We come now to the anointing of the believer with the Holy Spirit in this Age of Grace. Paul says in II Corinthians 1:21, 22, “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.” In I John 2:27 we have the words, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as his 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,” and in verse 20, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye all know.” We have here the noun form of chrio (χριο), which is chrisma (χρισμα), and is translated “anointing.” In the case of our Lord, the Holy Spirit rested upon Him, for that was the order in the dispensation of law (Num. 11:29). In the case of the believer during this Age of Grace, the Holy Spirit is placed within him (John 14:17). His ministry in the believer today is not only for service as was the case in Old Testament times, but also for sanctification. But His indwelling is only potential so far as His ministry is concerned. His indwelling does not at all mean that His ministry is performed in its fullest manifestation and in an automatic way. The believer must avail himself of that ministry through the avenue of trust, just as he availed himself of the ministry of the Saviour through trusting Him. Two of the Spirit’s ministries are given here, His work of teaching the believer the Word, and His work of giving the believer an innate ability to know in an intuitive way, things spiritual. The Greek word for “know” in this passage gives us this latter truth. A slight correction is offered in the words “ye all know,” not “ye know all things.” Thus the anointing with the Spirit in the case of the believer refers to the act of God the Father sending the Spirit to take up His abode in his heart, and this in answer to the prayer of God the Son (John 14:16).
We look now at James 4:5, which reads, “Do you think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?” The verb “dwell” is not from the Greek word which means “to take up one’s residence,” but from a closely allied verb meaning “to cause to take up residence, to send or bring to an abode.” How true to other scripture is the usage of this word. The Holy Spirit does not of Himself take up His residence in the heart of the believer. He is caused to do so. In the outworking of the plan of salvation, there is subordination among the members of the Godhead. Here the Holy Spirit, Very God Himself, the third Person of the Triune God, is sent by God the Father, caused to take up His residence in our hearts.
But that is not all. The simple verb means, “to cause to take up residence.” A preposition is prefixed to this verb which means literally “down,” and gives the idea of permanency. Thus the Holy Spirit has been caused to take up His permanent residence in our hearts. This agrees with I John 2:27 where the word translated “abide” means “to abide” in the sense of “to remain.” Thus, the Holy Spirit never leaves the believer. This means that he is saved forever. To pray such a prayer in this Age of Grace as David prayed (Psalm 51:11) is not in order. Inasmuch as in Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit only came upon believers for the time of a specific service, their salvation was not affected.
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