DO SOME CHRISTIANS HAVE A NEW LEVEL OF ANOINTING?
If you know my story some years back I was a member of a well-known megachurch in Dallas Tx. And I would often hear pastors, leaders & some church members proclaim they were specially anointed by God to carry out a certain task for him. One of many ways they qualified for this anointing was by overcoming various struggles in their life. What I mean by this is, they would suggest that unless God had delivered you from a serious trial in your life, you hadn’t earned your stripes yet & God can’t graduate you to the next level until He brings you through the struggle. Scriptures that were used to support this kind of belief were Job 23:10 it states “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold”. To them, this verse means that once a Christian passes through the fires of testing they are bestowed another level of anointing. Also, some benefits that came with this new anointing would be things like the ability to pray over someone and receive a better outcome from God for healing sickness & casting out demons. Another benefit would be the ability to hear from God with more clarity & direction in life or for the Church. A common word they used for this kind of belief was called Rhema Word. Receiving a Rhema Word meant that God spoke a special revelation to you that had more power/authority than the written word. The underlining message that was being propagated is that some Christians hear or have a relationship with God on another level depending on their anointing. Another bible verse used by them to support being able to heal & cast out demons under the anointing is Acts 10:38 it states “38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him”. Many church leaders also believe they can transfer this new anointing to someone else or deliver them from the bondage of Satan in the form of laying hand on them. A bible verse often use to support this belief is Luke 4:18 it states
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
These verses are talking about when Jesus went back home where He grew up (the village of Nazareth) and delivered a message on a sabbath in the synagogue from the book of Isaiah (see for reference) proclaiming this prophecy about himself. However, this verse has been used by many church leaders as proof-text that when a Christian receives this new anointing by God he/she has a special ability from God to release people from the grip of Satan & oppression. A few years ago my mother was suffering from an illness and a family member called me up to inquire about how my mother was doing. After updating my family member on the prognosis of my mother’s illness. I was asked if I still attended the same mega-church in my area under the teaching of my famous pastor whom my family member admired. After politely letting my relative know I no longer attend that church, My relative went on to say that I should drop everything now & find a way to link back up with my former pastor & seek out prayer from him because he had a special anointing. My relative went on to say that me praying for my mother is ok, but I needed someone to pray who has a special anointing that will reach God to receive his divine healing. This type of encounter with family members & friends is not unique to me & it happens every day. So the question remains does the bible teach that some Christians have a special anointing from God & some don’t?
For starters, let's establish context on how & when God at various times anointed certain individuals in the bible. 1 Samuel 16:12-13 it states
“12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” 13 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 powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.”
These verses are talking about God using the prophet Samuel to anoint David with oil to be the next king over Israel. Another Bible passage that talks about the anointing are Acts 10:37-38 it states
”37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
These verses are talking about after Jesus was baptized by John The Baptist He was anointed by God & then started His early ministry by going around doing good & healing all who were under the power of the devil.
The reason I listed these scriptures is to point out the commonality that after someone was anointed by God they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was true for people in the old testament as well as the new testament. The Greek meaning of anoint is made up of two words: chrio which means “to smear or rub oil”, and aleipho, which means “to anoint. This act meant to consecrate for office or religious service. When the Holy Spirit comes upon a person they are gifted with a special ability by God to carry out a certain task. Take Samson for instance Judges 14:5-6 talks about him being anointed by God with supernatural strength to tear a young lion apart that came roaring toward him. It states
“Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done.”
The only difference is in the old testament the Holy Spirit was only gifted to certain people hand-picked by God to carry out a certain task for him. But here’s the beauty of things: under the new covenant, every believer is anointed by God for service and sealed with The Holy Spirit of promise. To back this up
2 Corinthians states “21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” Another scripture to support this reality is 1John 2:27 it states
“27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
The reality is, there are no scriptures in the bible that support a believer in Christ is given a new level of anointing outside of the gift of the Holy Spirit originally given to us upon becoming born-again in Christ Jesus. Now, this doesn’t mean that we are all given the same spiritual gifts to edify the body of Christ. However, it does mean we are all given the same anointing to carry out our spiritual gifts given by God. The Apostle Paul made this clear in 1 Corinthians 12:4-5 it states
“4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
Lastly, I believe a Christian who seeks out new levels of anointing only alienates their fellow brothers in sisters in Christ. It can cause another Christian to feel like they don’t measure up to certain spiritual standards in Christ. Which is the grand scheme of things will only cause division in the body of christ (aka the church) The apostle Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 it states
“12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[a] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.