Exodus 30:31 says, “And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.” This indicates that God’s principle or policy in His divine economy does not change. The ordinance concerning the anointing will remain forever. Even in eternity God will continually be anointing us.
Verse 32 says that the holy anointing oil was “not to be poured upon the flesh of man.” In the Bible the flesh of man denotes fallen man in the old creation. As believers in Christ, we have all been regenerated, and in regeneration we have become a new creation. On the one hand, we have a regenerated spirit; on the other hand, we still have the old, fallen flesh. The command not to pour the anointing oil upon the flesh of man indicates that the anointing is not to be applied to men of the old creation. Whenever we live and walk according to the flesh, we are through with the Spirit of Christ. If we would partake of this Spirit and enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit, we must remain in our spirit.
The Spirit of Christ cannot be poured upon our old nature, our old man. Our flesh does not have the position to participate in this compound ointment. Whenever you lose your temper, you are in the flesh and cannot enjoy the Spirit of Christ. But whenever you turn to your spirit, immediately in your spirit you sense the anointing. You realize that you are being painted with the Spirit of Christ, for you are in the new creation, not in your old nature.
Exodus 30:33 indicates that the ointment was not to be put upon a stranger. The word “stranger” implies a comparison between those who are priests and those who are not. The priests serving in the presence of God do not act according to the old nature. Instead, they live according to their new nature and thereby enjoy the anointing. However, in the sight of God all other people are strangers. We may say that the flesh, the old man, is a stranger. We Christians today are not strangers; we are priests. But unbelievers are strangers. When we act and behave according to our flesh, we are in the old creation and are regarded as strangers in the sight of God. When we are such strangers, we cannot enjoy the Spirit of Christ. We must remain in our spirit, and we must live, act, speak, and contact others in the spirit. Then we shall be in the new creation as priests serving God and participating in the Spirit of Christ.
If we would enjoy the Spirit of Christ, we must be priests in the new creation. Do not be in the flesh, lest you be a stranger in the sight of God. If we are a stranger, then we shall not have any share in the all-inclusive Spirit.
The middle part of verse 32 says, “Neither shall you make any like it in its proportions.” Furthermore, verse 33 goes on to say, “Whoever compounds any like it, or who puts any of it upon a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.” The command not to make anything like the anointing oil in its proportions means that we should not imitate it. However, among Christians today there is a great deal of imitation. Therefore, we need to discern what is truly of the Spirit and what is an imitation. For example, a person’s humility may not be of the Spirit. In China I saw some disciples of Confucius who were much more humble than many Christian teachers. But that humility had nothing to do with the Spirit of Christ. Because of the influence of certain teachings, many Christians try to act humble. This humility, however, is not of the Spirit of Christ. Rather, it is an imitation.
Do not imitate any spiritual virtue by your own effort. To do this is to make something like the ointment. In the sight of God this is an abomination.
Because Christianity has been in existence for centuries, a great many people, including unbelievers, have been influenced by Bible teachings. Under the influence of these teachings, many try to be honest, loving, and faithful. All this is an imitation of the Spirit. To try to behave in this way is to make an imitation of the genuine ointment. Our honesty must come out of the Spirit of Christ. Likewise, our love, humility, patience, and kindness—indeed, every virtue—must be a product of the indwelling Spirit. Otherwise, we are imitating the ointment; we are making something false in the same way. Therefore, we should not act in our old nature and we should not imitate anything that is of the Spirit of Christ.