It Is Finished - Part 9

"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." Romans 11:29 ESV

"But the anointing that you received from him abides in you..." 1 John 2:27a ESV

"...the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30b ESV

God does not regret what He has done by grace or what He is doing by grace... His many gifts and many initiations to us.

I was thinking about the anointing oil this morning. It was special unduplicatable oil poured on kings, priests and objects in the holy places.

"Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy." Exodus 40:9 ESV

" 'And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.' And they did according to the word of Moses." Leviticus 10:7 ESV

"He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the LORD." Leviticus 21:12 ESV

The oil speaks of God's Holy Spirit. Once sealed with the Spirit we are considered inside the temple... a part of a holy structure. Just like oil does not sit on the skin and then is gone when washed away. Some gets absorbed into the skin and becomes one with the person.

When we received Christ we became one with Him and what He did. There can be no real and lasting separation. The priests were told not to leave. They could but they were told not to as a picture. We have a work of grace that never leaves us. We are in the temple and the temple is in us... by grace.

The moment the oil touched the man who would be king it sealed the transfer of power (see 1 Samuel 16:13 with David). He was destined to rule. The moment the oil touched the furniture or the priest it or he was made holy. It took shed blood and oil.

At the moment of our salvation... the moment we believed that the death, burial and resurrection was true and for us we were touched and sealed by the Spirit and all kinds of gifts and transfers were made and put on our account. Our destiny was set.

God is going to spend the rest of our lives initiating to us as He sees fit but it will be to open our eyes to what has already happened and based upon what is already finished. The oil is God's finishing touch. We are a finished work also. God loves us just as we are. Our growth and sanctification only changes us into the likeness of what we already have become.