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A basin to wash off the grime of the world and anointing oil to consecrate and make holy the priests for service.
Holy. It's a word we use often, but do we really understand what it means?
The original Hebrew means: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness (Enhanced Strong's Lexicon). And Merriam-Webster's defines holy as devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity. In this case, the One True God.
Priests who served God in the tabernacle cleaned off the dirt of the world with water in a specially made basin and separated themselves from the ways of the world to God's use by a special anointing oil. The oil could not be used for any other purpose. The priests had a distinct role in the community, serving as advocates for the people before God.
Jesus is our ultimate Advocate.
You know what has happened... how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Acts 10:38 NIV
Father God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit in order to bring healing to us. It was His anointing which enabled Him to stand in the gap for us before the Father as our Savior. Along with salvation, He made the way for us to be anointed into the priesthood of Believers. We, too, are called to live separate from the world, by the same power He does.
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.
He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit
in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV
God is with us in the form of the Holy Spirit. His work is to sanctify us. Move us toward an ever increasing holiness. Teaching us to serve God alone, for His use and purpose. We are not to use our lives for our purposes or the world's.
I'm not sure we appreciate what has been done for us. What we are called to do and the great power we have access to in order to grow spiritually.
The primary work of the Believer is to trust in Jesus. Believe in Him to the point of obeying Him in all things. Loving Him and allowing Him to teach us how to love others.
Through the anointing of the Holy Spirit we become new creations with a new purpose, wholly separated from the ways of the world.
Are you living in separateness by the power of the Holy Spirit? are you in the world but not of the world?
Prayerful examination of where we are, through His Word and the Spirit, cleanses us. Washing away the strongholds of sin in our lives. As we grow in Christ, we learn to walk by the Spirit and no longer give into the desires of the flesh.
Holiness is serious business. One which should not be taken lightly.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30 ESV
Spend time in prayer. Ask God to reveal to you the spiritual reality of what He has done for you. Who you are in Him. And what He calls you to do in response.
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