Insight about The Anointing

(An extract from Peter Tan's book "The Anointing of the Holy Spirit downloadable from: http://petertan.net/newsite/books.html)

If the church of Jesus Christ today would seek to do His work by His anointing, we could turn this world upside down and right side up for Jesus. In fact Jesus made it imperative for His Church to receive His anointing before they went out to minister (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-9). When His church was persecuted, they prayed for a greater anointing of boldness and received it! (Acts 4:29-31). The anointing imparted was so great that even the house shook.

The world cannot be evangelized without the power and anointing of God. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall receive power to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). Paul said that the Gentiles were obedient to the gospel through the mighty signs and wonders God did through him by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:19). It was after Paul’s and Barnabas’ testimonies of God’s power working among the Gentiles confirming the gospel that settled the issue of the Gentiles in the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:12,13).

Paul’s speech and preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Corinthians 2:4). For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20). The controversy over Paul’s apostleship was to be settled not by words but by the demonstration and power of God on his life (1 Corinthians 4:19; 2 Corinthians 12:11,12).

The Anointing produces power and conviction

Jesus Himself told the Jews that if He did not do the works He did among them, they were not obligated to believe in Him (John 10:37). However, having seen the works He did, He told them that at least they should believe in Him because of the works (John 10:38).

To His own disciples, Jesus said that if they had difficulty believing in His union with the Father, they still should do it for the sake of the works themselves (John 14:11). How important the works of Jesus were in His ministry! And to think that all His works resulted from His being anointed by the Father! (Acts 10:38). Surely, the anointing is an important factor to consider!

The anointing of the Holy Spirit always produces power. The word ‘power’ which is associated with the anointing comes from the Greek word ‘dunamis’ which means ‘ability’. God’s ability is imparted through the anointing. Therefore we conclude by defining the anointing as the enablement or impartation of God’s ability upon an available and yielded vessel to fulfil and carry out His will and His work. This enablement and impartation will help those who have received it to do supernatural work even though they remain natural beings.

The anointing in itself is of a heavenly materiality. It is a spiritual substance which inherently contains God’s power. Like electricity it can be stored. The anointing in Paul’s hands was transmitted and stored in handkerchiefs and aprons (Acts 19:11, 12). Elisha’s anointing was still stored in his dead bones. There was enough stored power to raise a man from the dead (2 Kings 13:21). It can be transferred and imparted through the laying on of hands or cloth (Deuteronomy 34:9; 2 Timothy 1:6; 2 Kings 2:13, 14). This subject of transferring and transmitting the anointing will be covered further in this book.

Like Paul we can say that we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the power may be of God and not of ourselves (2 Corinthians 4:7).