In addition to the life of God, the law of life, a new heart, and a new spirit, we also received the Spirit, Christ, and God Himself at the time of our regeneration. The Spirit, Christ, and God each have a particular work within us. According to the teaching of the Bible, there are seven main aspects of the Spirit’s work in us: He works as the indwelling Spirit, as the Comforter, as the Spirit of reality, as the Spirit of life, as the seal, as the pledge, and as the anointing. It is quite difficult to understand the seal and the pledge (Eph. 1:13-14). As the seal, the Holy Spirit seals us with God Himself. The Holy Spirit seals us with God Himself, not with other things. When we stamp something onto a piece of paper with a seal, the impression on the paper is exactly the same as the impression on the seal. When I stamp a seal with my name onto a blank piece of paper, the impression on the paper is exactly the same as my name on the seal.
When the Holy Spirit seals us, He stamps us with God as the seal. We were a blank piece of paper, but the Holy Spirit seals us with God Himself. The mark upon us is God Himself. This is the reason we have the image of God and can be like God. There is now a mark upon us because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit with all that God is; this mark is God Himself as a seal upon us. As a result, we have the image of God and can be like God.
The pledge is a “pledge” given to us by God. When a person goes to a pawnshop for money, he leaves an article as a pledge, a security and guarantee, that the money will be paid back in a certain amount of time. If the money is not paid back, the article that has been left as a pledge will be kept. The Holy Spirit is a pledge, a security, given to us from God to guarantee that God Himself and all that He has will be our portion and inheritance for our enjoyment. With the Holy Spirit as the pledge, God will not withhold what He has intended for us. On one hand, the Holy Spirit within us is a seal, sealing God into us; on the other hand, the Holy Spirit is a pledge, guaranteeing that God will be our enjoyment and our portion.
Some people ask, “How does the work of the Spirit in us differ from the work of Christ in us and the work of God in us?” The Bible emphasizes the work of the Spirit in us as the anointing ointment (1 John 2:27), the work of Christ in us as our life, and the work of God in us for the accomplishment of His will. The Spirit’s anointing in us, as the anointing ointment, can be compared to the paint of a painter. A painter coats chairs and tables repeatedly with paint, and in the end, the chairs and tables have the gloss and color of the paint. They not only look like the paint, but they have the very element of the paint.
We were originally like pieces of unpainted wood; we did not have any of the element of God. However, by the Spirit as the anointing ointment in us, we have the work of anointing in us. This anointing anoints us with God Himself so that we are not only like God but become the likeness of God because we have the very element of God in us. Every time the Spirit operates in us and anoints us, the element of God increases in us.
The Spirit’s anointing in us is often understood by Christians as the Spirit’s moving. Actually, in the New Testament we cannot find the word moving in relation to the Spirit; however, the New Testament does speak of the anointing. The work of the Spirit within us is not merely to move us but to anoint us. What does moving mean? A person who does not do anything or is unwilling to do anything can be inspired to move or take some action. However, even though we may move him to take some action, he is still who he is, and we are still who we are; there is no relationship between him and us. The anointing, however, is not like this. When we anoint someone, it may be likened to applying paint on him, which eventually causes a certain element to be added into him. Moving is different from anointing. Nothing has been added to the one who has been “moved.” After anointing, however, a certain element has been added. The more anointing there is, the more the element is added.
The work of the Spirit is to anoint us. Every time He anoints us within, the element of God increases within us. But if the Spirit only “moves” us, we are merely taking an action; no element of God has been added to us. Being “moved” by the Spirit is a fallen concept in Christianity and, in particular, in Catholicism. This concept or thought is related to the fact that Christians do not know that God’s intention is to have a relationship with man by being added into man. Since God wants a relationship with us, it is not enough for the Spirit to merely move us to do certain things; rather, the Spirit anoints us with the element of God so that God and man can do things together.
Many Christians still have this fallen thought of Christianity and this poison of Catholicism. They do not have much spiritual growth because after they are “moved” by the Spirit, they remain who they are, and the Lord remains the Lord. No matter how many times they are “moved” by the Spirit and actually do certain things, day after day, year after year, they remain who they are, and the Lord remains the Lord. They are not transformed, and nothing of the element of God has been added into them. This is the so-called “moving” of the Holy Spirit.
When we are anointed, however, a certain element is added into us. Today the work of the Holy Spirit is to anoint us with God Himself. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is typified by the holy anointing oil (Exo. 30:31). No one was allowed to make an imitation of the holy anointing oil because it was unique. God is unique; the anointing oil, which represents God Himself, was also unique. No one could make an imitation of the anointing oil; it had to be prepared absolutely according to the way shown by God. This means that man should not try to imitate the anointing oil because the anointing oil is God Himself. As far as the type is concerned, the anointing oil is God Himself. Therefore, we should not involve ourselves with the matter of being “moved” but rather with being anointed.
If we are “moved” by the Holy Spirit to go and preach the gospel, we may preach the gospel and do something, but has the element of God been added to us through our preaching of the gospel? This can be compared to the story in the Old Testament about Balaam’s donkey which was moved by Jehovah to speak like a man (Num. 22:28, 30). Although the donkey spoke, it was still a donkey. However, the New Testament teaches us that the Holy Spirit anoints us with God (1 John 2:27). By this anointing, we may have a sense that God is leading and urging us to preach the gospel. When we respond to this sense, we are not merely accomplishing a work of preaching the gospel, but more importantly, God is being added into us, and we are gaining God Himself.
If one delivers a message merely because he has been “moved,” God will still be God after the message; nothing of God will have been added to him. However, if the Holy Spirit anoints him in his speaking, not only will those who hear gain something, but the speaker will gain something even more. When the Holy Spirit anoints him inwardly in his speaking, he receives the Spirit and he receives more of the element of God. After speaking, God will be increased in him, and the more he speaks, the more the element of God will be added into him. There is a great difference between the anointing of the Spirit and the “moving” of the Spirit.