Introduction
The possession of spiritual knowledge is a tricky thing.
Consider the person who can name all of the Ten Commandments. Then consider the person who can’t name any of them. Snap judgment would say that the person with the knowledge of the Ten Commandments has an advantage over the person without that knowledge.
Now consider the same two people, but consider the actions of the two people rather than their knowledge. Suppose the person who knows all of the Ten Commandments at some point breaks every single one of them, but the person who cannot name any of the 10 has kept all of them. This illustration shows the advantage of application of knowledge over knowledge itself.
Let’s take other similar examples. Let’s say someone can name every book of the Bible but doesn’t read it. There are a lot of areas of Bible trivia that involve listing things—a person might know all the kings of Israel or the names of the original twelve disciples of Jesus, for example. Is there any value in just knowing a list? Sure, there is some value. But even better is knowing the list and knowing the degree to which a king or a disciple was faithful to his calling and the reasons for successes and failure in fulfilling that calling. This helps me know which kings were good, which were bad.
But here’s what’s best: Making use of the knowledge—that is, applying it or appropriating it—in ways that help you be more faithful in your own calling by learning the lessons of history recorded in the Scriptures.
The ideal is to possess knowledge and the wisdom of how and when to apply it and the discipline to actually apply it. It is the virtuous disciple who attains knowledge and holds it dear for the purposes of growing in the grace and truth of our Savior.
The ideal is to possess knowledge and the wisdom of how and when to apply it and the discipline to actually apply it.
Now let me explain how everything I just said—all that knowledge, if you will—applies to our joint effort in worshipping through the preaching of the Word of God. There are going to be times when what’s presented from the Scriptures might just look like a list of facts or data points about a subject. Part of my job as pastor and preacher is to deliver facts; it’s to say, “This is what the text (of the Bible) says.” But if that’s all I ever do, then that would be a somewhat insulting exercise in this day and age, because we all have copies of Scripture and can read it for ourselves nowadays.
This is why, in the previous sermon, even though we read so much Scripture, it wasn’t just a sermon of facts saying that the laying on of hands was used to transfer guilt to sacrifices. We also talked about how, to understand Old Testament law through the lens of story, and to link that to the larger story of Scripture that God is telling us, there must be payment of sin. Furthermore, in the fullness of time, God sent the ultimate payment for sin in the person of Jesus.
Here’s my synopsis of the story in the Old and New Testaments as it relates to the previous sermon:
- The blood of bulls and goats was a temporary arrangement that made for righteous living in the land before God.
- The blood of Christ is an eternal arrangement that makes for righteous living in heaven with God.
The blood of bulls and goats was a temporary arrangement that made for righteous living in the land before God. The blood of Christ is an eternal arrangement that makes for righteous living in heaven with God.
That synopsis is the beginning of the “So what?” of the facts (knowledge). The “Now what?” is to live like one whose citizenship is in heaven and who has been empowered for righteous living. (Spoiler alert: That’s the Now what? application of every sermon—that you should live like one who is a citizen of another world, and like one who has been empowered for righteous living.)
In this process of delivering the facts, declaring, “This is what the text says,” I’ll do my best also to help guide us through the process of asking and answering, “So what? Now what?”
But it’s also part of my job to train you to be the sort of people who, even if I don’t ask the “So what?”, you yourself, in your own, prayerful, mindful consideration, ask God, “Okay, God, so what? Now what?” Hopefully what you hear from me and what you hear from God aren’t opposed!
Let’s put that exercise into practice right now. I’ll give you the why? or the so what? behind this sermon introduction.
Laying on of Hands: So What? Now What?
Some aspects of spiritual knowledge are going to appear more readily applicable than others. A list like the Ten Commandments, which is very action-oriented and noticeably relevant to day-to-day life, is readily applicable. Something like the laying on of hands, by contrast, isn’t as readily applicable.
Even though I began this sermon subseries about the laying on of hands by preaching on the question, “Why study it?,” some of those particular reasons still run the risk of falling on deaf ears. Thus, I will continue to remind you that the author of Hebrews gives the list of elementary principles not because the subject matter had become dull, but because the people had become dull (of hearing).
As we continue to study the purposes of laying on of hands, we come now to the purpose of ordaining or commissioning. This refers to the installation of a person into some religious office, or the tasking of some person to a task or role.
Commissioning/ordaining = the installation of a person into some religious office, or the tasking of some person to a task or role
The meaning of ordaining and commissioning is easy enough, but you’ll have to decide whether or not it is significant in your life. You could say, “Well I’ll never be ordained or commissioned in anything; next topic, please.” Perhaps even worse, you could say, “I’ve already been ordained; next topic, please.” To adopt that attitude would be to neglect the understanding that the church is a living organism, and we have responsibilities to one another in terms of relationship and function.
We’ve been speaking of the value of knowledge vs. knowledge applied. The knowledge you need to attain about laying on of hands is this: It is a practice used in ordination or commissioning. The “so what?”/“now what?” (knowledge to apply) that you need to grasp is this: Ordination will reveal a need for spiritual readiness, discernment, commitment, submission, leadership, respect, and love. And in case I need to spell out that application further, here it is: Be spiritually ready, discerning, committed, submissive, lead, respect, and love!
Commissioning in the Old Testament
Let’s look at some examples of commissioning in the Old Testament. We’ll start with the commissioning of a leader to succeed Moses in Numbers 27.
Some background first: God has just informed Moses that his death is near. Upon learning this, Moses appeals to God to appoint a new leader.
Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. You shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. (Numbers 27:15–23, emphasis added)
Contextually speaking, in this passage we see the appointing of a leader to lead the people into the conquest of the Promised Land. Note that there’s not a one-to-one correspondence for everything in Scripture—for example, we’re not supposed to go out and look for the next leader who will lead us into a promised land to conquer. But we can glean certain principles of leadership. We can understand something about how God has acted in history and in the lives of His people.
A general principle from this context is this: Physical actions void of the Spirit of God are dead. We saw this idea clearly, over and over, under the first elementary principle in our Oracles of God series: repentance from dead works.
Physical actions void of the Spirit of God are dead.
Notice in the Numbers 27 passage the appeal of Moses; remembering that God has just informed him, “Moses, your time to die is near,” he appeals to the One who is about to remove spirit from flesh to enliven a new spiritual leader. Physical acts point to necessary and greater spiritual realities. This was true of the act of baptism as it is true of laying on of hands.
4 Key Aspects of Commissioning in the OT
The laying on of hands for ordination or commissioning is a public act that acknowledges four key areas, as seen in the Numbers 27 passage above.
1. Every generation, every people group, will encounter its own set of problems and challenges that will require specific leadership.
Moses sees it coming. He doesn’t want the people to be like sheep without a shepherd (v. 17). Problems will arise that will reveal a leadership void. Indeed, failure in leadership causes problems to arise.
2. Laying on of hands recognizes an already present spiritual readiness.
Moses says, in short, “We need a new leader,” to which God responds, “Yes!” He then points to Joshua as that man (v. 18).
If you look through the first five books of the Bible, you see the character of Joshua revealed in his previous acts. For example, earlier in Numbers we see his character revealed in his role as one of the two faithful spies who spied out the Promised Land (the other spies, except Caleb, doubted that God would give them the victory and joined the people in grumbling and rebelling).1See Numbers 13:25–14:10.
In addition, in many of the main acts of Moses within the first five books of the Bible, Joshua was there, at his side, standing in the background. He is ready to take the lead when called.
3. Laying on of hands is a public recognition of vested authority.
You shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. (Numbers 27:20)
The ideal picture of ordination is that it bestows authority upon those who have been recognized to be fit for such authority. This idea relates to the second principle (above); these keys build on each other. When we ordain or commission, the laying on of hands is the act that signifies the bestowing of authority. The authority is bestowed on one who has already been deemed fit for such a role.
A question that arises is, Did Joshua have authority to lead Israel because Moses laid hands on him, or did Moses lay hands on him because Joshua had authority? The answer is yes. And so this key is combined with the fourth.
4. Laying on of hands as a physical connection points to varying degrees of relationship that exist in the community of God for the benefit of the group and its individual members.
To summarize, religious submission looks like this:
- The leaders are to submit to God’s established order.
- The congregation is to submit to appointed leaders.
There are varying degrees of relationship based on established order and boundaries of leadership. Analyzing the Numbers 27 text, you’ll find areas of:
- Representation
- Delegation
- Power
- Authority
Read any business or self-help book, and these key areas will be covered too.
Look at the individuals present in this text: God, Moses, Joshua, Eleazar, members of congregation. We see Moses as the leader and Joshua as the leader-in-waiting. Joshua is going to become leader of all the tribes of Israel, and thus he will simultaneously be both the head over the priest and dependent upon him. In one sense, he has more authority than the high priest, Eleazar, because he’s in charge and responsible for all the tribes of Israel. But in other realms he has less authority than the high priest, because he’s dependent upon Eleazar to tell him the will of God. But Eleazar is dependent upon Joshua to ask him to ask God what to tell Joshua. Thus, there is an interdependence and mutual benefit in this established order.
There is an interdependence and mutual benefit in this established order.
Moses was equipped to lead the people out of slavery. Joshua was equipped to lead the people into freedom. Both were necessary. Different men, called at different times for different reasons or purposes.
Summary
The laying on of hands for the purpose of ordaining or commissioning is a public recognition of:
- A problem/leadership void
- Spiritual readiness
- Vested authority
- Religious submission
Commissioning in the New Testament
Let’s look now at examples of commissioning in the New Testament. By way of context, Acts 6 depicts a moment when the church was growing and things were going generally well. Even though some Christians were being thrown into prison for their faith, they were getting out of prison. And the church was one—unified (and those who weren’t had been taken care of).
Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. (Acts 6:1–6, emphasis added)
4 Key Aspects of Commissioning in the NT
There are some key aspects of commissioning in the New Testament—the same key areas that we saw in the Old Testament. Let’s review them in light of the Acts passage.
1. Every generation, every people group, will encounter its own set of problems and challenges that will require specific leadership.
Problems will arise that reveal a leadership void. In Acts 6:1, we see the problems that arose amidst a context of church growth: “a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.” It wasn’t that the leaders were bad; there was just a change in circumstances—a good change. Church growth had outpaced the current mode of leadership and administration.
2. Laying on of hands recognizes an already present spiritual readiness.
To address the problems, the leadership void, Acts 6 says the Twelve chose men who were already known to have a good reputation, and who were full of the Spirit and wisdom (v. 3). This description is exactly the one given in verse 5 of one of the chosen men, Stephen (“full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”).
3. Laying on of hands is a public recognition of vested authority.
This key again works together with the previous one. The congregation recognized the authority of the 12 original apostles. The apostles, in turn, recognized the authority of the congregation and ask them to come up with a solution. And then the congregation recognized the new authority of the ordained (commissioned) individuals.
4. Laying on of hands as a physical connection points to varying degrees of relationship that exist in the community of God for the benefit of the group and its individual members.
What do we mean by “benefit”? Benefit is not equivalent to “any good that could possibly be done.” If I were to charge you right now to go out and do any and all good that could possibly be done, you would fail, no matter how much good you manage to do.
This example in Acts 6 is a heavy one: the neglect of widows. It’s a serious problem. How do we know that? Because the apostle James himself said, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). These widows of Acts 6 are in distress. Something needed to be done for them.
Those with the highest authority were attempting to help; they were directly engaging in one of the greatest goods they could do. And yet, their engagement ultimately would have been to the detriment of the group. Why? You see, ordination can underscore the limitation of any one individual to bear all burdens. Those of us in authority lay our hands upon those we are commissioning for this task because it is a good, and it is a good that I (as a head pastor) shouldn’t attempt.
At the same time, ordination also accentuates the opportunity for any burden to be addressed for all individuals. When the apostles ordained these prototype deacons, there was simultaneous recognition that the role of apostles was limited (boundaried). And the existence of those boundaries broadened the horizon of service for everyone who was not an apostle.
It is the gracious design of God that He wants us all to play a role in His kingdom work and in His church. It’s not a role only for those in the highest places of authority. It’s work for the entire congregation. So, where the limit exists in leadership—where there is a boundary—is the opportunity for someone else to serve. And that is, again, a gift.
Another Commissioning Example in the NT
Here’s one more example of commissioning in the New Testament—from Acts 13:
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. (vv. 1–4, emphasis added)
I won’t go through all four keys again in detail, but you can identify them in the passage if you look. Rather, I want to highlight something else from this text.
There are two things we might overlook in this passage.
First, the previous examples of ordaining and commissioning that we looked at you may think of in terms of office—Joshua as the leader of the tribes of Israel (the commander in chief of Israel). We tend to think of Acts 6 as the initiation of the office of deacons in the church. But in Acts 13, there’s no office given but, rather, a specific task. Thus, don’t lose sight of the fact that one of the reasons for commissioning (and for the laying on of hands) is toward specific tasks. We will do this at GraceLife in the near future, Lord willing (commission and ordain people for certain tasks).
A second thing we might overlook is the role of the Holy Spirit in all these things. You’re unlikely to miss that the Spirit is at work and present—He’s been present in all of the examples given. But notice especially that the grace of God allows us to partner with God in our work and forces us to recognize our place in that work. The Holy Spirit could have simply said, “Barnabas and Saul, go!” Instead, those who laid their hands on the two men sent them away; God gave specific instruction to the church to set the men apart (Acts 6:3). The passage also says that the Holy Spirit sent them out (v. 4). Both statements are true—both the apostles and the Spirit sent the men. God could have miraculously transported them to where they needed to go. The act of the apostles laying on hands and sending Saul and Barnabas out may seem redundant, even unnecessary. Paul even says in Galatians that he was set apart by God from the time he was in his mother’s womb. But God wants to operate through people; He has given the church the gift of tangible reminders of its call to spiritual unity and service—both unity with God and service to God, and unity with one another and service to one another.
Ordination at GraceLife (and Other Local Bodies)
Ordination in Christian churches across the world and time has looked different based on theology, need, and historical setting. In the book of Acts, you see some things still being established. The book contains some patterns for ongoing practice as well as some things that should never be repeated because the church has already been established. The same has been true of GraceLife’s history as best as I can tell. I’ve been here 15 years as a member. During that time, I’ve seen different modes. We’ll discuss that more in the next sermon when we address guidelines and principles of laying on of hands (who has the power/authority to do so, etc.).
Should there be elders and pastors, deacons, ministers, lay elders? Should there be bishops or overseers? Ordination and titles are sometimes confusing. Freedom of local autonomy is difficult, though it’s one of the hallmarks of our tradition at GraceLife. There have been changes in this area since I’ve been a member here.
Other systems of ecclesiology, other approaches to the local church, are more formal in nature and more organized in the sense of central authority that then disperses various modes of authority to smaller and smaller branches. But when we believe that the local autonomy exists within this body, as we are guided by the Scriptures and what we think the Scriptures say regarding leadership, we see some areas that perhaps aren’t as clear as they could be. This gives us an opportunity to once again wrestle with the text and ask of God, What is it that you desire for us in this time? What is it that you desire for your people for all time?
In my time at GraceLife, I’ve seen pastors who functioned as elders. I’ve seen the institution of lay elders. I’ve seen deacons with different roles and levels of authority. I’ve seen people serving in this church who didn’t have the title of deacon but acted as them; they could have been deacons because there was spiritual readiness already in place.
Each leader is tasked with leading in the way he sees appropriate, in light of the Scriptures. Please pray for us as we consider how all of these roles should function within our church. If you don’t attend GraceLife, pray the same kind of wisdom and discernment for your own church leaders, if you attend a local church regularly.
Applications
How can we apply these ideas regarding commissioning, whether you’re ordained or not?
First, do not be surprised at problems or challenges that face a church. Such challenges have always been the norm for the people of God; they are not necessarily a sign of having done something wrong or of the Lord being displeased. Sometimes, problems may simply be a natural result of change and growth, as was the case in Acts 13.
Look around; I invite you to look at areas of shortcomings. I spent 20 years as an editor. I see all the errors. I see the shortcomings, the mistakes. They’re there. But as you look around and see these shortcomings, I invite you to take the approach of Acts 6. Bring that problem or challenge to me or another leader at GraceLife (if you attend here—or to a leader of your own church, if you attend elsewhere); if it’s outside the realm of demanded pastoral focus, know that we will invite you into the solution. That’s the way we should operate as the church.
If you bring a problem or challenge [to us] … we will invite you into the solution.
A second application is to be spiritually ready. Spiritual readiness is a prerequisite to ordination and commissioning. The church needs you. And the church might need you to fulfill the task of deacon. But we will not invite you to that without the proper qualifications. And at GraceLife, we’re working through what that means. The most obvious qualification includes high moral character—among others outlined in Scripture. But also, we believe that in our freedom as pastors, as leaders of the church, we have the ability to perhaps require some specific areas of devotion to this church (GraceLife), if we deem it to be the best for us in our current season or based on the general principle of unity of the church.2At GraceLife, one specific qualification that we require of deacons is that they attend Bible Fellowship (the time after the sermon each week where congregants break up into smaller groups to fellowship and discuss the sermon). Our goal is for deacons to serve the people of this church, and how can they do so if, on a week-to-week basis, they aren’t sitting in a room and engaging with those people on the Scriptures being preached?
A third application is to pray. Pray for our church, and pray for your church if you attend somewhere other than GraceLife. Pray for those elected to office within the church. Being an ordained elder comes with a high cost. You lose friends, and you sometimes get used. Power and authority come with a cost. It’s worth that cost. But we need to pray that our leaders will serve well, as authority and power always come with temptation. Pray for me; pray for our elders; pray for future elders.
A final application: Our connection to one other is physical and spiritual; we must be faithful stewards in both realms. We have a physical identity: bounded and bonded by this geographical region, by this property where we worship, this gathering time and space; all of those point to our greater spiritual unity in Christ. May we always be united.