Is olive oil used for sanctification of the sick? Does olive oil represent God's Holy Spirit? Do you justify what you believe by rote or by proof from God's Word? The word rote means: routine, repetition, something being carried out mechanically by habit! Let's begin answering these questions in the Book of Samuel where Saul and David are being anointed with oil for kingship. "Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his (Saul) head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?" (I Sam. 10:1). Later in verses 6 and 7, "And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee-, for God is with thee." Notice, Saul did not receive the God's Holy Spirit the moment the oil was poured upon his head. Reading of David's anointing for king, the Holy Spirit was given that day. "And he sent, and brought him (David) in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah" (I Sam. 16:12 -13).

In the parable of the ten virgins, the five foolish virgins were told to go and buy oil. The Church of God have always taught that the oil to be purchased represents the Holy Spirit. Yet, the example we read in God's Word clearly shows that the Holy Spirit cannot be purchased with money. Let's refresh our memory! "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit- (For as yet it was fallen upon none of them- only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee" (Acts 8:14-22). The five wise virgins understood what they meant when they told the five foolish virgins, "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding" (Prov. 23:23). The truth is a treasure to be gained at any cost, and it should never to be relinquished whatever the temptation.

Through searching and exegesis of scripture, the understanding and meaning of the words oil, anoint and anointed become clearer. The word oil is found 205 times in the Bible. The word anoint 39 times and the word anointed 108 times. Olive oil is not found to represent God's Holy Spirit in any of these verses. There are seven Strong's Concordance numbers for anoint or anointed in the Old Testament (5480, 4886, 1101, 4473, 4899, 3332 and 3323). The New Testament shows three Strong's numbers for anoint or anointed. The first one is number 218, which means: rub or smear. We find three scriptural examples of this word in the New Testament. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face" (Matt 6:17). "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair- and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment" (John 12:3). And in James 5 -14. In the original writings of James 5:14, "is infirm any among you?" (KJV reads: "Is any sick among you?) Let him summon the elders of the Church and let them pray over him having anointed (218) him with oil in the name of the Lord." Those who are infirm are to have oil rubbed on them. Strong's number for infirm is (770; 732; 772) meaning: weak or feeble, without strength, powerless, unable to wield and hold sway over others, specially of debility in health or diseased or frail.

James 5:14 is talking about those who need oil poured on their wounds (6482); stripes (2250); and bruises (4347). This is what the word infirm means. There are examples in God's Word that illustrates this. One in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. "From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no sound-ness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment" (Isa. 1: 6). And in the New Testament where the parable of the good Samaritan is found. "And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him" (Luke 10:34). Both of these examples indicates that oil was used on someone that has been beaten, or stricken. Another example is Christ who had oil poured on Him before He was beaten-before He had stripes laid on Him. "Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head, as He sat at meat. But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon Me. For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her" (Matt. 26:6-13). Mary had understood Christ's repeated announcement of His death and resurrection. Oil was poured on Christ's head before He was beaten with many stripes for infirmities and sicknesses. "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses" (Matt. 8:17).

The second number for anoint or anointed in the New Testament is 5548, meaning: consecrating Christ to Messiahship and furnishing Him with necessary power for its administration. "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Luke 4:16-18). The third number is 2025, meaning: to anoint anything with anything.

We need to understand that different Strong's Concordance numbers apply to different persons or things. When anointing the afflicted, we are not anointing them to something Holy. Sick people or infirm are not set apart for Holy use nor are they consecrated for Holy use. Holy anointing oil is reserved for Holy use only! "And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office" (Exo. 30:25-30). Nothing in the instruction to Moses indicates that the sick and infirm are to be set apart as holy. Let's continue and read what it does say. "Thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make (mock or mimic) any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people" (Exo. 30:31-33).

We read earlier that King David was anointed with oil. What kind of oil was used? "Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David my servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him" (Psa. 89:19-20). This anointing oil was the same anointing oil that was used to anoint Aaron and his sons in Exodus 30:30.

Many believe that olive oil pictures God's Holy Spirit. God's Word clearly shows that the Holy Spirit is pictured as water. Christ was baptized with water. He was never anointed with oil for the receiving of the Holy Spirit. "That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him" (Acts 10:37-38).

The Old Testament and the New Testament both say we have forgotten the fountain of living waters. "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters" (Jer. 17:13). "For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13). Notice what the New Testament says, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" (John 7:37-39). When asked by the woman at the well, "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water" (John 4: 1 0). The book of Revelation tells us that Christ the Lamb will lead us to the living waters. "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Rev. 7:17).

I asked at the beginning of this article: 1. Is olive oil used for the sancti-fication of the sick? Answer: NO, the infirm are not set apart for Holy use. 2. Does olive oil represent God's Holy Spirit? NO, water pictures God's Holy Spirit. "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" (John 7:37-39). 3. Do you justify what you believe by rote or by proof from God's written Word?