Anointing With Oil
Among the questionable practices we find in the Church today is the use of vegetable or olive oil for the ordination of those appointed to positions of authority and in conjunction with prayer for the healing of sickness and infirmity. The justification for this practice is not supported if we believe in biblical precedence. The use of oil originates in the Old Testament ritual of anointing the Priests and Kings in service to God, and second, as a medicinal remedy commonly used at the time. I would suggest that neither has spiritual relevance, scriptural support, or medical precedent, for today. Further, this form of religious ritual doesn't impart spiritual authority or power, to the recipient, because any precedence in the past has been fulfilled in Christ. Some might believe that oil has therapeutic healing properties, albeit without the science, but this is not the motive behind its use in the Church today and not the point of this commentary.
Vegetable oil has little or no effect as a healing balm and no spiritual authority. The idea appears to have more in common with symbolism and projection, and many evangelical Churches still view anointing as a direct impartation of the Holy Spirit. This raises questions about New Testament orthodoxy and begs the question of religious legalism being alive and well in the Church today. In defence, some have conveyed that the practice is not used all the time, and it aids in the faith of believers, so why make an issue about it? This is a low-resolution response and raises more questions than answers, but if power can indeed be imparted through drops of oil on the forehead, and transmit the spiritual presence of the Holy Spirit, why isn’t it used all the time? I believe it’s lazy Christianity, to encourage, mislead, and embed rituals that have no biblical precedence, just because it’s said to aid in the faith of those who should spend more time appropriating the doctrine of Christ.
The type of oil used for any form of anointing today is generally the same. It could be any available olive or vegetable oil because the content of the oil appears irrelevant. However, the oil used in Jewish culture had specific uses, which included honouring guests. In the gospel of Luke when Jesus was dining at a Pharisee's house, he stated that he hadn’t been offered oil when entering the house as a guest. This was to expose a lack of love and respect shown to him upon arrival. This oil was not related to healing or commissioning, it existed as a cultural practice in the same way we might do things as cultural practice today. It was a common courtesy associated with the idea that if the feet are clean the whole person is clean also.
In the Old Testament, two types of oil are used, which gave rise to this debate. First is the “sacred Anointing oil”, as found in Exodus 30: 23-33. Second, is an oil used for healing referred to by Jeremiah and other writers. The first was for the consecration of Priests and Kings, and the other as a medicinal balm, with no spiritual connotations. Medicinal oil was used in the same way as we might use a medication cream today. Each of these two oils had a specific purpose, and each was made with exacting ingredients, that were specifically stated and clearly understood.
Exodus 30:23-33 22 The LORD spoke to Moses: 23 Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred fifty, and two hundred fifty of aromatic cane, 24 and five hundred of cassia—measured by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil; 25 and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand; 29 you shall consecrate them, so that they may be most holy; whatever touches them will become holy. 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, in order that they may serve me as priests. 31 You shall say to the Israelites, “This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be used in any ordinary anointing of the body, and you shall make no other like it in composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an unqualified person shall be cut off from the people.”
The sacred oil in these verses was intended to set apart, to make things “holy unto the Lord”, including all the items in the sanctuary, along with Aaron and his Sons, who were set apart to serve as Priests. Consequentially it excluded those who were not regarded as holy. Under the OT law, spiritual authority was physical, symbolized, and imbued in the oil. When this oil was used, the objects anointed became holy and were never touched by anyone other than the serving priest of that year. Spiritual authority was demonstrated in setting apart the High Priest himself. Contravening the law also came with its consequences and in vs32-33 we find the penalty for misusing or copying the “holy anointing oil”. We might ask, why was oil used for consecration, and where did this practice originate? Unfortunately, the origins are somewhat vague and for whatever, reason God decided to demonstrate his authority and presence in this manner, but this doesn’t justify the context in which we use it today. The spiritual language behind the practice was also prophetic, as the oil was a “type” that pointed to a coming Priesthood that set apart believers through baptism (made righteous) in the Holy Spirit. In so many areas, we embrace the new but our propensity for physical signs, moves us towards the legalism and the ritualism of the past, in the same way as early Christians did with dietary and Sabbath laws.
The OT legal practice of anointing Kings and Priests was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Believing in and receiving Christ, anointed believers in a holy priesthood. It’s clear that the use of oil to set apart, even as a symbolic act is not suggested, supported, or encouraged as an ongoing ritual under the New Covenant. The authority of a High Priest or King, was replaced by Christ as the High Priest and King. As an aside the “sacred anointing oil” was only ever used to consecrate the Levite Priests, items in the Tabernacle, and Kings. However, while the introduction of Kings was tolerated, God regarded the demand for a King as idolatrous, and spiritually demonstrated a “turning away” from himself as Lord.
Today the use of oil in commissioning, or setting apart leaders for service, is encouraging a misconstrued false doctrine about the priesthood and creates the idea that a Priest’s authority remains today in the form of those who have authority in Churches. Put simply the anointing of the Holy Spirit replaced any physical representation of it, and this by faith alone. Its use today is inconsistent with the New Testament covenant of a “Priesthood of all believers”, and its composition is nothing like the oil of Exodus 30. The practice of melding this cacophony of OT legalism and NT grace is not Christianity, but serving the religious traditions of Greco/Roman paganism.
In all New Testament passages where “anointing oil” is mentioned, its use is in the context of a healing balm. Healing the sick with anointing oil has nothing to do with the original purpose of the “sacred anointing oil” as found in Exodus 30:30.
