A window on the Spirit
Oil and Anointing
Oil is the sign of anointing, poured out to set apart prophets, priests, and kings for God's service. As the oil ran down, the Spirit came, and the very title Messiah, or Christ, means the Anointed One.
“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”1 Samuel 16:13
The image in Scripture
The image in Scripture. When Samuel came to Bethlehem, "he took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13). The outward oil and the inward Spirit come together in one moment. Priests were consecrated with oil (Exodus 29:7; Leviticus 8:12), and kings were made kings by it, as Samuel had earlier anointed Saul (1 Samuel 10:1). The holy anointing oil of the tabernacle was compounded by careful command and reserved for sacred use alone (Exodus 30:22-33). The prophets speak of the Spirit as an anointing that abides, and Isaiah cries, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me" (Isaiah 61:1), words Jesus would read in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:18). John writes to believers, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 John 2:20), and adds, "the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you" (1 John 2:27).
What it teaches about the Spirit
What it teaches about the Spirit. Oil teaches that the Spirit sets people apart and equips them for a calling. The one anointed is chosen, consecrated, and enabled to serve, whether to speak God's word, to intercede, or to rule. Oil teaches that the Spirit's presence is not earned but poured out as a gift, running down from above upon the head, as Aaron's oil ran down to the skirts of his garments (Psalm 133:2). The abiding unction of 1 John teaches that this anointing remains; the Spirit given to the believer stays and continues to teach, guarding the heart in the truth. Oil in Scripture also carries gladness and healing, so the Spirit's anointing brings joy and wholeness along with commission. Yet the picture illuminates without exhausting. The oil is a visible token, but the reality is the living Spirit Himself, who cannot be bottled or bought, and who works far beyond the reach of any ceremony.
How the Spirit glorifies Christ
How the Spirit glorifies Christ. The Spirit "shall glorify me," said Jesus (John 16:14), and the oil of anointing points straight to Him. The name Christ simply means Anointed One, so every prophet, priest, and king anointed with oil was a shadow reaching forward to the true Anointed, on whom the Spirit rested without measure (John 3:34). When Jesus opened the scroll in Nazareth and said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21), He declared Himself the One the oil had always foretold. Peter later summed up His ministry: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power" (Acts 10:38). And the unction believers receive flows from Him, for He is the Head from whom the anointing runs down upon His body, teaching us and keeping us in Him. The Spirit's anointing thus makes much of Christ, the One anointed above His fellows.
Questions people ask
Does 1 John 2:20 mean believers no longer need teachers?
No. John is warning against false teachers and assuring believers that the indwelling Spirit keeps them in the truth of the gospel they received. Scripture still gives the church pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11); the anointing works through the truth, not against it.
What does the word Messiah or Christ have to do with oil?
Both Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean Anointed One. Kings, priests, and prophets were anointed with oil as a sign of being set apart and empowered by the Spirit, and Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment, anointed by the Spirit for His saving work.
Should Christians use literal anointing oil today?
Scripture records anointing with oil in prayer for the sick (James 5:14), so the practice is not forbidden. The oil remains a sign, however; the power is in the Spirit and in the Lord to whom we pray, not in the substance itself.