Apostle Paul wrote, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual,” (1 Corinthians 2:13). And Apostle John wrote, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him,” (1 John 2:27).

When we put Paul and John’s teachings together, we see that the Holy Ghost and the anointing are interchangeable. This is true because the Holy Ghost anoints and the anointing is the Holy Ghost! Oil is one of the Biblical symbols of the Holy Ghost and oil poured out is the Biblical symbol of the anointing.

What do we mean by the anointing? The Hebrew word, mishchah, means the unction or the consecratory gift. The Greek word, chrisma, means the special endowment or a grace gift of the Holy Spirit. The special gifts, charisma, of the Spirit to the Church are described by Paul as the “Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healings, Working of Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits, Diverse Kinds of Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues,” (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). The Apostle states that the Holy Spirit gives these charisma as He chooses. When someone is anointed, it could be expected that one or more of these gifts will be operative in their life. The gifts, indeed, are signs of the anointing. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,” (Luke 4:18-19). His preaching, teaching, healing, and delivering ministry was the sign of His Anointing!

The manifestation of fire or heat may be the sign to the one being anointed. John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize, “With the Holy Ghost and with Fire,” (Matthew 3:11). When God anointed the Prophet Isaiah to carry His Word, He anointed the prophet’s mouth with Fire (Isaiah 6:6-7). Today believers testify of having a sense of hot fire running through their bodies or through their hands as the charisma are released through them. Then they speak with knowledge of something that they otherwise could not know, or lay their hands on the sick and a healing that is unexplainable by modern medicine manifests. Perhaps they operate in faith that is greater than anything in which they could believe. They may predict an event that has not occurred, or answer a question they have not yet been asked. They may speak in a language they never learned or interpret the meaning. The blind may see, dumb may speak, deaf may hear, lame may walk, addicted may be set free, and even the dead may come alive because of the Anointing. And, when it happens, men will wonder how it was done.

The Anointing of the Holy Spirit is the supernatural equipment to get the job done! Without the Anointing all we have are words and nothing to back it up!

That is why the Anointing is a sign and a wonder!