Accepting Our Anointing

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. … But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. —1 Corinthians 12:14, 18

Everybody has an anointing. The apostle Paul called anointings “gifts” in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. They are God’s gifts, which He graciously bestows on those who don’t deserve them. The difficulty is, ambition gets into the picture, and some don’t like it if their own anointing does not result in a high profile. Paul compared these gifts, which I am calling anointings, to the parts of the human body.

Some anointings—such as the eye or the head—have a high profile. Some anointings—such as the hands or the feet—have a lower profile. But whatever the function, they must all work together.

Some people have an anointing with no apparent profile at all—like the kidneys or intestines, which, despite their hiddenness, are indispensable. (See 1 Corinthians 12:23ff.) God’s design is that there should be “no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other” (v. 25). Paul draws a conclusion: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (v. 27).

There are those with a high profile, such as apostles, prophets, and teachers; and there are those in the background who have an anointing (not listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10) that the King James Version calls “helps”—a gift to help others (v. 28).

The question is, will we accept our own anointing? Or will we let ambition and personal drive for recognition get in the way?

Excerpted from The Anointing: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (Charisma House, 2003).