Greetings,
Today I am going to begin to write on the topic of authority. Authority is a greatly misunderstood subject in the body of Christ and in the world. When we think of authority we often think of control, but true authority always produces life. Authority brings release and does not seek to control.
When we think of authority we often think of anointing and anointing is part of authority. It is not the main point when it comes to authority, but it is a part of the testimony of authority. If you examine the ingredients of the anointing oil in the Old Testament you will find that there were five ingredients in the oil (Ex. 30:23-25). One ingredient was myrrh. Myrrh was burial oil and I believe that it speaks of the testimony of death and resurrection in Christ. A second ingredient was cinnamon and I believe that cinnamon speaks of intimacy, love, life and joy (Song. 4:13). It is a testimony of intimacy, love, and life found in Christ. A third ingredient was cassia. Cassia was a type of cinnamon that acted as an ex lax and held healing properties. I believe that this is the part of the anointing oil that removes the issues of the past and heals the wounded places of our lives. A fourth ingredient was olive oil and olive oil is significant to the prophetic testimony of the anointing oil. It is a symbol of the prophetic life of God as the one who speaks and life happens. It is what gives the oil its fatness. The final ingredient of the anointing oil was sweet cane. I believe that sweet cane is a testimony to authority. It is a cane and is thus a measuring rod and a testimony of rule. That cane was sweet and thus it testifies of a rule that brings life. Sugar brightens the eyes and gives life energy. Authority is like the sweet cane in the anointing oil. It brings life and release to those who receive its influence. There is an element in the anointing oil that testifies of authority, but authority is more than the anointing oil.
I have heard it said that the anointing breaks the yoke, but a closer look at Scripture reveals that it is the anointing oil and not merely the anointing that carries the power to break the strongholds in the earth. The anointing oil is the fatness or the grease of the anointing. When a piece of meat is placed upon a fire the oil that comes from within the meat becomes the oil that greases the pan.
Isaiah 10:26,27 The LORD of hosts will arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
The anointing oil in this Scripture is connected to the story of Gideon and the 300 (Jdg. 6) and to Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex. 14:15,16). In the story of Gideon it was the testimony of the torches in the clay jars that revealed the authority for victory over the Midianites. In the story of Moses and the Red Sea it was the rod in the hand of Moses that revealed the authority to part the water of the Red Sea. The substance within was the testimony of the external oil of authority. It is not merely the light that comes from the burning lamp that reveals the authority of life. It is the oil that fuels the flame that reveals the authority of life.
The anointing oil speaks of the manifested presence of Jesus. There is an authority of life within the heart of each leader that reveals the manifested presence of Jesus. It is a testimony of sweet cane. It is an ingredient with a standard of life that does not change, but it is sweet and it brings life to those who receive it. The measure that a leader has is the amount of life that comes from within them. No one has the same measure, but each measure is a measure of life.
Anointing is not the true testimony of authority. Responsibility is! Authority makes you responsible, but it does not equate to your value. Each and every one has the same value. The value of every human soul is that of a one and only. God gave His only begotten Son for each and every human being; this is what gives each and every human soul their value. Authority is a testimony of responsibity, not value. It is the measure of responsibility given to each one by God and it is made known by the anointing of Christ within them. Anointing doesn’t equal authority, but responsible people will be anointed to carry out their God-given responsibilities. Each of us must be faithful with the measure that has been given to us by God. The measure of responsibility given to each one is a measurement of life they can give to others. Authority is meant to bring life to others.
A New Covenant testimony of authority is the power of Christ within us (Col. 1:27). It is not the power of Christ to us that makes us free, but the testimony of Christ within. A New Covenant reality is the testimony of light shining ‘out of darkness’ and not merely to darkness. The testimony of authority is within the life of each believer. The testimony is an authority of life and it brings a release of life to the world.
2 Corinthians 4:5-7 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
