Anointing oil had an essential and sacred function in the tabernacle.  First of all, God gave Moses a very specific recipe for making the anointing oil. Myrrh, cinnamon, cane, cassia, and olive oil were the ingredients. God designated the amounts of those spices and declared that this oil was never to be used for anything other than marking the tabernacle, all of its furnishings, and the priests as being consecrated to God and set apart for his purposes. If anyone used the oil for any other purposes or put it on any person who was not a priest, he was to be cut off from the people (Ex.30:22-33).

Every item or priest that was anointed by this sacred oil was consecrated and made holy.  After that, they were never to be used for ordinary purposes again but only in service to God. Most scholars believe that the anointing oil represented the Holy Spirit whose anointing now enables us to serve the living God. The implications of that are significant.

1. God gives the anointing, the Holy Spirit, only to priests.  Therefore, you are a priest if you have the Spirit of Christ in you.

2. Priests served in the presence of God, so we serve in the presence of God.  That is why we are told, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17).  Whether we are praying, worshiping, washing dishes, or mowing the lawn, we are in the presence of God because his presence is within us.  It is the anointing. Because of that, whatever we do is to be done with Jesus in mind and done as an offering to him.

The anointing consecrates us.  It sets us apart for service unto Him and we are never to be used for ordinary purposes again. That means that you are sacred.  You have the seal of the Holy Spirit on you.  You are marked for God’s purposes and his purposes are extraordinary. Everything you do as an anointed believer is significant because it is sacred.

I understand that a lot of what we do in life doesn’t feel sacred.  Cleaning house, paying the bills, and changing diapers just don’t feel spiritual. But you are a priest all the time. The Holy Spirit is in you every moment.  Even the everyday functions of life are sacred simply because you are doing them in the presence of God. Cleaning burnt fat off of the Altar of Burnt Offering and scrubbing the bowls that had the dried blood of bulls and goats probably didn’t seem sacred.  It was dirty, stinky work.  But because it contributed to the glory of God and because it was done by an anointed priest it was holy.  Everything we do as believers should contribute to the glory of God because we should do it all with excellence “as unto the Lord.”  As Spirit-filled believers, every part of our lives should point to Jesus and, therefore, has a holy significance.

3. The anointing carries the enabling power of God for the things you are called to do. Kings received it and priests received it.  It represented the Spirit of God and, therefore, declared that God’s Spirit would enable these men to fulfill their office with wisdom, character, and power. His anointing on us declares the same thing. We should never feel as if the ministry that God has set before us, whether church, business or family, is beyond our reach.  You are anointed.

When Peter calls us a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) he is declaring that we are both kings and priests.  John says that God has made us kings and priests (Rev.1:6). You are anointed to lead, to rule, to worship, and to serve. You are anointed to represent God before men. You are set apart for service unto God and for extraordinary purposes.

Keep that truth in your heart today when the accuser of the brethren whispers how insignificant and incompetent you are or when you begin to feel that your life is ordinary and meaningless.  Remember the anointing.  Look for the sacred. Ask for a revelation of how the smallest things have priestly significance in the kingdom of God. Understand who you are – God’s king and priest on the earth and his anointing is for you and no other.