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agape, anointing, carnal, fear, flesh, God's love, Humility, joy, judging others, Liberty, love, Loving God, loving our enemies, Meekness, peace, reason, T. Austin-Sparks, the fear of God, The Fear of the Lord, The Light of His Countenance, Touching the Anointing
This topic is none of those about which I like to write. Nonetheless, I have seen a few times that touching someone who has been anointed by God, which means, speaking ill of them or even attacking them personally, will have (sometimes immediate) consequences in the life of the offender. If we are attacked and do not avenge ourselves in any fleshly way but (empowered by God) love our enemies by being silent and rather bless them instead, God comes in with His corrective justice. When I for the first time in my life observed God’s dealings with a Christian who appropriated something from another Christian to himself, something that was obviously a gift from God, I was truly shocked. It made me tremble with the fear of God! Meanwhile I witnessed God’s intervention more often and I honestly admit that His doing always leaves me speechless.
We read in Paul’s letter to the Romans,
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:14-21 ESV – emphasis in color added)
I do not want to go into more details here but I rather ‘give the floor’ to T. Austin Sparks who enjoined to caution as to how we should treat other children of God. On the positive side, there is a big blessing awaiting us if we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God in the fear of Him Who loves us all just the same.
“To Moses, the meekest of men, the anointed servant of the Lord, they say, “You take too much on yourself. You are not the only one through whom the Lord speaks. We are as much the children of God as you are!” That is how they speak, and they fear not to put their hand upon that which is anointed. It is not that Moses is anything, but it is the anointing. It is something anointed of God and they were guilty of the sin of spiritual assumption; it was due to a lack of meekness. The Lord came out in terrible judgment, showing for all time that when the Lord anoints anyone or anything, that anointing is not something that constitutes that person a special office or officer. The anointing is the Lord, the Lord Himself. The Lord is on that, the Lord Himself is in that, the Lord is there, and when you touch that, you touch the Lord; you touch that in word, you touch the Lord, you touch that in deed, you touch the Lord. “He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not Mine anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm” (Psa. 105:14-15).
“If you and I ever have the slightest reason to conclude that the Lord is anywhere or with any person or with anything or with any people, we touch that to our peril if it is touching it other than in the fear of the Lord. It is a tremendous check. We read that little bit from 1 Samuel. Yes, David was anointed, David was God’s chosen one, but Saul had been anointed and Saul was not yet dead. Saul was not yet set aside finally, although potentially. David got an opportunity and cut off the skirt of Saul’s garment and then it says, “David’s heart smote him”. David’s heart smote him. We in New Testament times in whom the Spirit dwells would say, “The Lord rebuked me, smote me in my heart, in my spirit”. Again and again this comes up – exactly what happens in the case of the bringing up of the ark. When Uzzah died before the Lord, what was the reason? It was a lack of the fear of the Lord of the right kind. It was an assumption. It was a putting forth of a hand to touch holy things. That is terrible. The evil of not fearing, you see. It comes from an insufficient apprehension of the sacredness of what is of God.
But this fear is a holy fear. Let no one think for a moment that this fear of the Lord is death, bondage, stultification and repression. Not at all. Wherever you find this fear of the Lord you find joy, love, peace and liberty. People are not afraid of the Lord. But they are careful not to grieve the Lord. They do not take liberties with the Lord. They do not think of spiritual liberty as spiritual licence. They do not cast off restraint, they do not ride rough-shod over all sacred things, calling it liberty. No, there is holy fear which restrains and in restraining keeps things pure and keeps things clear and makes a straight way for the Lord. The true fear of the Lord is not dread. It is a very blessed and precious thing.
[…]
“When the Lord looks to us, well, there is everything we want. All that we want is in the light of His countenance. If the Lord looks upon us, it is like the sun looking out with all the beneficent rays of warmth and light and energy. “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2). Do you want, do I want, spiritual increase in understanding, in knowledge, in revelation? Do we want spiritual increase in strength from the Lord? Do we want fulness? Let me say that this is going to come to the humble man, the weak, meek one in the eyes of the Lord, the one who trembles at His word, who does not assume.
“Oh, let us ask the Lord that there may be found in us that true holy fear which is love, not the fear which is contrary to love, but the true holy fear which is love. The Lord will be able to go on and lead us into all His fulness if He has that quality in us, that in us which simply means that we honour Him, we recognise Him, we trust Him, we have perfect confidence in Him, and that we are very reticent either by word of criticism, or judgment, or by any other way, to put a hand upon what is sacred to the Lord, even a child of God. If it is a child of God, then the Lord is in that one and we must be very careful. That is what it means, and this matter of the blessing of the Lord which makes rich, this matter of the light of His countenance, is a very practical matter. It may all hang upon some matter of our attitude towards another child of God. The whole of the fulness of Christ may be held up and suspended for us because of some injurious way in which we talk about what is precious to God, if we criticise it, judge it, think that we can improve it. The Lord may stand back.” (1)
What also comes to mind is how Paul described one of the enemies of the gospel in his second letter to Timothy. Paul wrote,
“Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!
But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.” (2 Tim 4:14-17 ESV – emphasis in color added)
Dear brothers and sisters, let us be cautious to not judge/condemn other Christians if we do not understand where they might be coming from. There is a time to judge in the sense of discerning the spirits, not with our reason alone, but with a judgment that comes directly from the Holy Spirit within, without our reason being involved yet. It is often only after He has warned us against a false spirit that God later explains where the spirit hides, what kind of spirit it is, and how to avoid it.
Let us take care.
(1) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/004826.html
“In keeping with T. Austin-Sparks’ wishes that what was freely received should be freely given and not sold for profit, and that his messages be reproduced word for word, we ask if you choose to share these messages with others, to please respect his wishes and offer them freely – free of any changes, free of any charge (except necessary distribution costs) and with this statment included.”
All images by Susanne Schuberth 2022
Entering the Promised Land 
Again, Susanne, this is a timely word. I know a brother in the Lord who was talking to a pastor about a perceived error in the man’s preaching and leadership. The Pastor responded, “Brother, you are not about to speak against God’s anointed are you?” This is a touchy ground to walk on and we need to be led of the Spirit when correcting a person with a ministry, for sure. But like Sparks said, “…when the Lord anoints anyone or anything, that anointing is not something that constitutes that person a special office or officer. The anointing is the Lord, the Lord Himself.” What a refreshing perspective and truth this is!
There are millions of people in the churches who have titles and yet, have no anointing from God on them to do the work. They are there because they got that title in some Bible school or seminary by paying for it, regardless of whether the Spirit has called them into that “office.”
As Sparks said, with the true anointing there is humility, if that is lacking it is a sign that the Holy Spirit is not there for “God resists the proud, but gives grace (God’s gifts) to the humble.”
One more thing, who is God’s anointed according to the New Testament? All those who walk in the Spirit are His anointed ones whether they have titles or not. John wrote to the people of God saying,
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” (1John 2:19-22, ESV2011)
The context here is that John is warning the church about the antichrist, for many antichrists had already come. The Greek word here is “antichristos” and means “against the Anointed One.” To claim to be the only one who has the anointing and be against the anointing of Christ manifesting in the lives of His saints is of the antichrist spirit. John assures us that they who are Christ’s have been anointed by God, because of the Holy Spirit that is in them Paul says that when we come together, we are to flow in that anointing of the Spirit and do so in an orderly manner least we quench the Spirit once again, for God is not the author of confusion. I have experienced such gatherings (though they are rare) and it is so wonderful to watch God orchestrate the flow of Christ’s body where the Spirit of Christ is preeminent. Even when only two or three of us gather, Jesus promised to be there in our midst. It is not about size of our gatherings, it is about us being sensitive to the presence of Christ. Like Sparks said,
“Wherever you find this fear of the Lord you find joy, love, peace and liberty. People are not afraid of the Lord. But they are careful not to grieve the Lord. They do not take liberties with the Lord. They do not think of spiritual liberty as spiritual licence. They do not cast off restraint, they do not ride rough-shod over all sacred things, calling it liberty. No, there is holy fear which restrains and in restraining keeps things pure and keeps things clear and makes a straight way for the Lord.”
Where the Spirit of God rests among His people there is always the unity of the Spirit. Those who either resist or go out from and rise up over these anointed ones manifest themselves that they are not of the body of Christ and the unity and flow of the Spirit is broken. One of the more common ways Christians go out from the sweet fellowship of the saints is to rise up over them in the place that only belongs to Jesus who is the Head of His body. This too is antichrist. Contrast this manner of church leadership to the one appointed by God…
And He [God] has put all things under His [Christ’s] feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church], Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself]. (Eph 1:22-23, AMP)
“Therefore, as a fellow elder, a witness of the Messiah’s sufferings, and one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over it, not because you must but because you want to, and not greedily [desiring filthy gain] but eagerly, as God desires. DO NOT LORD OVER THE PEOPLE ENTRUSTED TO YOU, but be examples to the flock. Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the victor’s crown of glory that will never fade away.” (1Pet 5:1-4, ISV – emphasis added)
Jesus and only Jesus is our Head. This system of men who lord over God’s people, that have gone out from among them, rule over them and poses as the only ones who are “God’s anointed” is antichrist in its truest sense.
Thank you, Susanne.
Michael
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Amen, Michael. Well put! You wrote,
“One more thing, who is God’s anointed according to the New Testament? All those who walk in the Spirit are His anointed ones whether they have titles or not.”
Excellent! ⭐ Nobody can walk by the Spirit who has never received Him. We all must be born from Heaven first before we can perceive and follow His leading as His sons/children.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Rom 8:14 KJV)
I too thought that TAS’ perspective was refreshing. We also see the truth of this when we look at Paul who was on the road to Damascus. Blinded by Christ’s light, Paul asked,
“Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:5 ESV)
When the Body of Christ is the real thing, that is, when every member is one with the Lord through throne union, other people (believers or not) have to do with God in Christ when they approach such members of Christ’s spiritual Body which is the only true church. As for that pastor, I have been familiar with that approach, too, especially in Pentecostal and charismatic circles. But also Roman Catholic clerics were inclined to believe that they had “the truth” because of their being an official “spiritual” person. In the RCC it was hardly believed that a woman, whether a nun or a married woman was concerned, could know God on her own; she always needed a churchly “superior” to watch over her so that she was not being misled. The Eve problem, you know…
I recall that TAS spoke of a vocation rather than of a ministry when the anointing of the Holy Spirit was concerned. He also said that we need to be spiritually and morally on a higher standard as a testimony for Christ reigning (from Heaven) on this earth right now. I was just reminded of the following Scripture.
“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 Jn 2:3-6 ESV)
God ‘uses’ us primarily without giving us any official titles yet (thinking of kings, priests, and prophets here) before we receive the eternal vocation that can be seen by everyone (I was still paraphrasing what Sparks wrote, only the latest Scripture above was my input).
Therefore, if we are truly His, we will be unknown on the earth (see 2 Cor 6:9); that is the normal thing for us. Although in the spiritual realm we are known all the more. On top of this, the more we share in the image of God in Christ, the more we will be attacked by the enemy as well. Nonetheless, victory is ours if we continually stay connected with The Throne in Heaven.
These Scriptures you quoted are very approriate, my brother.
As for this flow of the Spirit in our gatherings, that happens if we let Him be the only Head over us without trying to add something from the flesh. Such a unity in Christ can truly be a heavenly experience as we have both known.
You are welcome, my brother.
Susanne
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Susanne, you quoted from Romans,
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Rom 8:14, ESV2011)
And the opposite of this is equally true,
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (Rom 8:9, ESV2011)
What Jesus told Saul (Paul) in that divine encounter is very revealing, Saul was persecuting the Church and even had authority to kill these early believers, yet Jesus said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Jesus said, “What you have done to the least of these, my brethren, you have done unto me.” As long as we are His least and are walking in His humility He will come to our defense and aid in a time of need. It is pride that separates us from Him. It is those who are greatest in the eyes of carnal man that are the most vulnerable because “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Also, this word “minister” that is used in the KJV was used for the Greek word, “diakonos,” which should be translated, “servant.” Minister implies hierarchy but servant speaks of a lowly of place of service and was used in the classical Greek to mean the one who waits on tables and serves the family and guests. This word “minister” has been abused in the church for hundreds of years. Why is this important? Because it twists Jesus’ command to His disciples and those who come after them. Compare this passage that was translated correctly:
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant (diakonos), and whoever would be first among you must be your slave (doulos), even as the Son of Man came not to be served (diakoneo) but to serve(duakoneo), and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:20-28, ESV2011)
Now compare the KJV that is heavily weighted toward hierarchic church leadership throughout its New Testament translation:
Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons… But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matt 20:20-28, KJV)
In our usage of English today, “servant” and “slave” which was correctly translated in the ESV are not the same as “minister.” One has to do with those who are His that we should seek the lowest place in the body of Christ, not the highest as the sons of Zebedee were doing. But “minister” is a title that goes with “Pastor, Bishop, Reverend, etc.” Church leadership in all of Christendom is upside down in the eyes of God. Jesus is our model, not the Papacy. Jesus said,
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle [lowly] in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:29, ESV2011)
“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:46-47, ESV2011)
”Tell the people of Israel, `Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble [and lowly], riding on a donkey– even on a donkey’s colt.’ “(Matt 21:5, NLT)
May we who are His always be yoked together with Him in all humility seeking the lowest place of serving one another in His love.
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Michael, I also thought of Romans 8, verse 9, but I dropped it. Since you quoted this verse, seems to be STST again, hmm? 😉
It is true that the word ‘minister’ has been abused for many centuries. Look at the politicians who ‘serve’ as ‘ministers’ today, how much money they earn, even though they might not always be upright in the exercise of their duties. The same applies to churchly ‘ministers’ of megachurches who pocket sheep’s fat and wool (read money) while not having been sent by God.
As far as I remember my first year when I started to learn Latin in 1978, the word ‘minister’ truly meant a lowly ‘servant’ in the Latin language. A minister was someone who, like the deacon (with its Greek origin you quoted), served at the tables and in similar positions. Today in the RCC “the altar boy” is still called a “Ministrant” in German, someone who (humbly) serves the priest during the mass, so to say.
Amen to your prayer, Michael.
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I also was struck by the truth you posted: the anointing is the Lord. IT IS THE LORD! Somehow, I have never before seen it in just that light. Thank you!
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You are very welcome, dear Louise. It was the same for me when I read that for the first time. It has had a real Wow-effect on me since then. 🕊️😇✨👍🏼
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