What Is the Use of Anointing Oil in the New Testament Church?
1) Direct answer
Anointing oil in the New Testament Church is used as a simple, God-given ordinance for the sick. It is a sign of consecration, pointing to the Holy Spirit, while the healing itself comes through faith in the Name of the Lord Jesus and the prayer of faith.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The Bible says, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (James 5:14–15).
- When the disciples were sent out, “they anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them” (Mark 6:13).
- The real anointing is the Spirit: “You have an unction from the Holy One” (1 John 2:20) and “the anointing…abides in you” (1 John 2:27). Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me” (Luke 4:18).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Now notice, the oil itself has no healing virtue. The Scripture puts the emphasis here: “the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.” The oil is a token of obedience and a sign that this person is set apart to God for His intervention.
- You see, God uses simple tokens—water in baptism, bread and cup in communion, oil in prayer for the sick—to point to the unseen reality, which is the Holy Spirit working through the Word.
- James directs the sick to call for the elders. They anoint in the Name of the Lord, pray the prayer of faith, and the Lord performs what He promised. That keeps the glory with God, not with the ritual.
- This does not make oil a charm. Without faith and the Name of the Lord, oil is just oil. Nor should we throw it away as “just a custom,” because the command is given to the Church in the Epistle.
- For ordaining workers, the New Testament shows laying on of hands (Acts 13:3; 1 Timothy 4:14). For healing the sick, it shows anointing with oil and prayer. We keep each ordinance in its place.
4) Short reinforcing statement
Use it the Bible way: the sick call, the elders come, anoint with oil in the Name of the Lord Jesus, confess faults, pray the prayer of faith, and expect the Lord to raise them up. The oil is the sign; the Holy Spirit is the Anointer; the Word is the ground of our confidence.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Church Ages, part 2: The Patmos Vision
60-1204E §80
Now, look. The candle would soon burn up; it would go out. There would be no more to it. In a few hours it would be burnt down. But a lampstand... A lampstand's like this. Here let's get a Scripture here. Let's get Zechariah 4:1, then we can maybe get from Zechariah there what we want. Zechariah 4:1, and I believe then maybe in this we'll be able to pull together that what we're wanting. (I can't find Zechariah in Zephaniah, can I?) All right. All right. My old Bible's about wore out. Zechariah 4 and 1. Listen clos...
Communion
65-1212 §6
We understand that St. Paul, who ordained it in the church, being the prophet of the New Testament... Peter, James, John, all of them, they wrote (Matthew, Mark, Luke) what Jesus did, as scribes. But Paul set the thing in order; he was the prophet of the New Testament. Just as Moses went into the wilderness to receive the inspiration to write the five books of ... the first five books of the Bible, well, Paul also went into the desert and received inspiration from God to set the New Testament church in order and ty...
Gifts
56-1207 §9
So now, on these handkerchiefs: The greatest ministry that the Lord has given me almost is on handkerchiefs. Oh, I could spend hours just on telling about it. And we send out thousands of those a month, all over the world. And I'm glad to see that you believe the Bible. Now, a lot of people pour ... many people, rather, pour oil on them and anoint them. That's all right. That's fine. Whatever the Lord will bless, I'm for it. But if you'll watch in the Scripture, it wasn't that Paul anointed them. They taken from hi...
Divine Love
56-0826 §6
All of you out there in the audience that's well this morning, don't need to come around the altar. Just think now that it was God's grace that brought you here. Now, you pray for these others that are at the altar, here young and old. As our custom here at the Tabernacle, we send the pastor anointing. We pray for them, and then send the pastor anointing. I come along with him laying hands on the sick, while he anoints them. The Scripture, "Anoint the sick in oil in the name of the Lord. Lay hands on them and they...
Be not afraid, it is I
61-0123 §2
These handkerchiefs here that's sent up here to be prayed over, we reverently believe in praying for these cloths. Now, remember that this is a Bible doctrine, to pray over these cloths. Now many people anoint them with oil, and send them back to the patients. We send thousands of them a month around the world. And if you don't have one in here, if you just write our office, why, we'll sure send it to you free of charge. No charges for anything we do. In the Bible (if you'll bear with me), I believe, Scripturally,...