Yesterday, as I was listening to a Sunday School lesson from 1 Samuel 24 where David stated, “I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed,” and then a sermon from Numbers 21 where the pastor tied the punishment Israel was facing to blaspheming the Lord and blaspheming the Lord’s anointed, I found myself left with a question. Who, today, is considered “The Lord’s anointed?” In the Old Testament, it was clear and easy to understand. The Holy Spirit was upon certain people at certain times and those people are identified as the Lord’s anointed. As Jesus walked the earth and ministered to people, He was (and still is) clearly the Lord’s anointed, as He, Himself, is the Lord. But, what about moving forward? Who qualifies?
It seems to me that it is a question worth answering. We’ve all read about various shepherds who have fallen from grace who might not have had they been questioned. Likewise, many of us have heard of instances where pastors cry out, “How dare you question/touch/blaspheme the Lord’s anointed,” in a way that is nothing more than a blatant abuse of authority, and certainly not at all what David was getting at in the original passage, given that he promptly questioned Saul’s motives immediately after refusing to kill him when he had the chance (which, coincidentally, is what he was actually referring to when he refused to “stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed”).
So, again, Who qualifies? Who counts as “The Lord’s anointed” in the context of the New Testament church. Just Pastors? Perhaps the elders or deacons? Only people who are ordained? Who qualifies? In order to discern the truth, let us turn to 1 John for guidance.
In this book, John is writing to either a church or several churches who have been facing heretical teachings. In refuting the arguments of the heretics, John encourages the faithful in the church(es) referring to them twice as having “an anointing from the Holy One” (1 John 2:20, 27). In the first use, John reminds them of the false teachings they have received and reminds them that they have an anointing from God that allows them to distinguish the truth from lies; however, in the second usage, John teaches even more specifically that their anointing teaches them. In short, John is teaching that they as Believers are the anointed of the Lord because they have the Holy Spirit in them. Again, this letter is written to multiple believers, not just a few of them who are leaders. In fact, it is possible that the letter was intended for several churches and not just one. Furthermore, the fact that God allowed the letter to become part of the canon indicates that Believers today can infer this notion of anointing equating to all Believers as accurate.
This concept that all Believers are the Anointed of the Lord is echoed by Peter. It seems to coincide with the notion that all Believers are a Royal Priesthood with a purpose, as the People of God who have received His mercy, to set an example for those who do not believe (1 Peter 2:9-12). Here again, the context of the verses indicates that those belonging to the group referred to as Chosen People and Royal Priesthood indicates all Believers. So, it seems that John and Peter agree that the Lord’s Anointed points to all Believers.
Paul points toward this same notion as he writes to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul is building an argument for the Believers there who are struggling with obedience as they are dividing themselves in allegiance between two teachers. As he writes, Paul first refers to Believers as “God’s building” (v. 9) then as God’s temple (vv. 16, 17). It is in verse 16 where Paul identifies them as the Temple in saying, “the Spirit of God dwells in you.” As he equates the two, Paul’s notion that Believers are set apart as the temple due to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit lines up with Peter’s notion of Priesthood, and John’s notion of “anointing.”
In other words, the leaders of the New Testament church had a clear understanding that the Anointed of the Lord are All Believers, God’s Church. In fact, the warnings given in the New Testament regarding damaging the Lord’s Anointed target the responsibility of those of us who are pastors, teachers and church leaders to lead their flocks rightly that we might not be destroyed (1 Corinthians 3:17) or counted among the liars who bring false teaching (1 John 3:22).
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