What Does it Mean to Be Anointed?
He leads me …
We sometimes have heard comments at our local church like “The anointing is strong today!” or “I can feel the anointing in this place.”. Is this valid and biblical? Let’s explore the concept of anointing a bit further.
All born again Christians are anointed, but remember there is a single Anointed One who made the anointing possible for all believers - Jesus. As Christians we are anointed through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and our acceptance of His lordship by faith, following which, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. As Paul writes, ‘It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.’ (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NLT). We are also told in 1 John 2:27 that ‘the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie.’(NLT)
The anointing works through us by encouraging us to do God’s work using the gifts that He has given to us. All believers have different purposes and gifts, which means that they are anointed and equipped to fulfil those roles. For example, an evangelist is enabled to win to Christ those that do not have a relationship with the Lord, a pastor is enabled to lead and serve their church, and a singer is enabled to minister comfort and worship to God.
How do we know when something is anointed? Sometimes we will hear what is referred to as an ‘anointed’ message. This means that it had a powerful impact on the listeners, and in doing this it has glorified God. In the case of an evangelist, they will speak about what it means to be born again, or to be in a good relationship with the Lord, and then close by inviting listeners to respond to the message by going forward for prayer. The anointed evangelist will have people responding, sometimes in tears, and/or sometimes kneeling at the front of the church.
An anointed pastor is one who is genuinely caring about their congregation. The pastor will also encourage church goers so that they fit in to church life and the pastor will help motivate the believers so that they will contribute in the area where they are meant to be.
An anointed singer is one who sings in a way that draws those listening to really worship the Lord. As a result, hands may be in the air, and if the singer is leading the church, there may be a real zeal in the singing. If they are solo, the anointed singer may find that at the end of the song there is stillness as the congregation allows what they have just heard to sink in. They may make brief comments like ‘amazing’ or ‘beautiful’ in response. Alternatively they may find the people respond with loud applause.
Touch not the Lord’s anointed
In some places it is not unusual to hear the phrase, ‘Touch not the Lord’s anointed,’ when someone criticises or speaks negatively about a Christian leader. The reasoning is that the Christian leader is anointed by God to be in that position. Therefore speaking against them offends and angers God as well as the leader. This statement is used to shield Christian leaders from criticism—thereby protecting them from accountability.
Sometimes this attitude is reinforced when a Christian is told by one of the church leadership that they have a ‘teachable spirit’ after they have had to apologise for saying the wrong thing about the church or its leadership. It is the leaders way of complimenting the offender for admitting their mistake and accepting the leaderships authority.
The basis for this doctrine is taken from 1 Samuel, where on two occasions (1 Samuel 24:6; 26:9). David has the opportunity to kill Saul but he refused. In both cases David says that it is wrong to attack the Lord’s anointed. We read of Saul being anointed as king in 1 Samuel 10:1 where the prophet ‘Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his [Saul’s] head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage’ (ESV).
So, because Saul was God’s anointed king, David did not harm him. However, while David understood that king Saul was anointed by God this did not mean that he was beyond criticism. David even uses the incidents where he could have slayed Saul to rebuke the king for his unjust actions towards him. We can see from this that the phrase ‘touch not the Lord’s anointed’ has nothing to do with verbal criticisms or disagreements.
We read of the account in 1 Samuel 24:9-10. David sees Saul across from him in the wilderness of En-gedi. David ‘shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one.’”’
In verse 12 David goes on to say, ‘May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you.’
We can see from this that it is unbiblical for a pastor to say ‘touch not the Lord’s anointed’ because means that no one has the right to criticise them, even if they are teaching or prophesying falsely. Actually, the Bible says that Christians should on their guard against those who may look like apostles and prophets, but who actually bring deceitful doctrine and/or divide the church. We are warned about false teachers (Revelation 2:2; Romans 16:17; Galatians 1:6-9; 1 Timothy 1:3; 2 John 1:10-11) and false prophets (Matthew 7:15; 1 John 4:1), and told to –
· Carefully examine the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not, to find out how they lie. (Revelation 2:2)
· Stay away from those who cause divisions and are upsetting people’s faith, teaching things about Christ that are contrary to what you have been taught. (Romans 16:17)
· Try to stop the men who teach wrong doctrine. Put an end to their myths and fables. (1 Timothy 1:3-4)
· Not believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God. Test it first to see if it really is. For there are many false teachers around (1 John 4:1).[1]
We can be encouraged that any false teachers do not hold power over us. Why? Because we have been anointed with the Holy Spirit who gives us discernment about those who teach inaccurate insights (1 John 2:20).
While believers should be on the lookout regarding false teachers, the main thing is to be focussed on what we should be doing for the Lord.
When use our God-given gifts… when we seek His truth … when we obey His Word… when we pray and trust God in all aspects of our lives… when we keep walking in faith … we are experiencing and enjoying the anointing of God.
But even when we do not feel it, His anointing is with us whenever we walk in obedience and faithfulness to His gifts and calling. Trust Him. It is the best thing that we can do.[2]
[1] What Does it Mean to Be Anointed? Kyle Blevins,Crosswalk.com; https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/what-does-it-mean-to-be-anointed.html
Does "touch not my anointed" mean I can't confront a pastor whose teachings are out of line with the Bible? Steve Shirley, JesusAlive.cc; https://jesusalive.cc/touch-not-my-anointed-meaning/
[2] How to Have the Anointing of God on Your Life, Brandon Cox, brandonacox@gmail.com
