Laying on of hands…

Have you ever heard or seen a teaching on the laying on hands in your church? In my

experience, the only people teaching on the subject are the word of faith churches. Possibly, I am just

ignorant of some churches’ teachings. The Bible declares this to be a foundational principle of

Christianity, so how can the majority of churches just ignore the subject? We cannot afford to ignore any

of our basic, or foundational, principles! If we ignore foundational principles, then our churches will have a

weak foundation! Doing so gives place to the devil! Therefore, we will address this issue. We will confine

the teaching to the Bible and to experiences which clearly line up with the Bible.

Hebrews 6:1, 2 NKJV

1) Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to

perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God,

2) of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal

judgment.

There the doctrine is! Six elementary principles are listed here. Laying on of hands is listed with

baptisms, right between repentance & faith and resurrection & eternal judgment. Where do we begin? We

will look at Biblical examples of this laying on of hands, but let us first determine the purposes for laying

on of hands.

1. Healing the sick. Mark 16:18

2. Being filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:18 and 19:6

3. Anointing for mission or office. Acts 6:6

4. Raising the dead. Mark 5:41

5. Blessing. Matthew 19:13-14

In serious study of the Bible, it becomes obvious that there is a transfer of power through the

laying on of hands. This is not man’s power, nor some spooky thing, but what is described in:

Acts 1:8 KJV

8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be

witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the

earth.

Mark 16:20 KJV

20) And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming

the word with signs following. Amen.

It is my belief that many ministers have never received any teaching on this subject. How much

less the congregations? So, just as some Christians do not believe in the gifts of the Spirit (for today),

some also pass this basic doctrine by as well. In the case of the Spiritual gifts, they have not seen a clear

demonstration of the gifts in the power of the Spirit. As one minister of a mainline denomination said, “In

the Bible, people filled with the Spirit did miracles and healed the sick. Nowadays, they just talk gibberish

and act foolish.” Personally, I have received the gift of a prayer language. This happened when I was very

young in the faith. Within a few months, an older and much more knowledgeable minister of the gospel

identified some of the words in this prayer language as Hebrew. In my conversion experience, just eight

hours after coming to Christ, the Lord led me to lay hands on my dying brother and God healed him!

1. Healing

Brethren, many people don’t lay hands on the sick simply because they are afraid nothing will

happen. Folks, it does not matter whether anything manifestly happens when we lay hands on people!

That is God’s business! We are simply the conduit, operating in faith and obedience. Trust God!

Therefore, we are NOT going to give you some method or some formula. We are simply going to look at

the Scriptures and try to determine what God desires His children to do.

One of the most common objections to the Spiritual gifts operating today, and directed specifically

at the laying on of hands for physical healing, is this statement: “If I had this so-called gift of healing, I’d

go clean out the hospital.” Since Jesus DID NOT do that, why should we expect to?

1st Corinthians 11:1 KJV

1) Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

The word “followers” is translated from the Greek mimetes, which literally means “to imitate”, and most

new translations do translate it as “imitate”.

John 5:2-9 KJV

2) Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue

Bethesda, having five porches.

3) In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of

the water.

4) For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever

then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

5) And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto

him, Wilt thou be made whole?

7) The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me

into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

8) Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

9) And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same

was the sabbath.

There was a “multitude” of sick and infirm in this place, sort of like a hospital. Yet, Jesus chose to

heal only this one man. Of course, God’s ways and thoughts are as high above my ways and thoughts as

the sky is above the earth, so I make no pretense of understanding the “why” of this. One day, when I feel

led of the Spirit, I will seek that understanding from God. We know that Jesus only did and said what the

Father gave Him to do and to say (clearly stated in the Gospel of John). From this knowledge, we infer

that the Father sent the Son to heal this man. With this passage of Scripture in mind, why would we

expect any child of God to go “clean out” a hospital, UNLESS THE FATHER SENT HIM OR HER? Just

sayin’.

Having cleared the air, so to speak, on that subject, let us look at this “gift of healing” business.

1st Corinthians 12:9 KJV

9) To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

Please note the Scripture says “gifts of healing”. “Gifts” is plural. Greek is a very specific

language. Not only is “gifts” plural, but “healing” should be literally, “healings”. Some people have said

that this means people get a “gift of healing” for a specific sickness. For instance, someone may have the

gift for cancer only, or perhaps just for colds. Perhaps this is so, but I doubt it very seriously. It really

doesn’t matter what the name of the disease or infirmity is, because everything in all of creation will bow

to the name of Jesus. The Bible records Jesus casting out devils at various times, but only once does He

ask the demon its name. That was in the case of “Legion”, where thousands of demons were in one man.

If Jesus had not made the Legion identify itself, then how would we have known of them? Why did we

need to know? Because this was a clear demonstration that all the armies of hell must bow their knee to

Jesus Christ and obey His command. Jesus has that authority; declared in Matthew 28:18, and

manifested in Mark 5:1-20. Even so, disease and infirmities must also bow their knee to His Holy Name.

John 8:16, 28, 42 KJV

16) And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.

28) Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I

am (he), and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

42) Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and

came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

The first thing we must note is that Jesus, the Son of God, did only what the Father taught Him to

do. Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Trinity, laid aside His godhead to become a man. He performed

no miracles until He was filled with the Spirit of God after His water baptism (first miracle: turning water

into wine – John 2). Then, Jesus only did what the Spirit led Him to do! We can and must do the same!

In John 17, Jesus prayed a wonderful prayer of consecration, and He prayed it aloud for our

benefit. Part of that magnificent prayer directly applies to what we are talking about in this exposition:

John 17: 20, 21 KJV

20) Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21) That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one

in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

How can we be one in the Father and in the Son? Through the Holy Spirit! Why are we talking

about the Spirit when the subject is “the laying on of hands”? There are at least two reasons:

1. God’s power moves through His Spirit. (Ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost is come upon

you). So, if we lay hands on someone, then it is God the Holy Spirit who empowers our effort.

2. We must be in obedience to the Spirit when we lay hands, or there will be no power. Sort of obvious,

isn’t it? One cannot be “in the Spirit” when one is not obedient to the Spirit. Some claim to be “filled”

and that the proof is they speak in unknown tongues. Well, that’s pretty good, and it is Scriptural. Yet,

how can someone claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit of the living God and speak to their spouse like

something detestable? What about the fruit of this HOLY Spirit? (Gal. 5:22-23)

Romans 8:14 KJV

14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

This is a great life-verse. Ideally, we are to walk so closely in tune with the Spirit of God that we

are in constant communication (as Jesus was). Not only in communication, but obeying His every leading!

Just like Jesus did! If we are not obeying His leading, then we will not stay in communication with Him.

Jesus is the Word made flesh, and we are not. Yet, we have the holy, written Word of God – the Bible.

When being led of the Spirit, it is important that this “leading” align with the Bible. The Bible is our final

authority on every subject. Satan will trick you if you do not know the Word. There are many testimonies

by Christians from every walk of life who heard a voice, had a dream, or “got a word” from some other

Christian, and it was not the truth! This can happen to anyone, even a preacher! I recently heard the

testimony of a pastor who went on a 14-day fast in seeking an answer from God concerning his marriage.

Friend, that was an exercise in foolishness. The word of God has already made it clear that God hates

divorce. Jesus said, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” He was

specifically speaking about marriage. That’s Matthew 19:6. God’s word is His will! By the way, that

preacher claimed God told him to divorce his wife. He did, and continued preaching as if it were okay.

Personally, I would rather hear a screeching catfight. Not because he got divorced. Yes, it is sin (contrary

to God’s word), but all sin can be forgiven. What bothers me most is that this man claimed God told him to

act contrary to the clear word of God. That is impossible. That would make God a liar, and God can not

lie. (Titus 1:2)

In all things, it is extremely important to be led by the Spirit of God. All means all. Yet, it is even

more crucial that we be led by the Spirit in the things of God. If we lay hands on someone, then it should

be done with their permission, or with the permission of someone with the authority to speak for them. If

the Spirit of God gives you a real unction to pray for someone, then trust that what you are praying for is

God’s will. Three times, and only three times, the Lord has given me an unction to go to a hospital and

pray for someone’s healing. Each time, that person was healed. They were my brother, Frank, a minister

called “Mohawk”, and a baby named Chloe. Those were “gifts of healings”. Each individual one was a

specific “gift of healing”.

1st Timothy 5:22 KJV

22) Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

Of course, the phrase “lay hands” can have two different meanings. Look at the following two

verses from the Gospels. In one, the Pharisees and scribes were intent on laying hands on Jesus, to kill

him. In the other, Jesus is telling us to lay hands on the sick and pray for their healing.

Matthew 21:46 KJV

46) But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him

for a prophet.

Mark 16:18 KJV

18) They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they

shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Paul’s instruction to Timothy is a prophetic utterance and can be taken as both of these meanings! Both

meanings have Biblical import and support. As in, “Don’t let anger cause you to lay hands on someone to

harm them.” And, as in, “Do not lay hands on someone without their permission, or the permission of

someone with authority.” Of course, there may be times when there is no one to ask, and the Spirit is

leading you to lay hands and pray. Such as a car accident, or some other incident.

Not only must we be led of the Spirit to lay hands on anyone, but we must also ask the Holy Spirit

to pray through us. If you have never asked the Spirit to speak through you, then please try it! You might

be surprised at the things you say or pray! Our flesh does not like being led, or controlled, by the Spirit.

Being led of the Spirit is act of our free will. We are spirit, soul, and body. When we exercise our will to

follow the Spirit within us, then that corrupt flesh has no choice but to follow.

Luke 11:9-13 KJV

9) And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall

be opened unto you.

10) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it

shall be opened.

11) If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a

fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12) Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13) If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall

your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Please recall that Jesus refers to devils (demons, or unclean spirits) as serpents and scorpions in

Luke 10:19. Therefore, if you ask the Father in Jesus’ name for Him to give you His Holy Spirit, then He

will do that! You do not have to worry about getting some other spirit. If you will trust Him to do what He

has said He will do, then you have no worries.

Thus far, we have looked mostly at laying on of hands concerning healing, and those sent by God

to lay hands. We have spent so much time on this because it is the most misunderstood and

misrepresented part of this doctrine.

2. Being filled with the Holy Spirit.

This is a 2nd misunderstood aspect of the laying on of hands. It is even possible that it is just as

misrepresented/misunderstood as the laying on of hands for healing. It is my job to present the possibility

to you that these things SHOULD NOT BE either misunderstood or misrepresented. In doing so, it is

possible that I will offend the “Defenders of our Doctrine” in most denominations. Doctrine is crucially

important. Yet, doctrine MUST be rooted solidly in Scripture! It is my fervent hope that the hungry

children of God will read this, read the Scriptures used, and just believe God. It is sad to say, but most

people read their Bible with the intent of fortifying what they already believe. They read what they believe,

instead of believing what they read. Friends, this is a stronghold! It was built by hearing preaching or

teaching that put forth denominational doctrine or personal opinions instead of the written word of God –

the Bible. Many of those doing this will say that they believe that the Bible is the word of God, inerrant and

infallible. This, while teaching something clearly contradictory to that same Bible! Therefore, in Jesus’

name, I ask you to read this with an open heart.

There are three ways to receive this “baptism” of the Spirit. That is, three ways to be filled with the

Spirit of God. One, God pours out His Spirit upon believers, who are seeking Him, through a Sovereign

act. Two, God answers the prayer of a believer or believers who ask to be filled with His Spirit. Three,

through the laying on of hands by an apostle (Sent One) or by several Spirit-filled elders of the church.

The first is a fulfillment of prophecy; through the prophet Joel, and fulfilled first in Acts 2.

Acts 2:16-18 KJV

16) But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old

men shall dream dreams;

18) And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and

they shall prophesy:

One hundred and twenty men and women were gathered in a large upper room, and they were all

of one accord. That means they were in unity and at peace with each other. They were seeking God, and

God sovereignly poured out His Spirit on them. When they were “filled” with the Spirit, the Spirit

manifested His presence. Spiritual gifts were evident to every witness, for they “saw and heard”. This

manifestation of the gifts is evident throughout the book of Acts whenever believers are filled with the

Holy Ghost! Five times in this book of Scripture a believer is, or believers are, filled with the Spirit for the

first time. On three of those occasions, the Scripture records they spoke in tongues and/or prophesied.

Acts 2:4, Acts 10:44-46, and Acts 19:6. In Acts 8, the magician Simon “saw that through laying on of the

apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given”. Simon had plain evidence before his eyes that the Spirit of

God was manifesting His presence. Based on the three passages of Scripture just listed, I submit that

Simon “saw and heard” them speak with tongues and prophesy. The fifth incident recorded is when Paul

the apostle was initially filled with the Spirit in Acts 9:17. We have Paul’s own testimony, “I speak with

tongues more than ye all”. 1st Corinthians 14:18. These were initial, the-very-first-time, in-fillings of the

Spirit. There are other places in Acts where people were filled with the Spirit, and they spoke the word of

God with power. Acts 4:8 & 31. In Acts 13:9, Paul was filled with the Spirit again and cursed a sorcerer

with blindness for hindering the spread of the Gospel.

Ephesians 5:18-19 KJV

18) And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

19) Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody

in your heart to the Lord;

My point is simply this: it is obviously New Testament (Last Will and Testament of Jesus Christ)

that we believers be filled with the Spirit. Do not tell me that you are Spirit-filled, but you have not

experienced a manifestation of the Spiritual gifts. When one is filled with the presence of the Spirit of God,

He will manifest Himself! The testimony of Oswald Chambers was that he knew there was a lack of power

in his preaching and teaching. He read Luke 11:9-13, and prayed a prayer of faith according to verse 13.

There was no manifestation at the moment, but the next time he preached God’s word, more than 40

people flooded the altar for salvation. It is my firm conviction that Brother Chambers would have

experienced an immediate manifestation of the Spirit if he had seen and heard examples in his walk with

Jesus. That is, if he had had clear teaching on the baptism of the Spirit, and on operation of the Spiritual

gifts. Such teaching is sadly lacking throughout most of Jesus’ church.

We have seen in Acts 2 that our Sovereign God poured out His Spirit upon this group of 120

Jewish men and women. They believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they had been baptized in water in

His name. They were in obedience to Jesus’ last command, Acts 1:4, to wait in Jerusalem “for the

promise of the Father”, the Holy Spirit. As they were obediently seeking God, God showed out. In Acts

10:44-47, Gentiles were obediently seeking God, and they got the same result as the Jews in Acts 2. God

is no respecter of persons. A brother-in-Christ and fellow-laborer received the baptism of the Spirit

through a sovereign act of God while he was diligently seeking God. He was in a Spirit-filled service and

heard a woman speaking in tongues. The Spirit said to him, “That’s the language Jesus spoke.” At that

point, he also felt the power of the Spirit and began to speak in tongues. His experience is perfectly in line

with the Scriptures in Acts 2 and Acts 10.

The second manner, or way, in which a person may be filled with the Spirit is by asking in prayer.

Luke 11:13 KJV

13) If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall

your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

This promise is given to believers! Note that Jesus says, “your heavenly Father”. We have

already read these verses of Scripture, so just recall that you do not have to worry about receiving some

spirit other than the Holy Spirit. In Acts 4:23-31, the apostles Peter and John had been threatened by the

Sanhedrin for teaching and preaching in the name of Jesus after healing the lame man at the gate called

Beautiful. They returned to the other believers and reported all that had transpired. The believers made a

prayer for boldness and that the Lord would confirm the preaching of His word with signs and wonders.

When they finished the prayer, the place was shaken with the power of God and “they were all filled with

the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”

They had been filled with the Spirit before, but they asked to be filled again with that Holy Spirit-

boldness. God answered according to Jesus’ promise in Luke 11:13.

As a young Christian (44 years old), I was in a prison where there were 9 church services each

week. 16 different ministries with 60+ ministers. Pentecostal, Holiness, Methodists, Baptists, Non-

denominations, etc. This forced me to become a Berean Christian, searching the Scriptures daily to see

whether these things were so. As I continuously read the Bible, it became very evident to me that I

needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Many of these ministers were lay-ministers or elders or deacons.

As I was seeking God about being filled with His Spirit, several of these began to offer the “baptism of the

Holy Ghost” at their altar calls. Well, I’m there instantly! I really wanted to be filled with the Spirit! Yet,

when they laid hands on me, it was like coming in contact with a cold, concrete wall. After this had

happened twice, I sought the Lord with prayer and fasting. God answered with Acts 8. The evangelist

Philip did not have the anointing to baptize with the Holy Spirit. The apostles did. I continued seeking the

baptism of the Spirit. In the middle of the night, I awoke with “Luke 11:9-13” emblazoned on my eyelids.

When I opened my Bible and read those verses, the word came alive to me. The next morning, a Sunday,

during worship I raised my hands to the Lord and prayed according to Luke 11:13. The glory of the LORD

fell on me like a mighty weight! I went to my knees under that weight, crying like a baby. The pressure got

so intense that I could not stand it, and I literally crawled out the back doors of the chapel. On the chapel

porch, I wiped away my tears with a handkerchief and got myself back to breathing a little more normally.

Then, I went back inside and raised my hands to the LORD again…and His glory fell on me again. Out I

crawled again, and then a third time. The fourth time I raised my hands to the LORD, as His power came

upon me, I cried, “God, I’m not ready for that!” I clearly heard Him say, “No, but you will be.” I do not know

if I spoke in tongues that day. The music was so loud! But, I do know that I was filled with His Spirit! Yes,

I have had to have many re-fillings since. Yes, there have been times when I was completely in the flesh,

but I am His, and must repent and confess to God per 1st John 1:9.

The third manner in which one may be filled with the Spirit is with the laying on of hands by an

apostle, or by the laying on of hands by the “presbytery”. We have already recognized from Scripture that

just any Christian does not have the anointing to baptize with the Spirit.

Let us examine a short passage of Scripture that shows this very clearly.

Acts 8:12, 14-17 KJV (parenthetical element by author)

12) But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the

name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (At this point, they were saved: they

believed and were baptized. The Holy Spirit indwelled them)

14) Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word

of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

15) Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

16) (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord

Jesus.)

17) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

So, the evangelist needed the apostles for this baptism of the Spirit! At the very least, he needed

another Spirit-filled minister to join him in laying hands for baptism of the Spirit. Yet, Scripture proves that

an apostle has the anointing for this.

Acts 19:5, 6 KJV

5) When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6) And when Paul had laid (his) hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake

with tongues, and prophesied.

Paul, as an apostle, had the anointing necessary for the baptism of the Spirit. Of course, if the

person seeking the Spirit is praying a prayer of faith while any Spirit-filled believer is laying hands, then

the Spirit may still be received. Yet, there is also the corporate anointing of a group of Spirit-filled church

elders. This is demonstrated in Paul’s 1st letter to Timothy.

1st Timothy 4:14 KJV

14) Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of

hands of the presbytery.

The word translated as “presbytery” here is used only 3 times in New Testament. In the other 2

usages, it is translated as “elders” and as “estate of the elders”. Timothy received a Spiritual gift through

the laying on hands by a group of elders. Spirit-filled elders. In 2nd Timothy, Paul states that Timothy

received “the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” (2nd Timothy 1:6) From these

two verses, it is easy to recognize that either Paul was one of the elders, or that Timothy had hands laid

on him for Spiritual purposes twice. The reason so many people do not receive the baptism of the Spirit

with the laying on of hands is that it is not done according to the Scriptures. Only the truly Holy Spirit-filled

believers should be involved, with the seeker also praying in faith according to the words of Jesus in Luke

11:13. Try it. God will do what He has said He will do. God is His word. Trust Him! Trust Him! Trust Him!

3. Anointing for mission or for office in the church.

This is the laying on of hands by the “presbytery”. That is, when someone is appointed by the

church, or ordained, then the elders of the church should gather to pray and lay hands on those thus

ordained. Some may think this is simply a church tradition, but it is not just a tradition! This laying on of

hands was presented to us in the historical Scriptures as an example of how we should act in the church.

Our Lord Jesus chose the original apostles, and those apostles told the church to choose the first

deacons (elders or servants).

Acts 6:1-3 KJV

1) And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring

of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

2) Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that

we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

3) Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost

and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

The multitude, that is, the whole church, chose seven men.

Acts 6:6 KJV

6) Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid (their) hands on

them.

PLEASE note that they prayed before they laid hands! Friends, this is a common theme

throughout the New Testament. Jesus Himself prayed all night before choosing the twelve. Peter kneeled

and prayed before raising Dorcas from the dead.

Remember that Timothy, a young pastor, had the presbytery lay hands on him.

The seven deacons waited tables, so to speak, but they went on to perform mighty works in the

kingdom of God. Stephen was the first martyr of the church, and Philip was the first evangelist. This

laying on of hands by the elders is crucial to the continuance of a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led church. The elders

must themselves be Spirit-filled in order to lay hands on anyone. How do we know if someone is Spirit-

filled? Galatians 5:22,23 show what being filled looks like!

4. Raising the dead.

Really? Do I believe that is still possible today? YES, I do.

Hebrews 13:8 KJV

8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

God is immutable. That simply means He cannot change. He does not change. What He did then, He will

do now. If we will only believe Him. Many of we Christians like to say that we believe God can do things

like raising the dead, healing the sick or lame, or other miraculous signs. We say that He can, but do we

really believe He will? Perhaps not. We may pray for that healing, or whatever, but then we cover for our

doubt and unbelief with a lame, “If it’s Your will.” Yes, Jesus prayed, “Not my will, Father, but yours.” He

prayed in submission, having laid down His godhead to become a man. He prayed with true humility. Yet,

when we say that, we are usually saying that we either don’t know God’s will on the matter, or that we

don’t believe God’s word on the matter. God has made His will known on most subjects, to everyone who

will read it. He gave us His word on it! The Bible! Yes, there will be things which come up and we will not

know His will. But, even then, we can pray and ask Him to make His will known, and He will.

Matthew 7:7-8 KJV

7) Ask, and it be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it

shall be opened.

We say we believe in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We say we believe in the Holy Spirit, and

that we “know” He is in us. Yet, in honesty, I must say that most Christians doubt God. I say that because

we believe in Him, but we often do not believe Him. We don’t believe that He meant what He said and

said what He meant. I must agree with Paul. Do you?

Acts 26:8 KJV

8) Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

Isn’t the resurrection of the dead what all Christians are counting on? Eternal Life? Where does this

power come from? To whom is it available?

Ephesians 1:19-20 tell us that God worked His mighty power in Christ Jesus to raise Him from the

dead, and this same power is working in us! This is the same we may receive when the Holy Ghost

comes upon us!

Acts 1:8 KJV

8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be

witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the

earth.

This word “power”, used in both Ephesians 1:19 and Acts 1:8 is the Greek dunamis, which is the

word from which we get both “dynamic” and “dynamite”. That is, explosive power! That is the kind of

power that busts a grave wide open! This is the power we receive with the “baptism” of the Spirit. This is

not just the indwelling of the Spirit. Please note the apostles received the Holy Spirit from Jesus before

He ascended!

John 20:22 KJV

22) And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy

Ghost.

This proves they had the Holy Spirit in them! But, they did not receive the power until Acts 2,

when He, the Holy Spirit, fell upon to empower them for service! After that, they raised the dead, cast out

devils, healed the sick, preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, and were faithful unto death. Now, I ask you:

has God changed? You know that He has not! The same power is available to you! Will you believe Him?

5. Blessing

Throughout Scripture we see fathers laying their hands on their children and blessing them. In the

New Testament, Jesus is asked to bless the little children and does so just as a father would bless his

children.

Matthew 19:13-15 NKJV

13) Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but

the disciples rebuked them.

14) But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the

kingdom of heaven.

15) And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

The Gospel according to Mark gives us another insight into this incident, and I think it is vital to

our understanding.

Mark 10:13-16 KJV

13) And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked

those that brought them.

14) But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children

to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

15) Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he

shall not enter therein.

16) And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

Before receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples could not love as Jesus loved. Therefore, they could

not walk in the love of God. The children running to Jesus were simply a source of irritation and a

distraction. Perhaps they were afraid the little ones would interfere with their “worship”? There are

churches today with that attitude concerning little ones and special needs. Let me put my thoughts on this

in the modern day vernacular: Jesus ain’t down with that! He said, “Let them come to Me! This is what the

kingdom of God is all about!”

Look again at Mark 10:16. Jesus put his hands on the children and he “blessed” them. The Greek

word translated as “blessed” is eulogeo. This is a compound word, combining logos (something spoken)

with eu (good or well). Jesus literally spoke good things over their lives as He laid hands on them! This is

demonstrated in the Old Testament when fathers laid hands on their sons or grandsons. In Genesis 27,

Isaac blessed his son Jacob with the blessing of the first born. If there were no power or reason in this,

then why was Esau so upset? This Greek word eulogeo is the source of our word “eulogy”.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue! Proverbs 18:21! Yes, there is power in our spoken

words. If we are Spirit-filled or Spirit-led, then our words truly have power! In this short exposition, we

have looked at 5 different reasons for the laying on of hands. These are straight from the Scriptures, and

since we are commanded to imitate Jesus, to walk as He walked, to love as He loved, then we must

practice this laying on of hands. The results are up to God!