Ministry of Laying on of Hands in the Early Church

And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 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, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.' "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." 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. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.

(Acts 4:23-33)

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. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 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. 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.

(Acts 5:12-16)

 The early church understood that the ministry of laying on of hands for the unsaved was meant for every saint, 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 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. However, if we dig a little deeper, we find that this is not the case at all.

The reason the Holy Spirit specifically mentions Peter and the other apostles is that they indeed had a greater anointing to heal the sick, as that anointing formed part of their ministry gifts. 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 upon them, they were all used by the Holy Spirit to heal the sick through the laying on of hands.

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. 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 practical standpoint, because it was not possible for any writer to record all that God did through His church at that time. 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.

The Limited Record of Miracles

Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.

(Acts 15:12)

There are not many accounts recorded in Scripture of the miracles and healings done through the apostles' ministries, even though we know that there were many such incidents taking place all the time. In the above quoted passage of Scripture, we see Barnabas and Paul recounting to the church at Jerusalem just how many miracles and wonders the Lord had done during just one of their missionary journeys. Yet Scripture only records two of those miracles that took place during that first missionary journey: the false prophet Elymas who was blinded (Acts 13:6-11), and the crippled man who was healed in Lystra (Acts 14:8-10).

The fact that the Lord performed many miracles and wonders through His apostles on their first missionary trip and yet recorded only two confirms the truth that the Holy Spirit, because of practical limitations, was constrained in the amount of information He recorded for us in Scripture. This same truth can be applied to all the other miracles performed through the Lord's saints at that time, which are recorded in heaven but not in the Scriptures.

The Selection and Ministry of the Seven Deacons

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 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. Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

(Acts 6:1-7)

As we have seen thus far, when we examine what took place among the saints when the church first began, we need to do so in light of the fact that only a very limited number of examples are recorded for us in Scripture. Understanding that concept helps us to better understand the context of the above quoted passage.

It was in the first few months of the church's existence that the apostles called for seven disciples to be chosen from among the church to help with the daily distribution that was taking place. The growth in the church had exploded, and the apostles were not able to cope with everything that was happening. The Scriptures tell us that these seven men were full of the Holy Spirit and had a reputation among the saints. The reason these men had a reputation among the saints is that they were all being mightily used by the Holy Spirit in the demonstration of His power.

We know this was the case because later we see recorded in Scripture accounts of how just two of these men were used by the Lord to heal the sick and do many wonders in His name (Acts 6:8 & Acts 8:4-7). We can see that all seven of these men were already being used by the Holy Spirit to perform signs and wonders when the apostles prayed for them. In this instance, hands were laid on them for service as deacons, which we will discuss in another section.

It is clearly evident that in the early church, the Holy Spirit used every saint who was prepared to step out in faith and fulfil the Lord's Great Commission of preaching the gospel to every creature, casting out demons, and laying hands on the sick so that they could be healed.

Examples of Ordinary Saints Operating in Power

And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

(Acts 6:8)

Even though there are very few accounts in Scripture, the records that we do have give us some insight into the signs and wonders performed by ordinary saints in the early church. In the passage of Scripture quoted above, the Holy Spirit tells us that Stephen did great wonders and signs among the people. If we look at the other accounts of the signs done by the apostles, we can see that the signs and wonders done through Stephen would have been signs of healings and the casting out of demons. The fact that the Holy Spirit refers to Stephen doing "great" wonders and signs implies very strongly that these would have been miraculous healings of note.

The point I want to make here, however, is that Stephen was just an ordinary disciple who served at the tables, and yet he cast out demons and laid hands on the sick, and the sick were healed.

Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

(Acts 8:4-7)

In the above quoted passage of Scripture, we see an account of Philip, who was one of the seven, fleeing to the city of Samaria to escape the persecution that broke out against the church in Jerusalem. This passage tells us that Philip not only preached the gospel there, but he also healed the sick and cast out demons through the laying on of hands. Although this is an account of what Philip did in the city of Samaria, he had already learned to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit while he was still a disciple in Jerusalem. In other words, Philip would have performed the exact same signs when he was in Jerusalem, just as Stephen had.

Someone might say, "But I thought Philip was an evangelist." Prior to Philip going down to Samaria, he was still just an ordinary disciple who served at the tables, and it was only after he left Jerusalem that the Holy Spirit promoted him into the ministry of the evangelist.

 

Conclusion

We see that these are just two accounts in Scripture of the Lord's ordinary saints healing the sick and casting out demons. Nevertheless, just as the numerous miracles performed through Paul and Barnabas were not recorded in Scripture, there would have been countless other signs performed through the ordinary disciples in the early church which have also not been recorded in Scripture. These accounts have been recorded, however, to give us examples that we can follow.

Therefore, we see that all believers are well able to lay their hands on the unsaved in these two areas and expect results: laying hands on the sick so that they may recover, and casting out demons.

Michael E.B. Maher

Laying on of Hands

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