What is true anointing?

Recently, I had the privilege of being in two very different places, in two very different settings, and yet both left a deep impression on me.

The first was a church in the United States.

It was a wonderful church, but the worship was very different from what I have often experienced in Pentecostal and charismatic settings. They sang traditional hymns and songs. There was no shouting or screaming. There were no tongues or prophetic utterances. There was very little outward expression. People were not necessarily lifting their hands or displaying intense emotion.

And yet, as I got to know the people, I discovered something that deeply challenged me.

Almost every family in that church was involved in missions. Some had sent missionaries from their own families. Others were faithfully supporting missionaries around the world. Their commitment to the Great Commission was not simply something they talked about from the pulpit. It was woven into the way they lived.

Then I had another experience in Egypt.

I was with a group of medical professionals who love the Lord. Again, the worship was simple. They sang from their hearts. There was no shouting or screaming. There was no dramatic outward expression. There was not even much lifting of hands.

But as I listened to them and learned about their lives, I saw something profoundly moving.

They had a deep desire to go out and be witnesses for Jesus. They were willing to serve people in difficult places and, if necessary, even to face death for the sake of Christ.

And as I came away from these two experiences, a question kept rising in my mind:

What is true anointing?

What have we come to associate with anointing?

For many of us in Pentecostal and charismatic circles, the word anointing immediately brings certain things to mind.

We think of powerful worship.
We think of singing with great intensity.
We think of tongues and prophecy.
We think of raised hands, tears, shouting and a tangible sense of God's presence.

And I want to be very clear: these things can be genuine expressions of the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing wrong with vibrant worship.

There is nothing wrong with lifting our hands.

There is nothing wrong with speaking in tongues or prophesying when these gifts are exercised biblically.

There is nothing wrong with being expressive and passionate in the presence of God.

Paul himself tells us not to forbid speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:39), and Scripture gives us many examples of people expressing their worship physically and emotionally.

So this is not an argument against charismatic worship.

Both are important.

The question is not whether we should have passionate worship or quiet worship.

The question is whether we have assumed that the outward manifestation itself is the evidence of the anointing.

The anointing is more than a moment

Perhaps we need to ask a deeper question:

What does the Holy Spirit produce in a person's life?

The Holy Spirit certainly touches us in moments of worship. There are times when God's presence overwhelms us, when we weep, rejoice, lift our hands, sing with abandon, or experience spiritual gifts.

But the work of the Holy Spirit does not end when the song ends.

Jesus said: “By their fruit you will recognize them.” — Matthew 7:16

Paul describes that fruit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” — Galatians 5:22–23

Notice that Paul does not say that the evidence of the Spirit is merely how intensely we worship.

He points us toward fruit.

The Holy Spirit changes us.

He makes us more like Christ.

He produces love where there was selfishness.

He produces patience where there was irritation.

He produces gentleness where there was harshness.

He produces faithfulness when nobody is watching.

He produces courage when obedience becomes costly.

And He produces a heart that longs for what God longs for.

What happens when the worship is over?

Perhaps this is one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves:

What happens when the worship is over?

It is possible to have a powerful worship experience and remain unchanged.

We can cry during a worship song and still fail to forgive.

We can raise our hands in church and refuse to serve someone who needs us.

We can speak in tongues and yet speak harshly to the people closest to us.

We can experience a powerful moment in God's presence and yet have little desire to take the Gospel beyond the walls of the church.

None of this means that the worship experience was necessarily false.

But it does mean that an experience is not the same thing as transformation.

The Holy Spirit does not simply want to give us moments in His presence.

He wants to transform our lives into the likeness of Christ.

The church in America taught me something

The church I visited in the United States taught me something I will not easily forget.

There was nothing spectacular about their worship by the standards I was accustomed to. But there was something spectacular about their lives. Family after family was investing in the Kingdom. They were sending missionaries. They were supporting missionaries. They were giving their resources, their time and, in some cases, their own children to the work of the Gospel. Perhaps there was less visible expression in the sanctuary, but there was a powerful expression of faith outside it.

Their worship had become obedience.

And perhaps that is one of the greatest forms of worship there is.

The medical professionals in Egypt taught me something else

Then, in Egypt, I encountered another expression of the same truth. These medical professionals sang simply and sincerely. There was no need for dramatic outward expression. But when I heard their hearts, I discovered something profound. They wanted to go. They wanted to be witnesses. They wanted to serve Christ among people who needed Him. And they understood that following Jesus could come at a cost. For some, that cost could even be their lives. And I found myself thinking:

Isn't that anointing too?

A person may never preach to thousands. They may never prophesy publicly. They may never sing in a way that moves an entire congregation. But if the Holy Spirit has given them such a love for Christ that they are willing to leave comfort, security and even safety to make Him known, surely we must recognize the work of the Spirit in that life.

The anointing produces mission

When Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, He said: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.” — Acts 1:8

That is significant.

The Spirit gives power for witness.

The disciples were not filled with the Spirit merely so they could have a powerful experience in the upper room. They were filled so that they could go. Go to Jerusalem. Go to Judea. Go to Samaria. Go to the ends of the earth.

The anointing sends us. The anointing empowers us to witness. The anointing gives us courage. The anointing gives us compassion for people who do not yet know Christ. The anointing moves us beyond ourselves.

The anointing and the gifts

At the same time, we must be careful not to swing to the other extreme.

We should not say that because some people have misunderstood spiritual gifts, therefore spiritual gifts are unimportant.

They are important.

Paul speaks clearly about tongues, prophecy, healing and other spiritual gifts. The church needs the gifts of the Spirit. We need prophetic encouragement. We need spiritual discernment. We need the gifts that God has given to His people.

But Paul also gives us a remarkable warning.

In 1 Corinthians 13, between his teaching on spiritual gifts, he says that even if we speak in the tongues of men and angels, have prophetic powers, understand mysteries and possess great faith—but do not have love—we are nothing.

That should make us stop and think.

We can have gifts without love. We can have manifestations without maturity. We can have spiritual experiences without spiritual transformation.

The gifts are important, but the fruit is indispensable.

So, who is truly anointed?

Perhaps the answer is:

The truly anointed person is not necessarily the loudest person in the room, nor the quietest.

It is not necessarily the person who raises their hands, nor the person who keeps them down. It is not necessarily the person who speaks in tongues, nor the person who worships through traditional hymns.

The truly anointed person is the one whose life is increasingly surrendered to the Holy Spirit.

A person who loves what Jesus loves. 

A person who obeys when obedience is costly.

A person who forgives. 

A person who serves. 

A person who gives. 

A person who goes.

A person who witnesses.

A person who bears fruit.

A person who is willing to sacrifice for the sake of Christ.

And sometimes, that anointing will be expressed with tremendous passion and outward emotion.

At other times, it may be expressed through quiet faithfulness.

Both can be genuine.

The issue is not the volume of the worship. The issue is the depth of the surrender.

A Different Measure of Anointing

Perhaps we should stop asking only:

“How powerful was the worship?”

And begin asking:

“What did the worship produce?”

Did it produce love?

Did it produce holiness?

Did it produce compassion?

Did it produce obedience?

Did it produce generosity?

Did it produce courage?

Did it produce a burden for the lost?

Did it produce a willingness to serve?

Did it produce a willingness to go?

Did it make us more like Jesus?

Because ultimately, the Holy Spirit's purpose is not simply to give us an unforgettable experience of God's presence.

He is forming Christ in us.

The Real Test

Perhaps the real test of anointed worship is not what happens while we are singing.

It is what happens after the last song has ended.

When we walk out of the church, do we carry Jesus with us?

When we meet someone in need, do we see them as Christ sees them?

When God asks us to go, are we willing?

When obedience costs us something, do we still say yes?

When nobody applauds, do we continue serving?

When following Jesus becomes dangerous, do we remain faithful?

That is where the reality of our worship is revealed.

The anointing is not merely what happens in the presence of God. It is what the presence of God does to us—and through us.

Reflection

Perhaps today we should ask ourselves:

Lord, am I seeking the experience of Your presence, or am I surrendering my life to Your presence? Am I seeking the gifts, or am I allowing Your Spirit to produce Your fruit in me? Am I satisfied with worshipping You inside the church, or am I willing to carry You outside its walls? And when You say, “Whom shall I send?”—will I say, “Here am I. Send me”?

May we never despise vibrant worship. May we never despise quiet worship. May we never limit the Holy Spirit to one cultural expression.

But may we seek something deeper:

A life so surrendered to the Holy Spirit that our worship becomes obedience, our gifts become service, our faith becomes witness, and our love becomes sacrifice.

That, perhaps, is true anointing.