Probably the most misunderstood principle of the Doctrine of Christ is the doctrine of "Laying on of Hands." Primarily the doctrine of laying on of hands is the call of every believer into the service of Christ. The call to service is given to every believer by Jesus himself. "...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature..." (Mark 16:15-20)
This is the call to service by Jesus to every believer; to join the battle for the lost souls of mankind. What is the result of this battle? The salvation or damnation of the souls of men.
Who is called to service?
Every born again believer is given a calling and gifts to perform his assigned calling.
How can a believer know what his calling is? Or what gifts has God given him?
First, every believer from least to the greatest through Christ has been given God's Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives every believer the ability to testify of Jesus Christ and his great salvation.
Acts 1:8, "...ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses..."
Every believer has the power to witness about his personal repentance and salvation experience through Jesus Christ, and can attest to God's great love for all mankind. This is the foundation from which even greater power and witnessing can be performed, for no person can possibly witness about Jesus Christ without first having experienced his saving transforming power.
Is witnessing for Christ an option? No, absolutely not. (see Matthew 10:32-34)
It is important that every believer realize that he is called into the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Call to Leadership Service
The doctrine of "Laying on of Hands" is also the method of calling believers into leadership service of Christ. This is demonstrated time and again in scripture. The apostles selected seven men to be over the business of the church. They prayed and laid hands on them to commission them for their service. (Acts 6:3-6)
The church of Antioch through the Holy Spirit selected Barnabas and Saul to ministry by fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands.
The call to service by the laying on of hands is not a light work, but carries the import of the authority and power of God. God calls only those men to leadership service who have demonstrated the ability to rule their own house. They should not be a novice believers or they can be tempted by pride. (I Timothy 3:4-6)
It is necessary to use sincere prayer and fasting before commissioning any person into the leadership of the Lord's church by the laying on of hands. This insures that God's will is being done and not man's.
I Corinthians 12:28 tells us the leadership order is: apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Who are:
- Apostles - Those chosen by Jesus Christ including Paul. (Luke 6:12-13, II Corinthians 1:1)
- Prophets - Those who labor in the testimony of Jesus Christ including preachers and evangelists, and all Christians. "...for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10)
- Teachers - Those who teach God's word, including the first principles of the oracles of God. (Hebrews 5:12-14)
- Miracle Workers - Those who confirm God's word by miracles. (Acts 4:29-30)
- Gifts of Healing - Elders (James 5:14), and those who confirm God's word with healings. (Acts 4:29-30)
- Helps - Those who do good works and alms deeds. (Acts 9-36)
- Governments - Those given administration over the physical needs of the body of Christ. (Acts 6:1-6)
- Diversities of Tongues - Gift for self edification in the faith. (Jude:20)
Gifts of the Spirit
God has given gifts to all his servants to confirm the truth of the gospel and edify the church of Christ. (I Corinthians 12:4-11)
The gifts of the Spirit are:
- Word of Wisdom
- Word of Knowledge
- Faith
- Gifts of Healing
- Working of Miracles
- Prophecy
- Diverse Kinds of Tongues
- Interpretation of Tongues
Signs will follow believers that join the service of the Lord. And...these signs are performed by the Lord to confirm the word of God! God's word is the word of power and every believer must realize the power is the Lord's and must be used to glorify Jesus Christ and his gospel. (Acts 4:24-30)
A WORD OF CAUTION
Every gift that God gives must glorify Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, and be in complete agreement with God's Word. There is no gift or administration that supersedes the Word of God. If any wisdom, knowledge, or understanding is contrary to the Word of God, (the Bible), then it is not from God.
Proverbs 21:30, "There is not wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord."
Award winning author, Mark Brown, who writes under the pen-name, J-me, invites you to receive your free subscription to the Mason Bricklin Newsletter. Each family friendly monthly issue features a humorous short story, and articles about family, writing, internet marketing, and the amazing creation. Or visit his humorous books and stories site which features his Bible blog: http://www.masonbricklin.net.
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