Office of tl)e Tfol? Spirit.
By L. W. Munhall, Evangelist.
HE word ' ' unction'' occurs but once in the authorized version—1 John 2:20. It is from the same Greek word that is rendered anointing m the 27th verse of the same chapter—chrisma. anoint usually means " t o
process by which the ripe fruit is made luscious. Enduement gave them knowledge and courage. Unction, gentleness, patience, meekness, goodness—ail the graces of the Spirit—so that, while like Christ in bold- ness to speak the Word with authority they were also like Him—loving, sympa- thetic and of very great compassion. Since Christ received the "heavenly u n c t i o n" and the disciples were not quali- fied for service until they received it, what shall we say of ourselves as co-la- borers with God? or rather what says God's Word? Well I notice: First—That man is incapable of doing anything acceptable unto God, of Himself. See John 6:63; 15:5. Second—That God has nevertheless chosen man as the agent through and by whom he works. See Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:12-13. Third—This anointing is for disciples now. It is for us. See Luke 24:49; Acts 2:1-4; 10:45-46; 11:15; 19:6; John 7:38-29; Joel 2:28-29. Since the apostles and those disciples who waited upon the personal ministry of our Lord and witnessed His mighty works, were not competent for testimony and ser-i vice without the anointing of the Holy Spirit no more are believers in these times. This is the one great, vital lack of the church today.
The word
sme a r ." Here, however, it means " r u b- bing i n . " It is the same as in Luke 4:18. ' ' The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, be- cause He anointed me to preach good tid- ings to the poor, etc r ," and in Acts 4:2'7, 1 ' For of a truth in this city against Thy Holy Servant* Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, e t c . ;" and so in 2 Cor. 1:21: " N ow he that stablisheth us with you in Christ and anointed us, is God, e t c ." (Chrio— to rub.) Jesus said: "Wh en He is come He will guide you into all t r u t h ," and " Y e shall receive power (dunamis) when the Holy Ghost is come upon y o u ." " But tarry ye in the city until ye be clothed with power from on h i g h ." On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit clothed the disciples with power and im- parted unto them knowledge, so that they were qualified to proclaim Jesus and the resurrection accurately and with boldness. What they received at that time was " r u b b ed i n . " To what shall we liken these things by way of contrast? Enduement is like unto ripening fruit. Unction, the mellowing
Tfmpregnable 3\ock* By H. W. Frost.
seen in this, that, formerly they came mostly from without the Church, and, now, frequently they come from within the Church. Moreover, of late, there is this deceit about them which makes them pe- culiarly dangerous in their process and ef- fect; they are so mixed up with truth that it becomes, often, difficult to recognize them as error. Hence, not a few of us behold, and tremble, asking ourselves and others the question, what is to be the end of all these things, and what is to become
' ' We can do nothing against the truth, but for the t r u t h ." (2 Corinthians 13:8.) There are some of us, in these days, who find it difficult not to be anxious as to the result of the many attacks which are be- ing made upon God's holy Word. Such attacks are not a new thing in human ex- perience, and it may be true that they are not more vigorous now than of old. But it is recognized that there is a subtlety f^bout them at this present time, which has seldom before been known. This is chiefly
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