You Have an Anointing from God
ICS Daily Devotions
1 John 2:20 (NKJV) But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
The biblical definition of anointing refers to the Spirit of God upon and within a person’s life. The anointing is an unction to function to serve the Lord by being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament, pouring oil over someone or smearing someone with oil was a common ritual for anointing that person for a specific purpose. You may have read in the Old Testament about how kings, priests, and prophets whom God called were anointed for their roles before stepping into them. All of them were anointed for specific functions to serve God.
Exodus 29:7 (NKJV) And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him.
1 Samuel 16:1 (NKJV) Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”
Exodus 29:7 provides the context for how Aaron and his sons were called to the priesthood, while 1 Samuel 16:1 describes how David was set apart for kingship. They were all anointed with oil, which was poured on their heads and flowed down their bodies. Therefore, there will always be an anointing when the Lord sets someone apart for the work of the ministry, including Jesus. We all need the anointing from God to have the unction to function. For New Testament believers, however, the anointing came from Jesus, who is the head of the church, to the body of Christ.
Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit anointed Him for specific purposes: to proclaim the good news and bring deliverance to the captives. Likewise, you and I will also be anointed for particular purposes in our lives. Therefore, if we want to be effective for God, we should be careful not to stray from our calling by doing what we want rather than what He has called us to do. Jesus came to do the will of the Father. Similarly, we should be walking in God’s calling in our lives. There is an effect of the anointing when it is given to us for our calling.
You are God’s masterpiece, created for a special purpose and function. He has a calling for your life, and He will empower you with an anointing to fulfil that calling, whether in the corporate, business, or ministry sphere. You will be effective in this calling and a blessing to many.
Sermon Series： The Unction to Function
