holy Spirit.
That is to say, some who have been thus begotten do not know it, are uncertain
of it. This should not be, and
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would not be if it were not for the confusion of mind which has come down to us
from the Dark Ages respecting the Holy Spirit of God. Some of the most devout
of the Lord’s people have been confused by the errors of the Dark Ages which
teach that there are three gods; whereas the Bible distinctly enunciates that
there is but one living and true God—the Father, of whom are all things; that
there is one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things; and that the Holy
Spirit is the Spirit or Power or Influence which proceeds from the Father and
from the Son—the influence or power with which we are anointed.—1Co 8:6; Joh
15:26; Ac 2:33.
Not a text of Scripture anywhere declares a trinity of gods. The unity between
the Father and the Son is distinctly declared to be that of mind, purpose,
will, not that of person. The ordinary superstition that there are three gods
who are one in person seems too absurd for discussion. If three, how can they
be one? If one, how can they be three? But when we take the Scriptures as they
read, then we obtain a reasonable, proper conception of the subject. Our Lord
Himself assures us, "My Father is greater than I;" "The Father
sent Me;" "I ascend to My Father and your Father, to My God and your
God." When we then come to consider the anointing which came upon the
Church at Pentecost and has continued with it ever since, we find nothing that
is absurd or unreasonable, but quite to the contrary. This is the anointing
which the Father gave to the Son at His consecration, and which the Son was
permitted to extend to all who by consecration became recognized as members of
His Body, His Church.
The absurd and confusing thought which perplexes so many minds is the thought
that the Holy Spirit is another god, who stays with us and enters into each one
of the Lord’s consecrated people as a person. Thus the Holy Spirit as a person
is supposed to inhabit thousands, yea, millions of people! To any proper mind
there is
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something altogether incomprehensible in this teaching.
As soon as we imagine one complete person so divided up as to inhabit millions
of other persons at the same time, we have destroyed all personality. The
Scriptures call for no such absurdities, but tell us plainly that the Holy
Spirit is the influence or power from the Father and from the Son by which we
are anointed, consecrated, recognized as the Lord’s people, members of the Body
of Christ, the Church of the living God.
For centuries this doctrine of the Trinity was supported by one text; namely,
1Jo 5:7, which now all scholars of all denominations acknowledge to be
spurious.
Only within the last century have many of the old manuscripts of the Bible been
found; and this text is not in any of those written prior to the seventh
century. The evidence is so unquestionable that the learned men who translated
the Revised Version of the Scriptures, although all Trinitarians, omitted this
verse entirely, recognizing that it was fraudulent, introduced with a view to
proving the doctrine of the Trinity at a time when that doctrine was gaining
ascendancy and found itself handicapped by the fact that there was no statement
of Scripture in its support.
GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT EVERYWHERE
The Scriptures do not teach Divine Omnipresence, as some have assumed and
others have declared. Not a word in the Bible from first to last makes any such
statement or gives ground for any such inference. What it does teach is much
more reasonable and consistent in every way; namely, that God is not everywhere
present, but that Heaven is His Throne; that our Lord Jesus is not everywhere
present, but that He has sat down with the Father in His Throne of Heavenly
glory. But the Scriptures plainly teach that both the Father and the Son are
representatively present in believers through the Holy Spirit—the holy
influence, the power of God, which is everywhere present.
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However difficult it may have been to realize this in the past, some of our
modern inventions should help us greatly to appreciate the declaration of the
Holy Writ to this effect. For instance, in my Study there is a long-distance
telephone, over which at times I speak to people at great distance in a manner
that only a few decades ago would have been considered impossible. Thus I can
know definitely what is occurring in another city at a given moment just as
well as if I were on the spot and could see with my own eyes. Can humanity
under Divine guidance attain such a proficiency in the use of the elements of
nature as to possess such a knowledge of things of this world; and shall we
suppose that He who formed the ear and the eye, and who gave us our intelligence,
is not able by powers of His own to know what is occurring in any part of the
Universe as He may please?
What is this power by which the Lord knows? someone may ask. We answer, the
Holy Spirit, Holy Power, Holy Influence. Still another illustration of our
times enables us to grasp in some degree an appreciation of the Lord’s
greatness and His ability to know through His Holy Spirit; namely, wireless
telegraphy. And we are even told of a new invention of wireless telephony! How
wonderful it seems that even without a wire without any direct connection, we
should be able to communicate at a distance! Even likenesses are transferable
after this manner! Again we ask, What shall we say of the Almighty and His Holy
Power, by which He can know not only of our words and deeds, but also of our
very thoughts and the intents of our hearts? Surely we may well bow in humble
reverence before this great Divine Power of God! But we only confuse ourselves
if we think of the Holy Spirit as another God, limited as to personal presence
to one spot at one instant. Let us take God’s Word, God’s way, and free
ourselves from the troublesome confusion of the Dark Ages, which finds no
support in the Word of God.
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"ANOINTING FROM THE HOLY ONE"
Be it noted that our text does not declare that we are anointed WITH the Holy
One, as though the Holy One became the oil, or influence; but that it teaches
clearly that the anointing which we have received came from the Holy One—as the
Apostle Peter explains, from the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. Again,
we recall St. Paul’s statement that all things are of the Father through the
Son. Our begetting to the spirit nature is of (or from) the Father, but by (or
through) the Son. The anointing which we have received, we have already seen,
was typified or pictured in the anointing oil of old, and signified a Divine
blessing to the Lord’s Priesthood, who ultimately shall be kings, joint-heirs
with our Lord Jesus in the Kingdom.
This holy anointing implies a power and authority; and again we use an
illustration. Let an electric car represent a justified believer in the Lord
Jesus; let a dynamo suitably connected with a trolley represent our
consecration; let a wire represent our Lord’s gracious promises given to His disciples
when He ascended on High, after having told them to tarry at Jerusalem until
endued with power from Above. The car standing with the trolley on the wire and
with the motor properly connected, etc., will represent the Christians at
Pentecost before the Holy Spirit came upon them.
In this picture Heaven itself would represent the power house; and the turning
on of the electric power would represent the shedding forth of the Holy Spirit.
When it came, it operated upon all who were in contact with the wire; and none
others. Such were moved, energized, by the Spirit, the influence, the power
from God, and spoke in His name—sometimes in one demonstration and sometimes in
another. But in every case the Holy Spirit was the invisible power, however
differently it may have operated in various cases and for various reasons; and
in every instance the maintenance
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of the power of the Holy Spirit upon the individual was dependent upon the
continued contact of his faith—just as the relationship of the car and its
motor to the current was dependent upon a trolley connection, which well
represents faith. Break the connection, break the faith; and the power is gone.
So thus, only as we abide in the Lord through faith, only as we continue to
recognize Him as our Head and to heed His Word and to hold fast to the precious
promises therein, can we maintain our relationship to the Holy Spirit which He
has set forth for all who are of this way.
As the electrical current will not take the place of a trolley or of a motor,
so the Holy Spirit in us will not take the place of faith or of consecration.
But if faith and consecration are in proper order, the Holy Spirit will quicken
or energize them for the service we desire to render and the confidence we are
seeking to enjoy.
THE EFFECT OF THE ANOINTING
As already intimated, the effect of the anointing will be to energize us in the
Lord’s service. Our contact with the Lord and His Holy Spirit will not only
quicken our mortal bodies, but energize our faith also, and day by day will
open wider and wider the eyes of our understanding, that we may be daily the
better able to comprehend the lengths, breadths, heights and depths of the
Divine Character and Plan, that we may rejoice therein.
To the Jew this olive oil used in the anointing had a very wide range of
usefulness. It served him as a food often, instead of butter. It served him as
a medicine. It served for a light. In general, olive oil, olive berries and the
olive tree were the symbols of peace. In considering olive oil in connection
with such an anointing, therefore, we have several very beautiful and forceful
thoughts as respects the blessing conferred by the anointing. In harmony with
this, the Holy Spirit is represented as being not only an anointing for our
priestly service of
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sacrificing now and for our glorious service of the future as kings with our
Lord, but also a peace-producing and light-giving influence. And is this not
the effect of the Holy Spirit upon all who receive it? Does it not tend toward
the enlightenment of our minds, on account of which the Apostle declares of the
Anointed Company that they have the spirit of a sound mind? (2Ti 1:7.) Is it
not in line with this thought that he assures}s that in proportion as we receive
more and more of this Holy Spirit, this anointing influence, it will produce in
us the peaceable fruits of righteousness and will grant to us that, the eyes of
our understanding opening wider, we shall be able to comprehend with all saints
the lengths, the breadths, the heights and the depths and to know the love of
Christ which passeth all human understanding?
This influence or power with which we are anointed is designated a Holy Spirit
or influence, a spirit of love.
Thus it is contrasted with the worldly spirit of selfishness and sin. The
latter is of the earth earthy; the former is Heavenly. The latter is common to
the natural man in his fallen condition; the former is granted only to the New
Creature in Christ Jesus. The latter is a spirit of ambition, envy, hatred,
malice, strife; the former is a spirit of joy, peace, benevolence, goodness,
mercy, brotherly-kindness, love. Oh, how different are these two spirits! The
spirit of envy is not a person; nor is the spirit of love a person. But the father
of envy and of murder, the one from whom this spirit first emanated, is Satan,
who was a murderer from the beginning. On the other hand, the new mind, the
Holy Spirit which we have received from the Father through the Son, is
similarly not a person, but an influence. O blessed influence! Let us be more
and more filled with it. As the Apostle urges: "Be ye filled with the
Spirit."—Eph 5:18.
The Apostle James points out that this Holy Spirit which the Lord’s consecrated
people have received is one of wisdom, that it brings blessings which the
worldly
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spirit of selfishness, strife, cannot bring. The one, he declares, is Heavenly,
holy; the other is earthly, devilish.
He explains that the wisdom which comes from Above is first pure, then peaceable,
easy of entreatment, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without
hypocrisy. (Jas 3:17.)
It has a smoothing, oiling, unctuous effect upon all who receive it. They
become more and more like their Father in Heaven. True, there are some differences
of natural disposition by which some are less hindered than are others from
receiving the Spirit of the Lord in large measure.
In proportion as we had been able to discern sin and to reject it from our
hearts, in that proportion we were able to receive the spirit of holiness
appreciatively; and this of course was in different measures as we differ one
from the other according to our natural constitutions through heredity. Hence
the Apostle Paul exhorts us to be filled with the Spirit—an exhortation which
may apply to us all the time. Just as the motor in the car must be connected
with the live wire by the trolley, so we should ever be in contact with the
Lord and His precious promises. Otherwise we lose the power; we lose the
assistance; we lose the strength and grace necessary for our aid, comfort and
development.
The Apostle furthermore urges that we put off, empty ourselves of our natural
tendencies received through heredity. We are to put away all these: Anger,
wrath, hatred, envy, strife—works of the flesh and of the Devil.
In proportion as we realize that
these are contrary to the Spirit of the Lord, and in proportion as we desire to
be filled with that Spirit, will be our earnestness in putting away the wrong
spirit, the wrong condition—in emptying our hearts of the things pertaining to
the perverted flesh, that they may be filled with the things of the Spirit of
God, that we may be sanctified and made ready for the Master’s use in the
service of the present time as well as in the future glory.—Ro 8:28,29.
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