In this section, we will be discussing the phenomenon of people laughing as they encounter the power of the Holy Spirit. As with all the phenomena discussed thus far, there are potentially three different types of manifestations that can occur in this area as well, i.e. people laughing in the Spirit, people pretending to laugh in the Spirit and people laughing from a demonic power.
Hebrews 1:9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
Firstly we will discuss the biblical evidence of the genuine phenomenon of people laughing as a result of encountering the power of the Holy Spirit. In order for us to understand this phenomenon, we need to understand a characteristic of the Holy Spirit. The above passage of scripture gives us some insight into this area. In this passage we see God the Father speaking to His Son Jesus and telling Him that God has anointed Him with the oil of gladness. The oil of gladness that God our Father is referring to is the Holy Spirit. And so, we see that the Holy Spirit is described by God the Father as the oil of gladness. The word translated “gladness” can also be translated “extreme joy”. And so, it would be completely scriptural to say that God our Father has anointed our Lord Jesus with the oil of extreme joy. But I want you to notice that the scripture states that God has anointed Jesus more than His companions, thus implying that God has anointed the Lord’s companions as well, albeit with a lesser amount of that same oil. So who are the Lord’s companions? Obviously it is the church. And so it would again be scriptural for us to say that God has also anointed His saints with the oil of extreme joy.
Michael E.B. Maher
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