Unction is the anointing of the Holy Spirit — the divine empowerment and consecration given to believers for knowledge, ministry, and service. The OT anointed priests, kings, and prophets with oil as a sign of divine appointment and the Spirit's enabling presence. Christ himself is the supreme Anointed One; he declared at Nazareth, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me…" (Luke 4:18, quoting Isa 61:1). John declares that all believers have received "the anointing from the Holy One" (1 John 2:20) — the Spirit who teaches, guides, and authenticates. In homiletics, "unction" has come to describe the unmistakable divine power upon a preacher's delivery — when the Spirit speaks through the human instrument with convicting, illuminating force. Unction cannot be manufactured; it is given.
UNCTION, n. [L. unctio, from ungo, to anoint.] 1. The act of anointing, especially for medical purposes or as a religious rite. 2. Unguent; ointment. 3. That which excites devotion; unctuous address in discourse or prayer; fervent and devout language. "Preaching with unction" denotes a holy fervor which is the mark of the Spirit's operations on the preacher's heart and through his words. 4. In theology, the influences of the Holy Spirit; divine anointing for service and knowledge.
• 1 John 2:20 — "But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge."
• Luke 4:18 — "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor."
• Acts 10:38 — "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
• James 5:14 — "Is anyone among you sick? 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."
Unction has suffered at both extremes. In charismatic circles it can be reduced to emotional intensity or theatrical flair — the anointed preacher is the loudest, most demonstrative, most entertaining. But manufactured fire is not unction; it is performance. Emotional heat without the Spirit's truth is not anointing — it is showmanship. On the other extreme, cessationist complementarianism can so emphasize education and preparation that the role of the Spirit's empowerment in preaching is effectively marginalized. True unction is recognizable not by volume or style but by effect: the Word penetrates, consciences are awakened, truths land with weight. You cannot explain it; you can only receive it. The preacher who "tinkers with his preparation and waits on God" — to use Martyn Lloyd-Jones' phrase — operates in the tradition of unction.