Acts 8:14-17 – “Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit. (For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.”
This is a powerful passage describing how the people of Samaria received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The evangelist Phillip had preached the gospel in Samaria with large numbers of them receiving Christ and being baptized. If you read today’s verse you can see it says the Holy Spirit had not fallen on them, that happened when Peter and John came and laid their hands on them, they were all baptized in the Holy Spirit. This clearly shows the power of the transferable nature of the Spirit, the anointing on Peter and John was dispersed through the laying on of hands.
The transfer of the anointing was often seen in the ministry of Jesus. The most well known example of this was when the woman who had a health problem causing her to hemorrhage blood for twelve years. She hid herself in a crowd and reached out and touched Jesus’s robe. Here is part of Mark’s account of this miracle.
Mk.5:25-29 – “Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched My clothes?’”
This is a powerful way to receive more of God in your life, get in a place where the anointing is welcome and moving, receive ministry through the laying on of hands. This is a great way to receive more of the Lord or to put it another way, to drink in the Holy Spirit. The woman with the hemorrhage was healed and the Samaritans were filled, these are both examples of the transferable nature of the Holy Spirit.
2 thoughts on “RECEIVING THE ANOINTING AND THE LAYING ON OF HANDS”
This story has always been very special to me. Having been to several rehabs to try to get and STAY clean, I always ended up worse than before. I was looking to the outside (world) for doctors to fix a problem inside (wicked/broken heart) I needed deliverance! In the moment of real conviction of the Holy Spirit, I was filled with such an awful fear that I had to get to Jesus no matter what! I didn’t care who saw or the doubt that still lingered in my heart…I pressed through by the grace and mercy of God! And Light flooded my soul!! I was transformed from a beast to a Princess! Thank You Jesus!!!
There have several times in my walk with the Lord that I have felt the transfer of power through laying on of hands. Many times at Victory with the guests speakers that were brought in like Dr. Cho, Rienhardt Bonnke, Dick Mills, and many more, those times of ministry with laying on of hands were empowering and fundamental to the fulfilling of God’s purpose for my life.