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For a master copy of the outline, click here: Basic Bible Doctrine
To Listen on YouTube, click here: The Principles of the Doctrine of Christ (Heb 6:1-2) (Part 3) - Laying on of Hands, Resurrection of the Dead
4. Laying on of hands (Heb 6:2)
A. Laying on of hands is or was done for the following purposes:
B. Ordination to an office of ministry
i. The office of a pastor
a. The office of a pastor is conferred upon a man by ordination (Act 14:23; Tit 1:5).
b. This is done by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery (1Ti 4:14).
(i) Presbytery n. - 1. A part of a church, esp. of a cathedral or other large church, reserved for the clergy... 2. The office of a presbyter; eldership or priesthood; = presbyterate 3. A body of presbyters or elders 1611 Bible 1 Tim. iv. 14 Neglect not the gift+which was giuen thee by prophesie, with laying on of the hands of the Presbyterie
(ii) Presbyter n. - 1. An elder in the Christian church.
(iii) The presbytery can be one elder (2Ti 1:6).
c. Barnabas and Saul had hands laid on them before they left to fulfill the work that the Holy Ghost had called them to (Act 13:2-3).
ii. The office of a deacon
a. The position of a deacon is an office (1Ti 3:10).
b. The office of a deacon is conferred by the laying on of hands (Act 6:1-6).
iii. The laying on of hands to ordain elders and deacons is still done today.
C. Healing of the sick
i. Healing the sick by the laying on of hands was one of the sign gifts (1Co 12:8-10, 29-30) which was given to Jesus and the apostles for a period of 40 years beginning with the ministry of Jesus and ending in approximately 70AD (Mic 7:15 c/w Psa 78:12,43 c/w Joh 2:11 c/w Mar 16:17-18,20).
a. The sign gifts were given for two purposes:
(i) To convince the unbelieving Jews who were accustomed to seeing signs and wonders (1Co 1:22; Joh 4:48).
(ii) To confirm the word of God that was being written (Mar 16:20; Heb 2:3-4).
b. In 70AD Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and many of the Jews were killed and the rest were taken away captive.
c. By 70AD the majority (if not all) of the New Testament was written.
d. Once these two reasons for the sign gifts were no longer needed, the miraculous gifts ceased (1Co 13:8-10).
e. (See The Sign Gifts series for more information.)
ii. Jesus healed many by laying His hands on them (Mar 6:5; Luk 4:40; Luk 13:13).
iii. Jesus even raised the dead by laying His hands on them (Mar 5:23,41-42).
iv. The elders in the early churches had ability to anoint the sick with oil and pray for them to heal them (Jam 5:14-15).
a. The only other place where healing the sick by anointing with oil is recorded in the Bible is in Mar 6:13, which was done by the apostles in conjunction with the apostolic gift of casting out devils.
b. Also, in Jam 5:15, it states that "the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up."
c. Prayer in conjunction with anointing with oil was a guarantee of healing (shall, not might).
d. Therefore, based on these facts, it is evident that healing the sick was a miraculous gift that elders in churches had during the 40 year period of signs and wonders.
e. When the miraculous gifts ceased around 70AD, so did the ability of elders to heal people in the church.
v. The apostle Paul still had the gift of healing towards the end of his ministry (Act 28:8).
vi. It appears that even Paul was losing his ability to heal the sick toward the end (Phi 2:26-27; 1Ti 5:23).
D. Giving of the Holy Ghost
i. The Jerusalem Church, which was made up of Jews, was filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost (Act 2:1-4).
ii. The Lord did the same for the first church made up of Gentiles just before Cornelius and his family and friends (Act 10:24) were baptized (Act 10:44-48).
iii. In two special instances, the gift of the Holy Ghost was given to churches by the laying on of hands, one to the church in Samaria made up of Jews (Act 8:14-18), and one to the church in Ephesus made up of Gentiles (Act 19:6).
iv. This giving of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands was part of the sign gifts given to the apostles which was accompanied by speaking in tongues (Act 19:6) which expired in approximately 70AD (see previous section on healing the sick).
E. Persecution
i. Another "laying on of hands" that saints should be aware of is persecution by their enemies.
ii. Wicked men tried to lay hands on Jesus to kill Him on multiple occasions during His ministry (Luk 4:29; Joh 7:30a; Joh 8:59; Joh 10:39).
a. They were not able to succeed at those times because God had before determined His death to happen another way at another time (Joh 7:30; Act 4:27-28; Act 2:23).
b. When the time came, they laid their hands on Jesus and took Him (Mar 14:46).
iii. The servant is not greater than his Lord - if it happened to Jesus, it will happen to His disciples (Joh 15:18-21; Luk 21:12).
iv. The disciples experienced this "laying on of hands" on a few occasions (Act 4:3; Act 5:18; Act 21:27).
v. When it happens to you, be joyful and thank God for it (Act 5:40-42; Mat 5:10-12; Luk 6:22-23; 1Pe 4:14,16).
5. Resurrection of the dead (Heb 6:2)
A. At His Second Coming Jesus will resurrect the dead (1Th 4:16).
i. The resurrection of the dead will be both of the just and unjust (Act 24:15).
ii. There is only one general resurrection: a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
iii. There will only be one resurrection of all that are in the graves (Joh 5:28-29).
iv. Our bodies will be resurrected from the dead by the voice of Jesus Christ (Joh 5:28-29 c/w Joh 11:43-44).
v. Of all those who are resurrected, the righteous will be resurrected to eternal life and the wicked will be resurrected to eternal damnation (Joh 5:29).
B. The resurrection which happens at the Second Coming of Christ will happen at the last day (Joh 6:39,40,44,54; Joh 11:24)
i. The resurrection happens at the LAST TRUMP (1Co 15:52), when all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, at which time there will be a great sound of a TRUMPET (Mat 24:30-31), which happens when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout...with the TRUMP of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air (1Th 4:16-17).
ii. The resurrection happens at the same time that the heavens be no more (Job 14:12).
iii. This is the day of the Lord which comes as a thief in the night in which the heavens and the earth are destroyed by fire (2Pe 3:10).
iv. The day of the Lord is the day of the coming of the Son of man which comes as a thief in the night (Mat 24:42-44).
v. The coming of Christ will be as the days of Noah in which the destruction of the world will happen at His coming (Mat 24:37-39).
