Holy Oil, Holy People

Holy Oil, Holy People

[Exo 30:22-29 NASB95] [Jas 5:14-15 NASB95]

Church, we are not doing something new. We are doing something ancient and biblical.

We are concluding 21 days of fasting, a season of humbling the flesh, sharpening spiritual sensitivity, and seeking the presence of God. Now, as Scripture often shows, fasting is followed by consecration, and consecration is followed by release into purpose.

In Exodus 30, God gives Moses instructions for a holy anointing oil; not for display, not for emotion, not for imitation, but for setting apart people and places for His presence.

We are not treating oil as magic. We are treating oil as obedient faith, just as the New Testament instructs.

Why does this matter today? Because the church doesn’t need more activity. It needs holy presence. Exodus 30 teaches us that God’s anointing is not man-made, not flesh-driven, and not for imitation. The Holy Spirit is given to consecrate lives, not promote personalities. In the New Testament, the Spirit doesn’t lower the standard. He raises it. Presence comes before power. Consecration comes before commission. We don’t control the Holy Spirit. We make room for Him.

What does this passage teach today’s NT about the anointing? Here are five lessons from this passage about the anointing.

The Anointing Originates With God, Not Man

[Exo 30:22-23 NASB95]

The anointing begins with divine initiative

God defines: The ingredients, The proportions, The purpose

The Spirit is not accessed through technique, but through obedience and surrender.

This guards us from: Emotional manipulation, Manufactured spirituality, Flesh-driven ministry

The anointing always flows from heaven downward, never from the ground upward.

The Anointing Is for Consecration Before Empowerment

[Exo 30:26-29 NASB95]

Everything anointed becomes holy: The tabernacle, The altar, The vessels, The priests

“You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy.”

God anoints what He intends to inhabit.

Pentecostal theology affirms: Power flows best through a set-apart vessel, Usefulness follows holiness, not the other way around

This aligns with the insight noted by David Guzik, “the Spirit is not poured out to glorify flesh, but to glorify God.”

The Anointing Is Never Meant to Enhance the Flesh

[Exo 30:32 NASB95]

This is not about skin. It’s about fallen human nature.

Pentecostal warning: The Spirit does not empower ego; The Spirit does not decorate ambition; The Spirit does not serve self-promotion

The anointing comes after the fast, not to reward discipline, but to mark surrender.

The Anointing Cannot Be Imitated or Manufactured

[Exo 30:32-33 NASB95]

This is a serious prohibition. The work of the Holy Spirit: Cannot be copied; Cannot be produced; Cannot be replaced with emotional substitutes

As G. Campbell Morgan warned, sacred things must never be used for personal gratification.

Pentecostal conviction: we want real oil, not strange fire.

The Anointing Releases Holy Influence

[Exo 30:29 NASB95]

This is not superstition, it is presence theology.

Biblical pattern: God anoints → His presence rests → holiness spreads

This anticipates the New Testament practice [Jas 5:14-15 NASB95]

Oil is: A point of obedience, A release of faith, A sign of yielded trust in God’s work

PRACTICAL APPLICATION (today)

We are praying over oil as an act of consecration

You will take it home to: Anoint your home; Anoint yourself; Anoint your family

Not for superstition; not for control; but as a declaration: “This belongs to the Lord.”

The anointing of the Holy Spirit is not given to enhance our flesh, but to consecrate our lives so God’s presence can rest, remain, and work through us.