Christianity 101: The Laying on of Hands

For Christians the book of Hebrews is essential for analyzing what the early church believed and taught as doctrine. In instructing the church Paul (the likely author) chastised them for now growing in the faith.

In Hebrews 6:1 Paul reminded them of the "principles of the doctrine of Christ". In other words, those things which Christ said should be taught to Christians. These are foundational principles:

Hbr 6:1 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,
Hbr 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

There are listed several foundational doctrines that Christ said should be taught as HIS doctrine. These are:

1. Repentence from dead works.
2. Faith toward God.
3. Baptisms
4. Laying on of hands
5. Resurrection of the dead.
6. Eternal judgment.

These things are Christianity 101 as Christ taught it. As Christ expected it to be taught by his followers.

Scripture has numerous examples of laying on of hands. In general there are 3 purposes as seen in scripture:

1. To impart the holy spirit to a fellow believer in Christ.
2. To heal.
3. To ordain to a Godly office.

Act 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Act 8:15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Act 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Act 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

In his example we see that there were a number of believers that had been baptized in the name of Jesus yet did not have the holy spirit of God. After the disciples of Christ lay hands on them they received the holy spirit.

This was recognized by not only true believers, but those who wished to exploit true believers:

Act 8:18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Act 8:19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

It's important to note that this was approximately 3 to 5 years after the death of Christ.

Likewise when Paul was converted he had hands laid on him to receive the holy spirit:

Acts 9:17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus,fn 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.”

Paul took this teaching and applied it in his ministry. In Acts 19, Paul came upon some disciples of Christ:

Act 19:1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
Act 19:2 he said to 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.”

So these disciples not only did not have the holy spirit, they didn't even know about it!

Act 19:3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Act 19:4 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.”

Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

In his 2nd letter to Timothy Paul reminds Timothy how he got the holy spirit and not to neglect it:

2Ti 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

In all the new testament there are only two instances in which the holy spirit was not given by the laying on of hands.

The first is in Acts 2 when the holy spirit was given to the first jewish Christians:

Act 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accordfn in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The second instance is Acts 10, when the first gentiles Christians came into the church of God:

Act 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
Act 10:45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
Act 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered,
Act 10:47 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

Note Peter's words: These first gentile Christians, the first gentile disciples, received the holy spirit just as the first jewish Christians did. In other words, this method of the holy spirit coming on was limited to these two groups.

In scripture wherever it is mentioned how the holy spirit is given to men it is through the laying on of hands.

This is not a popular concept today and in fact it is often viciously attacked. The reasons for this can only be guessed at but tradition certainly plays a large part.

But it is incorrect to say it is not Christian nor biblical because as scripture points out it is a foundational belief of Christianity.

For some context, this is the premise behind the UCG-cult’s claim to fame (DouglasKC is a member), since they believe that they alone are the true church of God on Earth, and therefore one must be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit from them, otherwise you don’t get to join the ‘God family’ along with them.

But to address the claims of this article:

“Scripture has numerous examples of laying on of hands. In general there are 3 purposes as seen in scripture:

1. To impart the holy spirit to a fellow believer in Christ.
2. To heal.
3. To ordain to a Godly office.”

There is no mandate in scripture that requires the laying on of hands to receive the Spirit, who is the third person of the Trinity (which the UCG denies). The Spirit is specifically described as sovereign, moving where He wills and how He pleases:

Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Salvation is by grace alone, which itself is an event initiated by the Holy Spirit, who comes upon a man and informs Him that Jesus is the Christ.

1Co_12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Laying on of hands is not necessary for healing. For example, Christ here heals without even being in the same location as the other individual:

“The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.”
(Joh 4:49-53)

In the case of the infilling of the Spirit, Cornelius and his family are filled with the Spirit prior to having any one place hands on them, or water baptism, but only at the words of the Apostles:

“While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”
(Act 10:44-48)

Similarly, the Thief is saved prior to Baptism, and without anyone laying hands on him. The Spirit is promised to all those who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and even that confession is itself the work of the Spirit on the soul of the man:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
(Joh 3:14-15)

“no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” (Joh 6:65)

While the Apostles did lay hands on men, these Baptisms of the Spirit were immediatelly followed up with signs and wonders of a very visible nature, which do not occur whenever the UCG lays hands on people. Nor were they done by any virtue in their own hands, but according to the purpose of God to demonstrate the truth and power of Christianity.

For more information on the UCG in general, however:

“Founder: It was founded “by Bob Dick and David Hulme, in Arcadia, CA;”1 offshoot of Herbert W. Armstrong and was formed in May of 1995.

Headquarters: Milford, Ohio

Membership: unknown

Origins: The United Church of God is an offshoot of the Worldwide Church of God. They claim to trace their origins back to the “Church that Jesus founded in the early first century.”2 How this is done is not explained.

Practices: Worship on Saturday

Analysis: The United Church of God is a non-Christian cult that denies the Trinity, the true divinity of Christ, and requires both baptism and obedience to the commandments to be saved. It teaches that there is a “God family” of which we can become members through keeping the Law. Jesus is one of two divine beings, the Father being the other. The Holy Spirit is a force, a power, and is not the 3rd person of the Trinity, and it is received only through the laying on of hands by their church members. It also teaches that their members are obligated to keep the Sabbath and must observe seven festivals. They cannot eat unclean meat. This is a false religious system that teaches a false God, false Christ, and false gospel. Stay away from it.

Other Teachings:

They teach that the wicked, or unsaved, are not alive in hell but are annihilated. Baptism is by immersion. The Bible is inspired and inerrant. They are pre-millennial and maintain that Satan is a fallen, evil angel. Christians are not to go to war and should refuse being drafted.

Quotes

God: God consists of two different beings, Father and Son, in a ‘family.’
“...the one God is a family, presently consisting of God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. And God is in the process of adding to the divine family multitudes of others - eventually all human beings who are willing and who faithfully choose to follow God’s way...the Father and Jesus Christ are both God...The real message in these pronouncements is that there is no other God apart from the true God’that is, outside the God family now consisting of two divine Beings, the Father and the Son. In short, the God family alone is God...the true God means the one God family to which others will yet be added.”3
Holy Spirit: The UCOG denies the personhood of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is God’s divine power. “...the Holy Spirit is the very nature, presence and expression of God’s power actively working in His servants...the very essence and life force through which the Father begets human beings as His spiritual children...The Holy Spirit is spoken of in many ways that demonstrate that it is not a divine person.”4
The Holy Spirit is received by the laying on of hands, after being water baptized by immersion.5
Jesus
“Jesus is one of two divine beings”6
Jesus is sinless, the creator of all humanity, who was raised from the dead, (physical resurrection is not explained).
Jesus will return
Law: “The Ten Commandments are the 10 points of God’s law of love. We believe that breaking any one point of the law brings upon a person the penalty of sin. We believe that this fundamental spiritual law reveals the only way to true life and the only possible way of happiness, peace and joy.”7
Man
Man is fallen but can become “partakers of the divine nature.” This means that they can be added to the God Family.
After death, you cease to exist but are resurrected for judgment. “The soul ( nephesh ) is not immortal, because it dies...what happens to the spiritual essence that separates man from animal? Does it continue as a conscious, immortal soul independent of the physical body? Certainly not!”8
“We believe that at the return of Jesus Christ a resurrection to spirit life will take place for all who have been God’s faithful servants.”9
Sabbath: Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the proper day to worship God.
Salvation - Salvation is through Jesus only, but you must be baptized to be saved. Salvation can be lost.
You must acknowledge your sin, that your sin condemns you, and that you need forgiveness in Jesus. The person must repent and be baptized. You “...must forsake the sinful ways that brought the death penalty upon us and made Jesus’ sacrifice necessary in the first place. We must undergo a life-transforming change of heart and direction, a process the Bible calls repentance....When you are baptized, God forgives your past sins and clears your record...After our baptism, Christ’s ministers are to place their hands on us and pray for the gift of God’s Spirit for us. It is at this point that God gives His Spirit to a repentant, baptized person.”10
“After baptism and our receiving of God’s Spirit, we are justified. That is, we become righteous in God’s sight”11
“If we stumble and sin after baptism, we must ask God’s forgiveness and return to Him so that our state of forgiveness is not lost by our return to our old sinful way of life...If a Christian at some time during his life, after committing to serve God, turns away and renounces Jesus and God’s way in word or action, he will lose his salvation.”12

The saved don’t go to heaven but will live on earth with Jesus.

“God will offer salvation all who have lived, including those of non-Christian religions, in a time described in Revelation 22: 5, 11-13 . This is a period known as the Great White Throne Judgment when God will offer salvation, through Christ, to those denied such opportunity in their life.”13
“We believe God’s purpose for mankind is to prepare those whom He calls, and who elect through a life of overcoming sin, developing righteous character and growing in grace and knowledge, to possess God’s Kingdom and become kings and priests reigning with Christ at His return.”14
“Such individuals are justified, pardoned from the penalty of sin and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which literally abides within them and supplies the divine love that alone can fulfill the law and produce righteousness.”15

Footnotes at link:

http://carm.org/ucog

From the Catholic EWTN list of Cults:

“Worldwide Church of God - Leader: Hurbert W. Armstrong
. Jesus is a part of the godhead (God is a family) and men can become like Jesus and part of the God family - Sons of God. They do not believe in a closed godhead (TRINITY). The Holy Spirit is not considered a person, but the Father and the Son work through it. (Derivate cult - International Church of God. Leader: Son of Herbert, George, was disowned by his father and started this group that believes the same, but claims that the Worldwide Church lost its authority when Herbert divorced his wife.)”

https://www.ewtn.com/library/NEWAGE/CULTCAT.TXT

From my copy of Walter Martin’s “Kingdom of the Cults”:

“Most of the splinter cults of Armstrongism retain the name ‘Church of God’ somewhere in their title. They mix legalism, including strict Sabbatarianism, with a variety of Armstrong’s leading doctrinces. Two other noteworthy groups among these are the Global Church of God, located in San Diego, California, and the United Church of God in Arcadia, California. The former has a television following on two superstations covering much of the United States, while the latter publishes The Good News magazine and covers thirty television stations with programming.” (Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults, Ed. Hank Hanegraaff. Pg. 472)

“Oh, yes, only that Christ taught it as a basic foundation of Christianity”

No He didn’t. That’s your claim, upon finding many verses wherein hands were laid upon, but none of which deny the promise that salvation is offered to all those who believe.

There are no verses that say “You must receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands from the UCG’s ministers.” There are many verses which declare that salvation is for whoever believes, though.

“Those verse talk about the nature of the spirit...it’s paranormal...and not how it comes to indwell in believers.”

“Paranormal” is an interesting word, but Christ says that the Spirit “blows where He listeth,” that is, where He wants. This is an echo of the first chapter in John as well:

Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

If regeneration and the infilling of the Spirit requires the laying on of hands, then it is “by the will of the flesh, and the will of man.” And, therefore, not by the “will of God,” or the “listing” of the Spirit.

“Addressed in the article.”

Not really, since the scripture neither declares that it is necessary to receive the Spirit by the laying on of hands, nor does it say that it was an exception to the rule, then all you’re doing is reading your own invention into the text to support another invention.

You would also need to find a way to save the Thief on the cross without the laying on of hands, and any Christian who does not have access to an Apostle. You also didn’t address the fact that conversion, itself, the giving of faith, is the act of the Holy Spirit. And yet, this is done without the laying on of hands.

“Nice try, but your response is based on many suppositions and traditional beliefs.”

Your supposition is that the Holy Spirit must be given by those with the authority to do so, which takes the authority away from God, and gives it to the members of your church.

All I did was quote scripture.

No He didn’t. That’s your claim, upon finding many verses wherein hands were laid upon, but none of which deny the promise that salvation is offered to all those who believe.

No, that's the claim of Jesus and Paul:

Hbr 6:1 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,
Hbr 6:2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

I'll just edit out your insults to keep the flow better.

Well since that's what it says in scripture and what Jesus taught as doctrine and what Paul taught in doctrine and what was practiced by the disciples then maybe you're misunderstanding something.

You would also need to find a way to save the Thief on the cross without the laying on of hands, and any Christian who does not have access to an Apostle.

Well since that's what it says in scripture and what Jesus taught as doctrine and what Paul taught in doctrine and what was practiced by the disciples then maybe you're misunderstanding something about the thief on the cross. For example does it say he went to heaven or was saved?

“No, that’s the claim of Jesus and Paul:”

No, it really isn’t the claim of either Jesus or Paul. There is no scripture that says that the Holy Spirit must be given by the “laying on of hands.” That’s just your assumption, reading the “laying on of hands” and connecting it with the claims of your non-Trinitarian church.

“Well since that’s what it says in scripture and what Jesus taught as doctrine and what Paul taught in doctrine”

But the scripture doesn’t say that. Your argument is essentially to take every instance of the “laying on of hands,” and to conclude from thence that it must be required to receive the Spirit, even though not every instance actually supports your views. You do not actually explain all of the scripture, such as, 1) the offering of salvation to any who believe, which is not compatible with your view. 2) The fact that not all those who received the Spirit or were saved had hands laid on them. 3) The fact that signs and wonders accompanied the giving of the Spirit in those days, which is no longer given in our day, and definitely not by the UCG. 4) That the Spirit is said to be sovereign in regeneration, moving as He “listeth” during Christ’s explanation to Nicodemus about the necessity of being born again. 5) The Prevenient action of the Holy Spirit prior to salvation, which is not accomplished through the laying on of hands.

“For example does it say he went to heaven or was saved?”

It says he went to paradise “this day” with Christ. Unless paradise is another word for hell, the Thief is in quite good hands.

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