019 Kernels of Wheat – What We Don’t Know About ‘The Anointing’

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Show Notes by Jim Kerwin for Kernels of Wheat Podcast
Episode 019 – What We Don’t Know about “The Anointing”

Part of a 'Strong's Concordance' entry on the word 'anointed'

Review of last week’s episode, An Unhappy Heresy, the first installment in our study of 1 John 2:18-29.

Study on the words anoint and anointing

• No one in the New Testament ever prayed for “the anointing,” so why are so many Christians praying this way?
• If orthodoxy is right belief, what the early Christians taught and believed, then..
• Orthopraxy is right practice, that is, how the early Christians lived out what they believed.
• In all the prayers we read in the Book of Acts, in Paul’s epistles, etc.—in other words, in any passage that would give us insight into New Testament orthopraxy—nobody ever “prayed for the anointing.” What was it that New Testament Christians understood that we don’t?
• Words as tools (and as anchors)
• Words are the tools of thought, and you will often find that you are thinking badly because you are using the wrong tools, trying to bore a hole with a screwdriver, or draw a cork with a coal-hammer.—A. P. Herbert, British politician and writer
• If we aren’t clear on the definition of a word, or, worse, if we have an entirely inaccurate idea of what a word means, we can’t understand the speaker/writer who is using the words. When the Writer is God, in His Word, we need to be extra diligent in understanding how He uses a word and what He wants it to mean.
• A misunderstood word, rather than being a tool, is more like an anchor, holding us back, keeping us from spiritual understanding. There is great difficulty in overcoming preconceived, reinforced notions.
• Terms and concepts from Scripture we think we “know” — but we don’t:
• Anointing
• Antichrist
• (See also Kernels of Wheat episode #1–Words We Think We Know.)
• Today’s study: All the New Testament words translated as anoint or anointing
  

  A page from Strong's Concordance (Click on the image to see it at nearly full size. You can see all the words translated like 'anoint*' at full size. Pay attention to the numbers in italics.)

• Use of Strong’s Concordance
• Background
• Every word cataloged
• Strong’s numbering system: a tool for looking up Greek and Hebrew words and their basic definitions – for people who don’t know Greek and Hebrew!
• Non-italic numbers: refer to entry in Strong’s Hebrew lexicon (at the back of the Concordance)
• Italic numbers: refer to Strong’s Greek lexicon. (Since our study is focusing on New Testament usage, we will only be looking at italicized numbers.
• Words translated as anoint that don’t have the chri— root.
• Strong’s 3462— μυρίζω—moo-REED-zo, murizō; used 1 of 21 times in the NT
• Anoint for burial (e.g., Mark 14:8)
• Rub with ointment or unguent
• Related words include myrrh (e.g., Matthew 2:11) and Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-17).
• Strong’s 218—ἀλείφω— ah-LAY-foh— aleiphō—used 9 of 21 times in the NT; from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words:
• Used for an anointing of any kind, such as:
• Physical refreshment after washing, e.g.,
• In the LXX (Old Testament translated into Greek) of Ruth 3:3; 2 Samuel 12:20; Daniel 10:3; Micah 6:15.  (For a review on the LXX/Septuagint, refer to Kernels of Wheat, Episode 5–God’s First Popular Bible Translation.)
• In the NT, Matthew 6:17; Luke 7:38, 46; John 11:2; 12:3; or
• Anointing of the sick, Mark 6:13; James 5:14 (called extreme unction by the Church in years gone by); or
• Anointing of a dead body, Mark 16:1.
• The material used was either oil, or ointment, as in Luke 7:38, 46.
• In the LXX (not the NT) it is also used of anointing
• a pillar, Genesis 31:13, or
• captives, 2 Chronicles 28:15, or
• of daubing a wall with mortar, Ezekiel 13:10-12, 14-15; and,
• in the sacred sense, of anointing priests, in Exodus 40:15 (twice), and Numbers 3:3.
• Word from the root chri— (χρι——)
• Strong’s #1472—ἐγχρίω—eng-KREE-oh—enchriō — 1 of 21; Vine’s: primarily, to rub in, hence, to besmear, to anoint, is used metaphorically in the command to the church in Laodicea to anoint their eyes with eyesalve, Revelation 3:18. In the LXX, Jeremiah 4:30, it is used of the anointing of the eyes with a view to beautifying them.
• Strong’s 2025—ἐπιχρίω—epi-KREE-oh— epichriō, 2 of 21 times; Vine’s: primarily, to rub on (epi, upon), is used of the blind man whose eyes Christ anointed with spit-made mud, and indicates the manner in which the anointing was done, John 9:6, 11
• Strong’s 5547—Χριστός— kris-TOSS — Christos = Christ = Messiah, the Anointed One, the Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King.
• Anoint = Strong’s 5545: χρίω—KREE-oh— chriō, 5 times. Uses of the verb:
• Luke 4:18—[Jesus reading Isaiah 61:1]:“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…”
• Acts 4:27—[The Apostles and assembled Christians praying to God the Father]: “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel…”
• Acts 10:38—[Peter preaching in the house of Cornelius]: “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
• 2 Corinthians 1:21—Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God…
• Hebrews 1:9—[quoting Psalm 45:7]: “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.”
• Anointing = Strong’s 5548: χρίσμα— KREES-mah— chrisma (3 times in 2 verses)
• 1 John 2:20—But you have an anointing [“unction” in the KJV] from the Holy One, and you all know. [Note: Strong’s will list this verse under the word unction, because it was compiled from the King James Version; but the Greek lexicon number will be the same—5548.]
• 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.
• Who Jesus is—the Christ = the Anointed One = “Messiah” = mashiach
• In the Old Testament, only three “office holders” were anointed and called mashiach:
• Prophets
• Priests
• Kings
• There is only one “anointed one,” one mashiach, in the New Testament—Yeshua haMaschiah, Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the “Anointed One.” Jesus is:
• Our Prophet—e.g.,
• Acts 3:22, where Peter is preaching about Jesus as the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:15-19;
• Ditto Stephen in Acts 7:37;
• Prophet—one who speaks on behalf of God to the people
• The Logos—the One who expresses the mind and heart of God the Father.
• Our Priest—One who intercedes to God on behalf of the people—Hebrews 3:1, etc.
• Our King; in fact, the King of Kings—1 Timothy 6:14-16; Revelation 17:14; 19:16.
• Only one “anointed one” in the New Testament, and only one anointing.
• But what about 2 Corinthians 1:21? “Now He who establishes us with you in the Anointed One and anointed us is God.…” That leads us into our subject for next week.

Next Week: Abiding

We’ll see how this NT concept of anointing ties in with John’s use of the word abiding, and what it all has to do with the word Christian (a chri— word we haven’t yet touched on).

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