What Is the Anointing of the Holy Spirit?
What Are the Purposes, Benefits & Power of the Anointing?
Summary: What is the anointing of the Holy Spirit? What's the purpose of that Holy Spirit anointing? its importance? What does it do in your life? Answer: It empowers Spirit-filled believers for multiple, powerful ministries.
1 Samuel 16:12-13
- •• In the Old Testament and the New Testament alike, the anointing spoke of a special action and empowerment by the Holy Spirit.
- •• The future king David was anointed with oil by God's prophet. That was the outward expression. But what happened inwardly was far more important. That visible, outward act of anointing signified the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon him to equip him for the future God had for him.
- • So the question concerning the Holy Spirit’s anointing arises: anointed for what? Why does God anoint us and empower us with His Holy Spirit?
- •• First, let it be established that God anoints His people. “He anointed us” — King David, the apostle Paul, you, me, and millions more from then to now receive this Holy Ghost anointing from God and by God.
- • Let's investigate: for what purpose does He confer upon us this spiritual anointing, this "unction" of His Holy Spirit? To respectfully use a play on words, what is the function of the unction, of the anointing of the Holy Spirit?
- •• One purpose of the anointing of the Holy Spirit — which comes in the baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5,8; 2:1-4) — is to give us power to “be [Christ’s] witnesses”.
- • Many Christians fear witnessing because they think they have to do it with their own natural abilities, their own persuasive power, etc.
• No! — “You will receive power [to be His witnesses] when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” There are no powerless Christians when they are filled with the Holy Spirit and walking in the anointing of God, having received their own personal Pentecost as the early disciples did in Act 2.
• What does the anointing of the Holy Spirit do in your life? It gives you Holy Ghost power that makes you a good witness. You are not limited by your own lack of skills or by your temperament. As Jesus promised, "you will receive power," an enablement by the Spirit of God to minister for the Lord beyond your natural capabilities.
- •• In this verse five purposes of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, five aspects of the work, the role, of the Holy Spirit in us, five benefits of the anointing, are revealed:
- (1) to enable you “to preach [the] good news” effectively. The news we share about Jesus is “good”. The anointing will enable you to share it with impact.
(2) to make you a Spirit-filled messenger, a “proclaim[er of] freedom for the prisoners” — freedom from the prison of sin, of drugs, of depression, of life-dominating habits.
(3) You are anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring “recovery of sight for the blind” — both physical and spiritual healing, as Jesus did. Not only healing, but other gifts of the Holy Spirit begin to flow from the powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit of God in your life.
(4) You are anointed “to release the oppressed”. All around you are people oppressed by sin, by sickness, by demonic attacks, etc. You have a message of release for them.
(5) You are anointed by God through the Holy Spirit “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” to people ignorant of the comforting message of God's grace.
- •• The Holy Spirit anointing brings to you the power of God to go around “doing good”. Even our Lord Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit at the beginning of His ministry, and that sets a powerful example for us.
- • This Greek word root for “doing good” occurs only twice in the New Testament, and its meaning is that of a philanthropist or benefactor.
• Vine’s defines it as “to bestow a benefit...” The heaven-sent power to do good in ways even beyond our natural abilities is one of the benefits of the anointing.
• The Holy Spirit anointing is not just for healing, preaching, witnessing, delivering, and miracle-working power. Certainly the anointing of the Holy Ghost does impart spiritual gifts into our ministries. But it is also to empower us to be benefactors, doers of good, to needy people.- • Mother Teresa must have had a powerful anointing!
- •• On the spiritual side, the anointing gives you the Holy Spirit's power to break the devil’s yoke in people’s lives.
- •• Finally, a major importance of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is that it empowers us believers to hear, discern, and hold to truth (vs. 20) — “You have an anointing ... and ... know the truth.”
- • This does not nullify the ministries of God-anointed pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). Rather, the context (26) is in contrast to false teachers.
• The Holy Spirit's anointing will help you sort out false teachers and false teachings.
• “This anointing teaches you” — the believer is properly encouraged to read the Bible for him or herself. As they do so, the Spirit of God brings illumination and clarity.
In sum, we are anointed by the Holy Spirit for many important and powerful purposes of that anointing, including:
- • to have power to be effective witnesses
• to enable us to share the Good News about Jesus Christ
• to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
• to bring recovery of sight for the blind
• to release the oppressed
• to proclaim the Lord’s favor and grace
• to be benefactors, doing good to needy people
• to break the devil’s yoke in the lives of bound-up people
• to teach us and help us know God’s truth versus error
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Read more on the anointing at our sermon: Anointing for Ministry by the Holy Spirit
Check out our multi-topic collection of sermons on God's Power
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©2002, 2015-18, James H. Feeney.
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Pentecostal Sermons and Bible Studies
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.