Exodus 30:23-25 describes the ingredients of the holy anointing oil. These verses say that four spices were added to one hin of olive oil. A hin is a measure of liquid. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, oil typifies the Spirit of God. The holy anointing oil in Exodus 30 was a compound with four spices—myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. Myrrh, a spice used in burials, signifies death. Calamus, a reed that shoots up from muddy places, signifies resurrection. Cinnamon signifies the sweetness of Christ’s death. Finally, cassia, which was used in ancient times to repel insects and snakes, signifies the fragrance of the resurrection of Christ, which repels the demons and Satan. Thus, myrrh and cinnamon signify Christ’s death with its sweetness, and calamus and cassia signify Christ’s resurrection with its sweet fragrance and repelling power. This indicates that the Holy Spirit has been compounded with Christ’s death and Christ’s resurrection.
The quantities of the ingredients are also significant. There were five hundred shekels of myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels of cinnamon, two hundred fifty shekels of calamus, and five hundred shekels of cassia. These measurements form three units of five hundred shekels each. The number three signifies the Triune God. The middle unit of five hundred shekels is split into two halves of two hundred and fifty, signifying that Christ, the second of the Triune God, was “split” on the cross. There were four spices. The number four signifies God’s creatures, for Ezekiel 1:5 and Revelation 4:6 mention four living creatures. Among God’s creatures, man is the head (Gen. 1:26). Thus, four signifies humanity, and the one hin of olive oil signifies the unique Spirit of God with divinity. This picture shows that humanity, divinity, the death of Christ with its sweetness, and the resurrection of Christ with its fragrance and power have all been compounded into the Spirit. Through such a compounding, the olive oil became a compound ointment. It was no longer simply pure oil but became a compound with several ingredients.
The compound ointment was the holy anointing oil that was used to anoint the tabernacle, all its furniture and utensils, and the priests (Exo. 30:26-30). The word anointing in 1 John 2:20 and 27 corresponds directly with Exodus 30. John used the word anointing in reference to the Spirit of God, who has been compounded with Christ’s humanity, His death, and His resurrection.
The compound Spirit corresponds to the word of God. The word of God in the Bible is composed of Christ, His death, and His resurrection. As we have seen, the compound Spirit is composed of these same elements. This compound Spirit is the Spirit mentioned in John 7:39, who was not yet. Before Christ’s death and resurrection, the compounding of the Spirit had not been completed. However, when Christ resurrected, His death, His resurrection, and His being were all compounded into the Spirit of God. Therefore, from that day the Spirit of God became the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19). Formerly, the Spirit of God was only the divine Spirit, but He has become the Spirit of Jesus Christ—a compound Spirit, compounded with Christ’s divinity, humanity, death, and resurrection.
Our need is not to know the doctrine of the content of the word and the Spirit. Rather, our need is to take in the word, touch the Spirit, and thereby receive Christ, the killing element of His death, and the nourishing element of His resurrection. If we receive only doctrine when we come to the Bible, it will mean nothing. However, what we actually receive is an antibiotic and a supply—the killing element and the nourishing element.
We all have two statuses. On one hand, we are the old man, the fallen man; on the other hand, we are the new man, the regenerated man (Eph. 4:22-24). The old man needs to be killed, and the new man needs to be nourished. Our Father is very wise. He prepared the word and the Spirit in such a way as to kill our old status and nourish our new status. Every day through receiving the word and the Spirit, we are being killed, and we are also being nourished. The word and the Spirit are the two means by which Christ, His death, and His resurrection are transmitted into our being.
A physical metabolism operates in our bodies every day to process the food we eat. As a result, there is a killing and a supplying in our body every day. The germs within us are killed, and our healthy cells are able to grow. Likewise, a daily spiritual metabolism occurs within us through the word and the Spirit. As a result, the old man is killed, and the new man is nourished so that we may grow spiritually. We cannot grow if we do not come to the Word, just as a child cannot grow physically if he or she does not eat. If we mean business with the Lord for His recovery and for His church, every day we must contact the Lord through His word and through His Spirit. We must take in His word and touch His Spirit.
Verse 4 of Hymns, #501 says, “The Spirit of life causes Thee / By Thy Word to transfer to me. / Thy Spirit touched, Thy word received, / Thy life in me is thus conceived.” By the word and by the Spirit, Christ’s life is conceived within us. Therefore, we need to daily spend time in the Word. When we spend time in the Word, we need to exercise our spirit to touch the Spirit within by prayer. We need to not only read but also pray by exercising our spirit. In this way we will have the two “wires” for the spiritual transmission of Christ with His death and resurrection into our being. Then we will daily experience the killing and the nourishing that we need. This is the way to grow spiritually, and this is the way to abide in Christ. This is not a mere doctrine; we all need to put this into practice every day. Until the Lord comes back, we all need to daily contact Him by taking in the word and by touching the Spirit in order to receive Christ with His killing and nourishing elements. Then the spiritual metabolism within will cause us to grow.