Crystallization-Study of Exodus (3)
Message Eleven
The Anointing of the Compound Spirit
Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:18-27; Phil. 1:19; Exo. 30:22-25
I. The anointing is the moving and working of the indwelling compound Spirit to apply all the ingredients of the processed Triune God and His activities into our inner being so that we may be fully mingled with Him for His corporate expression—1 John 2:18-27; Exo. 30:22-25; cf. Eph. 4:4-6:
A. The Triune God, after passing through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, has become the all-inclusive, life-giving compound Spirit—John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Phil. 1:19.
B. He is within our spirit to anoint us, to "paint" us, with the elements of the Triune God; the more this anointing, this painting, goes on, the more the Triune God with His person and processes is transfused into our being.
C. We need to be painted persons, those who are saturated with the anointing; we should be those on whom the paint is wet, always having a fresh application of the all-inclusive Spirit as the divine paint so that we may paint others with the all-inclusive Spirit—Psa. 92:10; Zech. 4:14; 2 Cor. 3:3, 6, 8.
D. The Christian life is altogether a life of being anointed by the compound Spirit.
II. If we read 1 John 2:18-27 carefully, we will see that the teaching of the anointing is mainly a matter of teaching us concerning the Divine Trinity:
A. By the anointing of the all-inclusive, compound Spirit, who is the composition of the Divine Trinity, we know and enjoy the Father, the Son, and the Spirit as our life and life supply—vv. 20, 27.
B. It is by applying Himself to us as the paint that the compound Spirit teaches us concerning the Triune God and His activities; we also may say that the elements of the compound Spirit teach us the various matters concerning the Triune God and His activities:
1. It is not an outward teaching by words but an inward teaching by anointing, through our inner spiritual consciousness; this teaching by anointing adds the divine elements of theDivine Trinity, which are the elements of the anointing compound Spirit, into our inner being.
2. It is like the repeated painting of some article: the paint not only indicates the color, but also by coat upon coat being added, the elements of the paint are added to the thing painted.
3. It is in this way that the Triune God is transfused, infused, and added into all the inward parts of our being that our inner man may grow in the divine life with the divine elements.
4. The anointing teaches us to abide in the Son and in the Father (v. 24); this is to remain and dwell in the Lord (John 15:4) and to abide in the fellowship of the divine life (1 John 1:2-3, 6-7).
5. We should practice this abiding according to the teaching of the all-inclusive anointing so that our fellowship with God may be maintained.
C. The Triune God, who is now organically one with us, is teaching us concerning Himself subjectively and experientially; the anointing is the moving of the Triune God becoming our inward enjoyment and experience.
D. Day by day as we are in the organic union with the Triune God, we enjoy Him, we experience Him, and we live in Him, with Him, and by Him; this living is a constant teaching of the things concerning the Triune God.
E. First John 2:20 says that we have an anointing, and verse 21 says that we know the truth; actually, the anointing is the moving and working of the truth, which is the reality of the Divine Trinity, especially of the person of Christ (vv. 22-25).
F. According to verse 22, to deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny the Father and the Son; this indicates strongly that Jesus, Christ, the Father, and the Son are one, all of whom are the elements, the ingredients, of the all-inclusive compound indwelling Spirit, who is now anointing the inner being of the believers all the time.
G. In verse 23 John continues, "Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who confesses the Son has the Father also"; since the Son and the Father are one andinseparable (Isa. 9:6; John 10:30; 14:7-11), to deny the Son is to be without the Father, and to confess the Son is to have the Father.
H. In 1 John 2:24 John says that if we let that which was from the beginning, that is, the Word of life (1:1-2), abide in us, we shall abide both in the Son and in the Father:
1. According to John 15:4, when we abide in the Lord, the Lord abides in us; in 1 John 2:24 it says that when the Word of life abides in us, we abide in the Son and in the Father.
2. Once again, John puts the Father and the Son together as one, for the Father and the Son are one—John 5:43; 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 7:18; 10:30.
I. First John 2:25 says, "This is the promise which He Himself promised us, the eternal life":
1. The singular pronoun He, referring to both the Son and the Father in the preceding verse, indicates that the Son and the Father are one.
2. As far as our experience of the divine life is concerned, the Son, the Father, Jesus, and Christ are all one.
3. It is not that only the Son, and not the Father, is the eternal life to us; it is that Jesus, being the Christ as the Son and the Father, is the eternal, divine life to us for our portion.
4. According to the context of verses 22 through 25, the eternal life is just Jesus, Christ, the Son, and the Father; all these are a composition of the eternal life; hence, the eternal life also is an element of the all-inclusive, compound indwelling Spirit, who moves within us.
J. The eternal life in verse 25 is the Word of life, and the Word of life is Jesus, Christ, the Father, and the Son; all these items are elements that have been compounded into the compound anointing Spirit:
1. With Jesus we have the incarnation, humanity, and crucifixion; with the Father we have divinity; with Christ we have the anointed One and resurrection; and with the Son we have life.
2. Therefore, with these elements we have all the ingredients of the compound ointment: divinity, humanity, incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and life.
III. We need to be kept from having a living that is in the principle of antichrist (vv. 18, 22), the principle of being against Christ and replacing Christ, the principle of being "antianointing," which is to be "anti" the moving, working, and saturating of the Triune God within us (vv. 20-27; cf. Lev. 14:14-17):
A. To deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22) is related to denying the anointing:
1. The Greek word for Christ is Christos, which means "the anointed One," and the Greek word for anointing is chrisma; both words are derived from the same root.
2. Eventually, the anointed One becomes the anointing One; in fact, He even becomes the anointing.
3. To deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny that He is the anointed One; this is equal to denying the anointing, for after the anointed One enters into us, He becomes the anointing—2 Cor. 1:21.
4. To be an anti-Christ, to be anti-anointing, is to deny the Father and the Son.
B. If someone denies an aspect of Christ revealed in the Scriptures, that one is following the principle of antichrist, although what he is doing may be done unconsciously and unintentionally; likewise, if someone replaces an aspect of Christ with something that is not of Christ, he is practicing the principle of antichrist.
C. We all need to apply this word to ourselves and be on the alert lest in any way we follow the principle of antichrist:
1. If we deny an aspect of Christ's person, we are against Him, anti Him; if we have something in our daily living that replaces Christ, we are also against Christ, anti Christ.
2. If we replace Christ with our own good character and behavior, we are practicing the principle of antichrist; in a practical way, we are against the anointing, anti the moving, working, and saturating of the Triune God within us.
3. Instead of being anti the anointing, we must live according to the anointing; otherwise, we shall be against Christ, or we shall replace Christ with something else; in our dailylife we may replace Christ with many natural, religious, cultural, and ethical things.
4. We need to repent for replacing Christ with other things; we need to repent for having a daily living that is in the principle of antichrist, that allows culture, religion, ethics, and natural concepts to replace Christ.
D. We need to pray, "Lord, save us, rescue us, and deliver us from all replacements. Lord, bring us back to Your anointing. We don't want to be anti Christ in any way. We don't want to be anti the anointing. Lord, we want to live and walk by the moving, working, and saturating of the Triune God within us"; this is the revelation of the Bible, and this is also our burden in the Lord's recovery today.