Following Paul with WTBC - The Anointing of the Spirit: What Changed When the Mystery Was Revealed?

Anointing Under the Prophetic Program: External, Visible, and Conditional

The concept of anointing goes all the way back to Moses. Under the law, anointing with oil was a physical, outward act that set a person apart for a specific function in God's prophetic program with Israel. Priests were anointed. Kings were anointed. The tabernacle itself and all its furnishings were anointed. It was always tied to a visible, earthly office in connection with Israel's covenant relationship with God.

"And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office." (Exodus 30:30 KJV)

"Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?" (1 Samuel 10:1 KJV)

The anointing came upon a person from outside. It was poured on top of them. It was external and physical, a sign of God's presence and blessing for a specific task in the earthly kingdom program. And here's the sobering thing — it could be removed.

King Saul is the proof of that. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily when Samuel anointed him (1 Samuel 10:6 KJV). But when he disobeyed:

"But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him." (1 Samuel 16:14 KJV)

That's why David prayed in Psalm 51:11 after his own sin — "Take not thy holy spirit from me." Under the prophetic program, the Spirit's anointing upon an individual was conditional. It could be withdrawn. But does that prayer make sense for the member of the body of Christ today? Not a chance. And here's why.

The Messianic Anointing: The Lord Jesus Christ

The very word Christ is the Greek form of the Hebrew Messiah — both mean the Anointed One. His very name declared that He was the ultimate fulfillment of every anointing ever poured out in Israel's history.

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." (Isaiah 61:1 KJV)

At His baptism, the Holy Ghost descended upon Him like a dove (Matthew 3:16 KJV) — the visible, external anointing that marked Him as the Messiah King of Israel. Peter confirmed it in Acts 10:38:

"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38 KJV)

This was the prophetic anointing: external, powerful, marked by signs and wonders, tied to the kingdom offer to Israel.

The Prophetic Anointing Poured Out on Israel: Pentecost and Early Acts

At Pentecost, Peter went straight to the prophet Joel:

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." (Acts 2:17 KJV)

And what did Peter call on Israel to do to receive the Holy Ghost?

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38 KJV)

There's a condition. Repentance. Water baptism. Then the gift of the Holy Ghost. In early Acts the Spirit still came upon people in a visible, demonstrable way. These are specific events in the transitional period of Acts, while God was still dealing with Israel's kingdom offer. These events are descriptive of a passing program, not prescriptive for the body of Christ.

But Now — The Mystery Changes Everything

Paul received the mystery by direct revelation from the risen, glorified, ascended Lord Jesus Christ:

"Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints." (Colossians 1:26 KJV)

And right in the middle of that mystery is what the anointing of the Spirit means for the member of the body of Christ:

"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV)

The moment a person believes Paul's gospel, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Not poured upon. Not conditionally given after baptism. Not dependent on the laying on of hands. Sealed. The moment you believe — period.

The Spirit is the earnest — the down payment, the guarantee. It's not a temporary deposit God can take back if you disobey. Paul says the same thing in 2 Corinthians:

"Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 KJV)

In just two verses Paul packs in four distinct things God has already done for the believer — all past tense:

Stablisheth us in Christ. God has established you. You are confirmed in Christ by God Himself.

Hath anointed us. Not "will anoint you if you seek it." Not "has anointed the especially gifted ones." God hath anointed us. Every believer. Past tense. Done.

Hath also sealed us. The seal speaks of ownership, security, and authenticity. God has put His seal on you.

Given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Not poured upon us — in us. The deposit is on the inside. The guarantee lives within the believer.

That one preposition changes everything. The anointing under the mystery isn't something that comes upon you during a special service. It was placed inside you the moment you believed.

The Anointing Under the Mystery: Internal, Permanent, Universal

Under the prophetic program, the Spirit was poured upon selected individuals for specific functions in the earthly kingdom. It was external. It was visible. It was conditional. It could be removed.

Under the mystery, the Spirit indwells every member of the body of Christ the moment they believe. Not a select few. Not the especially spiritual. Everyone who has trusted Paul's gospel.

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:9 KJV)

And once you're in, you're sealed:

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30 KJV)

Sealed unto the day of redemption. Not sealed until you mess up badly enough. Until the very day when the purchased possession is finally redeemed at the catching away. David's prayer — "Take not thy holy spirit from me" — was the anguished cry of a man under a conditional program. That prayer doesn't belong to the body of Christ. Not because David wasn't sincere, but because God has changed the terms.

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27 KJV)

Christ in you. Not hovering over you from a distance. Not waiting for you to achieve some spiritual threshold. In you. Right now.

What About the Filling of the Spirit?

Paul does tell us to be filled with the Spirit:

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:18-19 KJV)

The filling is not about receiving the Spirit — you already have Him if you're saved (Romans 8:9). The filling is about the Spirit having you — about yielding to the truth He has already given through the Word. Paul's parallel passage in Colossians makes this plain:

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16 KJV)

The results are nearly identical — but in Colossians, the cause is the word of Christ dwelling in you richly. The filling of the Spirit is what happens when the truth of Paul's revelation saturates your thinking and transforms your walk. This is categorically different from the signs-and-wonders experience being falsely claimed today.

The Spirit Does Not Give New Revelation Today

There are teachers everywhere claiming a new anointing that gives them extra-biblical authority. They say the Spirit is moving them in fresh ways, giving them new impressions, new words of knowledge, new prophetic utterances. But Paul says we already have everything we need:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV)

Throughly furnished. The foundation has been laid (Ephesians 2:20). The mystery has been fully revealed (Colossians 1:25-26). Today the Holy Spirit's anointing is not manifested in signs, wonders, new prophetic voices, or dramatic outpourings. It's manifested as the Spirit takes the completed Word — especially Paul's epistles — and illuminates it in the heart of the believing child of God.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2 KJV)

The renewing of the mind. That's the Spirit's work in this dispensation. Not fireworks. Not falling on the floor. A transformed mind, renewed by the truth of Paul's gospel, walking in the light of the mystery.

A Side by Side Summary

Who receives the anointing? Under the prophetic program it was a select few. Under the mystery it is every believer, the moment they trust Paul's gospel.

How does it come? Under the prophetic program the Spirit was poured upon a person from outside. Under the mystery the Spirit indwells within permanently.

Is it conditional? Under the prophetic program, yes — the Spirit could be removed (1 Samuel 16:14). Under the mystery, no — the believer is sealed unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).

What confirms it? Under the prophetic program, signs and wonders confirmed the word to Israel. Under the mystery, the Word of God rightly divided confirms everything.

The key verses that mark the difference: Acts 2:38 — "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" — after repentance and baptism, conditional and external. Ephesians 1:13 — "ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" — the moment you believed, unconditional and internal.

The Glorious Difference

The anointing of the Spirit under the revelation of the mystery is not a show. It doesn't make you fall down. It doesn't give you a platform. What it does is something so much greater — it places you in Christ, seals you with the Spirit of the living God, and guarantees your complete inheritance in glory. Every single member of the body of Christ has this.

That's not a demotion from the prophetic anointing. That's the fullness of God — the mystery hidden from ages and generations — now made manifest to those who will simply believe what Paul says.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's the anointing that never leaves.