The Secret to Getting the Double Anointing

This post was first published on ROOTSS on Friday, 2nd January 2009

How many of you are familiar with the passage of scripture about how Elisha asked Elijah for a double anointing?  It is a nice story in the history of Israel about how Elijah brought Elisha to various cities such as Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho and Jordan. Yet, if Jesus is not being unveiled, the mystery of the double anointing will remain just that -- a mystery.

Thanks be to God that the secret was revealed in a sermon He led me to hear when I was in one of the overflow rooms in Suntec Tower Four a month ago (Terence, the sermon title eludes me now, do you remember which one it was?).

Let's look at 2 Kgs 2:9-12

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not."
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.


We see in verse 9 that Elisha asked Elisha for a double portion of his spirit. The double portion anointing had to do with his spirit


Drop down to verse 12 and note that Elisha cried out to Elijah "My father! My father!" (which in the original Hebrew is the word Abba!, Abba!)

Now we know for a fact that Elisha was not Elijah's biological or legal son. So why did Elisha refer to Elijah as his father?  Therein lies the secret of the double anointing! God was giving us New Covenant believers a glimpse of what was to come as a result of Jesus' finished work.

Scripture has to interpret Scripture, and we find in the New Testament a reference to both the words "Abba" and "spirit" in the epistles of Paul to the church in Rome and to the churches in Galatia, viz

Rom 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Gal 4:6
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."

Because of what Christ has done on the cross, God now considers us His sons and daughters. Every single one of us has the spirit of sonship (which only Elisha had the privilege of having under the Old Covenant).

In fact, if we understand our position in Christ, we will be able to achieve even much more than what Elisha accomplished during his lifetime, because His was only the shadow, being on that side of the cross. We have the substance, being on this side of the cross. Hallelujah!