A WORD IN SEASON TO THE WEARY

November 19🌷🌷

“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (1 Cor.12:27).

“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:2,3). Barnabas and Saul were being sent by the Church. They were not going on their own. By laying hands upon them, the elders were saying, “You are going on our behalf. We are going with you. We are standing by you in prayer and fellowship.”

The laying on of hands is not a ritual. There is nothing in the hands. When we shake hands after baptism to greet people we show that we are good friends. To show our spiritual equality, oneness and identification, we lay hands on behalf of the whole Church scattered all over the world and declare that we belong to one family, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bought by the same precious blood, and so we are equally important and precious to Him.

In 1 Cor. 12:18-21 we read about the mystery of the Body of Christ. In the human body every little member and gland is necessary. Even the head cannot say to the feet, I do not need you. God has made us so. In the same way every believer in the heavenly family is equally necessary and equally useful in God’s sight. The laying on of hands should not be taken as a ceremony but as a testimony. Baptisms and the laying on of hands go together. If we really follow God’s order, after baptism we should lay hands and pray for those who obey in baptism. These days there is spiritual darkness everywhere and many ignore these divine truths.