on Joshua, as the Lord commanded him to do, when praying for Joshua to be filled with the Spirit (Num. 27: 18, 23), the early Christians usually laid hands on the sick when praying for their recovery (Mark 16), Paul speaks of the gift given to Timothy by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery, or elders (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6), and so on. The custom of laying hands on ministers when ordaining them is practiced in the churches today; but the ancient custom of laying hands on all believers, and praying for them to be filled with the Spirit, is no longer observed by many of the Protestant churches. While God can, and doubtless often does, give the Holy Spirit without the laying on of hands, it might be well to restore this ancient custom. It probably is a means of strengthening the faith and concentrating the thoughts of the person prayed for. The Greek Church and other Eastern churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Church of England, and a few smaller churches, still retain a relic of the old apostolic custom of laying on hands in prayer for the Holy Spirit in what they call Confirmation Services, although it is to be feared that these services are often little more than a mere form. In the confirmation services of all these churches the bishops, or priests, lay hands on the persons confirmed and pray for them to be filled with the Holy Ghost. The mere form, however, amounts to but little unless the Holy Spirit actually comes to dwell within. If He does this either with or without laying on of hands, there will be new life and power in the experience of the Christian. The early Christian church believed in and prayed for the filling of the Holy Spirit, and this was the secret of its power. It lived in the Spirit, walked in the Spirit, prayed in the Spirit, and sang in the Spirit. Its meetings were conducted in the Pentecostal order, or manner; everyone praying, singing, or testifying as they were moved by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit prayed through them, spoke through them, sang through them, comforted them, anointed them, strengthened them, and enlightened them. Of the first church, at Jerusalem, we read, "And great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33). Soon after Pentecost they were gathered together in prayer, and the Holy Ghost again came with such power as to shake the place where they were assembled together, and all who were not previously filled with the Spirit were now filled, so that "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31). Concerning other churches in the Holy Land, we read, "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied" (Acts 9:31). The Gentiles as well as the Jews had their Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost fell upon Cornelius and his household and friends (Acts 10), and after that Jews and Gentiles were all one in Christ (Romans 3:9; Galatians 3:2228; Ephesians 2:11-19). Some believe that Cornelius and his friends were justified, or saved, before the Holy Ghost fell upon them, and the words of Peter seem to indicate this (Acts 10:34,35). But if they were not justified before Peter spoke to them, they were both justified and filled with the Spirit while he was speaking to them (Acts 10:44). The Apostle Paul could say to the church at Corinth, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16). And to Christians in general the Apostle John could write, "But ye have an unction, from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 John 2:20). These, and many other Scriptures, show that the New Testament church was truly a Spirit-filled one. We read concerning the men chosen as deacons of the first Christian church, that they were "full Oh, for a soul-refreshing shower; OTHER EARLY SAINTS AND SAGES The two preceding chapters describe the deeper spiritual experiences of Bible characters. Doubtless there were many Spirit-filled saints, especially among the Gentiles in Old Testament times, whose names are not so much as mentioned in the Scriptures. GENTILE SAGES TAUGHT BY THE SPIRIT. A careful study of the writings of Socrates, Plato, and other great Greek and Roman philosophers, will reveal the fact that some of these sages had considerable knowledge concerning the true God. They may have received this knowledge through contact with the Jews, or by reason, or by direct revelation, or by all of these means. Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, seems not only to have had a knowledge of God, but he seems also to have realized something concerning the Holy Spirit's power. He constantly affirmed that he was guided and taught by a "friendly daemon, or spirit, and to this fact he ascribed whatever wisdom he possessed (See Plato's Apology for Socrates, Chapter xviii). It may be that the Spirit of God actually taught these great heathen philosophers many things, as He seems to have taught Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar and some other Gentile kings mentioned in the Bible. The famous Greek philosopher and mathematician, Pythagoras, who laid the foundations of the higher mathematics of today, said, "Without light (illumination, or enlightenment) nothing is to be uttered concerning God." This very much resembles what Paul taught when he said, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2: 14). The great Roman orator, Cicero, expressed the opinion that no man could attain to moral excellence without a certain divine inspiration" (See Cicero's Nature of the Gods, Book II). The great heathen philosopher Seneca, writing to Lucilius, Epistle 61, says, "God is present with us, He is with thee, He is within thee. This I say, Lucilius: a Holy Spirit dwelleth within us, of our good and evil works the observer and the guardian. As we treat Him, so He treateth us; and no man is good except God be with him. Can any rise above external fortunes, unless by His aid? He it is from whom every good man receiveth both honor and upright purposes." TESTIMONY OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITERS. The early Christian writers, both the Greek and Roman Fathers of the Church, testify to the fact that in the second century and later, it was customary to pray for Christians to be filled with the Spirit, just as they were prayed for in Bible times. In the days of Tertullian, who wrote in the second century, it was customary also to anoint the baptized believers with oil before praying for them to be filled with the Spirit. The oil was used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, as it is used all through the Scriptures, although there is no Bible example of anointing before prayer for the Holy Spirit.. In Old Testament times oil was used in anointing the priests and kings, as a symbol of the Holy Spirit's anointing. In New Testament times |