THE TEACHING OF THE ANOINTING

THE TEACHING OF THE ANOINTING

Heb 8:11 KJV And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

(the “shall not” here is very emphatic in the original Greek: it may be translated “definitely not”). What is said here coincides with the word in 

1Jn 2:27 KJV But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

What is the teaching of the Anointing? In order to understand it, we need to be reminded of three principal functions of the human spirit—intuition, communion, and conscience.∗

The Spirit Has the Function of Communion 

We know that as soon as we are regenerated our spirit is made alive. This is the first step towards the communion between God and man. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. As God is a Spirit, He must be worshipped in spirit and truth. The Holy Spirit therefore leads us in our human spirit to worship and to fellowship with God. This speaks of the function of communion in the human spirit. 

The Spirit Has the Function of Conscience 

In regeneration our conscience is also resurrected. The blood of the Lord Jesus washes the conscience to make it clean and sensitive. The Holy Spirit testifies in our conscience concerning our conduct: “The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit” (Rom. 8.16), “my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 9.1), “I…being…present in spirit…have already…judged” (1 Cor. 5.3), “the testimony of our conscience” (2 Cor. 1.12). All of these passages speak of the function of conscience in the spirit.  If we commit wrong, the Holy Spirit will reprove us in our conscience. Let us observe that whatever the conscience condemns has undoubtedly been condemned by God. Consequently, if our conscience declares a thing wrong, it must be wrong. It should be repented of and confessed, and be cleansed by the precious blood of the Lord (1 John 1:9)

The Spirit Has the Function of Intuition 

As the human body has its senses, so the human spirit has its sensing too. The sensing of the human spirit lies in the innermost recesses of man’s being. Here are some examples from Scripture: “the spirit…is willing” (Matt. 26.41), “perceiving…that they so reasoned within themselves” (Mark 2.8), “sighed deeply” (Mark 8.12), “groaned” (John 11.33), “provoked” (Acts 17.16), “constrained by the word” (Acts 18.5), “fervent” (Acts 18.25), “purposed” (Acts 19.21), “bound” (Acts 20.22), “refreshed” (1 Cor.16.18), and “joyed the more exceedingly” (2 Cor. 7.13). All these are the function of the spirit’s intuition. 

(It may be said that the sensings of the spirit are as numerous as are those of the soul. This calls for the necessity of discerning what is of the spirit and what is of the soul. Only through the deep working of the cross and the Holy Spirit can we know this important distinction).

We call this sensing of the spirit “intuition,” for it comes directly from the spirit. Ordinary human feelings are induced by persons, things, or events. If the cause is joyful we rejoice, if it is sorrowful we grieve. Such feelings are causal in origin, therefore they cannot be reckoned as “intu-ition.” 

What we mean by intuition refers to those sensations which can be attributed to no external causes but come directly from within.

For instance, we may be contemplating doing a certain thing. It appears quite reasonable, we like it, and we decide to go ahead. Yet somehow within us is a heavy, oppressive, unspeakable sensing which seems to oppose what our mind has thought, our emotion has embraced, and our will has decided. It seems to tell us that this thing should not be done. This is the forbiddance or restraint of intuition. 

A certain thing may be unreasonable, contrary to our delight, and very much against our will. But for some unknown reason there is within us a kind of constraint, urge or encouragement for us to do it. If we do, we will feel comfortable inside. This is the constraint of intuition. 

The Anointing Is in the Spirit’s Intuition.

 Intuition is where the Anointing teaches us. “As for you,” writes John, “the anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that anyone teach you; but as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, ye abide in him.”

In very clear fashion, this passage has described the way the Anointing is to teach us. The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit, and the Anointing is in the spirit’s intuition. The Anointing teaches us concerning all things. This means that the Holy Spirit will teach us in the spirit’s intuition, giving our spirit a sense similar to the physical feeling experienced when the body is anointed with oil. As our spirit receives such a sensation we know at once what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. 

Just here we should be aware of the difference between “knowing” and “understanding.” Knowing is in the spirit while understanding is in the mind. We come to know a thing through the spirit’s intuition, and our mind is then enlightened to understand what the intuition has known. In the spirit’s intuition we know the persuasion of the Holy Spirit; in the soul’s mind we understand the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

The work of the Anointing is independent of any human help. It expresses its idea sovereignly. It operates in the spirit, causing the intuition of man’s spirit to know its thought. Such a knowing in the spirit’s intuition is called revelation in the Bible. Revelation is nothing but the unveiling by the Holy Spirit of the true character of a thing to our spirit so that we may clearly know it. This kind of knowledge is much deeper than the understanding of the mind. 

Since the anointing of the Lord abides in us and teaches us concerning all things, we have no need for people to teach us. This Anointing will teach us in all things by the operation of intuition. 

The Holy Spirit will express His thought through the spirit’s intuition because the latter has a kind of ability to know what the Holy Spirit means by His action. We therefore need only follow the dictate of intuition—and not inquire of other people nor even of ourselves if we wish to do the will of God.

 The anointing of the Lord will teach us concerning all things. At no time will He ever fail to teach us concerning anything. Our responsibility lies in nothing else than to be taught. 

You have something in you that will teach you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie.” Let me say here that this something is the law of life. It teaches us what we should or should not do.

The question comes down, then, to whether you and I are willing to follow this inward law. Is our heart turned to God? If our heart turns sufficiently to Him, we need not have anyone teach us because there is in us the living and the true which will surely teach us. Every child of God has had such an experience—some more, some less; all have encountered something of this nature. There is the law of life which operates within. It speaks, therefore no one else needs to speak.

WHY DID THE BIBLE MENTION TEACHING AGAIN?

The anointing of the Lord has actually taught us within, but the problem lies in our not hearing it. Sometimes we have heard but we pretend to have not; we have understood yet we feign not having understood. There is another aspect to this to be considered. All who are sick in mind, all who are highly subjective in approach, and all who are obstinate and inflexible in opinion will find it hard to “hear”. 

In reading the epistles in the New Testament we may see how the many teachings and instructions that are there are repetitive in nature. They are there because of problems in the church.

The Bible is not to be a substitute for the speaking of the inner sensations.it merely repeats what the Anointing has already spoken in you.

Mind Renewed

 The anointing of the Lord teaches us in all things in the intuition of our spirit, but sometimes our mind fails to understand the sensation in our spirit. For this reason, our mind (or nous) needs to be renewed, enabling us to comprehend what the Anointing is teaching us. Romans 12.2 shows us that the phrase “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” precedes “that ye may prove what is the perfect will of God. If our mind is not renewed we will not be able to understand the teaching of the Anointing. On the contrary, we may have sudden thoughts injected into our mind like lightning, or groundlessness.

How, though, is the mind renewed? Titus 3.5. reads: “renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Hence the work of renewing is the work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 12.1-2 mentions “present your bodies a living sacrifice” first and then speaks of “the renewing of your mind.” Accordingly, the renewing of the mind is based on consecration.

 If it is of the Holy Spirit, I will undoubtedly agree with what Holy Scripture says. In case our inward sensation disagrees with the word of God, such sensation must be inaccurate. We should know that just as the inner sensation is living, so the outer Bible is accurate. The word of the Bible is accurate and certain but not necessarily living by itself. The inward sensation may be living but sometimes is neither accurate nor certain.