The anointing and the purpose of God’s salvation are closely related. The central purpose of God’s salvation is to work Himself into human beings and be mingled with them as one. Likewise, the function of the anointing is to anoint God into us, so that we may be mingled with God as one. Therefore, practically speaking, the purpose of God’s salvation is achieved through the anointing. If there is no anointing, the purpose of God’s salvation can never be fulfilled. The anointing is thus a significant factor in the entire salvation of God.
In order that we may be clearer concerning the relationship of the anointing to the purpose of God’s salvation, we will now study three steps of God’s work in bringing about this purpose.
His first step was that of the Word becoming flesh. The Word was God (John 1:1), and flesh denotes man; therefore, when the Word became flesh, it means that God became man and mingled Himself with man (John 1:14). The incarnated Jesus of Nazareth is the first and master product in this universe of God being mingled with man, as well as the first accomplishment of God’s purpose of salvation. When He was born on this earth, God obtained in this universe a specimen and model of His mingling with man. From this time forth, God intended to mingle Himself with humanity according to and by Jesus Christ.
The second step which achieved God’s purpose of salvation was the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s death released Him from the flesh, and His resurrection transferred Him into the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus made it possible for Him to have another form, namely, the Holy Spirit. Before the incarnation, in eternity, He was the Father. When He was incarnated on this earth and lived among men, He was the Son. After He passed through death and resurrection, ascended to heaven, descended to earth again and entered into man, He is the Spirit. As the Father expressed Himself in the Son through the incarnation, so the Son expressed Himself as the Spirit through death and resurrection. The Father came unto men as the Son, and the Son entered into man as the Spirit. This is the Triune God that mingles Himself with man through His salvation.
The third step which God used to achieve the purpose of His salvation was the entering of the Holy Spirit into man. When the Holy Spirit enters into man, the Son enters into him, and the Father also enters into him. Therefore, the Holy Spirit entering into man is the same as the Triune God entering into man. The Bible gives at least two references concerning this matter: Romans 8:9-11 mentions that the Spirit which dwells in us is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and Christ Himself. When we put these various expressions together, we see that the Spirit of God being in us also means that both Christ and God are in us. Another reference is 1 John 4:13, “Hereby we know that...he (dwells) in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” This also proves that for the Holy Spirit to be in us means that God is in us.
When the Triune God came into us in the Holy Spirit, He became mingled with us. Thus, the purpose of His salvation- the mingling of God and man-is accomplished in us in a practical way.
However, the work of God to mingle Himself with man is not an instantaneous process. Since we were regenerated and the Holy Spirit entered into us, this mingling has been going on continuously. Throughout the entire lifetime of a Christian, all the work of the Holy Spirit upon him is to fulfill the work of mingling God with man.
Of course, there is another aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit, which is His outward discipline. This outward discipline is His work on the negative side, while the mingling within us is His work on the positive side. The outward discipline is to break us, while the inward mingling is to anoint God into us so that God may increase in us. The outward discipline is that we may decrease, and the inward mingling is that God may increase. Therefore, the outward discipline of the Holy Spirit is a secondary work; while His inward mingling is the major work, directly achieving the purpose of salvation.
How does the Holy Spirit work this mingling into us? He does it by anointing us as the ointment. We have said that the moving of the Holy Spirit means the anointing. He is not motionless within us, but is ever moving and active. This movement and action is a kind of anointing, which anoints more and more of God into us. Hence, the more the Holy Spirit anoints us, the more God can mingle with us, and the more He can fulfill His purpose of salvation upon us.
The way the Holy Spirit anoints God Himself into us is comparable to the way we paint a room. For example, if we wish to paint the walls and the furniture golden, we use gold paint. By applying a portion of the paint to the walls and the furniture, they assume the color of gold. If we paint the room continuously, it will become mingled with the gold paint, and the whole room will take on a golden hue.
So also the Holy Spirit anoints us to cause God to be mingled with us. God Himself is both the painter and the paint. We are like the furniture. God delights to mingle with us so that we may be filled with His nature. Therefore, in the Holy Spirit He acts as the ointment to anoint us continually. This illustration falls short, because when the paint is being applied to the furniture, each retains its own identity-the paint is still the paint, and the furniture is still the furniture. However, when the Holy Spirit comes into us as the anointing, there is a compounding reaction which causes both to be mingled as one. The result is that we cannot tell which part is the Holy Spirit or which part is us. The more this mingling continues, the more God increases in us.
Many brothers and sisters merely understand the teaching aspect of the teaching of the anointing. They think that the purpose of the anointing is to teach us to know what God desires us to do or not to do. If we obey such a teaching, we have peace within; if we do not obey, we do not have peace within. This kind of understanding, however, is not sufficient. For example, when Moses applied the ointment to the tent and its utensils, was he thereby instructing them what to do or what not to do? Absolutely not. His intention was not for them to know what to do or what not to do, and even less did he intend for them to experience a peace regarding what was done. His purpose in applying the ointment was that they may wholly belong to God and be sanctified. Therefore, the experience of the anointing in our spiritual life has more to do with the anointing itself than with the teaching. The main purpose of the anointing is that God Himself may be applied to us. The teaching that comes with it is secondary.
Even in 1 John 2:27, where the teaching of the anointing is mentioned, no emphasis is placed on the matter of our having peace. But it states: “Even as it taught you, ye abide in him.” Here, the abiding in Him is the mingling with the Lord and union with Him as one. Therefore, the emphasis of the Bible is also on the matter of mingling. I trust we will change our former concept.
Home | First | Prev | Next