"Do you need to have had the laying on of hands in order to have the Holy Spirit come upon you?"
Well this is a great question! Let us look in the Word to find the answer, but first know where this question came from...In reading the scripture below, ACTS 19:1-7, and specifically verse 6 of THE MESSAGE Bible states "Paul put his hands on their heads and the Holy Spirit entered them."
So, do we need the laying on of Hands in order for us to have the Holy Spirit?
Acts 19:1-7 NIV
Chapter 19
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John’s baptism,” they replied.
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
7 There were about twelve men in all.
Acts 19:1-7 NKJV
Chapter 19
1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."
4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."
4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
Acts 19: 1-7 THE MESSAGE
1 Now, it happened that while Apollos was away in Corinth, Paul made his way down through the mountains, came to Ephesus, and happened on some disciples there.
2 The first thing he said was, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart? Did he get inside you?" "We've never even heard of that—a Holy Spirit? God within us?"
3 "How were you baptized, then?" asked Paul. "In John's baptism."
4 "That explains it," said Paul. "John preached a baptism of radical life-change so that people would be ready to receive the One coming after him, who turned out to be Jesus. If you've been baptized in John's baptism, you're ready now for the real thing, for Jesus."
5 And they were. As soon as they heard of it, they were baptized in the name of the Master Jesus.
6 Paul put his hands on their heads and the Holy Spirit entered them. From that moment on, they were praising God in tongues and talking about God's actions.
7 Altogether there were about twelve people there that day
2 The first thing he said was, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart? Did he get inside you?" "We've never even heard of that—a Holy Spirit? God within us?"
3 "How were you baptized, then?" asked Paul. "In John's baptism."
4 "That explains it," said Paul. "John preached a baptism of radical life-change so that people would be ready to receive the One coming after him, who turned out to be Jesus. If you've been baptized in John's baptism, you're ready now for the real thing, for Jesus."
5 And they were. As soon as they heard of it, they were baptized in the name of the Master Jesus.
6 Paul put his hands on their heads and the Holy Spirit entered them. From that moment on, they were praising God in tongues and talking about God's actions.
7 Altogether there were about twelve people there that day
All three sets of scripture from thee different Bible translations, just to show the differences and the similarities in the scripture to see if the way it is read causes a different interpretation. All three scriptures are detailed matter of fact accounts of what happened, well that is how they are written, as with the book of Luke. It is widely thought that the book of acts and the book of Luke were both written by the same author Luke, though there is no proof other then both books are matter of fact accounts, and with the book of Luke being written with more detail then the other gospels it leads to the conclusion that Luke wrote them both.
Just a little background for you, do a bit of digging into the scriptures that cause you to question and you will learn way more then you first set out to learn.
Acts 2:36-39
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
John 14:15-17,23,26
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—
17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
These scriptures are Jesus words to us, all of us who are baptized in Jesus name. I now compare that with the question, Do we need Laying on of hands to gain the Holy Spirit? To me the answer is,we do not need it unless we do not KNOW Jesus. I think back to the time before I knew Jesus, I needed tangible proof, I needed to see touch and feel before I would believe, before I would know! It then brought me to realization of the difference in me between my Baptism and when I asked the Spirit to come live in me. This is a conscious decision, one we must choose in our own timing and when we ask for Him that is when He comes. So for me it was a difference of about 8 months that my seeds needed watering after His love was planted in me before I asked for Him to live inside me. I can even remember why I asked, I dreamt of my dad who had died, I woke with peace, and a knowing. I Knew that my Dad was in Heaven and the I would see him again, I knew that this life wasn't all there was and I knew the reason my dad died was to teach me that I am not an orphan and that I have always had a Father in Heaven watching out for me and one who would never leave me. I got lucky, God knew that I would need more information, before I could really understand the meaning of I AM.
So then I thought back to the 12 Disciples Paul laid hands on and I think they needed more information before they would understand. That maybe it is possible they were Baptized before the death of Jesus and did not see his works the way Paul and the others had, they had only heard. Maybe since the rules the covenant had changed in the time they were baptized to the time they talked with Paul, they were stuck in their old thought process, and needed Knowing. So, God will either send someone to physically lay hands on us, or God will Himself touch us so that we are filled with knowing and can appropriately make the decision weather or not to ask Him to live in us. To reiterate, ACTS 2:38 says we received the Holy Spirit, we have to decide to un wrap it.
Just a little background for you, do a bit of digging into the scriptures that cause you to question and you will learn way more then you first set out to learn.
Acts 2:36-39
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
John 14:15-17,23,26
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—
17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
These scriptures are Jesus words to us, all of us who are baptized in Jesus name. I now compare that with the question, Do we need Laying on of hands to gain the Holy Spirit? To me the answer is,we do not need it unless we do not KNOW Jesus. I think back to the time before I knew Jesus, I needed tangible proof, I needed to see touch and feel before I would believe, before I would know! It then brought me to realization of the difference in me between my Baptism and when I asked the Spirit to come live in me. This is a conscious decision, one we must choose in our own timing and when we ask for Him that is when He comes. So for me it was a difference of about 8 months that my seeds needed watering after His love was planted in me before I asked for Him to live inside me. I can even remember why I asked, I dreamt of my dad who had died, I woke with peace, and a knowing. I Knew that my Dad was in Heaven and the I would see him again, I knew that this life wasn't all there was and I knew the reason my dad died was to teach me that I am not an orphan and that I have always had a Father in Heaven watching out for me and one who would never leave me. I got lucky, God knew that I would need more information, before I could really understand the meaning of I AM.
So then I thought back to the 12 Disciples Paul laid hands on and I think they needed more information before they would understand. That maybe it is possible they were Baptized before the death of Jesus and did not see his works the way Paul and the others had, they had only heard. Maybe since the rules the covenant had changed in the time they were baptized to the time they talked with Paul, they were stuck in their old thought process, and needed Knowing. So, God will either send someone to physically lay hands on us, or God will Himself touch us so that we are filled with knowing and can appropriately make the decision weather or not to ask Him to live in us. To reiterate, ACTS 2:38 says we received the Holy Spirit, we have to decide to un wrap it.
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