Acts 4:23-33 “And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. (24) So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them … (29) Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, (30) by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." (31) And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. … (33) And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”
Acts 5:12-16 “And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. (13) Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. (14) And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (15) so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. (16) Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”
The early church understood that the ministry of laying on of hands on the unsaved was for every saint and not just for a chosen few. In the above quoted passages of scripture we see great healing power being demonstrated through all the saints in the church at Jerusalem. The background to these passages is that the apostles Peter and John had been threatened by the Jewish leaders to no longer preach in the name of Jesus. Those two apostles had called the church together to report these threats, and the church then responded to their threats through prayer. When we read these passages, at first glance it seems as if God answered their prayers through the apostles only, and it also seems as if God answered their prayers primarily through Peter’s ministry. But if we dig a little deeper we find that that is not the case at all. The reason the Holy Spirit specifically mentions Peter and the other apostles, is because they indeed had a greater anointing to heal the sick because that anointing formed part of their ministry gifts. And so the greater anointing manifested through Peter to the point that even his shadow could heal the sick. But even though the rest of the saints did not have the same degree of anointing on them, they were all used by the Holy Spirit to heal the sick through the laying on of hands. For these scriptures teach us that “all” the saints prayed together in one accord and “all” the saints were filled with the Holy Spirit when God answered their prayers. These scriptures also declare that “all” the saints began to speak the word of God with boldness, as they witnessed to the unsaved throughout the city of Jerusalem. And again we see that “all” the saints began to minister the power of God through various healings, signs and wonders, for these scriptures declare that great grace was upon them “all”. So if it is true that all the saints were used by the Holy Spirit, why did He mention the apostles and Peter specifically in these passages? To answer that question we need to understand that in the book of Acts the Holy Spirit only highlighted certain people and certain events. He did that from a practicality point of view, because it was not possible for any writer to record all that God did through His church at that time. And so when the Holy Spirit does highlight certain key events and people, He does so to give us examples of what is available to all His saints.
Michael E.B. Maher
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