What's All This about
"Anointing with Oil" and
"Laying on of Hands"?
What do you mean, "Laying on of Hands"?
Is this needful for
receiving
God's Holy Spirit? Is it an essential
part of baptism
itself? Why should hands be placed on people? What is its true
meaning? What purpose does it serve? Is this to be part of the
ordination
of ministers? And what about
"anointing" with oil?
When should this be
done? Who, in Scripture, was
"anointed"?
Here are answers YOU
need to know!
William F. Dankenbring
Interestingly, when God called such
men as Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel to do His
service -- to serve Him -- there is no record or account of any of them having
"hands" laid upon them.
At the burning bush, God selected
and appointed Moses to lead His people out of
The Calling of the Prophets
Again, when God called Isaiah to
serve Him, was Isaiah "ordained" by the laying on of hands of men --
even other prophets who preceded him?
Not at all! God never worked in
that fashion. Notice! Isaiah's calling is explained in chapter 6 of
his prophetic book. He records that he
saw a vision of God sitting on His throne, with seraphim standing around Him,
worshipping Him. Isaiah was shaken by
the experience and cried out, "'Woe is me, for I am undone! [that is, destroyed, cut off]
Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.' Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having
in his hand a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and
said: 'Behold, this has touched your
lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.' Also I heard the voice of the Lord,
saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will
go for Us?'
Then I said, 'Here am I! Send
me.' And He said, 'Go, and tell this
people . . . .'" (Isaiah 6:1-9).
Isaiah was called by God to become
His servant. There was no
"ordination" by laying on of hands involved
at all.
Similarly, when Jeremiah was called
by God to serve Him, there was no special ceremony of laying
on of hands. Rather, we read in
Jeremiah, chapter 1: "Then the word
of the Lord came to me, saying: 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were
born, I sanctified you [set you apart]; I ordained [appointed] you a prophet to
the nations'" (Jeremiah 1:4-5).
What was Jeremiah's response? "Then said I: 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a
youth.' But the Lord said to me: 'Do not say, "I am a youth," for
you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall
speak. Do not be afraid of their faces,
for I am with you to deliver you,' says the Lord. Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched
my mouth, and the LORD said to me:
'Behold, I have put My words in your
mouth. See, I have this day set you
over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to
destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant'" (Jer.1:4-10, NKJV).
Notice! There was no laying
on of hands here, in some ritual or ceremony of "ordination." Rather, God "ordained" him a
prophet to the nations by merely APPOINTING him to be such! Then, when He touched him, he touched his mouth!
Ordination of Priests
When God established the Levitical
Priesthood, appointing the tribe of Levi to serve Him at the tabernacle, and
appointing the sons of Aaron, Moses' brother, to be the actual priests, He
carefully instructed Israel as to the tabernacle or sanctuary itself, its
contents, the altar, table of showbread, the menorah, the curtains, the laver
for washing, the Ark of the Covenant, and all the attendant details (Exodus 35-38).
God also decreed that the priests
should have special garments. "Of
the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments [or, woven garments] of
ministry, for ministering in the holy place [the sanctuary], and made the holy
garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses" (Exodus 39:1). When everything was ready, special anointing
oil was used to anoint the tabernacles and everything in it (Exo.40:9),
including the altar and laver (v.10).
But what about the
priests? "Then you shall bring
Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with
water. You shall put the holy garments
on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. And you
shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. You shall anoint them, as you anointed their
father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall
surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations"
(Exo.40:12-15).
The anointing oil itself was very
special. It was composed of 500 shekels
of myrrh, 250 shekels of cinnamon, 250 shekels of sweet-smelling cane, 500
shekels of cassia, and a hin of olive oil
(Exo.30:22-25). God said, "And you
shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an
ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy
anointing oil" (v.25). He
instructed, "And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them
[set them apart], that they may minister to Me as
priests" (v.30). The priests
themselves -- the sons of Aaron -- were set apart for their divine service by
being anointed with special anointing oil.
We read further, "And he
[Moses] poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to
consecrate him" (Lev.8:12).
There is no mention, however, of any
human "laying on of hands" in this anointing. Rather, oil was poured over their heads in
the ordination ceremony.
The Anointing of Kings
When
Therefore, God sent Samuel to anoint
another. He said to him, "Fill your
horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself
a king among his sons" (1 Sam.16:1).
When David came up last among Jesse's sons (he was the eighth son, a
"new beginning"), God said to Samuel, "Arise, anoint him; for
this is the one!" (v.12).
"Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of
his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day
forward" (v.13).
The kings of
In this case, a prophet was
specially anointed. This was not
generally the practice, but since Elisha was to
follow in the "place" of Elijah, with a similar office and calling,
God instructed him to personally "anoint" Elisha,
as a demonstration
of the conveying or
passing on of this same office and spiritual authority.
Again, however, there is no mention
anywhere of "laying on of hands."
It was not part of the ceremony of anointing and setting apart for
spiritual service!
How
Christ Chooses His Servants
Likewise, in the New Testament, when
Jesus Christ selected His disciples, and appointed them to be apostles, we find
no trace of evidence that there was any "laying of hands" involved in
the process or calling! Rather, we find
the simple words: "And Jesus,
walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew
his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will
make you fishers of men'" (Matt.4:18-19, NKJV). This was a simple beckoning -- and they were
"called" and "chosen."
We read: "They immediately
left their nets and followed Him."
The Lord then called James and John,
two more brothers. We read: "Going on from there, He saw two other
brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father,
mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their
father, and followed Him" (vs.20-22).
In another account of their calling,
we read in the book of Luke where Jesus was preaching to a crowd, and then saw
two boats by the lake, and the fishermen -- Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John
-- were washing their nets. He got into
one of the boats and asked Peter to launch out into the lake, where He
"sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat" (Luke 5:1-4). When He was finished, He asked Peter to go
further out into the lake, and to let down their nets. Peter was reluctant, saying to Him that they
had fished all night, but caught nothing.
Nevertheless, at His word, Peter let down the net -- and behold! Never saw they so great a catch of fish -- so
many that they were breaking the net! -- so many that they signaled to the
other boat, and both boats were filled with fish, to the very point of sinking!
(vs.4-7).
Can you imagine it? "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down
at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!' For he and all who were with him were
astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James
and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with
Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not
be afraid. From now on you will catch
men.' So when they brought their boats
to land, they forsook all [left behind all] and followed Him" (Luke
5:8-11).
Do you see any "laying on of
hands" here? Of course not!
We
know how Christ chose the apostles. We
read, "Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He
might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast
out demons" (Mark 3:14). Notice
again -- these men were chosen, appointed, but there is no mention at all of
"ordination," as the world thinks of it, anointing with oil, or
"laying on of hands"!
Later, Jesus tells His disciples,
"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should
go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the
Father in My name He may give you" (John 15:16).
They were chosen -- appointed
to become "apostles" -- but there was simply NO "laying on of
hands" required, or any special "ceremony" of any kind,
whatsoever! The word
"appointed" in this verse is translated "ordained" in the
King James Version. It is the Greek word
tithemi and means literally "to
place," in the widest application, as in "advise, appoint, bow,
commit, conceive, give, make, ordain, purpose, put, set (forth)," etc.
Ordination in the Church
How were ministers and elders chosen
and selected in the early church?
Many churches today practice a
custom of having ministers "ordain" others to the ministry by
"laying on of hands," and sometimes also accompanied by
"anointing" with oil -- meaning olive oil. Some churches also "raise" a
minister in "rank" by a similar "ordination service"
involving laying on of hands. Can you find
even one single solitary scripture in the entire New Testament about such a
practice as "raising in rank" a minister?
This kind of practice for choosing
elders and ministers is NOT found in the Scriptures! It is rather a custom that is a carry-over
from Babylon, Mystery Religion -- the custom followed by the Daughter of
Babylon, the Whore of Rome, the Roman Catholic Church!
Rather, in the Scriptures, we find
that GOD is the One who places servants in His Church, and gives them different
"offices" or duties. "And
God has appointed these in the church:
first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healing, helps," etc. (1 Cor.12:28). Notice! Not men, but GOD does this. How do we know, then, which gifts and
responsibilities a particular man has? By
His fruits!
Also, we read in Ephesians,
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for
the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come
to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect
man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no
longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting"
(Ephesians 4:11-14, NKJV).
There is no hint in these passages
that ministers, at their appointing, were to have 'hands" laid on them, or
that they were to be anointed with oil.
Notice again! "And He
Himself gave" out these various offices and ministries in the
Church! God places each one in
the body of Christ, in the Church -- "But God has set the members,
each one of them, in the body just as He pleased" (1
Cor.12:18). God does these things -- not
men!
Why, then, have many churches,
following the example of the Roman Catholic Church, the fount of all apostasy
and ringleader in the movement away from God's truth, accepted their
methodology of "ordination" of priests and bishops, with laying on of
hands? Let's understand!
What
Do You Mean, "Ordained"?
An example of ordination in the
early church is found in Titus 1:5 where we read Paul's words to Titus, an
evangelist: "For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain
elders in every city, as I had appointed thee." The New King James Bible makes this more
clear: "For this reason I left you
in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and APPOINT
ELDERS in every city as I commanded you."
In the book of Acts, we also
read: "So when they [Paul and
Barnabas] had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting,
they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed" (Acts
13:23). Notice that this selection of
elders was accompanied with fasting and prayer.
But there is no mention at all of any "laying on of
hands"! It was not necessary. These men were appointed as "elders"
or leaders in the local churches by the apostles and leaders -- in this case,
by Paul and Barnabas.
The Greek word for
"ordained" or "appointed" is the word kathistemi,
and means "to place down (permanently), i.e., designate, constitute,
convoy -- appoint, be, conduct, make, ordain, set." It simply means to appoint, select, or choose
-- to designate or set in office.
At no time and in no place is there
every any indication that this act, of itself, EVER involved the so-called
"laying on of hands" of the ministry of the Church!
A
Special Ministry
Where, then, does the "laying
on of hands" come into the picture?
Does the Bible discuss it? Indeed
it does! Let's understand!
Notice Acts 13. We read:
"Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets
and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called
Niger; Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and
Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and
fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them.' Then,
having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them
away" (verse 1-3).
This was the beginning of Barnabas'
and Saul's first journey preaching the gospel in the Greek-speaking world. The hands of the elders and prophets were
laid upon Barnabas and Saul -- but this was definitely not an "ordination"
ceremony. They were already appointed by
God to be apostles and servants. Paul
himself was taught by Christ in the desert of Arabia (Gal.1:11-17), by
revelation. He had already been
appointed to be an apostle (Acts 9:15).
The laying on of hands, therefore,
in this instance was simply a way of blessing these men, and committing
them into God's hands, as they prayed over them and for them, before they
departed on this ground-breaking journey preaching the gospel in new regions
where it had never before been preached.
But for "ordination," it was not required, and there is no
evidence that it was involved.
Notice also the passage in Acts 6,
where we read of a problem that came up in the early church. Some of the widows were being neglected
(verses 1-2). We read, "Then the
twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, 'It is not desirable
that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you
seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may
appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer
and to the ministry of the word.' And
the saying pleased the whole multitude.
And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip,
Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a
proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had
prayed, they laid hands on them" (Acts 6:2-6).
The apostles asked the congregation
to select seven men of good reputation to deal with this matter. Philip and Stephen were two of those who were
set apart for this service. This passage
plainly says these men had hands placed upon them, after the apostles prayed,
and set them apart for this special service.
But this passage of Scripture does
not refer to this laying on of hands as some sort of
"ordination." They were not
anointed with oil. Rather, they were
"BLESSED" by the apostles, as they began this new ministry in the
church!
The Laying on of Hands
The first account in the Bible of "laying on of
hands" is in Genesis 48. Joseph
brings his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh before his father, Israel (Jacob),
when he is old, and soon to die. On this
occasion, we read: "Then Israel saw
Joseph's sons, and said, 'Who are these?'
And Joseph said to his father, 'They are my sons, whom God has given me
in this place.' And he said, 'Please
bring them to me, and I will BLESS them'" Gen.48:8-9).
"Then Israel stretched out his
right hand, and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left
hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the
firstborn. And he blessed Joseph,
and said: 'God, before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, BLESS THE LADS; 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" (Gen.48:14-16).
"Now when Joseph saw that his
father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he
took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's
head. And Joseph said to his father,
'Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his
head.' But his father refused and said,
'I know, my son, I know. He also shall
become a people, and he also shall become great; but truly his younger brother
shall become GREATER than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of
nations'" (Gen.48:17-19).
In verse 20 we read, "So he
blessed them that day, saying, 'By you Israel will bless, saying, "May God
make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!"
And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh."
Notice, this was an account of a
BLESSING placed upon CHILDREN! Israel,
or Jacob, laid his hands on the heads of the lads, and then blessed them in
the name of the Lord. They were not
"ordained," but BLESSED! And
notice, there was no "anointing oil" involved -- but simply a
blessing!
The laying on of hands, then,
confers a BLESSING -- it is not some kind of "ordination" as such at
all!
A
Special Ministry -- Healing the Sick
A rather unique example of the
blessing of laying on of hands is in found in the New Testament. We read in the book of Mark, that Jesus gave
special spiritual power or authority to His twelve disciples. "So they went out and preached that
people should repent. And they cast out many
demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them" (Mark
6:12-13).
Jesus' last instructions to His
disciples, where He said: "And
these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons
. . . they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark
16:17-18).
In the book of James we read a very
interesting account relating to this power.
James tells us: 'Is anyone among
you sick? 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. And the prayer of faith will
save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.
And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses one to another, and
pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The effective, fervent [supplication] prayer of a righteous man avails
much" (James 5:14-16).
Laying on of hands was involved in a
special miracle relating to the apostle Paul.
God had struck Paul down, and blinded him, while he was on the way to
Damascus, because of his persecuting the saints. God was calling him to His service. In a vision Paul saw a man named Ananias coming in "and putting his hand on him, so
that he might receive his sight" (Acts 9:12).
We read: "And Ananias
went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said,
'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has
sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy
Spirit.' Immediately there fell from his
eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and
was baptized" (vs.17-18).
Notice that in this instance we find
that the laying on of hands was related to Paul's being healed of blindness,
and being blessed and filled with God's Spirit.
After this, he was baptized, as an outward sign of his newfound faith
and belief in Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah! But the laying on of hands was not part of
the baptism itself! There was no direct
connection between the two things. In this
case, the laying on of hands came FIRST -- for healing -- and later, afterwards,
Paul was baptized, as an outward sign of his repentance and acceptance of
Christ as his Saviour and Redeemer!
There is no connection indicated in
this passage between the laying on of hands and the act of baptism. Paul had hands laid upon him for healing,
first, and then, AFTERWARDS, he was baptized as a symbolic act of his
conversion and acceptance of Christ as his Saviour..
Laying
on of Hands and Baptism
Is the laying on of hands, then,
commanded, and necessary, when a person is baptized for remission of sins, as
an expression of their faith in God and conversion?
Baptism, itself, pictures our old
"man" being buried unto death, and our coming up out of that watery
"grave" as a new man, a new creation, in Christ. Paul wrote, "Therefore we were buried
with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. For if we have been united
together
in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His
resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the
body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of
sin. For he who has died has been freed
[margin, cleared] from sin. Now if we
died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him" (Romans
6:4-8).
Baptism, then, is an act of symbolic
significance. It pictures the burial of
our old "self," in a watery grave, and the resurrection of our
"new self" in Christ, and in His likeness, from that watery
grave. The laying on of hands is not a
part of the picture. It is therefore not
normally necessary when a person is baptized!
Notice!
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He commanded His
disciples, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt.28:18-19). Notice that there is no mention here of the
"laying on of hands."
Furthermore, on the day of
Pentecost, when the New Testament Church began, Peter commanded the repentant
crowds, "Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
Again, there is no mention of the
need of any "laying on of hands" to accompany the baptism!
Also, when Jesus and His disciples
came into the land of Judea, we read that "He remained with them and
baptized" (John 3:22). The
Pharisees soon "heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than
John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples)" (John
4:1-2). In these instances, there is no
account of any "laying on of hands" to accompany the baptism.
Jesus Himself set us an example, by
being baptized by John the Baptist. When
this was done, we read, "When all the people were baptized, it came to
pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was
opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in
bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, 'You
are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased" (Luke 4:21-22).
Here again, in this example which
Jesus set for us, there is no mention of any laying on of hands. It was not necessary!
In the case of Cornelius, the Roman
centurion, and his family, we discover that when Peter preached to them,
introducing them to the true gospel of Jesus Christ and salvation, that as he
was preaching "the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the
word" (Acts 10:44).
Peter then exclaimed, "Can
anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the
Holy Spirit just as we have? And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (verse
47-48). Again, no laying on of hands
was required. They had already received
the Holy Spirit!
Exceptions to the Rule: When Laying on
of Hands Is Needed
Later, in Acts 8, we read of Philip
who went down to Samaria to preach the gospel for the first time to the
Samaritans. Multitudes believed his
message, and were baptized. At the time,
Philip was still a deacon in the church, but he was also filled with God's
Spirit. When the Samaritans repented,
they were baptized. We read, "But
when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of
God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized" (Acts
8:12).
They were baptized as a sign of
their repentance. However, they did not
receive God's Spirit at this time. God
withheld it, evidently for a purpose.
These were, remember, Samaritans, and they had no concourse with the
Jews. There was a lot of enmity and
hostility between the two groups (compare John 4:9).
When the apostles at Jerusalem heard
that the Samaritans had received the gospel, they sent Peter and John to them,
"who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive
the Holy Spirit. For as yet he had fallen
upon none of them. Thy had only been
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit"
(Acts 8:14-16).
On this special occasion, since they
had not received the Holy Spirit upon their baptism, to complete the process,
Peter and John were sent to pray for them, and they laid hands on them to bless
them, and God gave them the Holy Spirit!
By sending the apostles, the whole Church then recognized that even the
Samaritans were acceptable to God, when they repented and turned to Him. Apparently, Philip's stature and authority,
in the eyes of the brethren, at this point, was not sufficient for such an
important advance of the gospel to a new region. Therefore, the appearance of the apostles,
and their prayers, placed God's stamp of approval to the ministry that Philip
had begun among the Samaritans. In this case, the "laying on of
hands" was itself symbolic of the fact that Samaritans, too, could and did
receive God's Holy Spirit.
We read of a similar case in Acts
19. An eloquent preacher by the name of Apollos was leading many to conversion in Ephesus, in Asia
Minor. But he only knew about the
baptism of repentance, taught by John the Baptist. Luke records, "This man had been instructed
in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught
accurately the things of the Lord, though he
knew
only the baptism of John. So he began to
speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and
explained to him the way of God more accurately" (Acts 18:24-26).
Later, Paul came to Ephesus and
found some disciples who had repented at the preaching of Apollos. He asked them, "Did you receive the Holy
Spirit when you believed?' So they said
to him, 'We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.' And he said to them, 'Into what then were you
baptized?' So they said, 'Into John's
baptism.' Then Paul said, 'John indeed
baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should
believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.' When they heard this, they were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus. And when
Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues
[languages] and prophesied" (Acts 19:2-6).
Notice that these men had already
been baptized. Their baptism was done
properly, so they did not need to be baptized all over again. But since they had not understood about
Christ being the Messiah and Saviour, they had not
received the Holy Spirit. Therefore,
Paul did not feel it necessary to baptize them again, but he did lay hands upon
them, and pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit -- and at that moment God
then gave them His Holy Spirit! In this
case, the laying on of hands by God's apostle was necessary -- as in the case
of the new converts in Samaria. But
generally speaking, this is the exception to the rule, and not the rule itself!
The Right and Wrong Way
The study of anointing, laying on of
hands, and how God uses these things in the history of God's people, is truly
amazing, unique, and wonderful. However,
it is important that we understand these things properly, and do things the
right way. Solomon warned, "There
is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of
death" (Proverbs 14:12).
There is a time to "lay hands
on" people, and to anoint them, and a time not to. Appointing ministers is
not one of those times. Laying hands on
and anointing the sick is definitely a proper time to do so. When we are blessing people, or children,
this is a proper time to "lay hands on" them -- or to stretch out our
hands in blessing toward them, as in the case of a large group or
congregation.
Priests of God were to be anointed
with a special anointing oil; but not ministers of the New Covenant. Prophets were generally called directly by
God. Only one that we know of was
"anointed" specifically to be another's successor in his prophetic
office.
If we grasp these principles correctly, we can
avoid much danger, mischief, and peril in the church in the future! If you have been immersed in baptism, having
repented on your sins, and accepted Christ as your Saviour,
and your life demonstrates that you have received God's Holy Spirit, then there
is no need to be baptized again, or to have hands laid upon you. As Paul said, "Whatsoever is not from
faith is sin" (Rom.14:17). But if
you feel you never received God's Spirit, and you have not been sincerely
striving to obey God in your life, then you may want to reconsider your baptism
and conversion! Jesus said, "You
will know them by their fruits" (Matt.7:20).