The Holy Anointing Oil

It is essential for us to have a full supply of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God doesn’t want us to live the Christian life in our own strength, but in his strength. We need to be full of the Holy Spirit, especially as we approach the end of the age.

Jesus once told a parable about 10 virgins (Matt. 25). In the New Testament, virgins represent churches (2 Cor. 11:2). These 10 virgins symbolize churches that will be on the earth at the time of Jesus’ return. Half of them will be wise, and half of them will be foolish. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7). Wise people submit to God and his word. Foolish people do not fear God, and therefore they do not submit to his word. It is important for us to recognize that some Christians/churches are wise, and some are foolish.

The main difference between the wise and foolish virgins is that the wise had oil, but the foolish did not. The wise who had oil could enter the marriage supper. The foolish who did not have oil were rejected and could not enter the marriage supper.

Throughout the Bible, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God anointed Jesus so he could do amazing things and redeem us to God (Isa. 61:1). The name Christ or Messiah means Anointed One. Jesus was fully anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. Jesus anoints us today with the Holy Spirit, pouring out this oil upon us.

In the Old Testament, oil was used to anoint people for God’s work. All the things in the Old Testament are symbolic for us today (Heb. 8:5). The things in the Old Testament are shadows or examples that reveal to us the fullness of Christ (Heb. 10:1). Because oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, we can learn important things about the Holy Spirit by looking at the special anointing oil in the Old Testament.

The holy anointing oil of the Old Testament was made of five ingredients that are listed in Exodus 30:22-24. 

The first ingredient for this holy anointing oil was Myrrh. Myrrh is a very bitter substance. The name “myrrh” means “bitter.” Myrrh is like a preservative. In ancient days, myrrh was used to embalm dead bodies and protect them from decay. 

Myrrh in the anointing oil symbolizes that when the Holy Sprit operates in our lives he is going to convict us of sin and lead us to repentance. Our old man will be crucified with Christ, and our sinful flesh will be killed. When we are born again, we are crucified with Christ and our spirit is born. When we are baptized we symbolically bury the old man. When we come out of the water of baptism we are raised up to walk in newness life. 

As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be led to take up our cross. Sometimes God will lead us into hard experiences. As we go through these experiences our flesh is crucified. This is part of the process of sanctification that happens throughout our lives.

Myrrh reminds us that we are to put off the old man and put on the new man.

The second ingredient in the holy anointing oil is Cinnamon. The word cinnamon in Hebrew means to be “erect.” This symbolizes that when the Holy Spirit fills us, we are made strong. We have a strength that comes from God. Therefore we are able to stand. We can stand upright and not be bowed down as slaves. When Satan attacks us, we can stand (Eph. 6:13). 

Standing is important. This is how we will win battles. It’s how the Israelites defeated Egypt at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:13-14).

“You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you” (2 Chron. 20:17).

Cinnamon reminds us that we are called to stand strong for God in this world, and we can only do so by the strength of the Holy Spirit.
The third ingredient in the holy anointing oil is Calamus. The word calamus also means to be “erect” (just like cinnamon). But Calamus has the additional meaning of “to measure something with a rod.” 

The Holy Spirit will lead us to stand on the word of God. The word of God is the rock on which we are to base our lives. When we stand on the word of God, we will not be shaken by other forces. The word of God is also the standard by which all Christianity must be measured. If our religious practices or lifestyle lines up with the word of God, it will be accepted. If it does not measure up to the Bible, it will be rejected. 

Calamus was added to the anointing oil to symbolize that the Holy Spirit will lead us to apply the standard of God’s word to our lives. As we do this faithfully and humbly, we will be able to stand.

The fourth ingredient in the holy anointing oil is Cassia. Cassia means to “bow down.” 

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we will bow down to God. Ps. 95:6 says we should worship, bow down, and kneel before God our maker. Phil. 2:10 says that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow. Rom. 14:11 says that every knee will bow to God.

Cassia reminds us that when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we will bow down before God. We will submit to him. We will lay down our own plans and ambitions and allow him to do with us whatever he wants. He will be the king and lord of our lives. 

In summary, the holy anointing oil was made up of the following ingredients, in the following proportions: 

1/3 (500 shekels) is the Myrrh, which speaks of death to self and the conquest of death.
1/3 (500 shekels) is Cinnamon and Calamus, which speaks of standing strong against the enemy (and also measuring things by the word of God).
1/3 (500 shekels) is Cassia, which speaks of bowing down before God and submitting to him in all things.

All of these ingredients were combined and mixed in with the final ingredient – Olive Oil. Olive oil means “brightness”. 

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be full of light. We are called to be the light of the world. We have within us light that shines out of darkness (2 Cor. 4:6). We have the glory of God in us, and this glory is to be released out from us and transform the world.

In the Old Testament this holy anointing oil was used to anoint all the vessels of ministry, and it was also to anoint people to serve God. This oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit that anoints us today. Today we don’t need oil like this, but we need the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, the anointing oil could not be put on flesh (Ex. 30:32). This teaches us that we are not to take our own plans or ideas and just ask God to bless them. We must do things in God’s way. We need to submit to God’s plans. The fact that this oil could not be put on flesh also symbolizes that Jesus did not come to reform our flesh but to give us a new life in the Spirit. We must be born again by the Spirit to inherit the kingdom of God.

In addition, God did not allow anyone to make substitutes of this oil (Ex. 30:32). This represents that we need the pure Holy Spirit. If we do not have the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, then there is no point in creating substitutes. Sometimes Christians or churches create substitutes for the working of the Holy Spirit. These substitutes often stimulate the soul or the emotions, and they make people believe that they have encountered God. But they are not the Holy Spirit. We need the true working of the Holy Spirit, otherwise we don’t have anything of eternal value.

God wants us to be full of the Holy Spirit so that we can fulfill his plans on the earth. If we are living life in our own strength, according to our own will, we are wasting our lives. We need to live in the power of the Spirit, according to the word of God, and then our lives will have eternal impact. We will not be foolish, but wise, and we will be full of oil when our Lord returns.