In the Bible olive oil signifies the Spirit of God. Olive oil is produced by the pressing of olives. The olive oil signifies the Spirit of God, through the pressure of Christ’s death, flowing out.
The olive oil is the base of the ointment; it is the basic element compounded with the spices. The four spices are compounded into the olive oil to make the ointment. This indicates that the Spirit of God, signified by the olive oil, is no longer merely oil, but now it is oil compounded with certain ingredients. Regarding this, John 7:39 says, “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” This means that before the Lord’s glorification, the compound Spirit was not yet. It was after Christ’s resurrection that the compounding, or the blending, of such a Spirit was completed.
The four spices signify humanity in God’s creation. In the Bible the number four signifies God’s creation. We have the four living creatures and the four corners of the earth. Furthermore, the four spices themselves are elements of God’s creation. These spices signify the humanity of the Lord Jesus. In His incarnation the Lord Jesus was both God and man. The four spices signify the humanity of the Lord Jesus in God’s creation. Of course, some Christians do not like to hear the word creation used in the case of the Lord Jesus. This is due to the heretical teaching of Arius who taught that Christ was merely a created being, and that He was not the eternal God.
The oil signifies divinity in the Godhead. We have seen that the number four signifies the creatures. The number one signifies God, the unique Creator.
In this compound ointment we have the numbers four and one, with the number four blended with the number one. This signifies humanity blended, mingled, with divinity. Concerning the compound ointment, we cannot avoid using the word “mingled.” The words “compounded” and “blended” actually mean mingled. The four spices were mingled with the oil.
The mingling of the spices with the oil can be compared to the mingling of fine flour and oil in the meal offering (Lev. 2). For the meal offering, the dough is produced by blending, mingling, fine flour with oil. This also signifies that in the one Person of Christ we have both divinity and humanity.
I have read some books which say that the Gospel of John was written in an attempt to reconcile the different parties who were debating concerning the Person of Christ. Some said that Christ was God, and others that He was merely a man. Others said that Christ was not God, but was the Word, the Logos, created by God. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This makes it clear that the Word, which is Christ, is God. Furthermore, John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh.” The very Word who is God became flesh. Actually, I do not like to use the words “conciliate” or “reconcile” with respect to John’s writings. The writings of the apostle John actually are not conciliatory; rather, they are all-inclusive. Christ is the all-inclusive One. If He were only God and not man, or were merely man and not God, He would not be all-inclusive. Praise the Lord that Christ is God as well as man, man as well as God! Because Christ is all-inclusive, the writings of John are also all-inclusive.
The compound ointment likewise is all-inclusive. Can you see the all-inclusiveness of this compound? In this all-inclusive compound we have olive oil, myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. This indicates that in the compound Spirit typified by the ointment we can see divinity, humanity, the all-inclusive death of Christ, and the effectiveness of Christ’s death. Furthermore, we can see the precious resurrection of Christ and the power of His resurrection. All these elements are included in the Spirit of Christ.
As used in the New Testament, the Spirit of Christ is an all-inclusive expression. Philippians 1:19 speaks of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. However, there is no reference to the bountiful supply of the Spirit of God. In Genesis 1 we read about the Spirit of God. But in the Epistles of Paul we have the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of Jesus Christ as well.
May we all be deeply impressed that today the all-inclusive Spirit, as the compound ointment, is nothing less than the Triune God processed to become the all-inclusive Spirit to reach us. Some Christians consider this understanding of the Spirit heretical. However, the judgment made today is not final. According to the Bible, this is the day of man, and man’s day is not final. Let us wait until the day of the Lord, and let Him judge. I have the assurance that the Lord will say that this understanding of the all-inclusive Spirit is right.
In the Old Testament we have the olive oil signifying the Spirit of God. Eventually, after the tabernacle was built up and the priests were made ready, there was not only the olive oil, but the compound ointment. This indicates that we have not only the Spirit of God, but also the Spirit of Christ. No doubt, Mr. C. A. Coates has seen something here. In his writing on the ointment in Exodus 30 he speaks of the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of another Man.
As believers, we have been anointed with the compound ointment, with the all-inclusive Spirit. Psalm 133:2 describes how the anointing oil flowed down from Aaron’s head to his beard and then to the skirts of his garments. This signifies that the whole Body is anointed with the Spirit.
Then in 1 John 2:20 and 27 we are told that we have received an anointing and that this anointing teaches us all things. First John 2:20 says, “And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.” Verse 27 says, “The anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.”
To receive the anointing is to receive the divine painting. Painters know that it is good to apply more than one coat of paint. In painting certain things it is good to have layer upon layer of paint. In our experience of the Spirit, we need to be “painted” again and again. Eventually, we may receive hundreds of layers. Praise the Lord that He is daily painting us by His anointing!
As the anointing is being applied to us, it teaches us. Today God mainly teaches us silently by the anointing. For example, you may ask the Lord about something, and He will teach you concerning it by anointing you. If we would say, “Lord, please tell me what color You want,” the Lord may not say anything. Instead, He may pick up His “brush” and paint you a particular color, perhaps green. Instead of speaking to you about the color green, He tells you that He wants green by painting you green. This is the Lord’s way to teach us.
According to 1 John 2, the anointing within us teaches us in everything. Many times we know that we are wrong. No one needs to tell us this. But the moving of the anointing within us teaches us that we are wrong. I believe that we all have had some amount of experience of this teaching of the anointing.