The Anointing of His Spirit

by Smith Wigglesworth

The Anointing of His Spirit captures Smith Wigglesworth's message of faith. You will find the heart of a man who cried out to God on behalf of others, praying powerfully and effectively for healing and provision-spiritual financial, emotional and physical. Today his words still ring with power and continue to inspire incredible faith in those who hear them.

Genres: Christian

249 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my monthly For Heretical Research Only reading. I have heard much about Smith Wigglesworth and know of stories of how he once threw or kicked a baby across a stage, violently struck ill people, and lived an excessively lush lifestyle. So I started my read KNOWING he was a false teacher. However, this book was written not by him but by sycophants who almost worshipped him and so selected what they wanted from various sermons he preached over the years and presented them for us in book form. His manner of speech was almost entirely composed of Scripture (wrongly applied often) so that he had the appearance of godliness perhaps but also it would be an irritating habit, if insincere. So what did I find? I was encouraged by chapter 26, Rising Into the Heavenlies, a sermon he preached in 1925. In it he had many solid, orthodox doctrinal statements, to include: "If you have truly received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, it has been because the Father drew you to him." AND "It is true that he took our sins; it is true that he paid the price for the whole world; it is true that he gave himself as a ransom for many; it is true, beloved, it is true." AND "OH, what a salvation God has provided for us in all our worthlessness and nothingness and helplessness!" BUT in the same sermon he said these false teachings: "But when sin is gone, when we are clean and when we know we have the Word if God in us, and when the power of the Spirit is bringing everything to a place where we triumph over all evil, then comes a revelation through the Spirit." Wigglesworth believed that a believer could reach a level of sinless perfection. AND "They say they are elected to be saved; and they believe others are elected to be damned. It is not true. Everybody is elected to be saved; whether they come into it or not is another thing." Think about THIS heresy! God, our Sovereign God, WANTS and even has ELECTED some to be saved but is not powerful enough to bring them to salvation due to the person's will, the world, or the devil! Heresy! The rest of the book is filled with Wigglesworth's main focus: the miracles of God, signs and wonders, tongues, and a false interpretation of being filled with the Spirit. Some lowlights: He believed that salvation gave us "authority over darkness, demons, death, and every power of the enemy." AND "Put this right in your mind and never forget it: you will never be of any importance to God till you venture into the impossible." AND "He is the God of Jacob, and he is our God. So we may likewise have our names changed to Israel." A heretical false conclusion. He was impressed with Jesus but seemingly only impressed with His power, which he falsely claimed was our right and privilege as well. AND "You cannot have the Holy Ghost without manifestations and revelations." AND when speaking of the Pearl of Great Price, he falsely claimed that "we are that pearl of great price for all time." Heresy! AND "Do you think that God will make you to be a failure? God never made humankind to be a failure." Can you say Prosperity Gospel? AND perhaps Wigglesworth's most dangerous heresy: "Jesus Christ manifested in the flesh the power of God in human form, the fullness of the Godhead bodily manifested in Jesus. John said that Jesus was the light of life, increasing in fullness until wafted away entirely, in substance the fullness of God." Jesus was not just manifested as God or man. He was and is God and was and is an actual man! He did not waft away but rose bodily into Heaven in His glorified body to take His seat on the throne of God. Wigglesworth MAY have had some right beliefs but he was a false teacher whose legacy is the Prosperity Gospel and charismatic craziness that has overtaken too many churches today. Benny Hinn, Todd White, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, and too many other false teachers were fed and bred by this man's heresy!

[Rudolph Niemand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible anointed!!! Amazing faith!

[Lee Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book containing sermons of one of the great men of God of the twentieth century.

A must read for any one serious in growing in God.

[Rod Horncastle · Rating 1 out of 5]

It gets only 1 star, BUT: It's brilliant, creative, has the power to affect millions of people. And its tons of fun to critique. (5 stars for general amusement and comedic value).

Having said all those wonderful things about this collection of sermons by Mr. Wigglesworth. How can something that sounds so GOOD be so bad? It's easy actually. All you have to do is blissfully ignore all Biblical theology and only focus on a very small portion of all Jesus did. We Christians have had many Wigglesworths throughout history, and we have many more even to this day. I'll just throw a Bible verse at you all for fun:

Matthew 24:24
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the ELECT.

To be fair this verse does refer to the Endtimes. But we can easily apply it to our time and recent history. But everything Smith says sounds wonderful you say? Of course it does. Didn't Satan's attempt on Eve in the Garden sound wonderful? "...be like GOD..." Satan said. What could possibly be wrong with that? And that's how we get caught up with Mr. Wigglesworth. (is it just me or does his name remind anyone else of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters?)
Didn't Satan's attempt at tempting Jesus also sound wonderful:

Matthew 4:8-9
...all of the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Satan said to him, "all of these I will give you..."

Doesn't that sound wonderful? Jesus could HAVE all the Kingdoms of the world. Think of all the people he could save? Heaven would be full. What's wrong with that?
Well, its very short sighted that's what. Its attempting to take God's entire plan of Salvation and short tracking it. Why do things God's long way when we can just bypass all that and get to the good stuff now.

Okay, back to Mr. Wigglesworth and his Anointing of his Spirit.
the Author is confused about what God is up to. He thinks having an abundance of faith and experiences equals truth. Guess what? Almost every religion functions on faith and numerous supernatural experiences. You could be a Mormon or Jehovah witness and agree with 98% of what Wigglesworth has to say. Its that easy. Jesus, faith and the Holy Spirit are wonderful things. But there's a reason God gave us a 2000 page Bible: So we wouldn't be easily fooled by wordy false prophets and cheap miracles based on emotions and exciting feelings.

Quote from page 235
"the devil will say you can't have faith; you tell him he is a liar."

I disagree, the devil loves it when you have faith. Especially faith in the wrong things. The smallest lie or exaggeration opens the door for a life-long struggle of false assumptions and wasted efforts. How did the devil know Eve was ready for a temptation? She had already begun herself: she said "...neither shall you TOUCH it, lest you die." Genesis 3:3
Eve took all the wonderful things God said - and pushed them just a little further. Now look what happened to our world. That's what Wigglesworth does in all his sermons. He takes the word of God just a little further. All good words but stretched beyond the breaking point.

Its funny how Billy Graham's ministry is so drastically different than Smith Wigglesworth. Of course if you have no discernment - None of this will matter. I don't have room here to point out page by page all the theological problems with these sermons. It sure would be fun though.
Basically if you are an emotionally needy religious addict with no theological insight you will love and adore every word from Wigglesworth's mouth. Enjoy it while it lasts.

[Chris Helmkay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is stirring-read the first chapter 5 times---3 times to other people! Very stirring accounts of Smith Wiggleworth, this uneducated plumber from England who was used greatly by God to stir and heal people. This is a great read!!!

[Christopher Lewis Kozoriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There is no lack to those who trust Him." ~ Smith Wigglesworth, The Anointing of His Spirit, Page 112

This book has powerful messages delivered by Smith Wigglesworth that have never been published in book form before. This book will help you to draw near to God and lift your spirit.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

We do not teach the how... of anointing. It is not intellectual but spiritual. To all you Baptists out there... you experience the anointing.

[Daniel]

faith stirring collection of short sermons.. stories of miracles and faith.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Believe everything this remarkable man of God preached. Gave it three stars only because at times it was difficult for me to follow the language he used.