The Anointing is on the Body: Being one with the Church to Enjoy the Anointing Spirit

Real oneness is the mingling of the Spirit with the believers; as believers in Christ, we have been anointed with the all-inclusive Spirit, for the heavenly paint is applied to our being, and the whole Body is anointed with the Spirit. Hallelujah!

This week we have been enjoying and prayerfully considering the intrinsic significance and revelation of the compound ointment as the holy anointing oil, which is a full type of the compound, all-inclusive Spirit of the processed Triune God. Amen!

Our Christian life is a matter of the Spirit and in our spirit. If we want to live the Christian life, we need to know the Spirit, live in our spirit, walk according to the Spirit, and be inwardly supplied by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Exo. 30:22-25 shows us a type of the compound Spirit, whom Christ became after passing through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

God ordained in the Old Testament that there would be a particular holy anointing oil that was to anoint the tabernacle, all its utensils, all its furniture, and all things and persons related to it.

In other words, everything and everyone related to God, the worship of God, and the service of God needs to be anointed with this particular holy anointing oil.

The ingredients in this ointment were in particular significant.

There were five hundred shekels of myrrh, flowing myrrh, which is a type of the precious death of Christ.

In the Spirit with our spirit, there’s flowing myrrh. When our natural being gives off the wrong kind of secretions, the death of Christ eliminates them.

There were two hundred fifty shekels of fragrant cinnamon, signifying the sweetness and effectiveness of the Lord’s death.

There were two hundred fifty shekels of fragrant calamus, signifying the precious resurrection of Christ.

Also, there were five hundred shekels of cassia, signifying the repelling power of Christ’s resurrection.

The base into which all these are compounded and mixed was a hin of olive oil, signifying the Spirit of God.

In this compound ointment, we see God and man being mingled and blended together, and we also see the death of Christ and His resurrection with its power, sweetness, and effectiveness.

This compound ointment was used to anoint the tabernacle with all its furniture, the altar with its utensils, the laver and its base, and the priests, to make all these things holy, separated, and sanctified to God for His divine purpose.

We all were anointed with this compound Spirit.

The Spirit who sealed us and who is our bountiful supply today is a compound Spirit, compounded with many elements, all the processes that Christ went through and their effectiveness, for us to have a bountiful supply to live the Christian life.

As Paul testified in Phil. 1:19-21, all things turn out to our salvation through the petition of the saints and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

The Anointing is on the Body: we’re one with the Church to Enjoy the Anointing Spirit

Psalm 133 shows us a wonderful picture of the church life on the ground of oneness, where God’s blessing is flowing toward each and every member.

As believers in Christ, we have been anointed with the compound ointment, that is, we have been anointed with the all-inclusive Spirit. Hallelujah!

In Psa. 133 we see a description of how the anointing oil flowed down on Aaron’s head to his beard and then to the hem of his garments.

This is a type of how the whole Body of Christ is anointed with the Spirit.

Hallelujah, the whole Body of Christ is anointed with the Spirit, the compound Spirit, for the Body of Christ is one with Christ, the anointed One (Exo. 29:7; 30:25; 2 Cor. 1:21)!

We have been anointed. We don’t need to wait for “the anointing of the Holy Ghost” to fall upon us so that we speak in tongues or do all kinds of miracles.

The Spirit has been outpoured, the Body has been anointed with the Spirit, and now we enjoy the anointing of the Spirit! Hallelujah!

Today the Spirit is within us; we have been anointed, and though we may not feel it, He is there ever so gently constantly anointing us.

We are daily being painted with the “heavenly paint” of the compound Spirit.

God’s desire is to be one with man and to make man one with Him.

For this, He went through a process to become the Spirit who has come into us to regenerate us with the divine life and has been poured out upon us to anoint us.

Within and without, we are immersed and anointed with the Spirit and we are given to drink of the one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). Hallelujah!

As we are daily being painted with the heavenly paint of the compound Spirit, we have the Lord’s humanity, the effectiveness and sweetness of His death, the power of His resurrection, and His Spirit applied to us.

We have Christ’s divinity and human living applied to us.

How can we live even as Jesus did? How can we deny ourselves and take our own cross to follow the Lord?

How can we love one another and love the Lord with the first love?

It is only by means of the Spirit; we need to exercise our spirit and contact the Lord, and when we do this, the Spirit paints us, anoints us, and gives us more of the Triune God with all the ingredients in the bountiful supply.

This is the proper Christian life and church life.

The only way we can have a proper Christian life is by realizing that, as members of the Body of Christ, we have been anointed by the compound Spirit, and now we need to be in our spirit to have a proper Christian life.

All the ingredients in the compound Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, are painted into our being to anoint us and constitute us with all that God is, has, and has accomplished.

When we are daily being painted with the compound Spirit and enjoy the heavenly paint, we have a proper church life.

The proper church life is a life in the oneness that is the mingling of the processed Triune God with the believers.

The more we’re painted by the Spirit and with the Spirit, the more our natural constitution, temperament, and disposition are eliminated.

On the positive side, all the ingredients of the Spirit of Jesus Christ with a bountiful supply are applied to our being.

On the negative side, anything that is negative is eliminated.

In this way, we are reconstituted with all that God is, and we become the same as He is; our living will be His living, and our speaking will be His speaking, for He and us, we and Him, are fully one.

What others see is not just humanity or just divinity; they see the mingling of the processed Triune God with our uplifted humanity.

And this is not in an individual way, that is, this is not for a particular individual Christian to be or express.

This is corporate. We are anointed as we remain in the Body.

As we abide in the Lord and are properly related to the Body, the Spirit anoints us and we are one with the Lord and with the Body.

Our oneness is in the divine paint, the heavenly paint of the compound Spirit being added to us layer by layer, day by day, little by little.

May the Lord gain this among us and in us.

Hallelujah, we believers in Christ have been anointed with the compound ointment of the Spirit! Praise the Lord, the all-inclusive Spirit has been poured upon the Body of Christ to reach every member of the Body! Amen, Lord, thank You for not only giving us to drink of the one Spirit but even more, anointing us with the Spirit so that we may be filled with the Spirit within and without! Oh Lord, mingle Yourself more with us today. Apply Yourself as the heavenly paint to our being. Paint us with the processed Triune God and with all the elements of Your divinity, humanity, incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection. Add Yourself to our being. We just want to contact You in our spirit and be filled with the Spirit. Paint us with the heavenly paint of the compound Spirit until we are fully one with You! Amen, Hallelujah, more mingling of God and man! More application of all that God is to our being until God is expressed through us and we are fully one with Him!

Being One with the Church to enjoy the Application of the Anointing Oil and have the Oneness

The anointing is not upon a particular member of the Body only; the anointing is for the Body, for the anointing is upon the Head, Christ, and it slowly anoints every member of the Body of Christ.

This means that, if we want to enjoy the anointing of the Spirit and have the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we need to be one with the church.

We thank and praise the Lord for showing us the ground of the oneness on which we can meet to be His unique expression on the earth.

We need to realize, however, that this ground of oneness is in essence the mingling of God and man.

It is not a superficial oneness that is according to our natural concept.

When we are painted by the Triune God with the compound Spirit and the elements in the Spirit are applied to our being, we are simply one.

All dissension and divisive elements are swallowed up.

Every divisive factor and dissenting element is subdued when we’re under the anointing of the Spirit upon the Body in oneness.

The more we enjoy the painting of the processed Triune God to our being, the more difficult it will be for us to be divided.

We are brought into the genuine oneness, not the superficial oneness that is according to the natural concept.

Praise the Lord, we are in the oneness that is the processed Triune God applied to our being, painted on us!

The oneness we have today is not the one in which we agree with one another, we shake hands and try to gather together and be one; this is the “United Nations”-type of oneness, which is not real oneness.

The ground of oneness is the Triune God applied to our being as the anointing.

In such an application of the anointing, we are one (Eph. 4:1-4).

The oneness in Christianity today involves addition and subtraction; people “join” or “leave” this church or that church at will.

But the oneness that the Lord is gaining among us involves the application of the Triune God to our whole being, and this keeps us in the unique oneness of the Body of Christ.

For us to have the application of the anointing oil and therefore have the oneness, we need to be one with the church.

We need to remain in the fellowship of the Body, deal with any offenses, and learn to serve in the church life with all the saints in oneness.

As long as we are members in the Body, being properly related to our fellow members, we are one, and we enjoy the anointing of the Spirit.

The anointing is not for individuals but for the Body; the whole Body is anointed with the Spirit.

In Psa. 133 we see this very clearly; the ointment is upon the head (who is Christ), then spreads to the beard and goes down to the hem of the garment, reaching every member.

If we are individualistic, we cannot experience the ointment.

Some believers say that they can stay home and enjoy the Lord, and they receive light from His word even without going to the church meetings.

No doubt that we can receive some light and life from the Lord when we’re by ourselves, but if we are one with the church and remain in the Body, we enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit applied to us.

The anointing is not for individualistic members; it is for the Body of Christ, for all the members of the Body.

In order for us to be “painted” by the ointment (1 John 2:20, 27), we must be one with the church.

Then, we will spontaneously enjoy the application of the anointing oil with all its elements.

How marvelous is the oneness produced by the application of this ointment!

If we sense we are short of oneness and one accord we need to come back to our spirit, exercise our spirit, and be one with the church.

Then the Lord will paint us with the heavenly paint of the compound Spirit, and we will enjoy the wonderful oneness, which is the processed Triune God applied to our being. Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, we want to be painted with the ointment of the Spirit today. We are one with You, Lord, and we are one with the church. We deal with any obstacle or sin between us and You, and we deal with any offense between us and other members of the Body. We want to be one with the church and be properly related to our fellow members in the Body so that we may enjoy the rich bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ applied to our being. Hallelujah, in the Body we have the genuine oneness, which is the processed Triune God applied to our being! Wow, Lord, in this oneness we have everything we need, for God Himself imparts all that He is to us for us to enjoy, partake of, and be filled with to express Him corporately! Amen, Lord, we want to enjoy the application of the anointing oil with all its elements. We are one with You, Lord, and we are one with the church. We refuse to be individualistic believers; we are members in the Body, and we’re one with the Head and with all the members!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen in the message for this week, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,”, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Christian Life (2024 Memorial Day Blending Conference), week 3, The Intrinsic Significance and Revelation of the Compound Ointment as the Holy Anointing Oil— a Full Type of the Compound, All-inclusive Spirit of the Processed Triune God.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – The function of the anointing, a portion from, The Mystery of Christ, Chapter 7, by Watchman Nee
  – The Anointing: What It Is and How You Can Experience It, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – God’s anointing, a portion from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 1) Vol. 13: The Spiritual Man (2), Chapter 5, by Watchman Nee.
  – The compound Spirit, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – The Genuine Ground of Oneness, Message 2: Life and Light—Essence of Oneness, a video message via LSM (by Witness Lee).
  – Coming to the Lord’s Table, via, Shepherding Words.
  – The fellowship of life – part 1, the cycle of life, article via, Hearing of Faith.
  – Life-study of Ephesians, Message 14: A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation and the Eyes of Our Heart, via, LSM YouTube.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – How pleasant and how good it is / When brethren in the Lord / In one another’s joy delight / And dwell in sweet accord. / Such oneness, like anointing oil / On head to body poured; / Such oneness, like the morning dew, / With sweet refreshment stored. (Hymns #856 stanzas 1-2)
  – On all His chosen ones / The precious oil comes down: / Anointing as it runs, / Anointing on and on. / E’en to His skirts (the meanest name / That longs to love the bleeding Lamb). / From Aaron’s beard it rolls, / (Those nearest to His face), / The humble, trembling souls / Who know abundant grace; / The grace, the grace for all is free, / For, lo, it reaches now to me! (Hymns #1244 stanzas 5-6)
  – Behold how good and how pleasant it is, / For brethren to dwell together in unity! / Behold how good and how pleasant it is, / For brethren to dwell together in unity! / It is like the precious ointment upon the head, / That ran down upon the beard, / Even Aaron’s beard: / That went down to the skirts of his garments. (Hymns #1339 stanza 1 and chorus)