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ANOINTING
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believe about the record, and this and other appearances of angels in both the Old and the New Testament confirm
the fact that they have bodies, but bodies which in their ordinary sphere are invisible to the eye of man, but which
can become visible when occasion so demands.
We have therefore arrived at the following conclusion. Angels have sinned. The sin of the angels associated
with Noah and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha is partly to do with the forsaking of their own proper sphere, and
of leaving the body natural to their state, and of descending to the human plane, with bodies to all appearance at
least like those of mankind. The fact that Peter connects the sin of these angels with the flood, God `spared not' the
angels, He `spared not' the old world, establishes one link with Genesis 6. The sons of God who saw the daughters
of men could have been angels. The items numbered 3 to 5 on page 74 are treated under the headings GIANTS2 and
NEPHILIM3 which should be consulted. For another aspect of this teaching, see IN ADAM2.
ANOINTING, Greek chrisma. This word is derived from chrio, and allied with the word Christ `the Anointed', `the
Messiah'. The word Messiah is from the Hebrew (Dan. 9:25,26), the word mashiach means `anointed' (Lev. 4:3).
The title of our Lord `Christ' is not exclusive to any one dispensation. He is Lord and Saviour of all men and of all
callings, but the use of the word `anointing' when it is applied to the believer is of more restricted use, and its
presence or absence indicates the character of the dispensation that is in view and it is this aspect of the subject that
must claim our attention.
First of all we give a concordance of the two Greek words.
Chrio
Luke 4:18.
He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel.
Acts 4:27.
Thy holy child Jesus, Whom Thou hast anointed.
Acts 10:38.
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost.
2 Cor. 1:21.
And hath anointed us, is God.
Heb. 1:9.
Hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness.
Chrisma
1 John 2:20.
Ye have an unction from the Holy One.
1 John 2:27.
The anointing which ye have received.
1 John 2:27.
As the same anointing teacheth you.
It will be seen that four references speak of the anointing of the Saviour and four of the anointing of the believer.
Let us take the three references in 1 John 2. In the first place, is it universally true that every believer at all times
has this `anointing'? Does it refer to the experience of every believer, or is there something special about it? One of
the ways to arrive at an answer is to consider the consequence of this anointing. Among other things it rendered the
possessor independent of `teaching' for he `knew all things'. Another way of arriving at the truth of any passage is
to discover its place in the book as a whole, in other words to note the structure, and so discern the scope (See
STRUCTURE). The simplified analysis is as follows:
A 1:1 to 2:17. `That eternal life'. - A Person. The Son.
B 2:18-29.
`Many Antichrists'. `Ye have an unction'.
C 3:1-24.
`What manner of love'.
B 4:1-6.
`Spirit of Antichrist'. `Try the spirits'.
C 4:7-21.
`Herein is Love'.
A 5:1-21.
`The true God and eternal life'. A Person. The Son.
The value of this analysis is immediately evident. We are dealing with a particular experience, not one that is
general and universally true of all believers. The spirit and the teaching of Antichrist was to be met by the
supernatural gift bestowed upon the Church during the Acts period, as indicated in 1 Corinthians.