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Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.
Psalms 105:15
ONE OF THE MOST COMMON ERRORS found in Christianity today is
that particular persons, usually pastors or evangelists, are
somehow more “anointed” than the average Christian. This
teaching often coincides with a veiled threat in the form of
“touch not the Lord’s anointed” (1 Chronicles 16:22; Psalms
105:15).
The term “anointed” means “authorized or set apart for a
particular work or service” (see Isaiah 61:1). The New Testament
is absolutely clear as to who the anointing rests upon. It is
ALL of Christ’s disciples, those who are His very own, set apart
and commissioned for His service (2 Corinthians 1:21). The New
Testament does not support the notion of a “greater” anointing
based upon the “position” a man holds. Such teaching has its
origin in a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship
between the Old and New Testaments.
Proponents of this error fail to use careful exegesis in
differentiating between the Old Testament call of a prophet,
where the anointing rested on one man (Isaiah 61:1; 1 Samuel
26:9-11; 2 Samuel 22:51; 2 Chronicles 6:42) and the New
Testament call of the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter
2:5-9). Certainly there are diversities of gifts, but the Spirit
(or anointing) remains the same for one and all (1 Corinthians
12:13). Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, and many
others have long terrorized sincere people with the “touch not
mine anointed” nonsense anytime someone dared to question them
or their teaching. But biblically, anyone who has a gift has a
ministry, and anyone who has a ministry has authority and is
anointed. And according to Romans 12:4-6, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11,
and 1 Peter 4:10, all Spirit-filled believers have gifts and
ministries and are free to question the integrity and doctrinal
correctness of anyone.
It is a sad situation in many churches today that the so-called
laity are content to sit on a pew week after week,
unquestioningly assuming that the opinions of their professional
clergymen are the final authority. They find comfort in this
approach because it feels safe. And the preachers are content to
keep it this way because it secures their position in the
church.
How many times have believers been subjected to mishandled
scriptures with an implicit or explicit “touch not God’s
anointed” if any dared to question? This is in contrast to the
biblical admonition that believers should “not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God” (1 John
4:1). Fear is not of God and teaching which incorporates
psychological intimidation is corrupt and deceptive.
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