The laying on of hands is listed in scripture as one of the most basic, foundational, and fundamental doctrines of Christ. Yet, to many it is an obscure practice… you don’t hear about it in many sermons, nor is it a subject that a lot of people ask to have explained, or have questions about.

Hebrews 6:1-2 here is the listing I just referred to. These are what scripture considers the foundational teachings. Therefore this is a list of what the Church of God considers the foundational teachings. In order to build the mature mind of Christ we must be sure that the foundation is firmly in place.

Within the biblical and church context the laying on of hands is a physical act meant to picture a spiritual reality or spiritual event taking place. It is hard to provide a public witness and testimony to stuff happening on the spiritual level without a physical act. Human beings are simply not wired to commune with one another on a spirit level. We connect with one another through words and actions. God has limited human beings in this way… probably for our own protection.

John 3:8 Jesus offers us an analogy: we don’t see wind, but we know the wind is there because we see the leaves are moving, or we hear the sound as it moves through the tree. In the same way the laying on of hands provides testimony to something spiritual happening.

Here are 4 spiritual transactions accompanied by a laying on of human hands:

1. Conferring blessings
2. The transference of sin from one party to another.
3. Acceptance of authority
4. The receipt of the Holy Spirit

Conferring Blessings

Genesis 48:14 Jacob’s hands had no power to make these prophetic/future blessings happen. The power of the almighty God did that.

Matthew 19:13-15 Jesus blessed them through the laying on of his hands and prayer. Even with Jesus it was not His flesh and blood hands that had power in them, or transferred power through them… it was the power and will of the Father at work. Jesus words and actions [specifically the laying on of hands] gave testimony to the blessings only the Father could give John 5:19-23,30.

The Transference of Sin in Old Covenant Examples

Leviticus 1:2-4 – the spiritual consequences of sin

Leviticus 16:21 – the spiritual blame/guilt for sin

The priest’s hands had no special power in them, nor is it necessary to think the spiritual energy had to flow through the priest’s hands like water through a hose or electricity through a wire. The laying on of hands is a physical act testifying to a spiritual event or transaction.

Like the wind… you cannot see forgiveness, but you can see the sign God offers to testify to it.

To Give Authority [Both Civil & Religious]

God uses the laying on of hands to ordain/appoint His servants to positions of responsibility and authority within His chosen assembly.

Numbers 27:18-23 it was not Moses who put Joshua over Israel. Moses laid hands on Joshua for all Israel to see with their eyes. A spiritual transaction is taking place. God was appointing Joshua to a position of responsibility within the congregation in the wilderness. The laying on of hands was a physical act, a symbol, of the fact that God placed Joshua in that office.

New Testament Examples

There are many examples in the early records of the Church of God of official roles within the body conferred upon someone through the laying on of hands.

Acts 6:4-6 deacons

Acts 13:1-3 God chose these men and made it known through the prophets and teachers by the visible laying on of hands

2 Timothy 1:6 it was God who gave Timothy the gifts but it was testified to by the laying on of hands

1 Timothy 5:22 there is a human element in the process… God allows us to make choices & mistakes

Recognition of [And Submission to] Authority

We saw that the laying on of hands was used to witness to a person being tasked with a responsibility and granted authority to carry it out. But the laying on of hands is also a public witness of submitting to authority. Their authority does not exceed what is necessary to get the job done. A person ordained is not them an authority unto themselves. They operate within a larger body.

You and I submit ourselves to the authority of the Father. He alone has the power to raise us to everlasting life. We submit ourselves to His judgment in this matter… as to whether we are fit and prepared to receive the full rights of son-ship and inheritance when Christ returns.

The Father has given the authority to judge to His Son… Jesus Christ. He has also made Christ head of His Church. Within the Church Christ has designated some to be hands, some feet, some eyes, ears, mouth or perhaps the stomach. Acting together the Church bears the responsibility to prepare those whom God calls to receive everlasting life and inheritance.

Timothy did not proclaim himself a minister of God… it came through the authority of the Church… and whatever authority there is in the Church is given by Christ Ephesians 4:4-13. He does this so that we may be fit and prepared to receive the fullness of eternal life.

Timothy had hands laid upon him by Paul… who in turn had hands laid upon himself by apostles and elders who were commissioned by Jesus Christ Acts 13:1-3, Acts 11:25-30 [prophets and teachers from Jerusalem].

Yes, Paul had his road to Damascus experience… he was called and instructed by the living Christ. Paul was very clear about this in his writings. But, he also worked within [or submitted himself to] the structure of the Church. If ever anyone had reason to believe they could best serve God by breaking off and doing a work on their own it was Paul. But he did not operate that way Galatians 2:1-2.

God wants us to work together through the Church.

Laying on of Hands as Applied to Healing

The purpose of laying on of hands in healing is also tied to the recognition of and submission to authority.

Mark 6:4-5; Luke 4:40 – Jesus healed by the laying on of hands. Besides offering a display of His personal compassion and love. Healing was one of the many signs that He was the promised Messiah… to whom power authority and dominion were given.

Acts 28:8 Paul healed by the laying on of hands. This offered a testimony to who he was and the validity of his commission to preach to the non-Jewish world.

James 5:14-15

The elder’s hands have no special powers… there is no power in the oil. The power of the Holy Spirit does not have to flow though the hands of that man like water through a hose of electricity through a wire. The healing is God’s through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yet through the laying on of hands, God continually points you back towards the flesh and blood reality of His Church… a body of human beings: fallible, imperfect, a source of great joy, a source of great sorrow, perhaps frustration… yet Jesus Christ works with you through His Church.

Why the Elders?

To come to the elders, who anoint, lay hands upon you, and pray is a physical act in which you submit yourself to God’s authority… to His will… to His perfect righteous decision on the matter.

God gives physical procedures as a demonstration of your submission to His authority over your life. God wants people to come to him in the manner He instructs.

2 Kings 5:6-15 the power was not in the water… the power was in the submission… the washing in the water was only visible testimony to a spiritual transaction… submit yourself to God.

Why jump in the Jordan instead of the rivers of Damascus?

Why come to the elders instead of the person sitting next to you?

God gives physical procedures as a demonstration of your submission to His authority over your life. God wants people to come to Him through the Church. That is why you come to the elders, who lay hands upon you, anoint you, and pray.

The Father calls and draws a person to Himself through the Son… Jesus Christ. Christ is the door. He is the way. The scriptures are also very clear that the Church acts in this age as the body of Christ… His flesh and blood presence in the world at this time. He is the head of the body… He is the head of the Church.

Receiving the Holy Spirit

Acts 8:15-17 – the hands of the person [Peter or John] don’t transmit the Holy Spirit… only God can place the Holy Spirit within you. Only God the Father can make you a begotten child.

But, God has given us the example of the laying on of hands as the outward sign of this amazing spiritual transaction taking place. A physical procedure which gives a witness and recognition of the human instruments through whom our Father, and His Son have chosen to work through.

Acts 9:17-19 Paul/Saul had a direct encounter with the risen Christ. Yet when it cam time for Paul to receive the Holy Spirit, God sent a man. A disciple named Ananias to lay hands upon him and baptize him. Later on, as much as a maverick as he was, Paul worked through the structure of the Church.

Acts 19:5-6 Paul continued the process of laying on of hands for the receipt to the Holy Spirit.

Summary

The laying on of hands is considered in scripture to be among the most fundamental teachings of Christ and therefore of the church. It is a simple physical procedure meant to draw our attention to, and provide a witness to the very spiritual work that God our Creator is doing in us… through His Church… in this age.