Foundations, Part 6 - Your Point of Contact

Hebrews 6:1-3 "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits."

If you've been following along, we've already laid two of these five foundations:
1 - Repentance from Dead Works and Faith Toward God
2 - Baptisms (All three of them)
Now we're going to transition to the third elementary principle - the laying on of hands.

Simply put, this is when one person places their hand on another person (usually on top of the head) by faith and transfers some spiritual thing into them.

Old Covenant Principle

Transferring a spiritual substance by the laying on of hands is not something that the early church created out of nowhere. Actually, it started in the Law of Moses...as a way to free a person from the guilt of sin.

The first time we see it is in Leviticus 3:2 - as God was giving instructions regarding Israel's peace offerings. "And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle..." When the person offered this sacrifice, they would place their hands on the animal's head. This would symbolically transfer their sin onto the animal, which would then be killed immediately by the priest.

Over and over again, at least eight more times in the book of Leviticus, Israelites were commanded to lay their hands on the head of their sacrifices.

(Now, we know from Hebrews 10:4 that this sacrifice couldn't actually remove a person's sin...because the blood of that animal wasn't worth that kind of price. But this was a symbol of what Jesus was going to do on the cross. All of our sin was transferred to Him as He died...removing it from us once and for all!)

And this spiritual transfer wasn't just from person to animal...in Numbers 8:10 we see a symbolic person-to-person transfer. "So you shall bring the Levites before the LORD, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites..." In a foreshadow of Jesus' sacrifice for us, the Levites briefly bore the iniquity of the people upon themselves. I say "briefly" because the Levites then laid their hands on their own animal sacrifice two verses later.

So the Laying on of Hands started out as a way to temporarily transfer the guilt of someone's sin to an animal sacrifice. And this is how it continued through the Old Covenant...until one man changed it all - Jairus.

Reversing The Concept By Faith

Mark 5:22-23 "And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.'"

Most people take Jairus' request for granted...but you need to understand something: Up until this point, there is no biblical connection between Jesus laying hands on someone and their healing. Sure, He healed a lot of folks before this miracle - but apparently not by this method.

Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue - a religious leader who knew the Law of Moses well. He knew all about the transference of sin during the offering of animal sacrifices. I believe this was the reason he asked Jesus to come lay His hands on the girl. Jairus reasoned this way: "If we can transfer our sin by laying our hands on a goat's head, then surely this Man can transfer healing to my daughter by laying His hands on her!"

After Jairus said this, Jesus would not let him say anything different. By faith, this man made his declaration...and Jesus responded to it. He went to Jairus' house and "took her by the hand". This touch transferred healing from Jesus into that little girl's body - and she was resurrected!

From this point forward, all through the New Testament, the laying on of hands became something different than it was previously. Instead of a person letting go of their sin, it became a point of contact for that person to receive an impartation from another believer.

New Testament Impartations

After the incident with Jairus' daughter, we see three spiritual things that are transferred from one person to another in the New Testament.

#1 - Physical Healing

Mark 16:18 "...they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Acts 28:8 "Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him."

#2 - Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Acts 8:17 "Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."

Acts 19:6 "And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied."

#3 - The Spiritual Gifts Necessary to Function in Ministry

1 Timothy 4:14 "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership."

2 Timothy 1:6 "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands."

On a side note: In all three of these cases, we know that the laying on of hands is just one way to receive from God. It's never the only way. In the scriptures, people were healed, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and set apart for ministry without this method. But it is a valuable tool, a definite point of contact for a person to make a decision - "Here's where it all changed for me."

It's also important to realize another thing....this transference is not physical, it's spiritual. Therefore, the anointing of God on a person's life shouldn't be thought of as if it were unintentionally "contagious". No, the laying on of hands has to be an act of faith on the part of both the giver and the receiver.

Look back up to Mark 16:18 and notice the pattern: "they [the believer] shall lay hands on the sick, and they [the sick] shall recover." There's two parts to this; the one laying hands, and the one on whom hands are being laid. Both sides have to act in faith - believing that God will do what He promised.

This two-sided pattern applies to all three impartations: healing, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and spiritual giftings.

This is why we don't get in a hurry when we lay hands on someone. Look at 1 Timothy 5:22 "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily..." If necessary, we need to take our time and make sure that what we're about to do will be effective. It should never be just for appearance sake.

If you're the one on the giving side: then ask the Father what He wants done, and make sure that you're acting in faith as you do it.

If you're the one on the receiving side: then be ready to receive from God at the moment of contact.

In both cases: walk away from the laying on of hands fully assured that the transference has taken place!