The anointing is a topic that can be confusing, but once you receive a revelation of the meaning of the anointing it will change your life.
In this episode, I’m diving into the meaning of the anointing. The is a topic that for me was a little intimidating for quite awhile. However, it is an important, supernatural component of your journey in purpose.
Here’s what I’m going to cover:
- The meaning of anointing
- How anointing is related to your purpose
- How to get in alignment with God’s will and tap into his anointing
And listen, I am no Bible scholar yet, so if you’re listening to this and you are a Bible school, I want you to pay close attention to what I say next. If you hear an interpretation that you don’t agree with, I welcome correction. I am still very new at this, but we all have to start somewhere. I’ve read, studied, consulted a concordance, prayed, meditated, and consulted my pastor about what I’m teaching. If I’m off in my interpretation please let me know. Just make sure you come to me from a place of love. Ok?
Alright now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s start dive into the meaning of the anointing.
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The Meaning of the Anointing
There are two different forms of anointing that I’m discussing. I’m going to start with the general overall spiritual anointing and then I’ll go into a more specific version.
Generally speaking, the anointing is the special, internal teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit who illuminates the mind of the believer to understand and apply God’s truth, as well as to detect deception. Every person who has accepted Christ as their Lord and savior has this.
This definition of the anointing is informed by scripture. Specifically 1 John 2:27.
Let's take a look in the New King James Version and the Amplified Version
The NKJV says: “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
The AMP says: “As for you, the anointing [the special gift, the preparation] which you received from Him remains [permanently] in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But just as His anointing teaches you [giving you insight through the presence of the Holy Spirit] about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as His anointing has taught you, you must remain in Him [being rooted in Him, knit to Him].”
Jesus confirms that the Holy Spirit is our teacher in John 14:26 which says:
“…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.” So we know the Holy Spirit to be a teacher.
When we make the decision to receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God also known as the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us and he serves as our guide, teacher, comforter, coach, and so much more.
Physical Anointing
There are also instances in scripture where people are anointed by someone or anointed to do something like when Isaiah proclaimed the anointing of the Messiah in 61:1 which says:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners;
The purpose of this form of anointing is to set apart a person for a specific divine use. It is meant to empower someone to accomplish God’s work in a specific area.
When God anoints you, it’s for you to do something, say something, accomplish something. This anointing is for the purposes of God. It isn’t for our own edification. It also has nothing to do with your intelligence, your skills, or your talent.
This concept can be difficult to grasp, especially for people who have very public facing gifts like worship leaders, bible teachers, preachers, hair stylists, educators, etc—from the outside looking in, it may appear that these people perform well in their respective field because they’re talented or they practice, but what you’re actually witnessing is their anointing.
Now that we’ve covered the meaning of the anointing, let’s talk about how the anointing affects your purpose.
The Anointing and Purpose
I mentioned earlier that when a person is anointed to do a specific thing, the anointing empowers them to do it.
To empower means to give official authority or legal power to… When God assigned your purpose to you, He anointed you to do it.
In other words, God’s anointing gives you the authority to do the work of your purpose and it teaches and equips you to do the work your purpose requires—work that you cannot otherwise do on your own strength. You have a supernatural power on the inside you of that makes you invincible as you do the work of your purpose.
You cannot lose. It might feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, but you do.
The Enemy’s Plan
The enemy doesn’t want you to know this though. He does he not want you to know the meaning of the anointing. He does not want you to know that you have this supernatural power. Oh, and he does not stop there though. He also wants you out of alignment with your anointing and your purpose.
God doesn’t flow in bickering, jealousy, and complaining. When the enemy brings this into your life it’s the ultimate distraction.
The Flow of the Anointing
In order for anointing to flow, you must be in alignment with the will of God. It should go without saying that it is God’s will that you fulfill your purpose. It’s what you were created to do and who you are supposed to become.
When the tires of a car are out of alignment it causes (see pg 1219 in Bible)
- Tires to wear unevenly and more rapidly than normal which means you will have to replace your tires sooner than you should
- Tires squeal as the car accelerates or makes turns
- Steering wheel becomes off-centered which requires you to have to turn your steering wheel slightly sideways in order to drive straight
- Decreases your fuel efficiency. Misalignment can decrease gas mileage by up to 10%
In a nutshell, when your car is out of alignment, it causes other issues that have financial and safety implications.
When we, as humans, are out of alignment with God’s will we experience issues as well. Things that really affect us and the quality of our life.
We can’t properly bear fruit
The fruits of the spirit don’t flow in dysfunction. Really think about the fruits of the spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
When you are out of alignment with God’s will, the chances are high that you will not have peace. When you lack peace it can manifest in many different ways. A lack of peace can manifest:
- Spiritually: through a decrease in the desire to pray or the feeling that you aren’t as connected to God and you aren’t able to hear him clearly
- Emotionally: through anxiety or the development of attachments which turn into unhealthy relationships
- Physically: through a loss of sleep, loss of appetite, or overeating
Oh and don’t even get me started with the lack of self-control.
Self-control is the exercise of restraint over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires. When someone lacks self-control, they are unable to prevent themselves from doing something they don’t want to do or from feeling something they don’t want to feel, especially when they’re tempted. They have little to no self-discipline, will-power, composure, or self-restraint.
They know what’s good for them, but they are unable to actually do it. People who lack self-control typically do not finish what they start or sometimes don’t even get started at all, they repeat the same mistakes, go through periods of isolation, and experience depression or anxiety.
This has a major impact on their day to day life and it begins to eat away at their self-confidence.
And to think, I’ve only covered a fraction of what it is like when someone isn’t bearing just two of the fruits of the spirit.
We forfeit the blessings of God
When we are out of alignment with God’s will, we also forfeit the blessings of God. To forfeit means to lose the right to. When we are out of alignment with God’s will, we lose the right to spiritual and material blessings. God doesn’t bless disorder, and why would He. You know?
This is why we should strive to be in alignment with His will. I could conclude this episode right here, but you know I have to leave you with some tips on how to get in God’s will.
How to Get in Alignment with God’s Will
It is not enough to know the meaning of the anointing and how it operates. We all need to know how to position ourselves to be able to tap into it. There are three things that I recommend to anyone who wants to get in alignment with God’s will.
Give up your plan
First and foremost, give up your plan. That is not the same thing as “do not have a plan.” You should always have a plan. My pastor always says, “have a plan, but be led by the Spirit.” When I say give up your plan, what I mean is, the moment God presents you with an assignment or a path to take that causes you to diverge from your plan, you need to give up your plan. Your plan is significantly limited. The reason I can say it’s limited is because it’s based on what you know and we don’t know everything. God doesn’t just know more than we do. He knows EVERYTHING.
Be in the right position
Be in the right position for God to speak to you and use you. By right position, I mean spiritually and geographically. Being in the right position spiritually means abiding in him.
See John 15:4-8 which says:
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
Remaining in Christ is about spiritual intimacy.
Spiritual intimacy is accomplished by making sure you are spending time with Jesus, growing and learning about Him and his nature. It doesn’t stop there though, you have to internalize and meditate on God’s written word. Spend time with Him.
As for being in the right position geographically, sometimes God sends people to us for one thing or another in furtherance of His will. David had to be in Bethlehem to be anointed as King. God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons. If David wasn’t in Bethlehem, it would have thrown things off. David was in the right position.
Make sure you are in the right position. Pray and ask God to guide you to where you need to be in order to be in alignment with His will. He will answer your prayers.
I hope this shed some light on the meaning of the anointing and how it aids you as you walk out God’s purpose and plan for your life.
Have you taken my path to purpose quiz yet?
If you’re ready to find your personal path to God’s purpose and plan for your life . Don’t worry. I got it. To help you with the beginning steps of finding your path to your purpose, I created a free, super fun quiz which is titled, “How to Find Your Unique Path to Your Purpose.” You can find it here!
I know you like those Buzzfeed quizzes that tell you which Game of Thrones or Grey’s Anatomy character you are. My quiz is similar to those but my quiz gives you a lot more information about yourself that will help position you for your purpose.
In nine questions, my quiz explores your personality, your strengths, and your struggles. The quiz questions incorporate things you do in your life. If you enjoy sitcoms, music, or shopping at Target, then you will find the questions especially interesting.
Want More?
If you enjoyed this episode about the meaning of the anointing, then you may also enjoy the episode of the show about the definition of purpose or this episode detailing common myths about purpose.
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