Heb 6:1 Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 of the teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this will we do, if God permit.
The doctrine I would like to examine in this post is the laying on of hands. This doctrine is important and foundational, yet is not widely understood by the church. The laying on of hands is a means of impartation, which dates back to the Old Testament times, and continued in the New Testament. What was imparted depended on the circumstances. A brief survey of both Testaments will show us the uses of the laying on of hands.
- Laying on hands for blessing
This is what Jacob did to Joseph's two sons (Gen. 48:13-22). In doing this he was receiving them as his own children and placing the blessing and promise he had received from God upon them so that they would also be included in it. He laid the right hand of stronger blessing upon Ephraim, the second-born, which initially displeased Joseph, but was done under the influence of prophecy. In the history of these tribes we see the fulfillment of this prophecy which also attests to the reality of impartation in the laying on of hands.
- Laying on of hands to impart sin
In the sin offerings of the Old Testament the offerer laid his hands upon the victim so that it would bear away his sin with it. This was also done with the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:21). Interestingly enough in the case of blasphemy all the witnesses who heard the blasphemy were to lay their hands on the head of the offender before he was stoned, as if they were putting away the utterance which had polluted their ears back upon the one who uttered it (Lev. 24:10-16). The transfer of sin by laying on of hands is not done in the church today, because our Sacrifice has been offered once and for all, but it still should be remembered that sin can be imparted through the laying on of hands and we should know the character of the one laying hands on us, and if we are going to lay hands on others we want to be in the right frame of mind to do that. Paul warned Timothy against laying hands on people suddenly (1 Tim. 5:22). While perhaps someone sick or in need may ask for prayer and we should lay hands on them, we should never do it in a flippant manner as though it is just the thing to be done. If we have reason to believe we will be praying for people and laying hands on them, we should do most of our praying, and perhaps even fasting, beforehand.
- Laying on of hands for healing
This ministry of laying hands on the sick for their healing belongs to all believers. It is specifically given by Christ as a sign for those who believe (Mark 16:18). This differs from the anointing with oil by the elders which is linked to their office and includes a promise of forgiveness as well as healing (James 5:14-15). Ananias, who is designated as merely a disciple, was sent by God to the blind Saul of Tarsus to impart sight to him (Acts 9:10-18). In addition to receiving healing Saul also received the infilling of the Holy Ghost at this time, which brings us to the next point.
- Laying on of hands for imparting spiritual gifts
Usually, the baptism of the Holy Ghost is received by the laying on of hands. In general it is Church leadership that lays hands on the one desiring to receive. Philip the evangelist preached and baptized converts, but did not lay hands on them so that they could receive the Holy Spirit. Peter and John specifically came out to do that (Acts 8:5-23). Whether Philip could have laid hands and imparted the Holy Ghost to the people is not known. He apparently did not try. The importance placed upon the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is shown by the fact that early church specifically sent out Peter and John to make sure the converts received the Holy Spirit. People sometimes criticize Pentecostals for focusing too much on getting people to receive the Baptism of the Spirit. To this we can only reply that this was the feeling of the earliest of the early church – they did not leave their converts saved, baptized and yet without the Baptism of the Spirit. Dare we do less?
Some would say that the impartation of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is apostolic, but Ananias is an exception to that. Thus I would say that God is able to use any Spirit-filled believer to impart the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to others, but usually God uses those in the five-fold ministry.
Other spiritual gifts can also be imparted through the laying on of hands. Timothy had received a spiritual gift through the laying on of Paul's hands (1 Tim. 4:14, 2 Tim. 1:6). Often as in the case of Timothy, prophecy can tell what gift is being imparted and therefore gives guidance to the recipient as to what they should focus on. Spiritual gifts establish believers by giving them an outlet for ministry and a place of service in Christ's body (Rom. 1:11-12). When we have received a spiritual gift we should focus on using it for God's glory and the edification of the Church. This prevents us from being a mere pew-warmer. Often gifts are imparted at the same time as the person is set apart to God's service, which is the last attribute of laying on of hands we will look at.
- Laying on of hands for service
In this case hands are laid upon an individual to set them apart for the ministry to which God has called them. This is sometimes called ordination. It was done to Joshua so that he would be able to assume the leadership of Israel after Moses' passing (Num. 27:15-23; Deut. 34:9). It should be noticed here that Moses did not choose Joshua, he called to God to choose and God told him to lay hands on Joshua. The five-fold ministry is set in the church by Christ (Eph. 4:11-12). When man lays hands in ordination they are not making that person into a member of the five-fold ministry, they are merely recognizing what God has already done and releasing the person into what God has already called. Often as this is done gifts to aid in the work to be done will be imparted as it was with Timothy and with Joshua. Paul and Barnabas are prime examples of sending people into the work that God had for them (Acts 13:1-3). They were called already by God, but the leadership acknowledged the call and set them apart so they could fulfill it. They were sent off in fasting with prayer and the laying on of hands.
This concludes our study of the doctrine of the laying on of hands next we will look at the resurrection of the dead.
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