Top 7 Bible Verses About Anointing

Here are my top 7 Bible verses about anointing.

The Believers Anointing

First John 2:27 “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

The anointing John is writing about is clearly the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  That’s Who it is that he says “abides in you,” therefore we have no need that “anyone should teach” us because the Spirit brings the truth of God alive.  That does not mean that we don’t need pastors and Bible teachers but this is what Jesus spoke about regarding the Holy Spirit when He told the disciples that “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13) so that is how “his anointing teaches [us] about everything” since He abides in us.

The Anointing of the Oil

Exodus 29:7 “You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.”

This is describing the anointing of Aaron since he was the chief priest at the time of the Exodus.  The oil is representative of the Spirit of God but also of the official designation to an office by God’s decree.  Kings were frequently anointed in times past as an indication that they were sanctioned or ordained by God.  In fact, Aaron and his sons were “anointed in them and ordained in them” indicating that the office and the official position of the priesthood are ordained by God Himself who chooses who will be His priests.  This is never a decision by men but always by God.

The Lord’s Anointed

Luke 4:18a “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”

Here Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1 exactly which says the same thing.   Isaiah 61 is about the Year of the Lord which was fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus quoted Isaiah more than any other prophet, possibly because Isaiah wrote so much about the coming Messiah.  Jesus went on to quote more of Isaiah 61 saying “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18b-19).  Jesus fulfilled these prophecies…He set the oppressed free, He gave sight to the blind, He proclaimed liberty from sin as He purchased by His own blood those who believed in Him and He proclaimed the “Lord’s favor” in His work at Calvary.  This gives clarity to Acts 10:38 where Peter says that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

Anointing the Sick

James 5:14 “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”

Here, James directs believers who are sick to “call for the elders of the church” and then “let them pray over” you and be anointed “with the oil in the name of the Lord.”  There was no special healing power in the oil had but the power was “in the name of the Lord.” The sick are commanded to ask for the elder’s anointing and not just wait for someone else to suggest it.  Here, the idea is that the oil is “in the name of the Lord” meaning the healing is ordained by God and that oil has no special healing power but the power is found only “in the name of the Lord.”

Anointed with the Oil of Gladness

Psalm 45:7 “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

To be anointed with the oil of gladness is a sign of a person’s being saved because joy is one of the undeniable evidences or fruits of the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:22).  A person that has the Holy Spirit understands that they are secure in the Lord because they have been cleansed and are now seen by God as having Jesus’ own righteousness imputed to them (2 Cor 5:21).  A person then naturally loves righteousness and hates wickedness, a sign of the Spirit’s conviction of sin. This anointing by or from the indwelling of the Spirit of God gives them the motivation to do what is right.  This “oil of gladness” that believers have been anointed with naturally produces “gladness beyond [our] companions” perhaps meaning we have more joy than those who haven’t experienced the new birth (John 3:5-7).

Touch Not my Anointed Ones

First Chronicles 16:21-22 “He allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”

I love these verses because although God was speaking about His chosen people Israel, those who have been adopted by God are considered by God as His own anointed ones.  Just as God gives warning to those who try to harm the children of Israel, so too does this apply to those who are considered God’s own people as we read in many Bible verses like Zechariah 2:8 “For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.”

God Anoints Us

Second Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

God associates our being anointed with His setting “his seal of ownership on us” and I for one want to be owned by God.  This spiritual anointing seals the believer in Christ, the Spirit in our hearts is a deposit like putting up a deposit on something we have promised to but here, God is “guaranteeing what is to come” and what is to come is even too marvelous to describe (Rev 21, 22).

Conclusion

If you have repented and put your trust in Christ, then you have been anointed by God, chosen by God, sealed by God and no one touches God’s anointed.  He will rebuke those who do.  That’s why this anointing is an anointing of joy and gladness that no man can rob.  Praise God for His marvelous anointing of all of those who have been born again, and someday, perhaps soon, we will enter that kingdom in the unending joy that results from being in the presence of the Holy One.

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book  Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon