2. For Christ was not anointed by men with
oil or material ointment, but the Father having before appointed Him to
be the Saviour of the whole world, anointed Him with the Holy Ghost, as
Peter says, Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy
Ghost Acts x. 38.. David also
the Prophet cried, saying, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever;
a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom; Thou hast
loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God even Thy God hath
anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows Ps. xlv. 6, 7.. And as Christ was in reality
crucified, and buried, and raised, and you are in Baptism accounted
worthy of being crucified, buried, and raised together with Him in a
likeness, so is it with the unction also. As He was anointed with
an ideal νοητῷ cannot here be translated
“spiritual” because of πνευματίκῆς
immediately following. Cf. i. 4, note. oil of gladness,
that is, with the Holy Ghost, called oil of gladness, because He is the
author of spiritual gladness, so ye were anointed with ointment, having
been made partakers and fellows of Christ.