The Key to Your Unlimited, Supernatural Anointing

As we examine the resurrections that are recorded in Elisha’s ministry, there is one more—after Elisha died, a dead man touched his bones.

This dead corpse came back to life as a result of the anointing still contained in the bones of Elisha. This is an intriguing story and one of my favorites in Scripture. Second Kings 13:20-21 tells the story of this happening.

Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

There was a funeral happening. Bands of men were raiding and taking away possessions and bringing havoc into life in Israel. As this funeral was occurring, the people attending the gathering saw these raiders who would surely attack and pillage them. They couldn’t get the funeral done without placing themselves in peril. Therefore, in desperation they opened the tomb of Elisha and put the corpse in it for safe keeping. They probably intended to come back when it was secure and get the corpse in the right grave. The problem was, when the dead corpse touched the decaying bones of Elisha, the dead man came back to life! Wow!

Elisha is in the afterlife. He is nowhere around. His spirit has departed a long time ago. So what allowed the resurrection of the man? There was no faith involved from anyone. Elisha isn’t releasing faith. The man being buried isn’t releasing faith. The people who are burying him are simply getting things done to try to get to safety. What allows this resurrection to occur? It is the substance of the anointing still in the bones of Elisha. The anointing of the Spirit is an essential part of the resurrection power of the Lord. As important as the legal aspect of resurrection is, we also must have the anointing of God.

We see this clearly in Luke 13:12-13. There was a woman bent over in a condition for 18 years. She had no ability to stand straight. When Jesus saw her, He had compassion on her. He then spoke to her and released the anointing.

But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

The word loosed is the Greek word apoluo. It means “to free fully, to pardon, to divorce.” This word has to do with legal activity. Jesus legally set her free. The legal claims the devil had been using to hold her in this condition for 18 years were now revoked and removed. At this stage however, she was still bent over. It was only when Jesus touched her with His hands and imparted the anointing that she straightened up.

If we are to see resurrection life flow into different areas of our life, we must have the anointing of God. This means we should learn how the anointing works. In the occasion with Elisha and the man simply touching his decaying bones, the anointing resident in the bones brought the dead man to life again. One of my definitions for the anointing is the resurrection power of God. When the anointing of the Holy Spirit touches a person, what is dead in them can live again. The anointing has the power to drive away demons, restore diseased tissue, heal emotions, remove hindrances, and so much more. Isaiah 10:27 tells us that the anointing oil will destroy yokes.

It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

Notice that the anointing of the Lord on our lives will remove burdens and destroy yokes. A burden is a pressure or weight that is on our lives. It is something that we worry about. It is something that dominates our thinking. A yoke is a limitation and controlling element. It tells us what we can do and where we can go. A yoke was used to control large animals and deny them freedom. The anointing oil will remove the burden and destroy the yoke! Once legal things are in place, resurrection life and power are demonstrated through the anointing. This is what happened to the woman who was bent. The legal issues were resolved at the word of Jesus and the touch of Jesus then released the anointing. The result of these two working together was freedom and liberty for the woman that she had not had in 18 years.

Elisha had received the mantle of Elijah when he was taken to heaven. You will remember that Elisha had served, fellowshipped and walked with Elijah for an extended time. When it came time for Elijah to be taken to heaven, Elisha asked him for a double portion. He was told that if he saw him taken away his request would be granted. We know this happened. Second Kings 2:10-14 chronicles this story.

So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.

The key to Elisha getting the double portion of the anointing was to see. Walking in the anointing is about revelation. Whatever I see or have revelation concerning will allow me to function in the anointing and resurrection life of Jesus. Anointing accompanies revelation. When we see with our spiritual eyes, it unlocks the anointing of the Lord in us and to us. Elisha saw Elijah go. This allowed him to receive the mantle and walk in it. The result was he carried an anointing of great power. This anointing saturated his entire life and being. The anointing was clearly in the mantle that he picked up. However, his perpetual wearing of the mantle allowed the anointing to saturate his life all the way through to his bones. The result was the bones still carried the substance of the anointing even after his spirit had left his body.

This is quite often a little known fact concerning the anointing. This one reality concerning the anointing changed my life. I use to think mystically about the anointing. However, when I discovered that the anointing was an unseen substance that I could carry, I began to pray for people with much greater effectiveness. No longer was I crying to a God in heaven above. Now I was releasing the greater One who lives in me. This is what Peter meant when the lame man at the Gate Beautiful was healed in Acts 3:6-8. A beggar who had never walked experienced the power of God because of what was in Peter. Peter gave him the substance of the anointing that resided in him.

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.

Peter gave him what he had. It was an impartation of the substance of the anointing. This is why the woman with the issue of blood was healed without Jesus doing anything. The anointing in Jesus’ garment was enough to heal this diseased woman. She understood that the anointing resident on and in Jesus had saturated this garment. Matthew 9:20-21 tells us that the woman didn’t even want an audience with Jesus. She just wanted to touch the garment. The result was her blood issue of 12 years dried up immediately.

And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”

Her faith reached out and attached herself to the anointing that was in Jesus’ garment. She was instantly healed. This is why the handkerchiefs from Paul’s body brought healing and deliverance in Acts 19:11-12.

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

Some believe that these were sweat rags that Paul used to wipe his brow as he labored to make tents. They carried not just the sweat of the man of God, but also the anointing that had saturated his life. The anointing, because it is a substance, though unseen can be transmitted and imparted. When we understand this, we realize the resurrection life of God is living in us. We stop just asking the Lord to manifest Himself and start manifesting Him instead. Greater is He that is in us! He is in us through the anointing of the Lord.

The truth is that we can legally deal with issues and still not see the results we desire. We can go before the Courts of Heaven and get legal things in place. Any resistance against us can be removed. This can all be done correctly and in order and we still do not see resurrection life manifest. The reason is we are not carrying a weight of the anointing that will allow this. There are varying levels of the anointing that can be on a person’s life. We know this because Jesus walked in the anointing without measure according to John 3:34.

For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.

The reason Jesus performed such miracles of power was because He had an unrestricted anointing. This means there are different levels of anointing we can have. If we don’t have a sufficient anointing, we can get legal things in place and not see the works of God manifest. When Jesus loosed the woman, there was sufficient power in His touch to make her straight. Jesus had received from the Lord the Spirit without measure. In other words, there were no limits on the anointing He carried. We also know there are varying levels of the anointing because we are told to ask for more. In Luke 11:13 we are told the Father will give more of the Holy Spirit if we ask Him.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

We are told in Romans 8:23 that we have received only the “firstfruits” of the Holy Spirit. This would mean there is much more of Him that we will not receive in this life. The firstfruits of the Spirit is so glorious, what must the fullness of Him be?