One of the most misused verses in Scripture is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The verse is rampant in the sports industry and misquoted by athletes who want to apply the verse to their phenomenal ability to play sports. But that passage has absolutely nothing at all to do with sports or any of our self-achievements in life. Nothing at all.

But another one of the most misused verses in Scripture is found in both Psalms 105:15 and 1 Chronicles 16, both containing a similar doxology of David. The misused verse is “touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm.”

Usually, the charismatic false prophets who misuse this verse will always quote it out of context without even quoting the entire verse, let alone the entire passage. Most of the time, you simply hear, “touch not my anointed,” and they don’t even include the word, “ones.” False prophets, like T.D. Jakes, Steven Furtick, Kris Valloton, and everyone else, use this verse to ascribe a form of invincibility to themselves believing that they, themselves, are the “anointed.”

Here is one example of T.D. Jakes misquoting this verse for himself.

Of course, any sane person in their right mind already knows that T.D. Jakes, a man who denies the Trinity and preaches ungodly falsehoods about our Creator and Lord and Savior every time he opens his mouth, is not anointed by God. But the fact that he misuses it like this puts many people in a defensive position against him.

But what is that passage actually about? Well, if you read the passage in context, it has nothing to do with individual people God has placed in authority over others. Instead, this passage is a warning to the kings of other nations to leave His chosen nation, Israel, alone. The context of this passage makes this clear:

¹² When they were few in number,
    of little account, and sojourners in it,
¹³ wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
¹⁴ he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
¹⁵ saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my prophets no harm!” —Psalm 105:12-15

Further, the phrase “do my prophets no harm” that is included in the warning, is simply to punctuate the fact that God chose the nation of Israel to raise up his prophets among his anointed people. In fact, if you read the entire passage, it is clear that this passage is in the context of God’s covenant with Abraham and the nation of Israel.

And while there were individuals who were anointed with oil in the Old Testament chosen by God for a special purpose, for example, the prophet Samuel anointed David as Israel’s king, in the New Testament Church, there is no special class of priests or prophets with a special relationship to God. In fact, 1 John 2:20 says that we all, as Christians, are anointed and have knowledge. That knowledge comes from God’s revelation to us all in Scripture.

Ultimately, Jesus is THE anointed one and we all have direct access to Him through prayer and His word. So next time you hear one of these false prophets throw this line out, realize that these people are nothing more than self-seekers who pervert the Scriptures, twisting it to their own destruction, and do so for selfish gain.

For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. —1 Thessalonians 2:5-6