In Greek Christ means the anointed One. Christ is actually the anglicized form of the Greek word. Christ, the anointed One, is full of ointment, full of anointing. Hallelujah, God attaches the apostles with all the believers to this anointed One! Because we have been attached to Him, the ointment flows in us.
Verse 21 says that God firmly attaches us and has anointed us. How does God anoint us? He anoints us by attaching us to the anointed One. Again we may use electricity and electrical appliances as an illustration. There is no need for the power plant to supply electricity directly to the lamp. Once the lamp is properly attached by having the plug inserted in the socket, the electricity flows into it. Likewise, we are anointed by being attached to Christ, the anointed One. As believers, we have all received the Spirit in this way. If anyone asks you if you have received the Spirit, you may want to reply, “I have been attached to the anointed One, and daily I receive the Spirit. I am anointed day by day.”
Paul realized that he could be one with the faithful God and live Christ because he had been attached to Christ and anointed by God. Because God anointed him by attaching him to Christ, he could be one with Christ and one with the faithful God. To declare such a word is the proper preaching of the full gospel.
Praise the Lord, we have been attached to the anointed One! Because we have been joined to the universal anointed One, we have been anointed also. In the universe there is only One who has been anointed by God. This One is Christ, the anointed One. Now we are all in this anointed One. We have been anointed by being attached to Him. Now because we have been attached to the anointed One, we can be one with the God of resurrection and live a life of resurrection.
In 1 Corinthians 6 Paul speaks of being members of Christ. What does it mean to be a member of Christ? It means that we are part of the anointed One. Hallelujah, we all are part of the anointed One, for God has attached us to Him!
I would call your attention to the fact that in verse 21 “attaches” is present tense, whereas “has anointed” is perfect tense. This is quite unusual. It indicates that the anointing took place before the attaching. This should cause us to ask this question: When were we anointed? The answer is that we were anointed when Christ was anointed. When the Head was anointed, the Body was anointed also. Psalm 133 illustrates this. The ointment poured upon Aaron’s head flowed down to the beard and then to the skirts of his garments. Likewise, the anointing on the Head flows down to the Body. Because we were anointed when Christ was anointed, we were anointed even before we were born. However, it is during our lifetime that God attaches us to Christ. God attaches us in this present age, but He anointed us long before we were born, when Christ Himself was anointed. To repeat, as members of the Body, we were anointed at the same time the Head was anointed. If we understand this, we shall understand why the verbs “attaches” and “has anointed” are in different tenses.
In verse 22, another deep and profound word, Paul goes on to say of God, “Who has also sealed us and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.” The anointing in the preceding verse is the sealing. Since God has anointed us with Christ, He has also sealed us in Him.
We should not regard the sealing as something separate from the anointing. Actually, anointing implies sealing. As we are under the anointing, the anointing becomes a sealing. In this way we become different from others. Furthermore, the seal causes us to bear the appearance of God. Suppose, for example, that I place a certain mark on a piece of paper with a rubber stamp and ink. Immediately the paper is sealed and bears the image of the stamp. The seal is the image. In the same principle, when God anoints us, the anointing is the sealing. The anointing brings the divine essence into us, just as the rubber stamp applies the element of the ink to the paper. First God through the anointing adds the essence of Himself to us. Then this anointing seals us with the essence of God and makes us the image of God.
In verse 22 Paul also says that God has given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts. The pledge of the Spirit is the Spirit Himself as the pledge. Sealing is a mark that we are God’s inheritance, God’s possession, belonging to God. The pledge is a guarantee that God is our inheritance or heritage belonging to us. The Spirit within us is the pledge, an earnest, of God being our portion in Christ.
God’s attaching us to Christ issues in three things: first, an anointing that imparts God’s element into us; second, a sealing that forms the divine element into an impression to express God’s image; and third, a pledging that gives us a foretaste as a sample and guarantee of the full taste of God. Through these experiences of the anointing Spirit, with the experience of the cross, the ministry of Christ is produced.
These three matters—the anointing, the sealing, and the pledging—are actually one. They are one thing with three aspects. First we are anointed, then we are sealed, and then we have the pledge as a guarantee. Hallelujah, we have the essence, the image, and the guarantee! All these are the processed God who is now the Spirit. The Spirit is the oil with which we are anointed, the essence with which we are sealed, and the pledge which guarantees that God belongs to us and that He is our portion. Because we have been anointed and sealed and have received the pledge, we can be one with the faithful God and live Christ. Now we are qualified and equipped to live the unchanging Christ.
According to Paul’s word in verse 22, the pledge of the Spirit is in our hearts. The Spirit as the earnest of God being our portion is a foretaste to us; so here it says that He is in our hearts. Romans 5:5 and Galatians 4:6 refer to the matter of love. Hence, these verses speak of the Spirit in our heart. But Romans 8:16 refers to the work of the Spirit, for it says the Spirit witnesses with our spirit. Our heart is a loving organ, but our spirit is a working one.