OIL OF GLADNESS
Wednesday – June 21, 2017
Greetings and welcome back to The Three Minute Word. God is so good to give us His Word so that we can be all that He designed us to be in His image and likeness. Today is Wednesday, hump day, hence the Bactrian camel picture. A Bactrian camel has two humps on their back and an Arabian camel has one hump on their back. Now I will resume our study from the Bible Book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 1:7-11 (KJV)
7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
I have been defining righteousness as right standing with God however it also refers to being right or doing things right, the way God does those things. The Greeks word translated as righteous in verse eight is different word than in verse nine. The word translated as righteousness in verse eight has the following synonyms; rectitude, uprightness, straight, just attitude, and being devoid of hypocrisy. We sometimes refer to someone as being a straight arrow meaning they are of the highest quality, they are honest and reliable. So, it is like the Father is saying Jesus you are a real straight arrow and that is how you will rule your kingdom.
The word ‘righteousness’ in the ninth verse is a different Greek word and the one most commonly used in a discussion of right standing with God. This form of the word ‘righteousness’ is more closely tied to the ideas of equity, justification, innocence, and holiness. We are in Christ Jesus so any term that the Father might apply to Him is also applied to us. At salvation, we are innocent of all sin and are holy as He is holy, set aside for the Masters use. This has everything to do with being right, doing right, and treating others right (justice).
The Father goes on to declare that because the Son loved righteousness and hated iniquity He (the Father) is anointing Him with the oil of gladness above his fellows. The ‘fellows’ referred to is you and me, we are partakers and partners with Jesus in this Kingdom of God. Now what about this oil of gladness, which certainly sounds like a good thing to have. When the oil of gladness was poured out on Jesus it was poured out on us. Oil is commonly a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Anointing. The Father says, “I have given you the anointing of joy even above those who were your partners”. Apparently, His partners, those who participated in His ministry, did not hate iniquity and love righteousness on the same level as Jesus. What about you and me? Why is it that we can’t seem to see the absolutely horrible nature of sin, unrighteousness?
Jesus said that we were to do what He did and we were to do even greater things. This is a command from the Throne not a holy suggestion of something we might give a try.
John 14:12 (KJV)
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
You may think I am a real broken record on these points but until we get this in us making it ours and do it we are stuck in place. Are we enjoying the place we are stuck in? We can love righteousness and hate iniquity on the same level as Jesus and receive the same anointing of joy (gladness) as Jesus. The word ‘joy’ in the following verse is the same word that was translated gladness in Hebrews 1:9.
Jude 1:24 (KJV)
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Now I want to remind us all of a verse that is more or less common knowledge to Christians and that is Nehemiah 8:10 which ends with the phrase: “the joy of the LORD is your strength”. So, as we look at Jude 1:24 could we say that Jesus is able to keep us from falling and present us to the Father with exceeding great strength? I believe so, yes. When we please the Father, a powerful anointing is poured out upon us empowering us for the work of the Kingdom above our fellow workers. When the Father is filled with joy because we love righteousness and hate iniquity He empowers us for not only the things that Jesus did but the greater things. We are ready for promotion when we bring joy to His heart. We know in the natural, when our children bring joy to our hearts we will jump over the moon for them, well so it is with our Heavenly Father and with Jesus the head of the Church.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
MAILING ADDRESS: 3 Rosswood Green Lane, Unit Two, Oakland, Maine 04963
