Whilst the anointing with oil started in the Old Testament, directly by the filling with the Holy Spirit it is now continued in the New Testament, it was then as it is now a massive favour that the Lord bestows on a man, for to be chosen to serve God must be the highest honour on earth, especially that it happens of His own choosing! Nevertheless, his anointing puts on the anointed man a right, an authority and a limit to his activities! The anointing of a man to be King does not mean that this anointing makes him also priest or a prophet. If a man was anointed to be a priest unto God that was what he was, he was not a king or a prophet as well! To go beyond the limits imposed by the anointing was disobedience and every disobedience is sin. No-one could be priest, prophet or King, of His own choosing, it is totally by God’s will.

After Saul, Samuel was told to anoint another man to replace Saul as king, and that anointing shows how seriously God chooses whom He sets aside for service! So, to do that, God send him to a town in Judea called Bethlehem. When Samuel arrived to Bethlehem, he went to the house of a man called Jesse who had eight sons, when he saw the first one, he liked the looks of Him and said: ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord but the Lord said to Samuel: Do not consider his appearance or height for I have rejected him’… so, in all seven sons stood before Samuel, when the seventh son of Jesse was called Samuel said: nor has the Lord chosen this one! Samuel knew that the Lord has not send him for nothing, so he asked Jesse: Are these all the sons you have? There still is the youngest…Samuel said send for him, we will not sit down until he arrives. So, he sent and brought him in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said: rise and anoint him; he is the one! So, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.’ (1 Samuel 16: 6-13) God said: ‘Man looks at the appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart!

The oil was not just olive oil, it was a mixture of various extracts of plants, to which was added liquid myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, hence it was a special recipe, a perfume, given by God to Moses. It was sacrosanct, the mix could not be altered nor could it be used for any other use! For it is written: ‘Whoever makes perfume like this and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.’ (Exodus 30: 33) No man could function in his calling without being anointed. And it is always applied directly by God, God commanded Moses to anoint Aaron to the priesthood (Exodus 29: 7) Then He commanded Samuel to anoint Saul to be King. (1Samuel 10: 1) Finally, God commanded Elijah to anoint Elisha to succeed him as a prophet! (1 Kings19: 16) These references show that God is the one who chooses whom to appoint and anoint, no man could anoint anyone without His say-so! therefore it shows that this anointing was of great importance, and carried divine approval whether one was King, priest or prophet!

Such a person is therefore holy, separated to God, by His will! It was ordained by Him, and it foretold its necessity. With the anointing of Jesus Christ, it was practised in the New Testament, so the oil as applied in the Old Testament was a type of the anointing of The New Testament, which is called: ‘the Baptism in the Holy Spirit’. Although the anointing in the New Testament was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit yet, even in it, the anointing was a separation of a man, or men, meaning people chosen and called by God for a specific function, and God gives with this infilling the authority, and right to serve Jesus, to speak and act in His Name. Thus, even Jesus, called to minister in His human capacity, had to be anointed before He started His ministry, and from then on what He did, and what He said, was with the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit as He clearly stated it! ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because HE has anointed me to preach good news’ (The Gospel) – (Luke 4: 18) I have mentioned all this because it has a direct bearing on every person that is called of God to be saved! So every born again believer is separated serve the Lord in His Church!