Cleansed, Empowered and Anointed to Live
By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam
(This message is a
typology taken from the Old Testament ceremonial cleansing rites of a leper who
had been healed of leprosy. Leprosy symbolises sin. Like sin, it brings death.
God instituted that the man who had been healed of leprosy go through cleansing
rites. The typology is drawn from these cleansing rites to show us that God’s
plan for us goes beyond having our sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus. This
message will show us how and what we should do to live victoriously in this
world after we have been cleansed and forgiven of our sins. The study is taken
from Leviticus 14:10-18).
During the Old Testament times, a man who had been healed
from leprosy had to go through ceremonial cleansing rites on the eighth day
after the healing.
“And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without
blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an
ephah of fine flour mixed wit h oil as a grain offering and one log of oil.
Then the priest who made him clean shall present the man who is to be made
clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of
meeting. And the priest shall take one male lamb and offer it as a trespass
offering, and the log of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.
Then he shall kill the lamb in the place where he kills the sin offering and
the burnt offering in a holy place; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so
is the trespass offering. It is most holy. The priest shall take some of the
blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the
right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on
the big toe of his right foot. And the priest shall take some of the log of oil
that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger
seven times before the LORD. And the rest of the oil in his hand the priest
shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the
thumb of his right hand, and on the blood of the trespass offering. The rest of
the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to
be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD”
Leviticus14: 10-18.
It is significant to note that the applications of the oil
and the blood are to the same parts of the body. This signifies where there the
blood has been applied, we can expect the anointing. This illustrates to us
that we can receive the Holy Spirit when we are cleansed by the blood. The
baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to all who are forgiven of their sins and
cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way for a person to
receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the anointing.
The prophet Ezekiel in Ezek 36:26, 27 describes our hearts
as hearts of stone, hardened by sin: “I will give you a new hearts and put a
new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and
give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to
walk in My statues, and you will keep My judgments and do them. “We were
sinners with hearts of stone. We did not have the right spirit within us. We
did not have hearts that were tender towards God. Sin has made us hard-hearted.
But when we are cleansed and forgiven, we become brand new creations. We now
have the Holy Spirit within us and hearts of flesh. There is now a new life
within us – the life of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit in us that gives us the
right to live not our lives but His.
That is the reason why the apostle Paul has to say in Gal 2-20, “I have
been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
When we are cleansed and forgiven, a new life begins. Our
live should then be lived not in our own strength but in the power of the Holy
Spirit. Our responsibility then, is to live the new life by allowing the Holy
Spirit to help us. We cannot live our Christian life according to our own strength
and power. If we do so, then Jesus has died in vain. We do not need a Saviour
if we can fulfill the law and thereby enter the
- The tip of the
Right Ear (vv. 14, 17)
The blood as well as the oil was applied to the tip of the
ear. Why? Because when we become children of God, He wants us to know that we
can not only hear His voice but also to discern the voice of the enemy. Ears
that have blood applied to them help us to recognise God’s voice. The Lord
Jesus says: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John
King David in Psalms 55:2, 3 speaks of another voice – the
voice of the enemy. “Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint,
and moan noisily, because the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of
the wicked; for they bring down trouble upon me, and in wrath they hate me.”
Satan speaks to destroy what God desires to build. The voice of the devil
brings fear, destruction, doubts, unbelief, and mistrust to weaken God’s work.
However, God gives us the assurance of His help when our life has been cleansed
and anointed: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue
which raises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of
the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me” (Isa 54:17). God
allows us to hear voices but He also helps us discern them and gives us the
power and the authority to rebuke the voices of the enemy.
- The Thumb of the
Right Hand (vv. 14, 17)
The thumb represents our hands. The anointing of the thumb
means that after we have been cleansed and forgiven, we are called to build the
church. Every kind of ministry is for the building up of the church. When our
hands have been washed and anointed, we do not build with hay, wood or straw
but gold, silver and precious stones. Hands that have not been anointed build
with hay, wood and straw. The apostle Paul in 1 Cor 3:12 talks about the
minerals we use to build: “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear;
for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire
will test each ones work, of what sort it is.
The works of believers whose hands have been anointed will
endured and strengthen by the church. King David himself also acknowledged that
he needed the Lord’s anointing to establish the works of his hands: “And let
the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our
hands.”
- The Big Toe of the
Right Foot (vv. 14, 17)
The anointing of the big toe of the right foot symbolizes
our walk, that is, our relationship with God and our lifestyle. We should walk,
then, not according to our own ways but the ways of God. The apostle John
exhorts us in 1 John 1:7 to walk rightly before God: “But if we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanse us from all sin. “Our walk should not be
determined by our own power and wisdom but by the power of the Holy Spirit
guides and enables us daily as we yield ourselves to Him. After the oil was
applied to the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big
toe of the right foot, the remaining portion was poured into the palm of the
priest’ left hand and then sprinkled seven times before the Lord, using the
right finger.
- The Sprinkling of
the Oil (vv. 15, 16)
The oil was sprinkled seven times before the Lord. The
number “seven” has always been used to symbolize God’s number of completeness
or perfection. This act signifies that we are anointed completely. The
anointing is to live victoriously as God’s children but it does not stop here.
- Repetition of
Anointing (v. 17)
The rest of the oil was once again applied to the tip of the
right ear, the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot. God
does not repeat Himself just for repetition sake. The anointing has double
blessings. We not only recognize God’s voice but also discern to voice of
Satan. We not only can do the Lord’s work in us so that we can be like Him. We
not only can walk with God but God Himself also walks with us. The Bible says:
I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5) and “And lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20b).
- The Remaining Oil (v.
18)
Finally, the priest puts the remaining oil in his hand on
the head of the man who is cleansed. The oil is now from head to toe by this
act. This typifies the baptism of the Holy Spirit. For those of us who have
been cleansed, forgiven and anointed, we need to seek the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. It would empower us to serve and witness for Him boldly. The baptism of
the Holy Spirit is evidenced by the speaking in tongues: “And these signs will
accompany those who believe: they will drive out demons; they will speak in new
tongues” Mark
I have used the ceremonial cleansing and anointing as a type to learn how one can become a Christian, receive the Spirit of Christ and be baptized by the Holy Spirit to lives victorious and successful life. May you be encouraged to seek forgiveness from Jesus through His blood and be opened to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Today, you can receive this gift of salvation and the Holy Spirit. Today, your life can change for the better.
You can experience victory and success.
Issue 35, September – October 1995