No. Although anointing the sick is clearly taught in the New Testament, limiting every form of anointing to this single application ignores the wider biblical record. Mark 6:13 describes the disciples anointing sick people with oil and healing them, while James 5:14--16 gives instructions concerning prayer and anointing by the elders of the Church. However, anointing also appears throughout Scripture in connection with personal care, dedication, divine appointment, joy, blessing and restoration. Jacob anointed a stone following his encounter with God (Genesis 28:18), David anointed himself when his period of mourning ended (2 Samuel 12:20), and Ecclesiastes 9:8 encourages the personal use of oil. Most significantly, Jesus instructed His followers to anoint themselves while fasting (Matthew 6:17). None of these passages describes the anointing of a sick person. Scripture therefore provides a much broader understanding of anointing than the practice of praying for physical healing alone.
The spiritual meaning of anointing is closely connected with the presence and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Physical anointing serves as a prophetic act of faith, giving visible expression in the natural world to our confidence in a spiritual reality established by God. In Isaiah 61:3, the oil of joy replaces mourning, revealing the restorative purpose of God's work. The same passage, quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18--19, reveals the purpose of His anointing: proclaiming the Gospel, healing the brokenhearted, liberating captives and setting the oppressed free. God's aim is to save, heal, deliver and restore. Personal anointing allows believers to express their faith in the Holy Spirit's presence and work in their everyday lives, not merely during times of illness. Restricting the use of anointing oil exclusively to the sick unnecessarily narrows a practice that Scripture presents in several different contexts.
House of Anointing