Let’s read 2nd Corinthians 1:21-22, “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and HAS ANOINTED US is God, who also has SEALED us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as GUARANTEE.” Here we learn that the Spirit of God was given to the believer the moment he believed on Christ as his Savior. We know this happened the moment we trusted in Christ based on Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, HAVING BELIEVED, you were SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the GUARANTEE of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.” Notice, in both references the Spirit is said to have SEALED the believer and He is also our GUARANTEE. As the “seal” the Spirit “marks us out” as belonging to Christ (see Romans 8:9). As the “guarantee” the Spirit is the “pledge” or “earnest” of our future inheritance with Christ in glory. It is vital to see that the Spirit is given solely based on our faith in Christ, and not on our having the “fruits of the Spirit” in our life. Those will be manifested after our salvation.

Now let’s consider what it means to have the Spirit of God as “an anointing.” In the Old Testament there were prophets, priests, and kings “anointed by God with oil” (see a good example of this in Samuel “anointing David to be Israel’s king” in 1st Samuel 16:1-13). The oil symbolized the power God would give to them to fulfill their service. All believers today have been “anointed with the Holy Spirit” so we too can be empowered for service. Jesus said shortly before His ascension to heaven, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me” (Acts 1:8). How does the Spirit empower us? For one thing, He “fills us with the knowledge of the Word of God”; in other words, He TEACHES US so we can be established in the faith and equipped to serve the Lord. Jesus had promised, “When, He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). This goes along perfectly with 1st John 2:20 & 27, “But you have an ANOINTING from the Holy One, and you know all things…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.” What we are learning is the Spirit of God is our DIVINE TEACHER who is the One who gives us to “know all things” from God’s precious Word. We have this same truth in 1st Corinthians 2:12, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might KNOW THE THINGS that have been freely given to us by God.” Again, this anointing took place the very moment we believed the gospel of our salvation so that we could learn God’s Word and the apply it to our lives. Of course, we need to be diligent in reading and meditating on the Word and praying for the Holy Spirit to enlighten us as to the meaning. We CANNOT depend on our intellect or human reasoning; we must look only to the indwelling Spirit, our Divine Teacher, to open the truth of the scriptures to us.

One more vital point should be made. In order to truly depend on the Spirit to teach us, we must be “FILLED with the Spirit.” We are exhorted in Ephesians 5:18, “and do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be FILLED with the Spirit.” We must allow Him to CONTROL US. If wine controls us, we will bring shame and dishonor to the Lord. When the Spirit controls us, we will bring glory to the Lord. We will be learning His Word which will “furnish us unto all good works” (see 2nd Timothy 3:16-17). Besides that, the Spirit will be “conforming us to the image of Christ” (2nd Corinthians 3:18) by producing the seven-fold cluster of FRUIT seen in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”  Praise be to God for the Divine ANOINTING of the Holy Spirit!  (DO)  (578.1)