We lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit in faith because it is scriptural. But some in
the Body of Christ also have a ministry along this line. We saw that the apostles sent Peter and
John to Samaria because they had a ministry along this line. Some have a ministry along lines
that others do not. God anoints us to minister according to His calling on our lives.
Simon the sorcerer offered Peter and John money and said, ". . . Give me also THIS POWER
[ability], that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8:19).
Some have thought that Simon tried to buy the Holy Ghost. He didn't. He tried to buy the ability
to lay hands on people and have them receive the Holy Spirit. Peter said to him,". . . Thy
money perish with thee, because thou bast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with
money" (Acts 8:20).
There are at least four different Greek words translated "gift" in the New Testament. The
particular Greek word used here in Acts 8:20 means a gratuity. In other words, the Holy Spirit
is a free gift given to believers. The ministry of laying on of hands for the believer to receive the
Holy Spirit cannot be purchased with money. Peter and John were endowed or gifted by God
to lay hands on folks to receive the Holy Spirit.
Many years ago the Lord told me that He had given me that ministry. Immediately I started
laying hands on people, and as I did, instantly I could also tell what was wrong with them —
why they weren't receiving from God. That also goes along with the ministry of the prophet that
He gave me.
Did the Baptism in the Holy Spirit 'Pass Away' With the Last Apostle?
Another extreme teaching in the Church is that the baptism of the Holy Spirit passed away and
ceased when the last apostle died. Those who believe this say that the apostles received the
Holy Ghost and consequently they were the only ones who could in turn pass on the Holy
Ghost to others.
Supposedly then, as this "theory" goes, those folks who received the Holy Spirit by the laying
on of the apostles' hands could not pass the Holy Ghost on to anyone else. People who teach
this say that when the last apostle died, being filled with the Holy Spirit also ceased since there
was no one else to "pass on" the Holy Spirit.
As this theory goes, that was why Philip didn't try to pass the Holy Ghost on to the Samaritans;
he couldn't since he wasn't one of the original twelve apostles. People who believe this say
that's why Philip had to call on Peter and John to lay hands on the Samaritan converts —
because Peter and John were apostles and Philip was not an apostle.
This theory, however, could not be true because if we can find one layperson in the Bible who
laid hands on another believer to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we would know with a
certainty that this theory is not true.
In Acts chapter 9, we find such an example of an ordinary believer — a layperson — who laid
hands on another believer to receive the Holy Spirit. His name was Ananias. Ananias wasn't
an apostle. He was just a disciple, a layman. Yet God used him to lay hands on Saul (later
named Paul) to receive the Holy Spirit shortly after Saul's conversion on the Damascus road.
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