1 John 2:27, You are anointed of God sermon

1 John 2:27, You are anointed of God

by Matt Slick | Dec 1, 2008 | Sermons, Christian Living

Sermon on being anointed of God. Christians have received an anointing, the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. God has blessed us with many spiritual gifts and we are to use them for the glory of God, the equipping of the saints, and ministering to others.

“And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you, but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him,” (1 John 2:27).

Introduction: God has anointed you so that you may be equipped for every good work: to resist evil, to know the truth, to preach the Word, to be able to pray, to have fellowship with God. . . . expound on this.

You are anointed by God.
1. Have you ever considered yourself to be an anointed Christian?
  1. Maybe you’ve thought that only certain people in ministry are anointed?
  2. Maybe you’ve only considered that the O.T. prophets and the N.T. apostles were the only ones anointed and that you are not.
  3. No matter what you have or haven’t thought about the anointing of God, if you are a Christian, then you have received an anointing.
2. Do you know this anointing is? Do you know what it means to be anointed?
3. According to Webster’s Dictionary, to anoint means to “rub oil or ointment on,” “to put oil on in a ceremony of consecration.” So, to anoint something or someone is to apply something, in this case, oil, to an object.
  1. Maybe you have been anointed with oil in a prayer service, or when someone has prayed over you for healing.
  2. Maybe you’ve even done the anointing.
  3. Then again, perhaps the idea of anointing with oil is foreign to you.
  4. Whatever the case, anointing is found all over the Bible.
4. Prophets were anointed
  1. 1 Kings 19:16, “and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.”
5. Priests were anointed
  1. Exodus 40:13, “You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me.”
6. Kings were anointed
  1. 1 Samuel 16:3,13, “You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you… 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.”
7. The sick were anointed.
  1. Mark 6:13 “And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.”
8. Objects were anointed
  1. Leviticus 8:10 “Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.”
9. For what purpose were they anointed?
  1. Prophets were anointed to be able to proclaim God’s word.
  2. Priests were anointed to carry out their duties of worship and sacrifice.
  3. Kings were anointed so they could rule.
  4. People were anointed for healing.
  5. The objects were anointed so they could be set aside for holy use.
10. As you can see, anointing is a very biblical concept and a common occurrence.
  1. As I said, anointing occurs for a purpose: for proclaiming, for worship, for sacrifice, for ruling, for healing, and to make something ready for holy use.
11. In fact, that is why Jesus was anointed, so that He could carry out His ministry.
  1. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2 and said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,“
12. Alright, so now you know that anointing is biblical, that it was done for a variety of reasons, and that even Jesus was anointed. You may ask why this is important. It is important because it helps you understand better your need for anointing.
1 John 2:27 says that you have received an anointing. You have been anointed, but with what?
1. For a clue to that, let’s go to Jesus” baptism in Matt. 3:13-17, “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
2. Have you ever wondered why Jesus was baptized into John’s baptism of repentance?
  1. Some say it was to identify with us; there is much truth in that.
  2. Others say it was to be an example; there is also much truth there, too.
  3. Probably the main reason that Jesus was baptized was that at His baptism is when He began His ministry and entered into the Melchizedek priesthood so He could become the High Priest and be the Holy Sacrifice.
    1. Amos 3:7, “Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.“
    2. Exodus 29:1,4-7, “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them to minister as priests to Me: take one young bull and two rams without blemish,…4 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 5 “You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breast plate, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod; 6 and you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.”
    3. Numbers 4:3, “from thirty years and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting.”
      1. So Jesus was probably 30 years old when He began His ministry.
3. In Jesus” baptism, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit that descended as a dove. Jesus was washed in baptism and He was anointed with the Spirit of God.
4. If Jesus needed to be anointed, then so do you.
5. Jesus said that He would send the Holy Spirit who would teach us all things (John 14:26).
  1. John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
  2. 1 John 2:27 “As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”
6. The anointing you have received, then, is the Holy Spirit.
What does this mean, then, that you are anointed with the Holy Spirit?
1. It means that you are anointed for Christian ministry while you live in this world.
2. It means that you have been enabled, entrusted, and empowered to accomplish God’s will. In my research about this, I found about 40 things you are anointed to do. Ten of them are:
  1. To be able to discern truth – 1 John 2:27.
  2. To testify of the truth – 1 John 5:6, “This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies because the Spirit is the truth.”
  3. To be able to pray – Eph. 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
  4. To Live a righteous life – Romans 8:4 “so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
  5. To be strengthened with power in your inner being – Ephesians 3:16 “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,”
  6. To be led by God – Romans 8:9, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”
  7. To live in joy – Romans 14:17, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.,”
  8. To live in hope – Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
  9. To receive spiritual gifts – 1 Corinthians 12:4, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.”
    1. 1 Corinthians 12:7, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
  10. To bear spiritual fruit – Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
3. It is this anointing that opens your mind, teaches you, guides you, calls you to pray, empowers you, and enables you to be stronger Christians, more powerful Christians. Not just people who are saved, but people who are saved, indwelt and empowered.
How, then, is this anointing received
1. The Cross
  1. The Holy Spirit is received by faith in the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.
  2. Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit would indwell His people.
  3. It is only because of the cross that you have forgiveness of sins, and the privilege of the indwelling Spirit, no only in you, but upon you.
Conclusion
1. You are anointed vessels of God. You have been cleansed by God and been filled with the Holy Spirit.
2. Not only is He in you but also He is upon you.
3. As the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost in the upper room and anointed them for service, you too have been anointed by God with the Holy Spirit for Christian service.
4. I have taught you this so that you would learn about your anointing.

Hopefully, with a better understanding of what God has given you in Christ and by the Holy Spirit, you will be better able to live for God, better able to pray to Him, love Him, trust Him, and better able to dwell in hope and joy.