LESSON
9
Laying On Of Hands
Heb. 6:1-2 Therefore
leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection;
not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and
of eternal judgment.
We have been discussing
the six foundational doctrines of Christ from our text in Hebrews.
They are:
1. Repentance from dead works
2. Faith towards God
3. Doctrine of baptism
4. Laying on of hands
5. Resurrection from the dead
6. Eternal judgment
Most Christians have no concept
of the Biblical perspective of the laying on of hands. We will give a brief overview.
Whenever you see the
laying on of hands in the Bible, it always speaks of an imparting or a
transferring of something. It is not
just a symbol that is used in scriptures, it is a
literal, spiritual activity that happens.
The hand speaks of
power. It speaks of strength or
force. It can be man's power through
man's hands, or it can be God's power through God's hands.
Timothy was warned by
Paul to lay hands on no man suddenly. He
was reminding Timothy of the deep spiritual significance of the laying on of
hands.
Don't run out and do it
without understanding what it is you are about to do. Do it with a sacredness
before God and a sense of understanding and awe for what you are doing.
Lev.
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The Bible teaches that
the sins, the iniquities, were transferred into the animal by the laying on of
hands. There was a transfer of sins that
foreshadowed what Christ was about to do.
God was looking forward
to the cross. Hebrews teaches us that
the blood of animals did not remove sin, it just covered over it. Instead of the judgment coming on the man,
God said the animal could take your judgment temporarily. When Christ came He paid the price once and
for all.
So one
of the earliest references to the laying on of hands deals with the
transferring of sins.
Seven areas of transferring or imparting with the laying on of hands
1. Authority and wisdom can be imparted through
the laying on of hands.
Deut. 34:9 And Joshua the
son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon
him; and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord
commanded Moses.
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Joshua was full of
wisdom because Moses laid hands on him.
The people listened to Joshua like they did Moses, because they knew
Moses had laid hands on him. The spirit of wisdom that was on Moses transferred to Joshua
through the laying on of hands.
There is a transfer of
authority and there can be a transfer of wisdom through the laying on of
hands. This is why we are warned not to
lay hands on others lightly or glibly.
2. Healing can be imparted through the laying on
of hands.
Luke 4 :40 Now
when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought
them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed
them.
Through the laying on of
hands, health and healing is imparted.
Mark
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There is a transferring,
an impartation of healing to the sick when we lay our hands upon them.
3. Life can be imparted through the laying on of
hands.
2 Kin. 4:34 And he went up and lay upon the child, and
put his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his
hands; and he stretched himself upon the child, and the flesh of the
child waxed warm.
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Elijah laid hands on the
child and life returned unto him. Through
the laying on of hands LIFE can be imparted.
4. A spiritual gift was
imparted unto Timothy by the laying on of hands.
1 Tim.
2 Tim. 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift
of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
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Spiritual gifts can be
transferred. They can be imparted into
an individual.
Joshua received the gift
that was on Moses through the laying on of hands.
We do not have to wait
till someone is dead or dying to receive of the gift that is on them. When they laid hands on Timothy, the leaders
of the church were not dying.
We can receive of the
gift on others through the laying on of hands.
5. We can receive the Holy Ghost with a transference of power through the laying on of hands.
Acts
When they laid their
hands on them they received the Holy Ghost.
Through the laying on of hands there can be a transfer and a release of
power.
6. We can be commissioned and sent through the
laying on of hands.
Acts 6:6-7 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had
prayed, they laid [their] hands on them.
And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples
multiplied in
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The apostles called
forth men to do a specific task. They
went to prayer and sought God. They
sought men full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom to take charge of caring for
the widows; to wait tables.
They laid hands on them
and COMMISSIONED them to do the work that needed to be done. They laid hands on them and SENT THEM. The men did not complain.
Notice what happened to
the church in verse 7 as the men were obedient to the work they were SENT to
do. The Word of God was spread and their
numbers increased greatly.
A spirit of evangelism
came upon one of these men, Stephen, while he was waiting on tables and he
began preaching the gospel. What we may
feel to be a menial task is a huge task in the
In the church we don't
need more people getting their OWN ministries, but we need people who will come
under the leadership of the church and be SENT to do what needs to be
done.
When the church begins
to operate and function in this way, they will walk in power. They will walk in authority. They will walk in blessing. As a result, the word of God will increase
and the number of disciples will be multiplied greatly.
When your leadership
sends you to do something, to serve, and lays hands on you, receive the
anointing, the transfer of power, the transfer of wisdom, and the transfer of
authority.
Most of us have never
been sent, we just went. It doesn't
matter what you are sent to do, it just matters that you are sent.
Philip was in the midst
of a great revival when God told him to get up and go to the middle of
nowhere. Most of us would not have
gone.
There Philip found a
man, a eunuch, who could not understand the Word of God. Philip preached to him, he got saved, he went
back to
History books record
that around a million people gave their lives to Christ because of that one
man.
Philip was not one who just
went, he waited until he was sent.
Even Jesus said to tarry
in the upper room until the Holy Ghost comes and you are SENT.
Don't just be one who just went. Be one who is sent.
Acts 13:2-3 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost
said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called
them. And when they had fasted and
prayed, and laid [their] hands on them, they sent [them] away.
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The apostle Paul who had
one of the most incredible recorded salvations, and was commissioned by God
only a few days later, came to Antioch and served faithfully for years knowing
in his heart he had a worldwide vision.
Then one day God spoke to separate unto Him Barnabus
and Saul. They laid hands on them and
sent them.
When God's established
authority lays hands on us and sends us, it is the same as being sent by
God. It's not the leader sending
us. It is God through His leadership
sending us.
From the point where
Jesus sent the apostles, this is the example we see in scriptures of God
sending people by using His established authority; by using men.
7. The transfer of
blessing comes by the laying of hands.
Gen. 48:14-20 And
Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid [it] upon Ephraim's head, who
[was] the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his
hands wittingly; for Manasseh [was] the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before
whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life
long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads;
and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his
right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his
father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my
father: for this [is] the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know
[it], my son, I know [it]: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be
great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed
shall become a multitude of nations. And
he blessed them that day, saying, In thee
shall
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The
blessing that was on
This
ties in with being
sent. When you are sent you are
blessed. So many are
not blessed in their ministry because they went and were not sent.
In Review:
1. What
does the “laying on of hands” speak of?
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2. What
does the “hand” speak of? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Where
is the first reference of the “laying on of hands” in the Bible?
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