|
Laying on of Hands |
Dear Brethren,
The “Laying on of hands” is a holy ceremony
in which a representative of Jesus Christ extends his hands and places them
upon the head of the person who is the recipient of the prayerful
request to God the Father. It pictures God stretching forth His hand
to bless and to heal by the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:30). When
“anointing the sick,” oil, representing the healing power of God’s
Holy Spirit, is used in the laying on of hands.
Jesus Christ, as the Lord God of the Old Testament, established and
utilized the “laying on of hands” as one of His foundational
rituals. When it was nearly time for Moses to pass on his
responsibilities to Joshua, the Lord told him to lay hands on Joshua
so that everyone would look to Joshua in obedience, and Moses laid
his hands upon him and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded
(Numbers 27:18-23).
During His personal ministry, Jesus often employed this ritual in
the dispensing of blessings and healings. “All they that had any
sick with divers diseases brought them unto [Jesus]; and He laid his
hands on every one of them, and healed them.” (Luke 4:40) “When
Jesus saw the woman, doubled-over with a spirit of illness for
eighteen years, He called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou
art loosed from your infirmity. And He laid his hands on her: and
immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” (Luke
13:11-13)
The laying on of hands, then, is one of the essential doctrinal
truths of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 6:2). It is the prescribed procedure
for performing a number of divine functions, including, but not
limited to:
*The blessing of little children
*The blessing of marriages *Anointing for healings *Ordinations
*Imparting the gift of God’s Holy Spirit at Baptism
The brethren of the Church of God are blessed to know and
participate in these ceremonies, utilizing the laying on of hands by
which God bestows spiritual gifts on them. Most religious
organizations do not practice the laying on of hands or recognize
the blessings that this intimate and meaningful doctrine brings.
God established the laying on of hands in order for us to see His
direct intervention in our lives. When we are ill, it would be so
easy to pray to God, with our head on our pillow and say, “Oh God
please heal me.” But God tells us to bring a formal petition to Him
through His ordained ministers. “Is any sick among you? 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.” God has promised to reward
this kind of faith. “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up.” (James 5:14-15)
In the New Testament Church of God, we see examples of Christ’s
ministers laying hands on those who were baptized, so that they
might receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. “When [Peter and John]
were come down, they prayed for them, that they might receive the
Holy Spirit: (For as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their
hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:15-17)
God’s Holy Spirit is imparted to new Christians, right after
baptism, by the laying on of hands. “They were baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus, and when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the
Holy Spirit came on them.” (Acts 19:5-6)
In the “Blessing of the Little Children” ceremony, our young
children are dedicated to God. There is a special request made that
God place His angels about them for their protection (Matthew
18:10). In the blessing of the young children, we are following
Jesus’ example. “Then were there brought unto him little children,
that He [Jesus] should put His hands on them, and pray: and the
disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Allow little children, and
forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of
heaven. And He laid His hands on them.” (Matthew 9:13-15)
A Christian marriage ceremony is another occasion for the laying on
of hands. Marriage is a divine institution in which a couple enters
into a covenant relationship with each other, and also with God. As
the couple face one another and join hands, the presiding minister
lays his hands on them, and asks God’s blessings on their marriage.
It is only after prayer, fasting and due consideration, that
ordinations to special duties and offices are performed through the
laying on of hands. Paul cautioned Timothy, “Lay hands suddenly on
no man.” That is because stringent qualifications must be met by
those men who become ordained servants of Jesus Christ (1Timothy 3:1, Titus 1:5). In the early New Testament Church when the number
of the disciples in the faith increased rapidly, the twelve apostles
asked them to choose men of moral character and good reputation to
be “deacons.” “And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they
chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and
Philip, …whom they set before the apostles: and when they had
prayed, they laid their hands on them.” (Act 6:5-3)
A word of caution is needed because of the many false ministers that
Jesus warned of. Many superstitious and unconverted men have coveted
the power to bestow God’s gifts through the laying on of hands. God
will not give this power to anyone except the true servants of Jesus
Christ. “And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles'
hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, Give
me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive
the Holy Spirit. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with
thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be
purchased with money.” (Acts 8:18-21)
See other scriptures about the laying on of hands: Acts 9:17, Mark 5:22-23, Acts 13:2-3, Numbers 27:18, 23, Deuteronomy 34:9, 1Timothy 4:14, 2Timothy 1:6, Mark 6:5, Acts 28:8, Genesis 48:13-20.
***
Sermon: |
"Laying on of Hands"
|
|
|
|