Go back to clue #1. Jesus had it done to him but never did it to anyone until after his resurrection. The Holy Spirit was present when Jesus had it done and is also present when Jesus does it to others.
Clue #2 expanded: We do it one way by grace, we may do it the second way by obedience, and the third way by asking. One way we experience it saves us, the other two cannot.
New clue: Jesus asked his disciples if they could, they said yes, and he acknowledged that they would.
Certainly by now you have guessed what it is. That’s right, it is the word baptize / baptism. The word baptize and its various forms is found 100 times in the New Testament, but not once in the Old. Let me repeat, “Not once!!!” Which leads me to ask the next question: Why in the Church today are we so overwhelmed with the concept of “the anointing” but we hear little about “baptism”? Why do we sing song after song such as “Anointing Fall on Me”, but seldom sing, “O, Lord send the power just now and baptize every one”? It is the answer to these questions that I believe we should seek to find.
On the other hand, the word anoint and it variations is found 128 times in the Old Testament, yet only 13 times in the New. The majority of times in the New Testament, it is directly referring to Jesus’ anointing as the Christ. It is true that the Scripture does say that those that are saved have received an anointing, but of the few times it is used in reference to believers, its purpose seems to be twofold: it “teaches us” and “is a sign of our belonging to God”. That’s it. Nowhere in the New Testament do we read about “anointed preaching or singing”. Nowhere do we read about any of the Apostles having an anointing beyond that which is common to everyone who is saved; that which marks us as Christians. There is no indication of a “special” anointing upon any individual person, other than Jesus. Nothing even close to its perceived importance in the modern Church is even suggested by the Scripture… that is without returning to the Old Covenant. And therein lies the problem… the error, if you will.
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